Chapter 2

Mercantilism,An economic theory designed to increase a nation's wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade Seven Years War,A global war initiated by the British Empire against the French Empire that spanned three continents [Europe, North America, Asia (India)], lasted seven years, and ended in British victory. French and Indian War,War fought on the western frontier of the American colonies and in Canada between the French (allied with some Native American nations) and the British (allied with American colonists) over rival claims to the new land. The British won and greatly expanded their territory further west. Sugar Act,Placed taxes on sugar, wine, coffee, and other products commonly exported to the colonies to raise money to pay for the French & Indian War & expense of administering the colonies Stamp Act,Required that all paper items bought and sold in the colonies carry a stamp mandated by the crown Quartering Act,Required the colonists to furnish barracks or provide living quarters within their own homes for British troops Sons of Liberty,Group in the colonies under the leadership of Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry who organized protests and boycotts Stamp Act Congress,Meeting of nine of the thirteen colonies in New York City , during which representatives drafted a document to send to the king listing how their rights had been violated. This was the first official meeting of the colonies and the first step toward creating a unified nation. Boston Massacre,British troops opened fire on a mob that included disgruntled dock workers, whose jobs had been taken by British soldiers, and members of the Sons of Liberty, who were taunting the soldiers. Five colonists were killed. Following this confrontation all duties except those on tea were lifted. Committee of Correspondence,Organizations in each of the American colonies created to keep colonists abreast of developments with the British; served as powerful molders of public opinion against the British. Tea Act,Granted a monopoly to the financially strapped East India Company to sell the tea imported from Britain in the colonies, thereby undercutting colonial merchants, who could sell only tea imported from other nations; lead to the Boston Tea Party Boston Tea Party,A group of colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans, boarded three British ships and dumped the ships' tea cargo overboard into Boston Harbor Coercive Act,Known to the colonists as the Intolerable Acts, this law called for (1) the total blockage of Boston Harbor until restitution was made for the tea dumped by colonists (2) the quartering of British troops in private homes (3) an end to all forms of self-rule in Massachusetts First Continental Congress,All of the colonies except Georgia sent delegates (56 total) to meet in Philadelphia with the goal of ironing out their differences with the king. The Congress drafted the Declaration of Rights and Resolves in opposition to the Coercive Acts. Declaration of Rights and Resolves,Called for a colonial rights of petition and assembly, trial by peers, freedom from a standing army, and the selection of representative councils to levy taxes Lexington & Concord, Massachusetts,"The shot heard round the world" in which fighting broke out between colonial soldiers and British soldiers. Eight colonial soldiers were killed. Second Continental Congress,Meeting which drafted the Olive Branch Petition and at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named the commander in chief. Olive Branch Petition,In a final attempt to avert the conflict, this document was written asking the king to end hostilities. King George rejected the petition and declared the colonies in a full state of rebellion. He sent an additional 20,000 troops to quell the rebellion. Common Sense,A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine, forcefully arguing for independence from Great Britain. Widely read (1 copy sold for every 13 people) throughout the colonies, this pamphlet was instrumental in changing minds in a very short time. Declaration of Independence,Adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 it was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and proclaimed the rights of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain (three parts, including: preamble focused on human rights, complaints against George III, and determination to separate from Britain) Articles of Confederation,Compact among the thirteen original colonies that created a loose "league of friendship," with the national government drawing its powers from the states Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation,Lack of national loyalty or idea of being "American," no power to regulate commerce (trade), no executive branch (president), no formal court system to settle conflicts, weak national government, could not tax, & could not enforce laws, needed 9 of the 13 states to agree in order for laws to be approved Shays' Rebellion,Rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers marched into Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms Benjamin Franklin,A brilliant inventor and senior statesman at the Constitutional Convention who urged colonial unity as early as 1754, twenty-two years before the Declaration of Independence. Samual Adams,A founder of the Committees of Correspondences, a key way colonists communicated with each other. Thomas Jefferson,Principal drafter of the Declaration of Independence; second vice president of the U.S., third president of the United States from 1801-1809. Co-founder of the Democratic-Republican Party created to oppose Federalists. Critical Period,The chaotic period from 1781 to 1789 after the American Revolution during which the former colonies were governed under the Articles of Confederation.