APUSH Period 3 Study Guide (c. 1754 - 1800) Flashcards
Topic 3.2: Causes and Effects of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War)
Colonial Conflicts Prior to 1754
European rivalries routinely extended across the Atlantic into North America, resulting in three initial major intercolonial conflicts between Great Britain, France, and Spain:
King William’s War (1689–1697): Primarily fought between English and French colonists along with their respective Native American allies, focusing on frontier raiding.
Queen Anne’s War (1702–1713): A war over territorial control involving Great Britain against France and Spain, resulting in British gains in Acadia (Nova Scotia) and Newfoundland.
King George’s War (1744–1748): Colonial battles in New England and New York where New England colonists captured the French fortress of Louisbourg, which was later returned to France in the peace treaty, causing colonial resentment.
Key Events of the French and Indian War (1754–1763)
Origins: The conflict began over competing territorial claims in the fertile Ohio River Valley. Both British speculators and French military forces sought control over the region.
Outbreak of Hostilities: In 1754, a Virginia militia force commanded by George Washington was dispatched to challenge French fort construction. After clashing with French forces near Fort Duquesne, Washington constructed Fort Necessity, where he was forced to surrender.
Albany Plan of Union (1754): Organized by Benjamin Franklin, delegates from seven colonies met in Albany, New York, to coordinate defense against the French and negotiate with the Iroquois Confederacy. The plan proposed a unified colonial government with a power to collect taxes, but it was rejected by both individual colonial assemblies and the British Crown.
Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763): Following the French defeat, Chief Pontiac led an alliance of Native American tribes in a major uprising against British posts in the Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes region due to anger over western encroachment.
Paxton Boys (1763): A vigilante group of Scots-Irish frontiersmen in Pennsylvania who retaliated against local Native Americans during Pontiac’s Rebellion and marched on Philadelphia, reflecting frontier anger toward eastern colonial elites.
Immediate Effects of the War
Treaty of Paris (1763): Great Britain secured victory, eliminating France as a major North American colonial power. Britain acquired French Canada and all French territorial claims east of the Mississippi River. Spain ceded Spanish Florida to Great Britain in exchange for control of French territory west of the Mississippi River (Louisiana).
Expansion of British Territory: The war doubled Britain's national debt and vastly enlarged the North American territory requiring military defense.
Imperial Reorganization
End of Salutary Neglect: Great Britain abandoned its long-standing policy of lax enforcement of parliamentary laws and trade regulations, shifting to strict imperial control and revenue generation.
Role of George Grenville: The British Prime Minister initiated new financial policies to force the colonies to contribute to the maintenance of the empire and British troop garrisons.
Proclamation of 1763: King George III issued a decree prohibiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to prevent further costly clashes with Native Americans, directly angering colonists who had fought for access to western lands.
Topic 3.3: British Colonial Policies and the Path to Revolution
Revenue Acts and Colonial Responses
Sugar Act (1764): Placed duties on foreign sugar and certain luxuries while establishing stricter measures to enforce Navigation Acts and stop smuggling.
Quartering Act (1765): Required colonists to provide food and housing for British soldiers stationed in the colonies.
Stamp Act (1765): The first direct tax levied on internal colonial goods, requiring revenue stamps on all printed paper items, legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards.
Colonial Reaction to the Stamp Act:
Stamp Act Congress: Delegates from nine colonies met in New York in 1765 to issue a declaration asserting that only elected colonial assemblies had the constitutional authority to levy internal taxes.
Patrick Henry: Introduced the Virginia Resolves in the House of Burgesses, arguing against taxation without representation.
Sons and Daughters of Liberty: Radical groups organized violent protests, tarring and feathering tax collectors and destroying British property.
Non-Importation Agreements: Colonial merchants organized widespread boycotts of British manufactured goods, severely damaging British trade and forcing Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act in 1766.
Declaratory Act (1766): Passed simultaneously with the repeal of the Stamp Act, asserting that Parliament held absolute power to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever.
Colonial Acts and Escalation (1767–1773)
Townshend Duties (1767): Levied indirect import duties on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. Revenue was designated to pay the salaries of royal governors, removing colonial assemblies' power of the purse.
Writs of Assistance: Broad search warrants enabling British customs officials to search private property for smuggled goods without specific cause.
Vice Admiralty Courts: Maritime courts operating without juries where defendants were presumed guilty.
Colonial Opposition:
"Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer": Written by John Dickinson, arguing that Parliament had no legal right to levy duties on the colonies for the purpose of raising revenue.
Virtual Representation: The British doctrine holding that members of Parliament represented the interests of all British subjects throughout the empire, regardless of whether a colony had elected representatives.
"No taxation without representation": The foundational colonial slogan asserting that taxation without direct representative consent in Parliament violated fundamental rights.
Boston Massacre (1770): British troops opened fire on a taunting crowd of Bostonians, killing five civilians; the incident was publicized by propaganda from figures like Paul Revere.
Gaspee Affair (1772): Rhode Island colonists boarded and burned the British customs schooner Gaspee off the coast of New England.
Committees of Correspondence: Organized by Samuel Adams, these communications networks linked colonial leaders across the colonies to monitor British actions and coordinate resistance.
Tea Act (1773) & Boston Tea Party: Parliament granted the British East India Company a monopoly on the colonial tea trade, lowering tea prices but maintaining the duty. In response, members of the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.
Coercive and Intolerable Acts (1774)
In direct retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, paired with the Quebec Act (collectively named the Intolerable Acts by colonists):
Boston Port Act: Closed Boston Harbor to all commercial trade until the destroyed tea was fully paid for.
Massachusetts Government Act: Reduced the power of the local assembly and expanded the power of the royal governor, banning town meetings.
Administration of Justice Act: Allowed royal officials accused of crimes to be tried in Great Britain rather than in local colonial courts.
Quartering Act Expansion: Enabled British military commanders to house troops in private occupied buildings.
Quebec Act: Extended Quebec's boundary southward to the Ohio River and recognized Roman Catholicism, which Protestant colonists viewed as a direct threat to their land claims and religious liberties.
Topic 3.4: Philosophical Foundations and Changing Attitudes
Main Ideas of the Enlightenment
Natural Rights: Formulated by John Locke, proposing that all individuals possess innate rights to life, liberty, and property that no government can lawfully strip away.
Social Contract Theory: The principle that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed; if a government violates the natural rights of its citizens, the people maintain the right to alter or abolish it.
Popular Sovereignty and Reason: Emphasis on rational thought, individual liberty, self-governing institutions, and skepticism toward inherited aristocratic power and divine right monarchy.
Deism: A rationalist religious philosophy popular among Enlightenment figures, viewing God as a creator who established natural laws to govern the universe without intervening directly in daily human affairs.
Thomas Paine and "Common Sense"
Background: Thomas Paine published his widely distributed pamphlet Common Sense in January 1776.
Core Arguments:
Argued in clear language that it was contrary to common sense for a small island like Great Britain to govern a vast continent across an ocean.
Condemned King George III as a tyrant and rejected monarchical government as inherently corrupt.
Asserted that reconciliation was impossible and urged the American colonies to declare complete independence and establish a republican government.
Topic 3.5: The American Revolution and Military Victory
Continental Congresses and Early Battles
First Continental Congress (1774): Delegates from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia to respond to the Intolerable Acts. They issued the Declaration of Rights and Grievances and adopted the Continental Association, an agreement enforcing strict non-importation and non-exportation boycotts.
Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 1775): British military forces marched to Concord to seize colonial weapons caches. Colonial minutemen met them on Lexington Green, sparking the first military engagements of the war.
Second Continental Congress (May 1775): Formed the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as Commander-in-Chief.
Olive Branch Petition (1775): A final attempt sent to King George III pledging colonial loyalty and requesting an end to hostilities. King George III rejected the petition and issued the Proclamation of Rebellion, declaring the colonies in open treason.
The Declaration of Independence
Author: Drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson and adopted on July 4, 1776.
Purpose: Formally declared the thirteen colonies as independent, sovereign states free from British rule. It enumerated a list of grievances against King George III and articulated Enlightenment principles regarding natural rights and human equality.
Revolutionary War Overview and Key Events
Factions:
Patriots (Whigs): Colonists fighting for independence from Great Britain.
Loyalists (Tories): Colonists remaining loyal to the British Crown, representing roughly 20% of the population.
British Regulars and Hessians: Crown forces supplemented by paid German mercenaries.
Significance of Valley Forge (Winter 1777–1778): Washington's forces endured brutal winter conditions, disease, and starvation, emerging as a disciplined fighting force following training under Baron von Steuben.
Battle of Saratoga (1777): Major American victory in upstate New York that served as the diplomatic turning point of the war.
Alliance with France: The victory at Saratoga convinced the French monarchy to enter into a formal military alliance with the Americans, providing naval forces, troops, military supplies, and financial credit.
Battle of Yorktown (1781): General Washington, alongside French military forces under Rochambeau and a French fleet under De Grasse, trapped General Cornwallis's army at Yorktown, Virginia, forcing a British surrender.
Treaty of Paris (1783): Formally ended the Revolutionary War. Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States, established the Mississippi River as the western boundary, and ceded Florida back to Spain.
Benedict Arnold: A prominent American general who defected to the British army, becoming a symbol of treason.
Topic 3.6: Impact of the Revolution on Society and Internationally
Societal Changes
Role of Women and Republican Motherhood:
Women provided critical support during the war by managing farms and businesses, nursing soldiers, and raising funds through civic associations.
The concept of Republican Motherhood emerged, emphasizing that women played a vital role in the republic by educating their sons in civic virtue, morality, and democratic responsibility.
Enslaved Africans:
The assertion that "all men are created equal" highlighted the deep contradiction of chattel slavery in the new nation.
Northern states initiated gradual emancipation laws, while southern states reinforced slave systems.
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation: Offered freedom to any enslaved person who escaped to fight for the British Army.
International Impacts:
The American Revolution inspired democratic revolutions globally, including the French Revolution (1789), the Haitian Revolution (1791), and independence movements across Latin America.
Topic 3.7: The Articles of Confederation
Creation and State Constitutions
Timeline: Drafted by the Continental Congress in 1777 and fully ratified in 1781.
State Constitutions: Individual state constitutions established separation of powers, executive limitations, bicameral legislatures, property qualifications for voting, and explicit bills of rights.
Government Structure under the Articles
Structure: Unicameral legislative body where each state received exactly one vote. There was no executive branch to enforce laws and no national court system.
Powers Granted: Power to declare war, sign treaties, manage foreign relations, operate a post office, and direct Native American affairs.
Powers Denied: No power to levy taxes directly, no power to regulate interstate or foreign commerce, and no ability to enforce national laws without a standing military.
Accomplishments and Failures
Accomplishments:
Land Ordinance of 1785: Created a system for surveying and selling public lands in the West, reserving section 16 of each township for public education.
Northwest Ordinance (1787): Established a structured pathway for western territories to achieve full statehood on equal footing with existing states, guaranteed civil liberties, and banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.
Failures:
Severe national debt and an inability to raise federal revenue.
Inability to quell internal economic unrest.
Shays’ Rebellion (1786–1787): An armed uprising of indebted western Massachusetts farmers led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays, protesting property foreclosures and tax collections. The national government's inability to deploy troops exposed the fatal weaknesses of the Articles.
Topic 3.8: The Constitutional Convention and Debates
The Constitutional Convention (1787)
Delegates: 55 wealthy, educated delegates gathered in Philadelphia originally to revise the Articles of Confederation. George Washington presided; James Madison emerged as the primary architect.
Annapolis Convention (1786): A prior meeting called to address commercial disputes, which resulted in a call for the Philadelphia convention.
Key Issues and Representation Plans
Virginia Plan: Proposed by James Madison, calling for a bicameral legislature with representation based on state population (benefiting large states).
New Jersey Plan: Proposed by William Paterson, advocating for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state (benefiting small states).
Connecticut "Great" Compromise: Created a bicameral legislature:
House of Representatives: Representation based on state population.
Senate: Equal representation, with two senators per state.
The Three-Fifths Compromise: Dictated that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for both representation and direct taxation calculations.
Slave Trade Compromise: Banned federal interference in the transatlantic slave trade for 20 years (until 1808).
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
Federalists: Supported ratification of the Constitution, advocating for a strong central government to maintain order, national defense, and economic stability.
Leaders: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay.
The Federalist Papers: A collection of 85 essays written under the pseudonym "Publius" explaining and defending the Constitution.
Anti-Federalists: Opposed ratification, fearing the federal government would encroach upon state sovereignty and individual rights.
Leaders: Patrick Henry, George Mason, Richard Henry Lee.
Compromise: Ratification was secured after Federalists promised to add a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties.
Compact Theory of Government: An ideological view held primarily by Anti-Federalists claiming the national government was a compact created by independent sovereign states.
Topic 3.9: Separation of Powers and the Constitution
Federal Structure
Federalism: A constitutional system dividing political power between the national government and individual state governments.
Three Branches of Government:
Legislative Branch (Article I): Makes laws; divided into the Senate and House of Representatives. Contains the Elastic Clause / Necessary and Proper Clause, granting authority to pass all laws necessary to execute enumerated powers.
Executive Branch (Article II): Enforces laws; led by the President.
Judicial Branch (Article III): Interprets laws; led by the Supreme Court. Established structurally by the Judiciary Act of 1789, setting the foundation for Judicial Review.
Checks and Balances: Mechanisms allowing each branch to limit the powers of the other two branches.
The Bill of Rights
Definition: The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1791 to guarantee individual civil liberties against federal overreach.
Key Protections: Freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, right to bear arms, protection against unreasonable searches, and reserved powers to the states (Tenth Amendment).
Topic 3.10: Politics, Policy, and Foreign Relations in the Early Republic
Hamilton’s Financial Program
Full Funding and Assumption: The federal government assumed all state debts from the Revolution at face value to build international credit and unify financial interest.
Bank of the United States: Created a national bank to hold government funds and issue national currency.
Excise Tax: Imposed internal taxes on domestic goods, notably whiskey, to raise revenue.
Constitutional Debate: Sparked disputes over strict interpretation (Thomas Jefferson, arguing the Constitution did not explicitly permit a national bank) vs. loose interpretation (Alexander Hamilton, citing the Elastic Clause).
Foreign and Domestic Concerns Under Washington
Foreign Policy: Issued the Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) to keep the nation out of wars between Great Britain and Revolutionary France.
Citizen Genet: French representative who violated neutrality by trying to enlist privateers in America.
Jay Treaty (1794): Negotiated with Great Britain to evacuate forts in the Northwest Territory; failed to resolve British impressment of sailors.
Pinckney Treaty (1795): Negotiated with Spain, granting Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River and the right of deposit at New Orleans.
Domestic Policy:
Whiskey Rebellion (1794): Farmers in western Pennsylvania violently revolted against Hamilton's excise tax. Washington mobilized a federal militia to suppress the rebellion, demonstrating federal power.
First Political Parties
Federalists: Led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. Favored strong federal authority, loose constitutional construction, an industrial economy, and pro-British foreign policy.
Democratic-Republicans: Led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Favored state sovereignty, strict constitutional construction, an agrarian economy, and pro-French foreign policy.
Washington’s Farewell Address
Warned against the dangers of permanent foreign military alliances and the destabilizing influence of political parties.
Issues During the Adams Presidency
XYZ Affair: French agents demanded bribes from American diplomats, sparking anti-French outrage.
Quasi-War: An undeclared naval war between the United States and France (1798–1800).
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798): Federalists passed laws authorizing the deportation of immigrants and penalizing public criticism of the government.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions: Written by Jefferson and Madison, introducing the doctrine of nullification in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Topic 3.11: American Culture and National Identity
Continuities and Changes in Culture
Social: Gradual movement toward broader political equality among white males, expansion of democratic culture, and ongoing debates over religious freedom leading to Deism and republican ideals.
Political: Emergence of a two-term presidential precedent established by George Washington, peaceful transfers of power, and deep reverence for the Founding Fathers and constitutional structure.
Cultural: Development of distinctive American literature, art, and identity centered around liberty, self-reliance, and civic virtue.
Topic 3.12: Migration, Frontier Conflict, and Slavery (1754–1800)
Westward Migration and Native American Relations
Migrants Moving West: Settlers pushed past the Proclamation Line into the Northwest Territory and Kentucky/Tennessee.
Northwest Ordinance (1787): Established a structured grid system for selling land and organized territorial governance.
Clashes with Native Americans: Native American confederacies resisted white settlement in the Ohio Valley.
Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794): General Anthony Wayne defeated the Western Confederacy.
Treaty of Greenville (1795): Native American tribes surrendered vast territory in present-day Ohio.
Population Changes and Slavery Dynamics
Population Growth: High natural birth rates and westward expansion reshaped demographics.
Impact of the Cotton Gin (1793): Invented by Eli Whitney, vastly increasing the profitability of short-staple cotton and dramatically increasing demand for chattel slavery.
Gabriel Prosser’s Rebellion (1800): A planned slave revolt in Virginia, illustrating growing resistance among enslaved populations.
Chisholm v. Georgia (1793): Supreme Court ruling allowing citizens of one state to sue another state, leading directly to the Eleventh Amendment.
Macon’s Bill #2: Later federal trade policy reflecting ongoing diplomatic commercial struggles stemming from this period.
Historical Terms Reference Summary
Proclamation of 1763: Banned settlement west of the Appalachians.
Stamp Act / Sugar Act / Tea Act / Townshend Duties / Quartering Act: British revenue policies targeting the colonies.
Sons and Daughters of Liberty: Colonial resistance organization.
Boston Massacre / Boston Tea Party / Gaspee Affair: Key events escalating colonial-British conflict.
Coercive and Intolerable Acts: British punitive legislation closing Boston harbor.
First and Second Continental Congress: Colonial leadership bodies organizing war and independence.
Common Sense: Thomas Paine's anti-monarchical tract.
Declaration of Independence: Document declaring separation from Britain (July 4, 1776).
Battles of Lexington, Concord, Saratoga, Yorktown: Key military engagements of the Revolution.
Treaty of Paris (1763 & 1783): Ended Seven Years' War and Revolutionary War respectively.
Articles of Confederation: First national governing document, weak federal power.
Shays’ Rebellion: Farmers' uprising demonstrating weaknesses of the Articles.
Connecticut "Great" Compromise & Three-Fifths Compromise: Constitutional Convention agreements.
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists: Debates over ratification and federal power.
Federalist Papers: Publius essays supporting Constitution.
Bill of Rights: First 10 Amendments protecting individual rights.
Whiskey Rebellion: Federal militia deployment proving constitutional executive authority.
Jay Treaty & Pinckney Treaty: Early foreign diplomacy with Great Britain and Spain.
XYZ Affair / Quasi-War / Alien & Sedition Acts: Adams presidency foreign and domestic crises.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions: Compact theory and state nullification concepts.
Republican Motherhood: Role of women in instilling civic virtue.
Cotton Gin: Eli Whitney's invention accelerating slavery expansion.