Hist 101 Midterm

This is a review day. Here are some key terms:

    •    Pontiac’s War: A war between colonists and Indigenous people over land, with a British response.

    •    Whiskey Excise Tax and Whiskey Rebellion: A federal tax on whiskey that hit farmers in Pennsylvania the hardest. The government responded by sending troops led by George Washington.

    •    Quakers: A religious group led by William Penn in Pennsylvania, also known as the Society of Friends. They were more religiously tolerant and were pacifists.

    •    Virginia Plan: Virginia’s proposal at the Constitutional Convention for a strong central government and a two-house legislature apportioned by population (opposed by the New Jersey Plan).

    •    Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation: A proclamation issued in 1775 by the Earl of Dunmore, the British governor of Virginia, offering freedom to any enslaved men who volunteered to fight for the King against the rebels.

    •    Black Legend: The idea that the Spanish Empire was more oppressive toward Indigenous people than other European empires, used as a justification for English imperial expansion.

    •    Tea Act: A 1773 act that gave the British East India Company a monopoly on selling tea to the American colonies.

    •    Walking Purchase: A notorious 1737 land deal in which Pennsylvania colonists tricked the Delaware Indians. The Indigenous people had agreed to cede land equivalent to the distance a man could walk in thirty-six hours, but the colonists used a team of runners to claim a much larger area.

    •    Three-Fifths Compromise: A provision in the 1787 U.S. Constitution stating that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted in determining a state’s representation.

    •    Townshend Acts: A series of 1767 parliamentary measures (named after the Chancellor of the Exchequer) that taxed tea and other goods while also establishing a Board of Customs Commissioners and colonial vice-admiralty courts.

    •    Breadbasket Colonies: The middle colonies, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, known for their rich soil and favorable climate, which allowed for large-scale production of grains like wheat, barley, and oats.

    •    Atlantic Slave Trade in the Constitution: The systematic importation of African people across the Atlantic to the Americas, largely driven by the demand for sugar, rice, coffee, and tobacco. The Constitution stated that the trade would end in 20 years.

    •    Federalists: A political group, including George Washington, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton, who favored a strong central government.

    •    Bank of the United States: Proposed by Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, it opened in 1791 and operated until 1811, issuing a uniform currency, making business loans, and collecting taxes.

    •    Hartford Convention: A meeting of New England Federalists on December 15, 1814, to protest the War of 1812. They proposed seven constitutional amendments (limiting embargoes and changing requirements for officeholding and declarations of war).

    •    Boston Massacre: A clash between British soldiers and a Boston mob on March 5, 1770, in which five colonists were killed.

    •    Articles of Confederation: The first governing framework of the United States, in effect from 1781 to 1788, which provided for a weak central authority and led to the Constitutional Convention.

    •    Proclamation Line of 1763: A British decree establishing a boundary along the Appalachian Mountains, prohibiting colonial settlement west of the line to avoid conflicts with Indigenous groups.

    •    Natural Rights: Enlightenment ideas, particularly those of John Locke, asserting that all people are born with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property. According to Locke, people enter a social contract with the government to protect these rights.

    •    Haitian Revolution: The first and only successful slave revolt, which led to Haiti’s independence in 1804.

    •    Common Sense: A 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine that argued for American independence and attacked the English principles of hereditary rule and monarchy.

    •    Disestablishment: The policy of separating church and state by removing government support for religious institutions.

    •    Intolerable Acts: Four parliamentary measures in response to the Boston Tea Party, which forced payment for the destroyed tea, disallowed colonial trials of British soldiers, required the quartering of British troops in private homes, and reduced the number of elected officials in Massachusetts.

    •    Alien and Sedition Acts: Four laws passed in 1798 during an undeclared war with France that restricted free speech and limited the rights of noncitizens.

    •    Republican Motherhood: The post-Revolutionary War ideology that women had a political role in raising sons to be future citizens.

    •    Neolin: A Delaware religious prophet whose teachings of Indigenous unity and rejection of European influence helped inspire Pontiac’s War.

    •    Shays’ Rebellion: A 1786-1787 uprising led by Massachusetts farmer Daniel Shays and 1,200 followers, demanding debt relief through paper currency issuance and lower taxes to prevent property seizures.

    •    Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1791 to guarantee individual rights.

    •    War of 1812: A conflict between the U.S. and Britain (1812-1814) over issues like the impressment of American sailors, interference with shipping, and British alliances with Indigenous groups. It ended with the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.

    •    Antifederalists: Opponents of the Constitution who feared it limited states’ rights. Their demands led to the addition of the Bill of Rights.

    •    XYZ Affair: A diplomatic incident in which French officials demanded a bribe from American diplomats, referring to themselves as X, Y, and Z.

    •    Salutary Neglect: An informal British policy in the early 18th century that allowed American colonies significant economic and political freedom in exchange for their loyalty.

    •    Bacon’s Rebellion: A failed 1676 revolt led by Nathaniel Bacon against Virginia’s British governor, William Berkeley, over Indigenous policies and high taxes.

    •    Columbian Exchange: The transatlantic exchange of goods, people, and diseases that began with Columbus’s voyages in 1492.

    •    Treaty of Paris (1783): The treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, in which Britain formally recognized U.S. independence and established borders up to the Mississippi River.

    •    Louisiana Purchase: The 1803 purchase of French territory by Thomas Jefferson from Napoleon, which doubled the size of the U.S.

    •    Mayflower Compact: A 1620 agreement among Pilgrims establishing self-governance in the Plymouth Colony.

    •    Battle of Saratoga: A pivotal Revolutionary War battle that led France to ally with the Americans.

    •    Marbury v. Madison: A Supreme Court case that established judicial review, allowing the Court to determine the constitutionality of laws.

    •    Puritans: A religious group that settled in Massachusetts in 1630 under John Winthrop, seeking to “purify” the Church of England but showing little tolerance for religious diversity.

    •    Sons of Liberty: A radical group, including Samuel Adams and John Hancock, that formed in response to the Stamp Act.

    •    Jay’s Treaty: A 1794 treaty between the U.S. and Britain, in which Britain agreed to vacate forts in the Northwest Territory and address trade disputes.

    •    Boston Tea Party: A 1773 protest against British taxation, in which colonists disguised as Indigenous people dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

    •    Quasi-War: An undeclared naval war between the U.S. and France from 1798 to 1800.

    •    House of Burgesses: The first elected assembly in colonial America, established in Virginia in 1619. Only wealthy landowners could vote.

    •    Gabriel’s Conspiracy: A planned 1800 slave uprising in Virginia, led by a blacksmith named Gabriel. It was discovered and suppressed.

    •    Tecumseh: A Shawnee leader who sought to unite Indigenous tribes against American expansion and allied with the British in the War of 1812. He was killed at the Battle of the Thames.

    •    Homespun Clothing: Cloth made by colonists to boycott British goods and show patriotism.

    •    Crispus Attucks: One of the first people killed in the Boston Massacre.

    •    Alexander Hamilton: Secretary of the Treasury, advocate for assuming state debts, creating the Bank of the U.S., and repaying war bonds at face value.

    •    Headright Policy: A system granting 50 acres to colonists who paid their way to Virginia, plus additional land for each servant brought over.