APUSH- Period 3 Vocab

French and Indian War

a conflict between France and Great Britain that lasted from 1754 to 1763- established Britain as the dominant European power in North

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

a proposal by the Albany Congress, under the guidance of Benjamin Franklin, during the French and Indian war that called for a confederation of colonies to defend against attack by European and Native foes- it was the first proposal for a unified version of the colonies

Pontiac's Rebellion (1763)

a confederation of Natives fought for their land, led by the Ottawa leader, against the presence of British troops at the end of the French and Indian war- led to the Proclamation of 1763

Proclamation Act of 1763

a proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountain- angered the colonists

Sugar Act of 1764

lowered the duty on foreign-produced molasses as an attempt to discourage smuggling- intended to focus the colonies only on British goods and ports

Stamp Act of 1765

required colonists to purchase stamps for bills, newspapers, pamphlets, and other business and legal documents- the first tax that directly targeted the colonists

Sons/Daughters of Liberty

patriotic groups that protested the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts through boycotts and non-importation agreements- played a central role in rebellion

John Dickinson; Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania

papers that stated that colonies should have control over their own internal operations and taxations, while recognizing Parliament's power- intended to protest the Townshend Acts

Boston Massacre (1770)

an incident in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were teasing and taunting them; five colonists were killed- helped unite the colonies against Britain

Committees of Correspondence

local communities established across the colonies to maintain colonial opposition to British policies through the exchange of letters and pamphlets- helped spread the rebellion

Gaspee Incident

a British ship that enforced the unfair British trade regulation was looted and burned by the American patriots- first major armed act of rebellion against the British crown

Boston Tea Party (1773)

a political protest where colonists dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor to protest "taxation without representation"- fueled the tension between Britain and America

Intolerable Acts

a series of punitive measures passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party that restricted colonial rights- resulted in the creation of the First Continental Congress

First Continental Congress (1774)

convention of delegates from 12/13 colonies that convened in Philadelphia to craft a response to the Intolerable Acts- the boycotts against British goods were successful

Suffolk Resolves

a declaration that resulted in the boycott of British goods until the Intolerable Acts were repealed- they were endorsed by the First Continental Congress

Declaration of Rights and Grievances

declared that the taxes imposed on the colonists without their formal consent were unconstitutional- stated that colonists possessed all the same rights as Englishmen

minutemen

local militiamen; they could be ready for battle at a minute's notice- fought against the British during the Revolutionary War

Battles of Lexington and Concord

the Massachusetts militia succeeded in pushing the British army back to Boston- first military clashes of the American

Battle of Bunker Hill

Americans built a small fort on Breed's Hill, the British attacked it and won, but they suffered heavy casualties- the first major battle of the Revolutionary War

Second Continental Congress (1775)

the formal meeting of delegates from the American colonies to form a provisional government together to make decisions about the war with Britain over American independence- managed the colonial war effort

Olive Branch Petition

it asserted colonial rights while still maintaining their loyalty to the British crown- a final attempt to avoid war between Great Britain and the 13 colonies

Thomas Paine; Common Sense

a call for resistance to Britain based on arguments about the rights of British subjects, the rights of the individual, local traditions of self-rule, and the ideas of the Enlightenment- played a major part in uniting the colonists

Declaration of Independence

the founding document of the United States that announced the separation of the colonies from Great Britain- it was an official step taken by the colonies away from the rule of King George III

patriots

colonists who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution- were the backbone of the Revolutionary War

loyalists/tories

those in the colonies who remained loyal to the British crown during the American war for independence- opposed the revolution

Battle of Saratoga

a colonial victory in upstate New York- convinced the French to give the US military support

Articles of Confederation

the written document that established the functions of the national government of the US after it declared independence from Great Britain- the first (very weak) government of the new United States

Land Ordinance of 1785

a law that divided much of the US into a system of townships to facilitate the sale of land to settlers and raise money- organized the lands west of the Appalachian

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

established a government for the Northwest Territory, outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union, and guaranteed that new states would be equal to the original 13- it prohibited slavery in the territory and embarked funds from land states for public schools

Shays' Rebellion

Daniel Shays led rebels in protest against high state taxes, imprisonment for debt, and a lack of paper money- temporarily stopped the collection of taxes and closed debtors' courts

Abigail Adams

wife of second president John Adams and women's rights activist- encouraged the continental congress to "remember the ladies" in the new constitution

Annapolis Convention

meeting held to discuss interstate commerce- issued the call for states to revise the Articles of Confederation

Constitutional Convention

the meeting of state delegate in 1787 in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation- designed the US constitution

Framers of the Constitution

delegates to the Constitutional Convention and helped draft the Constitution of the United States- framed the Constitution into what it is today

checks and balances

the power of each branch of government would be limited by the powers of others- prevents any one branch or official from calling all the shots

Virginia Plan

states should be represented proportionally to their population- favored the larger states

New Jersey Plan

states should be represented by one representative each- favored the smaller states

Great Compromise

established that the Senate would have equal representation and the House of Representatives would have representation proportional to the size of each state- established the legislative branch of the US government

Three-Fifths Compromise

a slave is equal to 3/5 of a person for census and representation purposes- granted disproportionate political power to southern slave states

federalists

supporters of the Constitution and its strong federal government- helped ratify the Constitution

anti-federalists

opponents who feared that the new government would be too strong- fought against the Constitution

the Federalist Papers

a series of persuasive essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay that presented reasons for believing in the practicality of each major provisions of the Constitution- supported the Federalists

Bill of Rights

a list of rights intended to defend individual liberty- protected citizens against the power of the central government

Judiciary Act of 1789

act that established a federal district court in each state and three circuit courts to hear appeals from the districts, with the Supreme Court having the final say- established the structure of the federal court system

excise tax

a tax on the sale of a product of on a product produced for sale- Alexander Hamilton's whiskey tax was an example of this

Citizen Edmond Genet

French government representative asking for assistance for the French revolution- sparked support for the French revolution and led to the creation of the Democratic-Republican party

Jay Treaty

Britain agreed to evacuate its posts on the American western frontier but did not say anything about impressing US seamen to the British navy- helped avoid war between Britain and the US

Pinckney Treaty

granted American ships the right to free navigation of the Mississippi river as well as duty-free transport though the port of New Orleans- resolved territorial disputes between Spain and the US

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

an uprising of Western Pennsylvanian farmers that took place between 1791-1794 in response to Alexander Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey- it was the first test of federal authority in the US

Washington's Farewell Address

a warning by exiting President Washington to not get involved in foreign affairs or divide into parties- argued for neutrality

XYZ Affair

an incident in which French agents attempted to get a bribe and loans from US diplomats in exchange for an agreement that French privateers would no longer attack American ships- led to an undeclared war between France and the US

Alien and Sedition Acts

made it more difficult for foreigners to become citizens and made it illegal to criticize the government- maintained federalist power

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional and claimed that because these acts overstepped federal authority under the Constitution, they were null and void- declared that the states had the rights to declare laws unconstitutional

Revolution of 1800

the government changed hands from one political party to another without bloodshed- the peaceful transfer of power was unique