unit 3, period 3: 1754-1800

what caused the French and Indian War?

arguments between France and Britain over land, due to mercantilist policies; both claimed the Ohio River Valley and fought over it

mercantilist wars

series of wars which lasted from 1739-1763 over mercantilist concerns in Europe's overseas empires

what three conflicts led up to the French and Indian War?

King William's War (1689-1697), Queen Anne's War (1702-1713), King George's War (1744-1748)

Seven Years' War (1754-1763)

aka French and Indian War; French and American Indians allied against the British for control over the Ohio River Valley

George Washington

commanded a small militia in French and Indian War; experience led him to become commander of the Continental Army

Edward Braddock

British general who was defeated near Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin that sought to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies & the Crown

Peace of Paris (1763)

ended French and Indian War; Britain gained all of French Canada & all territory south of Canada & east of the Mississippi River, France & Spain lost their West Indian colonies, Britain gained Spanish Florida, Spain gained French territory west of the Mississippi, including control of the port city of New Orleans

William Pitt

a competent British leader, known as the "Great Commoner," who managed to destroy New France from the inside and end the Seven Year's War; used a "blank check" to fund the war

immediate effects of French and Indian War

Britain wins unchallenged supremacy in North America and is established as the dominant naval power; the American colonies no longer face the threat of attacks from French, Spanish, and Indians; a change in how the British and the colonists view each other

salutary neglect

an English policy of relaxing the enforcement of regulations in its colonies in return for the colonies' continued economic loyalty

Pontiac's Rebellion (1763)

Indian uprising in the Ohio Valley region that killed 2,000 settlers; as a result, the British sought peace with the Indians by prohibiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains (the Proclamation of 1763)

Proclamation Line of 1763

prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian mountains

Parliament

the lawmaking body of British government

why were new taxes put on the colonists leading up to the American Revolution?

British accumulated a lot of debt during the French and Indian War; needed to pay it off

King George III

King of England during the American Revolution

Sugar Act (1764)

an act that raised tax revenue in the colonies for the crown; placed duties on foreign sugar and certain luxuries

Quartering Act (1765)

act forcing colonists to house and supply British forces in the colonies; created more resentment; seen as assault on liberties

Stamp Act (1765)

placed a tax on almost all printed materials in the colonies; required colonists to purchase a stamp for every printed material

Patrick Henry

a leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies (1736-1799)

"taxation without representation"

the idea that it is unfair to tax someone without giving them a voice in government

Stamp Act Congress

group of colonists who protested the Stamp Act, saying that Parliament couldn't tax without colonists' consent

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

secret society organized for the purpose of intimidating tax agents; sometimes destroyed revenue stamps and tarred and feathered revenue officials

Declaratory Act (1766)

aassed at the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed; declared that Parliament had the power to tax the colonies "in all cases whatsoever" & that the colonists possessed virtual representation

"virtual representation"

British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members

Townshend Acts (1767)

passed by Parliament, put a tax on glass, lead, paper, and tea; the acts caused protest from the colonists, who found ways around the taxes such as buying smuggled tea

writ of assistance

court document allowing customs officers to enter any location to search for smuggled goods

John Dickinson

drafted a declaration of colonial rights and grievances, and also wrote the series of "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" in 1767 to protest the Townshend Acts

James Otis

a colonial lawyer who defended (usually for free) colonial merchants who were accused of smuggling; argued against the writs of assistance and the Stamp Act

Samuel Adams

American Revolutionary leader and patriot, Founder of the Sons of Liberty and one of the most vocal patriots for independence; signed the Declaration of Independence

Lord Frederick North

new prime ministe of Britain; urged Parliament to repeal the Townshend acts because their effect was to damage trade and to generate only a disappointing amount of revenue

Boston Massacre

incident in 1770 in which British troops fired on and killed American colonists

Committees of Correspondence (1772 and after)

committees set up across the colonies to share news about British actions and colonial protests through the exchange of letters, pamphlets, etc.

The Gaspee

British anti-smuggling ship that ran ashore off Rhode Island in 1772; was burned by colonists

Boston Tea Party (1773)

American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Native Americans, boarded three British ships and dumped British tea into the Boston harbor

Tea Act (1773)

law passed by parliament allowing the British East India Company to sell its low-cost tea directly to the colonies - undermining colonial tea merchants; led to the Boston Tea Party

Intolerable Acts (1774)

series of punitive measures passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, closing the Port of Boston, revoking a number of rights in the Massachusetts colonial charter, and expanding the Quartering Act to allow for the lodging of soldiers in private homes

Port Act

one of the Coercive Acts, which closed the port of Boston, prohibiting trade in and out of the harbor until the destroyed tea was paid for

Administration of Justice Act

allowed royal officials accused of crimes to be tried in England instead of in the colonies

Quebec Act (1774)

organized the Canadian lands gained from France; set up a government without a representative assembly; took away land that colonies claimed along the Ohio River

Enlightenment

a movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions

deism

a popular Enlightenment era belief that there is a God, but that God isn't involved in people's lives and allows people to make choices

rationalism

a belief or theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response

John Locke

17th century English philosopher who opposed the Divine Right of Kings and who asserted that people have a natural right to life, liberty, and property

social contract

a voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

explained an ideal society where each community member would vote on issues and majority would become one law; furthered John Locke's ideas on social contract

Charles Montesquieu

Enlightenment thinker that created the idea that governments should be divided into three separate branches

Thomas Paine

American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence and wrote Common Sense

Common Sense

1776: a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that claimed the colonies had a right to be an independent nation

why was Common Sense so impactful in the colonies?

it appealed to the common people using simple concepts and ideas; made complicated, abstract ideas understandable for common readers

what was the primary purpose of the First Continental Congress?

to organize boycotts of British goods

First Continental Congress

September 1774: delegates from twelve colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts

what was the primary purpose of the Stamp Act?

raise revenue to support British troops stationed in America

delegates to the First Continental Congress

Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Jay, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, + George Washington

Suffolk Resolves (1774)

its members pledged not to obey the Intolerable Acts and was adopted by the Continental Congress

Lexington and Concord (1775)

first battle in the Revolutionary War, (aka "shot heard round the world") fought in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, after colonists found out British troops were taking away their weapons + ammunition

Paul Reverse + William Dawes

warned colonial minutemen of the British's arrival + plans

minutemen

member of a militia during the American Revolution who could be ready to fight in sixty seconds

Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)

first major battle of the Revolution; showed that the Americans could hold their own, over 1000 British causalties

Second Continental Congress (1775)

de facto government during the American Revolution: a convention of delegates from the thirteen colonies, managed the colonial war effort, sent the Olive Branch petition, moved incrementally towards independence, adopted the Declaration of Independence

Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms

called on the colonies to provide troops

Olive Branch Petition (1775)

adopted by the Continental Congress in an attempt to avoid a full-blown war with Great Britain; Parliament responded with the Prohibitory Act

Patriots

American colonists who were determined to fight the British until American independence was won; aka Whigs

Loyalists

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence; aka Tories

role of Native Americans in the revolution

most Native Americans supported the British, as they were promised no further expansion onto their land

role of Africans in the revolution

fought in whatever side would offer them freedom; primarily sided with British in the south, then with Patriots in the north

Valley Forge

place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778, a fourth of troops died here from disease and malnutrition

continentals

paper bills issued by the Continental Congress to finance the revolution; supposed to be exchanged for silver but the overprinting of bills made them basically worthless

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

decisive colonial victory in upstate New York; considered to be the turning point of the American Revolution; French openly supported + allied with the British

absolute monarch

ruler with complete control over the government and the lives of the people

George Rogers Clark

leader of a small Patriot force that captured British-controlled Fort Vincennes in the Ohio Valley in 1779, secured the Northwest Territory for America

Yorktown (1781)

last battle of the revolution; Benedict Arnold, Cornwallis and Washington; colonists won because British were surrounded by Continental Army as well as French navy + they surrendered

Treaty of Paris (1783)

treaty between England and the Colonies ,formally ended the American Revolutionary War

provisions of Treaty of Paris

- Britain would recognize the existence of the US as an independent nation
- the Mississippi River would be the western boundary of that nation
- Americans would have fishing rights off the coast of Canada
- Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants and honor Loyalist claims for property confiscated during the war

Daughters of Liberty

organization of colonial women formed to protest British policies

Mary McCauley (Molly Pitcher)

took her husband's place in the army during the Revolutionary War

Deborah Sampson

Patriot who disguised herself as a man and served in the Continental Army

Republican Motherhood

the idea that American women had a special responsibility to cultivate "civic virtue" in their children

Abigail Adams

John Adam's wife, she appealed to her husband to protect the rights of women

international impact of American Revolution

directly led to the French Revolution through ideas outlined in Declaration of Independence

influence of French-American Alliance (1778)

British offered generous peace terms in the Treaty of Paris in 1783

what was the primary response to increased petitions from slaves following the American Revolution?

gradual abolition of slavery in the north

Articles of Confederation

the first constitution of the United States; established a weak central government with no unity between states

Land Ordinance of 1785

a law that divided much of the United States into a system of townships to facilitate the sale of land to settlers

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

a law that established a procedure for the admission of new states to the Union; granted limited self-government to the developing territory + prohibited slavery in the region

Shay's Rebellion (1786)

armed uprising of western Massachusetts debtors seeking lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures; though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of "mob rule" among leading Revolutionaries

Mount Vernon Conference (1785)

a meeting between Maryland and Virginia to discuss navigation of rivers, but turned into discussion of trade problems between states

Annapolis Convention (1786)

held to discuss the barriers that limited trade or commerce between the largely independent states under the Articles of Confederation; led to the Constitutional Convention

James Madison

"father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President of the United States

Alexander Hamilton

1789-1795; first Secretary of the Treasury, Federalist

Gouverneur Morris

wrote the final draft of the Constitution

federalism

a form of government in which power is shared between the federal, or national, government and the states

separation of powers

the division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government

checks + balances

system established by the U.S constitution that keeps any one branch of government from having too much power

Congress

the legislature of the United States government

Virginia Plan

Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population

New Jersey Plan

a constitutional proposal by Roger Sherman that would have given each state one vote in a new congress

Connecticut Plan/Great Compromise

provided for a two house (bicameral) Congress; the Senate with two representatives per state + the House of Representatives with representatives based on population

Senate

house of Congress that satisfied the people supporting the New Jersey Plan; equal representation

House of Representatives

house of Congress that satisfied the people supporting the Virginia Plan; representation according to population