Disagreements with Great Britain (Chapter 2, Lesson 3)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Chapter 2, Lesson 3: Disagreements with Great Britain.

Great Awakening

Religious revival that encouraged colonists to question traditional religious authority.

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement that urged people to question accepted political authority.

Natural rights

Inherent rights believed to belong to all people by nature (influenced by Locke).

Parliament

British legislative body; colonists argued it should protect rights from the king.

King George III

British monarch whose policies and taxes angered the colonies.

Proclamation of 1763

Policy forbidding settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains after the French and Indian War.

Stamp Act

(1765) Tax requiring stamps on documents and newspapers, provoking protests.

Stamp Act Congress

Colonial assembly that organized protests against the Stamp Act.

Declaratory Act

(1766) Parliament claimed the right to tax and legislate for the colonies in all cases.

Townshend Acts

(1767) Duties on imports; expanded powers to curb smuggling and allowed soldiers to search homes.

Tea Act

(1773) Not a tax; allowed a British tea company to import tea without duties, making tea cheaper.

Boston Tea Party

(Dec 1773) Colonists protested by dumping tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

(1774) Parliament’s punitive measures after the Boston Tea Party, including the Boston Port Act.

Massachusetts Government Act

Part of the Coercive Acts; limited town meetings and increased governor control.

Quartering Act

Required colonists to house British soldiers in their homes.

Impartial Administration of Justice Act

Allowed trials of British officials charged with capital crimes to be held outside Massachusetts.

Quebec Act

Extended Canadian borders to the Ohio River and restricted colonial territory claims.

First Continental Congress

(1774) Delegates met to respond to the Coercive Acts and organized a boycott.

Second Continental Congress

(May 1775) Served as the colonies’ governing body and authorized the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence

(1776) Document declaring independence; asserts unalienable rights and government by consent.

Committee to draft the Declaration

Committee including Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, Roger Sherman; Jefferson wrote the draft.

Thomas Paine – Common Sense

Pamphlet (January 1776) urging independence, arguing for breaking with Britain.

John Locke

Philosopher whose natural-rights ideas influenced Jefferson's writings.

Rousseau

Philosopher whose ideas on government and liberty influenced revolutionary thinking.

Consent of the governed

Principle that governments derive their powers from the consent of the people.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Unalienable rights listed in the Declaration of Independence.

Proclamation of 1763

Policy forbidding settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains after the French and Indian War.

Indentured Servants

People too poor to pay for passage to America who agreed to work for 4-7 years for food, shelter, and passage costs, after which they were free.

Pilgrims

Settlers who founded Plymouth in 1620, seeking religious freedom.

Puritans

Religious dissenters who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony to worship as they chose; they forced out those who disagreed with their practices.

Dissenters

People who oppose official or commonly held views.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)

The first written constitution in America, establishing elected assemblies and officials.

Economy

The system for making choices about using scarce resources to produce and distribute goods and services.

New England Colonies

Northern colonies with small farms, towns, Puritan population, and industries like shipbuilding and fishing.

Middle Colonies

Colonies like New York and Pennsylvania with fertile soil for farming and cash crops like wheat.

Cash Crops

Crops grown primarily for sale and profit, not just personal use.

Southern Colonies

Colonies with warm climate, rich soil, large plantations growing tobacco, rice, and other cash crops.

Plantations

Large estates where wealthy owners controlled land and influenced colonial decisions; small farmers were more numerous but less powerful.

Great Awakening

Religious revival that encouraged colonists to question traditional religious authority.

Enlightenment

A cultural movement beginning in the 1600s where thinkers applied laws of nature to society and government.

Natural rights

Inherent rights believed to belong to all people by nature (influenced by Locke).

Parliament

British legislative body; colonists argued it should protect rights from the king.

King George III

British monarch whose policies and taxes angered the colonies.

Proclamation of 1763

Policy forbidding settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains after the French and Indian War.

Stamp Act

(1765) Tax requiring stamps on documents and newspapers, provoking protests.

Stamp Act Congress

Colonial assembly that organized protests against the Stamp Act.

Declaratory Act

(1766) Parliament claimed the right to tax and legislate for the colonies in all cases.

Townshend Acts

(1767) Duties on imports; expanded powers to curb smuggling and allowed soldiers to search homes.

Tea Act

(1773) Not a tax; allowed a British tea company to import tea without duties, making tea cheaper.

Boston Tea Party

(Dec 1773) Colonists protested by dumping tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

(1774) Parliament’s punitive measures after the Boston Tea Party, including the Boston Port Act.

Massachusetts Government Act

Part of the Coercive Acts; limited town meetings and increased governor control.

Quartering Act

Required colonists to house British soldiers in their homes.

Impartial Administration of Justice Act

Allowed trials of British officials charged with capital crimes to be held outside Massachusetts.

Quebec Act

Extended Canadian borders to the Ohio River and restricted colonial territory claims.

First Continental Congress

(1774) Delegates met to respond to the Coercive Acts and organized a boycott.

Second Continental Congress

(May 1775) Served as the colonies’ governing body and authorized the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence

(1776) Document declaring independence; asserts unalienable rights and government by consent.

Committee to draft the Declaration

Committee including Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, Roger Sherman; Jefferson wrote the draft.

Thomas Paine – Common Sense

Pamphlet (January 1776) urging independence, arguing for breaking with Britain.

John Locke

Believed all people are born equal with God-given natural rights that governments must protect. If violated, citizens have the right to revolt. Advocated limited government and religious freedom.

Rousseau

Wrote The Social Contract. Believed people have the right to decide how they are governed and introduced the idea of the "general will" and popular sovereignty.

Consent of the governed

Principle that governments derive their powers from the consent of the people.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Unalienable rights listed in the Declaration of Independence.

Indentured Servants

People too poor to pay for passage to America who agreed to work for 4-7 years for food, shelter, and passage costs, after which they were free.

Pilgrims

Settlers who founded Plymouth in 1620, seeking religious freedom.

Puritans

Religious dissenters who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony to worship as they chose; they forced out those who disagreed with their practices.

Dissenters

People who oppose official or commonly held views.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)

The first written constitution in America, establishing elected assemblies and officials.

Economy

The system for making choices about using scarce resources to produce and distribute goods and services.

New England Colonies

Northern colonies with small farms, towns, Puritan population, and industries like shipbuilding and fishing.

Middle Colonies

Colonies like New York and Pennsylvania with fertile soil for farming and cash crops like wheat.

Cash Crops

Crops grown primarily for sale and profit, not just personal use.

Southern Colonies

Colonies with warm climate, rich soil, large plantations growing tobacco, rice, and other cash crops.

Plantations

Large estates where wealthy owners controlled land and influenced colonial decisions; small farmers were more numerous but less powerful.

Democracy

Rule by the people.

Ancient Democracies

Earliest foundations of democracy, including Judaism’s teaching that every person has worth and is equal before the law.

Direct Democracy

A system in which people govern themselves directly.

Representative Democracy

A system where people choose leaders to govern on their behalf.

Republic

A government based on representative democracy.

Magna Carta (1213)

Latin for "Great Charter"; limited the king’s power, gave rights to free men, provided equal treatment under the law, and entitled one to a jury by their peers. It established limited government and rule of law.

Legislature

A lawmaking body; in England called "Parliament."

Petition of Right

A document limiting the king’s power with four principles: no taxation without Parliament’s consent, no imprisonment without cause, no quartering of soldiers, and no martial law in peacetime.

Glorious Revolution

The peaceful transfer of the British throne from King James II to his daughter Mary and her husband William.

English Bill of Rights

A document granting citizens rights including:No imprisonment without due process No loss of property without due process No cruel punishment No standing army in peacetime without Parliament’s consent No taxation without Parliament's approval Right to bear arms Right to petition the king Freedom of speech in Parliament

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)

Author of The Prince. Argued rulers may use unethical means to maintain power and introduced "virtu"—political skill and cunning.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

Believed in a social contract where people trade liberty for safety. Without government, humans live in fear and conflict. Submission to authority is necessary for security.

Social Contract

An agreement between people and a sovereign for safety and well-being.

Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Developed the idea of separation of powers in government to prevent any branch from becoming too strong.

Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet) (1694-1778)

Supported freedom, religious tolerance, and free speech, believing open debate was vital for progress.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607 by the Virginia Company. Initially ruled by a governor and council, colonists later elected representatives.

Burgesses

Elected leaders in the Jamestown assembly.

House of Burgesses

The Jamestown assembly; beginning of self-government and representative democracy in colonial America.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

A written agreement among the Pilgrims to choose leaders, make laws, and obey them, establishing direct democracy and majority rule in colonial America.