CH 4 - US History Holland

Stamp Act

required colonists to purchase special stamped paper for every document, license, newspaper, pamphlet, almanac, playing cards & dice

Sons of Liberty

secret resistance group in response to the Stamp Act

Samuel Adams

one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty

Stamp Act Congress

delegates from 9 colonies met in NY in 1765, issued Declaration of Rights and Grievances, colonies first began acting as one

Townshend Act

indirect tax on imported goods
- caused mass boycotting of British goods, including tea, and public demonstrations called spinning bees.

Boston Massacre

clash between colonists & soldiers over jobs at the Customs House in March of 1770
-Crispus Attucks and 4 others killed

Committees of Correspondence

system to communicate w/ colonies about threats to American liberties

Tea Act

in response to colonial boycotts, British sold tea directly to colonialists cutting out colonial merchants

Boston Tea Party

Dec. 16, 1773- colonists dressed like Indians and dumped 18,000 lbs of tea in the Boston Harbor

Intolerable Acts

King George urged passing of these Acts: shut down Boston Harbor bc of refusal to pay damages, Quartering Act, Boston was placed under martial law

martial law

rule imposed by military force

1st Continental Congress

established due to the Intolerable Acts, they wanted to organize colonial resistance. resulted in minutemen stockpiling weapons

2nd Continental Congress

John Adams called for revolt
- resulted in minutemen recognized as the Continental Army w/ George Washington appointed commander
- authorized printing of paper Continentals
- appointed committees to deal w/ foreign nations

Battle of Bunker Hill

fought on Breed's Hill, deadliest battle of the war, colonists held the high ground, but lost it due to lack of ammunition

Olive Branch Petition

sent by the 2nd Continental Congress and urged a return to "former harmony" but King George III

Common Sense

published anonymously by Thomas Paine, argued that independence was Americas destiny, endorsed by Washington

Thomas Jefferson

Virginia lawyer chosen to write committee’s points in the declaration of independence

Declaration of Independence based on...

John Locke's ideas (people are entitle to "natural rights" to life, liberty, and property)

Declaration of Independence

adopted in Independence Hall on July 4, 1776
- Jefferson declared that governments derive power from the people
- “all men are created equal” did not originally include all + 1st draft attacked slavery but was edited out

John Hancock

1st signature on the Declaration of independence

Patriots

supporters of independence
Ex: Quakers (did not fight), colonists who saw economic opportunity, some slaves

Loyalists

opposed independence, some slaves because they were promised freedom, most Native Americans because they viewed colonists as a bigger threat

Lexington and Concord

1st shots of the revolution
- British marched along the Lexington Rd. to Concord in pursuit of stockpiles of weapons
- Paul Revere rode out to spread the word of the British- (eventually captured)

Battle of Trenton

American Victory + Morale Boost
- Washington led troops across Deleware river on Christmas night, 1776, and marched nine miles to surprise a Hessian garrison

Battle of Princeton

American Victory + Morale Boost
- Washington led Continental Army against General Cornwallis

Battle of Philadelphia

British Victory
- British took control of Philadelphia
- British, under General Howe, defeat Washington's defenses
- forced the Continental Congress to flee the city and the army to winter nearby

Battle of Bennington

Precursor to Battle of Saratoga
- Ethan Allen + Green Mountain Boys helped American militiamen win

Battle of Saratoga

- Britain’s war strategy changed to coastal attacks after defeat
- French now agree to support the Revolution

Valley Forge

- Colonial troops suffered from freezing temp, exposure, & frostbite while British troops were wintered Comfortably in Philadelphia
- 2000+ died

inflation

An increase in prices or decline in purchasing power caused by an increase in the supply of money
- occurred because Congress overprinted Continentals

profiteering

selling scarce goods for a profit at inflated prices, some govt. officials engaged in

U.S Strengths (3)

Familiar w/ home ground, Good Leadership, (Washington), Cause (motivation for independence)

U.S Weaknesses (4)

Soldiers poorly trained, Shortage of food & ammunition, Inferior navy, No central govt.

G.B Strengths (3)

Well-trained army & navy, Strong central govt., Support of loyalists & NA

G.B. Weaknesses. (4)

Distance from Britain, Unfamiliar w/ terrain, Weak leadership,sympathy by some

Friedrick von Steuben

Prussian captain that trained colonial soldiers, wintered at Valley Forge

Marquis de Lafayette

French aristocrat, lobbied for French reinforcements, wintered at Valley Forge

Charles Cornwallis

British General, captured Charles Town, SC in 1780
- slaves joined British to fight and escape Patriot slave owners

Battle of Yorktown

Final battle
- British trapped on the peninsula by American + French troops
- A French naval force defeated British fleet and then cut them off from escaping forcing British Troops to surrender

Peace talks in Paris

demanded Britain recognize American independence before negotiations started

Treaty of Paris

confirmed US independence
- U.S. stretched from Atlantic Ocean to Mississippi River
& from Canada to Florida border
- no date est. for British evacuation of forts

results of the war

1. Class distinctions had begun to blur, egalitarianism
- ability, effort, & virtue defined one’s worth for white men
2. most northern states outlawed slavery
3. w/ settlers moving west, the future for Native Americans looked bad
4. Americans faced w/ the challenge of creating a govt.