APUSH Unit 2

Revolution and Ratification

The French and Indian War

Causes: Competition for land and trade in the Ohio River Valley; British settlers expanding west into French-claimed territory. French desire to maintain control over fur trade and alliances with Native tribes

Effects: British victory gave control of Canada and land east of the Mississippi, war debt led Britian to tax American colonies more heavily, Proclamation of 1763 restricted colonial expansion west of the Appalachians

Increased tensions between Britain and the colonies which was a step toward revolution

British Regulation and Colonial Protest

British laws and policies aimed at controlling colonial trade, economy and governance, and the corresponding colonial resistance

Causes: Britain needed revenue to pay war debts after F and I War, mercantilist policies required colonies to serve British economic interests

Effects: Colonists protested through boycotts, petitions, and sometimes violence, shared colonial identity -groundwork for revolutionary movements

The Stamp Act

British law requiring colonists to purchase stamped paper for legal documents, newspapers, and other printed materials

Causes: Britain needed money to pay off war debts, intended to assert Britain’s right to tax colonies directly

Effects: Colonial protests, increased unity, led to a eventual repeal but it set a precedent for future colonial resistance

The Declaration of Independence

Declaration of the 13 American colonies independent from Britain

Causes: British taxation and regulation without colonial representation, escalating colonial resistance

Effects: Officially severed political ties with Britian, encouraged international support, especially from France

French Impact on the American Revolution

Assistance provided by France to the American colonies during the Revolutionary War

Causes: France wanted to weaken Britain after losing the French and Indian War, opposing British imperial power

Effects: provided weapons, troops, naval support, and financial aid - French victories like the Battle of Yorktown

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States - created a weak national government

Cause: desire to avoid centralized power like Britain’s monarchy, need for a formal government during the Revolutionary War

Effect: Weak federal government with no power to tax or regulate trade

Northwest Ordinance of 1785 and 1787

1785: Set up a system for surveying and selling western lands

1787: Created a framework for governing the Northwest Territory and admitting new states

Established precedent for orderly westward expansion, banned slavery in Northwest Territory

Shay’s Rebellion

An armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers protesting high taxes and debt collection

Cause: economic hardship post-revolution and weakness of the Articles of Confederation

Effects: Led to constitutional convention and highlighted tension between rural debtors and urban elites

Writing of the US Constitution

The drafting of a new constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation, creating a stronger federal government

Cause: Weakness of the Articles and economic instability

Effect: federal system with separation of powers, system of checks and balances, led to debates between federalists and anti-federalists

Ratification of the Constitution

Process by which the Constitution was approved by the states, amid debates over federal power

Causes: concern over strong central government vs state sovereignty, anti-federalists demanded protections for individual rights

Effects: Constitution ratified in 1788, Bill of Rights added to guarantee freedoms, set precedent for a living, amendable document

George Washington as President and Farewell Address

Established executive authority and cabinet system; set precedent for a two -term limit

Farewell Address: warned against political parties and foreign entanglements, strengthened national unity and respect for the presidency

Hamilton vs. Jefferson

Hamilton: strong federal government, commercial economy, pro-British

Jefferson: limited federal power, agrarian economy, pro-French

Bank of the United States

National bank proposed by Hamilton to stabilize the US economy

Effects: strengthened federal financial power, opposed by Jefferson and Democratic-Republicans who feared centralization of power

Strict vs. Loose Interpretation of the Constitution

Strict: Federal government can only do what the Constitution explicitly allowed

Loose: Federal government can take actions not explicitly forbidden if necessary to fulfill duties

Effect: Early political ideology split

Formation of Political Parties and Washington Legacy

Federalists: Hamilton; strong central government, commercial economy.

Democratic Republicans: Jefferson; limited government, agrarian focus.