APUSH UNIT 3

Sugar Act of 1764

Part of Prime Minister Grenville's revenue program, the act replaced the Molasses Act of 1733, and actually lowered the tax on sugar and molasses (which the New England colonies imported to make rum as part of the triangular trade) from 6 cents to 3 cents a barrel, but for the first time adopted provisions that would insure that the tax was strictly enforced; created the vice-admiralty courts; and made it illegal for the colonies to buy goods from non-British Caribbean colonies.

Stamp Act of 1765

Placed a tax on almost all printed materials in the colonies

Quartering Act of 1765

A British law passed by Parliament at the request of General Thomas Gage, the British military commander in America, that required colonial governments to provide barracks and food for British troops.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament, and it showed signs of colonial unity and organized resistance.

Sons of Liberty

A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.

English Common Law

The centuries-old body of legal rules and procedures that protected the lives and property of the British monarch's subjects.

Natural Rights

the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property

Declaratory Act (1766)

Passed at the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed, the Act declared that Parliament had the power to tax the colonies both internally and externally, and had absolute power over the colonial legislatures.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Tax on tea, glass, and paper. Passed around the times of the other "Intolerable Acts"

non-importation movement

a widespread colonial boycott of British goods

Committees of Correspondence

Organization founded by Samuel Adams consisting of a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies

Tea Act of May 1773

British act that lowered the existing tax on tea and granted exemptions to the East India Company to make their tea cheaper in the colonies and entice boycotting Americans to buy it. Resistance to the Tea Act led to the passage of the Coercive Acts and imposition of military rule in Massachusetts.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

These acts were laws that punished the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. Called the Coercive Acts in England. The Americans called them Intolerable.

First Continental Congress (1774)

Met to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts; adopted the Declaration and Resolves in which they:

Declared the Intolerable Acts null and void.

Recommended that colonists arm themselves and that militias be formed.

Recommended a boycott of British imports.

Continental Association of 1774

Created by the First Continental Congress, it enforced the non-importation of British goods by empowering local Committees of Vigilance in each colony to fine or arrest violators. It was meant to pressure Britain to repeal the Coercive Acts.

Lord Dunmore's War

A 1774 war led by Virginia's royal governor against the Ohio Shawnees, who had a long standing claim to Kentucky as a hunting ground.

Minutemen

citizen soldiers who could be ready to fight at a minute's notice

Second Continental Congress (1775)

Managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence - finally adopting the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Declaration of Independence

Signed in 1776 by US revolutionaries; it declared the United States as a free state.

John Dickinson

Conservative leader who wrote "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania"; advocated for colonial rights but urged conciliation with England & opposed the Declaration of Independence; helped to write the Articles of Confederation.

George Grenville

Became prime minister of Britain in 1763 he persuaded the Parliament to pass a law allowing smugglers to be sent to vice-admiralty courts which were run by British officers and had no jury. He did this to end smuggling.

Charles Townshend

British Prime Minister. Influenced Parliament to pass the Townshend Acts.

Lord North

British Prime Minister during revolution. He had passed the Coercive Acts and supported the king greatly to the extent that Britain was ruled only by the king.

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

Thomas Paine

American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence and supported the French Revolution (1737-1809)

Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of Independence

Battle of Long Island

George Washington and his army are badly beaten at this battle on August 27, 1776. Sorely outnumbered and surrounded at Brooklyn Heights, the 9,500 troops that survived retreated under cover of night across the East River to Manhattan.

Battle of Saratoga

Turning point of the American Revolution. It was very important because it convinced the French to give the U.S. military support. It lifted American spirits, ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River, and, most importantly, showed the French that the Americans had the potential to beat their enemy, Great Britain.

Valley Forge

Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778, a 4th of troops died here from disease and malnutrition, Steuben comes and trains troops

Phillipsburg Proclamation

A 1779 proclamation that declared that any slave who deserted a rebel master would receive protection, freedom, and land from Great Britain.

Battle of Yorktown

Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781.

currency tax

A hidden tax on the farmers and artisans who accepted Continental bills in payment for supplies and on the thousands of soldiers who took them as pay. Because of rampant inflation, Continental currency lost much of its value during the war; thus, the implicit tax on those who accepted it as payment.

Treaty of Paris 1783

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River

Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776

A constitution that granted all taxpaying men the right to vote and hold office and created a unicameral (one-house) legislature with complete power; there was no governor to exercise a veto. Other provisions mandated a system of elementary education and protected citizens from imprisonment for debt.

mixed government

John Adams's theory from Thoughts on Government (1776), which called for three branches of government, each representing one function: executive, legislative, and judicial. This system of dispersed authority was devised to maintain a balance of power and ensure the legitimacy of governmental procedures.

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Created the Northwest Territory (area north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania), established conditions for self-government and statehood, included a Bill of Rights, and permanently prohibited slavery

Shay's Rebellion

Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Virginia Plan

"Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation.

New Jersey Plan

The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population.

Federalists

A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption.

Federalist No. 10

An essay composed by James Madison which argues that liberty is safest in a large republic because many interests (factions) exist. Such diversity makes tyranny by the majority more difficult since ruling coalitions will always be unstable.

General George Washington

He was appointed by the Second Continental Congress as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in 1775. His ability to learn under duress and refusal to accept defeat kept an American army in the field. At the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 with French troop and naval support, he was able to entrap the British troops and force surrender. At the end of the war in 1783, he was the most famous man in America.

General William Howe

He took command of British troops in North America after the Battle of Bunker Hill. He captured New York and Philadelphia, but botched the plan to isolate the New England colonies in 1777. He resigned in 1778.

Robert Morris

A delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He agreed that Britain had treated the colonies unfairly, but he didn't believe that the colonies should dissolve ties with Britain. He argued against the Declaration of Independence.

General Horatio Gates

American general at Battle of Saratoga. Formed a new Southern army after defeat at Charles Town. Lost to Cornwallis in Camden.

Baron von Steuben

A stern, Prussian drillmaster that taught American soldiers during the Revolutionary War how to successfully fight the British.

Judith Sargent Murray

A writer and early feminist thinker prominent in the years following the American Revolution.

James Madison

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

Patrick Henry

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

Daughters of Liberty

An organization formed by women prior to the American Revolution They got together to protest treatment of the colonies by their British Rulers

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.

Massachusetts Circular Letter

Letter which urged the colonies to petition Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts. British officials ordered it retracted and threatened to do away with the Massachusetts legislative government and increase the number of troops in Boston

Salutary Neglect

An English policy of not strictly enforcing laws in its colonies

Lord Frederick North

New prime minister of Britain, urged Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts

Pontiac's Rebellion

A 1763 conflict between Native Americans and the British over settlement of Indian lands in the Great Lakes area

French and Indian War

a war in North America between France and Britain (both aided by Indian tribes)

Albany Plan of Union

Ben Franklin's plan to unite the colonies under one government to defeat France.

Edward Braddock

A British commander during the French and Indian War. He attempted to capture Fort Duquesne in 1755. He was defeated by the French and the Indians. At this battle, Braddock was mortally wounded.

Peace of Paris (1763)

Ended French and Indian War

Terms:

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.

Writs of Assistance

It was part of the Townshend Acts. It said that the customs officers could inspect a ship's cargo without giving a reason. Colonists protested that the Writs violated their rights as British citizens.

Elightenment

A philosophical movement in eighteenth-century Europe that fostered the belief that one could reform society by discovering rational laws that governed social behavior and were just as scientific as the laws of physics.

Deism

A popular Enlightenment era belief that there is a God, but that God isn't involved in people's lives or in revealing truths to prophets.

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.

Rouseau

He believed in individual freedoms, where everyone is equal. His idea of social contract was an agreement among individuals to create a government & society. believed in direct democracy

Montisquieu

Enlightenment thinker. Opposed to monarchy. Believed in branches or balance of power

Common Sense

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

John Jay's Treaty

an agreement providing for British withdrawal from American soil by 1796, limited American trade with the British East and West Indies, and "most favored nation status" for both countries (meaning that each nation would enjoy trade benefits equal to those the other accorded any other nation-state), the US made major concessions to avert a war over the British seizure of American ships

Suffolk Resolves

The First Continental Congress endorsed Massachusetts's Suffolk Resolves, which declared that the colonies need not obey the 1773 Coercive Acts, since they infringed upon basic liberties.

Declaration of Rights and Grievances

petition to the king urging him to redress colonial grievances and restore colonial rights; recognized Parliament's authority to regulate commerce

Olive Branch Petition

On July 8, 1775, the colonies made a final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). It was rejected by Parliament, which in December 1775 passed the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies.

Paul Revere

Boston silversmith who rode into the countryside to spread news of British troop movement.

William Dawes

A leader of the Sons of Liberty who rode with Paul Revere to Lexington to warn them that the British where coming

Lexington and Concord

the first battle of the American Revolution (April 19, 1775)

Battle of Bunker Hill

First major battle of the Revolutions. It showed that the Americans could hold their own, but the British were also not easy to defeat. Ultimately, the Americans were forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition, and Bunker Hill was in British hands. However, the British suffered more deaths.

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

Patriots and Loyalists

all British... Patriots wanted independence and Loyalists wanted to support King George

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the Homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

Deborah Sampson

At the age of 21, she dressed up as a man in order to fight in the American Revolution; is the first documented woman to impersonate a man to get into the army; was awarded an honorable discharge and pension; and proved that women could be of some use in the war.

Mary McCauley (Molly Pitcher)

Took her husband's place in the army during the Revolutionary War.

Alexander Hamilton

1789-1795; First Secretary of the Treasury. He advocated creation of a national bank, assumption of state debts by the federal government, and a tariff system to pay off the national debt.

Gouverneur Morris

United States statesman who led the committee that produced the final draft of the United States Constitution (1752-1816)

The Federalist Papers

A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Washington's Farewell Address

Warned Americans not to get involved in European affairs, not to make permanent alliances, not to form political parties and to avoid sectionalism.

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

Contains four parts: 1) Raised the residence requirement for American citizenship from 5 to 14 years. 2) Alien Act - Gave the President the power in peacetime to order any alien out of the country. 3) Alien Enemies Act - permitted the President in wartime to jail aliens when he wanted to. (No arrests made under the Alien Act or the Alien Enemies Act.) 4) The Sedition Act - Key clause provided fines and jail penalties for anyone guilty of sedition. Was to remain in effect until the next Presidential inauguration.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Written anonymously by Jefferson and Madison in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, they declared that states could nullify federal laws that the states considered unconstitutional.

Battle of Fallen Timbers

The U.S. Army defeated the Native Americans under Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket and ended Native American hopes of keeping their land that lay north of the Ohio River

Treaty of Greenville

Gave America all of Ohio after General Mad Anthony Wayne battled and defeated the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. 1795 Allowed Americans to explore the area with peace of mind that the land belonged to America and added size and very fertile land to America.

Public Land Act (1796)

established orderly procedures for dividing and selling federal lands at reasonable prices

Constitutional Convention

Meeting in 1787 of the elected representatives of the thirteen original states to write the Constitution of the United States.