APUSH 1 Block 3 test

House of Burgesses

The Virginia legislature that sounded a 'trumpet of sedition' bringing Americans to action.

Patrick Henry

A public speaker who made a dramatic speech to the House of Burgesses predicting George III would lose his head like previous tyrants.

Resolution

Introduced in Virginia by Henry, declaring Americans had the same rights as the English, especially regarding taxation.

Virginia Resolves

Printed and circulated resolutions that created the impression of a more militant Virginia.

James Otis

A member of the Massachusetts colonial assembly who called for an intercolonial congress against the Stamp Act.

Stamp Act Congress

An intercolonial congress that met in New York to petition the King and Parliament regarding taxation.

Sons of Liberty

A group that terrorized stamp agents and burned stamps during riots against the Stamp Act.

Thomas Hutchinson

Pro-British lieutenant governor in Boston who faced destruction of his house by protesters.

Boycott

Economic pressure tactic where New Englanders stopped buying English goods, leading merchants to urge repeal of the Stamp Act.

Marquis of Rockingham

Succeeded Grenville as prime minister and convinced the king to end the Stamp Act.

Repeal

The act of taking back or revoking a law or tax.

Declaratory Act

Asserted Parliament's power over the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever' after the repeal of the Stamp Act.

Vermont

Insurgent farmers challenged landowners for ownership of land while governed by New York.

Ethan Allen

Leader of the Green Mountain farmers who helped make Vermont a separate state.

Charles Townshend

Chancellor of the exchequer known for imposing taxes on goods imported to the colonies.

Massachusetts Assembly

Refused to supply British troops, opposing taxation without consent.

New York Assembly

Refused to vote on supplies for British troops and was disbanded by Townshend.

Townshend Duties

Taxes imposed on various goods imported to the colonies, including lead, paper, and tea.

Lord Hillsborough

Secretary of state for the colonies who warned against endorsing the Massachusetts letter.

Board of customs commissioners

Established by Townshend to strengthen enforcement of commercial regulations in the colonies.

Nonimportation agreement

A boycott led by Boston merchants against the new customs commission.

Lord North

New Prime Minister who secured the repeal of all Townshend Duties except the tax on tea.

Captain Thomas Preston

Captain of the British regiment during the Boston Massacre.

Crispus Attucks

One of the five killed during the Boston Massacre, of Native American and African descent.

Boston Massacre

Incident where British soldiers shot into a mob of colonists, killing five people.

Paul Revere

Created an engraving of the Boston Massacre that misrepresented the event.

Samuel Adams

Leading figure in public outrage over the Boston Massacre and first head of the committee of correspondence.

John Adams

Distant cousin of Samuel Adams and the second President of the United States.

Committee of correspondence

Created by Samuel Adams to publicize grievances against England throughout the colonies.

John Locke

English philosopher whose ideas were used by English dissidents to argue against their government.

Colonial charter

Documents that defined the shape and powers of government in the American colonies.

No taxation without representation

This was a basic principle and belief held by the Americans, that they could only be taxed with their own consent.

Virtual representation

The idea held by the English that each member of Parliament represented the interests of the whole nation and empire, not individuals or specific areas.

Commonwealths

A political community founded for the 'common good.' Americans believed the British Empire was a federation of commonwealths.

Gaspee

A British schooner set on fire and sunk in Narragansett Bay by Rhode Islanders, leading to British trials in England.

British East India Company

A British company with an official monopoly on trade with the Far East, facing bankruptcy and unable to sell tea in England.

Tea Act of 1773

An act allowing the British East India Company to export merchandise directly to the colonies without paying navigation taxes.

Mercy Otis Warren

A popular female author who wrote dissident literature and satirical plays that fueled colonial resentments.

Daughters of Liberty

A group of women who participated in anti-British riots and mocked male counterparts for being insufficiently militant.

Boston Tea Party

An event in late 1773 where colonists dumped tea into the harbor to prevent the East India Company from landing its cargo.

Coercive Acts

Also known as the Intolerable Acts, passed to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, closing Boston's port and reducing self-government.

Quebec Act

An act providing civil government for French-speaking Roman Catholics in Canada, extending Quebec's boundaries and causing American concern.

Taverns

Public houses or pubs that served as central meeting places for discussions about resistance.

Raleigh Tavern

A North Carolina tavern where Virginians declared the Intolerable Acts threatened liberties and called for a Continental Congress.

First Continental Congress

Met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia with delegates from all colonies except Georgia, making five key decisions.

What were the five decisions made at the first Continental Congress?

1) Rejected Joseph Galloway's plan to unify the colonies under British rule

2) Endorsed a statement of grievances

3) Approved a series of resolutions to allow the colonists to take military preparations

4) Agreed to nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption in order to stop all trade with Britain

5) Agreed to meet the following spring

Joseph Galloway

A Pennsylvania delegate who proposed a colonial union under British authority, which was rejected.

Nonexportation

The action of failing or refusing to export goods to put economic pressure on the British.

Nonconsumption

The action of failing to consume or purchase goods, similar to boycotting British products.

Continental Association

Formed by the Continental Congress to enforce agreements of nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption.

Edmund Burke

A member of Parliament who urged the repeal of the Coercive Acts.

Conciliatory Propositions

Suggestions by Lord North for colonies to tax themselves at Parliament's demand instead of being directly taxed.

Minutemen

Farmers and townspeople in Massachusetts prepared to fight on a minute's notice.

General Thomas Gage

Commander of the British garrison in Boston who hesitated to arrest rebel leaders.

Major John Pitcairn

A British Major who underestimated the colonists' resolve and believed a small action would quell resistance.

John Hancock

A rebel American leader under an arrest order from England.

Lexington

A town in Massachusetts where Sam Adams and John Hancock were located.

Concord

A town in Massachusetts where minutemen stored a large supply of gunpowder.

William Dawes

One of the horsemen who rode out to warn villages of the British approach.

Shots heard around the world

The name given to the first shots fired at Lexington and Concord, marking the beginning of the war.

Second Continental Congress

This second meeting of the Continental Congress took place at the State House in Philadelphia.

John Adams

He was one of the leaders of a more radical group that wanted complete independence from Great Britain. He also helped Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence along with Benjamin Franklin.

Samuel Adams

He led the radical group that wanted complete independence from Great Britain alongside John Adams and Richard Henry Lee.

Richard Henry Lee

He was one of the leaders of the radical group that wanted complete independence from Great Britain along with John and Samuel Adams

John Dickinson

He was from Pennsylvania and a leader of a more moderate group hoping for modest reforms in British rule.

Olive Branch Petition

This was the last conciliatory appeal the delegates made to the British King, which was rejected by the British government.

Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

This declaration proclaimed that the British government had left the American people with only two choices: to submit to unconditional tyranny, or to resist by force.

Patriots

These were American colonists who rebelled against the British government.

Hessian mercenaries

They were German troops hired by the British to fight in the war and were hated by the American colonists.

Prohibitory Act

This act closed the colonies to all overseas trade and made no concessions to American demands except an offer to pardon repentant rebels. They had a naval blockade of port to further enforce the act.

Common Sense

This was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that caused Americans to support independence. It made Americans turn their anger away from Parliamentary measures, and instead see the English constitution as the root of the problem. Said it was common sense to want separation from a corrupt monarch.

Thomas Paine

He was the author of Common Sense and an impressive Revolutionary Propagandist.

King George III

He was the King of England during the Revolution and was considered a corrupt monarch unfit to rule America.

Declaration of Independence

This was a document adopted by Congress declaring the united colonies free and independent states. It was approved July 4, 1776

Resolution

This is a firm decision to do or to not do something. In regards to the Declaration of Independence this was the delegates decision to declare American independence from the crown.

Thomas Jefferson

He wrote the majority of the Declaration of Independence with the help of John Adams and Ben Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin

He helped Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence.

John Locke

He was an English philosopher known for his contract theory stating that governments were formed to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property.

George Mason

He was a Virginian who wrote a document that included the phrase 'all men are created equal.'

France

France intervened in the war, providing the colonies with war supplies.

French Revolution

A French liberation movement that was somewhat inspired by the American Revolution.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

This was the French declaration inspired by the American Declaration of Independence.

Loyalists/Tories

This group of people were a minority that were loyal to the king.

States

This was what the colonies began to call themselves after the Declaration of Independence.

Parliament

This was the legislative body of government responsible for creating laws.

Colonial assemblies

They were the legislative bodies of government used in the colonies.

Constitution

This is a list of basic rules and rights that a state will use to govern.

Republican government

This is a government in which citizens vote for representatives in the legislature.

Articles of Confederation

These were articles adopted by Congress that confirmed the unstable, decentralized system in place.The Continental Congress remained the chief coordinating agency of the war effort, however they had very limited powers over the states. These did not make it clear that Congress was meant to be the real government.

Requisition

This is a formal request or demand for something, Congress had to do this to get funds from state governments.

Bond

This is a kind of investment where the investor lends money to a borrower like the government.

Privateering

This was state-sponsored maritime raiding where individuals or companies attacked enemy ships.Profits from the sale of the captured ship and its cargo would be split, and this would allow governments to expand their naval power.

Paper currency

The government printed this to fund the war due to lack of other resources.

Inflation

This was caused by the large amount of money printed, leading to rising prices and decreased value of paper money. American merchants began to prefer working with the British because they could pay for goods with gold or silver coins.

Militiamen

These were citizen soldiers who were typically part-time soldiers from local communities.

George Washington

He was a 43 year-old Virginia planter-aristocrat who was a commander of colonial forces during the French and Indian war. He was later chosen to lead the Continental army.