AP U.S. History Chapter 4 - Imperial Wars and Colonial Protest (1754-1774)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, acts, figures, and events from Chapter 4 of AP U.S. History (1754-1774).

Articles of Confederation

The initial governing document of the United States that established a weak national government, which was later replaced by the U.S. Constitution.

Federalists

A political party that emerged by the end of Washington's presidency, arguing for a stronger federal government.

Democratic-Republicans

A political party that emerged by the end of Washington's presidency, arguing for stronger state governments.

King William's War (1689-1697)

The first in a series of imperial conflicts between Great Britain and France, during which British expeditions failed to capture Quebec.

Queen Anne's War (1702-1713)

An imperial war in which British forces prevailed and gained Nova Scotia from France, as well as trading rights in Spanish America.

King George's War (1744-1748)

An imperial conflict where New Englanders captured the French fortress of Louisbourg, which Britain later returned to France in exchange for political and economic gains in India.

Seven Years' War (French and Indian War)

The fourth and most decisive war between Britain and France, which began in the North American colonies in 1754 before spreading to Europe and resulting in British control of North America.

Fort Duquesne

A French fort built in the Ohio River Valley (Pittsburgh) to halt the westward growth of the British colonies.

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

A plan developed by Benjamin Franklin for an intercolonial government, troop recruitment, and taxation for common defense; though rejected by individual colonies, it set a precedent for later congresses.

Peace of Paris (1763)

The peace treaty ending the Seven Years' War, under which Great Britain acquired French Canada and Spanish Florida, and France ceded Louisiana to Spain.

Salutary Neglect

Britain's earlier policy of exercising little direct control over the colonies and leaving navigation trade laws largely unenforced, which was abandoned after 1763.

Pontiac's Rebellion (1763)

A major attack led by Chief Pontiac against colonial frontier settlements in response to westward movement of European settlers and the British refusal to offer gifts.

Proclamation of 1763

A British proclamation prohibiting colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains in an effort to stabilize the western frontier and prevent hostilities with American Indians.

Sugar Act (1764)

Also known as the Revenue Act of 1764, this law placed duties on foreign sugar and luxuries while providing for stricter enforcement of the Navigation Acts in jury-less admiralty courts.

Quartering Act (1765)

A law requiring colonists to provide food and living quarters for British soldiers stationed in the colonies.

Stamp Act (1765)

The first direct tax collected from American colonists, requiring revenue stamps to be placed on most printed paper, including legal documents, newspapers, and advertisements.

Patrick Henry

A young Virginia lawyer who stood up in the House of Burgesses to demand that the king's government recognize the right of citizens not to be taxed without representation.

Stamp Act Congress

A 1765 meeting in New York of delegates from nine colonies who resolved that only their own elected representatives possessed the legal authority to approve taxes.

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

A secret society organized for the purpose of intimidating tax agents, whose members sometimes destroyed revenue stamps and tarred and feathered revenue officials.

Declaratory Act (1766)

A face-saving act passed alongside the repeal of the Stamp Act, asserting that Parliament had the right to tax and make laws for the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever.'

Townshend Acts (1767)

Measures enacting duties on colonial imports of tea, glass, and paper, permitting searches via writs of assistance, and suspending New York's assembly for defying the Quartering Act.

Writ of Assistance

A general license allowing British officials to search private homes and property anywhere for smuggled goods without needing a judge's warrant for a specific location.

Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania

An influential work by John Dickinson arguing that Parliament could regulate commerce, but could not levy duties to raise revenue on the colonies without their representation.

Massachusetts Circular Letter

A letter written jointly by James Otis and Samuel Adams in 1768 urging colonial legislatures to petition Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts.

Boston Massacre (1770)

An incident in March 1770 in which British troops fired into a crowd of harassing colonists, killing five people including Crispus Attucks.

Crispus Attucks

An African American who was killed during the Boston Massacre in March 1770.

Committees of Correspondence

Organized letter-writing committees initiated by Samuel Adams in 1772 to regularly exchange news about suspicious or threatening British activities.

Gaspee

A British customs ship that ran aground off Rhode Island in 1772 and was set on fire by a group of disguised colonists.

Tea Act (1773)

An act passed by Parliament to assist the British East India Company that made its tea cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea, even with the tax included.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

A December 1773 protest in which Bostonians disguised as American Indians boarded British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor.

Coercive Acts (1774)

Four punitive acts passed by Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party, directed mainly at punishing Massachusetts and bringing dissidents under control.

Port Act

A Coercive Act that closed the port of Boston to trade until the tea destroyed during the Boston Tea Party was paid for.

Massachusetts Government Act

A Coercive Act that reduced the power of the Massachusetts legislature and increased the authority of the royal governor.

Administration of Justice Act

A Coercive Act allowing royal officials accused of crimes in the colonies to be tried in Great Britain instead of local colonial courts.

Quebec Act (1774)

A law establishing Roman Catholicism in Quebec, creating a government without an assembly, and extending Quebec's boundary south to the Ohio River.

Deists

Enlightenment thinkers who believed God established natural laws in creating the universe but exercised minimal divine intervention in human affairs, placing trust in human reason and rationalism.