APUSH Unit 3 Review (1754-1800)

The Chronological and Thematic Foundations of Unit 3 (1754–1800)

The Big Idea and Connective Tissue: The time period of Unit $3$ spans from the outbreak of the French and Indian War in $1754$ to the election of Thomas Jefferson in $1800$ . It is described metaphorically as the "Wendy’s T-Rex equivalent of units" due to its massive size and density of information.
The Three-Act Structure: * Act 1: The causes, execution, and immediate aftermath of the American Revolution. * Act 2: The creation of a "new republic," focusing on governance and the transition from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution. * Act 3: Migration and conflict, detailing the expansion of the nation and the resulting tensions with internal and external groups.

Act 1: The French and Indian War and the Path to Revolution

The Inciting Incident: The French and Indian War ( $1754-1763$ ): * Conflict Origins: A struggle between France and Great Britain over disputed territory in the Ohio River Valley. British colonists were multiplying rapidly and sought to migrate west into the Ohio country, which the French already claimed. * Indigenous Involvement: Several American Indian groups, led by the Shaunies and the Delawarees, allied to defend their rights to the territory against British incursions. * George Washington’s Role: The conflict erupted in $1754$ due to a military blunder by Washington on the North American continent. * The Seven Years War: This North American conflict soon spread to Europe, India, and Africa, becoming what is arguably the first true World War. * Outcome: Great Britain won the war, forcing the French to retire and plot future revenge.
Effects of the French and Indian War: * The Treaty of Paris ( $1763$ ): * Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain (Spain had allied with France late in the war). * France gave up territory west of the Mississippi River to Spain. * France ceded the Ohio River Valley territory to Great Britain. * The Proclamation Line of $1763$ : Despite the acquisition of land, Great Britain forbade colonists from migrating west beyond the Appalachian Mountains. This was because the war had cost a fortune, and Britain could not afford to resolve conflicts between colonists and American Indians, such as those in Pontiac’s Rebellion. * Debt and Tighter Control: Britain’s war debt was massive, and the cost of maintaining the colonies increased five-fold due to population growth. Prime Minister George Grenville began enforcing existing laws like the Navigation Acts (restricting trade to Britain alone) and kept wartime policies like the Quartering Act (requiring colonists to house and feed British soldiers).
The Stamp Act of $1765$ and Colonial Protest: * The Tax: A tax on paper items (newspapers, diplomas, playing cards) designed to pay down war debt. * "No Taxation Without Representation": Colonists resented being taxed by a Parliament where they had no consent. * Virtual vs. Local Representation: Grenville argued the colonists had "virtual representation" (Parliament represents all English subjects). Colonists argued that representation must be local to be valid. * Modes of Resistance: * Committees of Correspondence: By $1774$ , a network in nearly all colonies organized and spread information about grievances. * Grassroots Groups: The Sons of Liberty and the Daughters of Liberty fought for repeal through boycotts and protest. * Stamp Act Congress ( $1765$ ): Delegates from $9$ colonies petitioned for repeal, calling the tax "tyranny," though they were not yet seeking independence. * The Declaratory Act ( $1766$ ): Following the repeal of the Stamp Act due to pressure, Parliament passed this act to assert that it still held absolute authority over the colonies.
Escalation in the $1770s$ : * Boston Massacre ( $1770$ ): British soldiers fired on protesters, killing $5$ Bostonians. * Boston Tea Party ( $1773$ ): Colonists dumped $50$ tons of British tea into the harbor to protest control efforts. * The Coercive Acts ( $1774$ ): Called the "Intolerable Acts" by colonists. These laws closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for and introduced a new Quartering Act.
Intellectual and Religious Roots of Revolution: * The Enlightenment: * Natural Rights: Humans are born with God-given rights to life, liberty, and property (not given by a monarch). * The Social Contract: People construct governments to protect their rights; if a government becomes tyrannical, the people have the right to overthrow it. * The Great Awakening: This religious movement emphasized individual communion with God and encouraged challenging traditional authority (the "old crusty pointy-hatted church hierarchy"). Colonists began viewing liberty as a gift from God that no King could take away.
The Turn to Independence: * Continental Congresses: The First ( $1774$ , to centralize resistance) and Second ( $1775$ , in response to Lexington and Concord). * Thomas Paine’s Common Sense ( $1776$ ): A "deeply sassy pamphlet" that used Enlightenment and Biblical arguments to argue that independence was inevitable. Paine argued that God considered monarchy a sin in the Old Testament. * Declaration of Independence ( $1776$ ): Written by Thomas Jefferson, utilizing Enlightenment ideals of natural rights and the social contract.

The American Revolution: Factors for and Against Victory

Why Britain Should Have Won: * Loyalist Opposition: Approximately $15-20\%$ of the population remained loyal to Britain, while only about half ( $50\%$ ) supported the Patriot cause. The remaining $30\%$ were neutral. * Military Superiority: Britain had a massive global empire, a professional army, and the world's deadliest navy.
Why the Americans Won: * Leadership of George Washington: Despite the Continental Army going the first $6$ years without a battle victory, Washington's leadership (e.g., the surprise attack at the Battle of Trenton) kept the cause alive. * Military Training: Washington enlisted Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian officer, to discipline the troops. * The French Alliance: Benjamin Franklin sought help in $1776$ , but France only joined after the Battle of Saratoga ( $1777$ ), which proved the Americans could win. France provided troops, ships, and supplies. * Ideological Commitment: The British fought for economic dominance; the Patriots fought for an "existential battle" for liberty.
End of the War: The final victory occurred at Yorktown in $1781$ . The Treaty of Paris ( $1783$ ) ended the war and doubled the U.S. land holdings.

Act 2: A New Republic and Social Impacts

Social Equality and Reform: * Abolition of Slavery: Ideals of "all men are created equal" led to abolition movements in the North. Vermont’s Constitution abolished it outright; Pennsylvania enacted gradual abolition. However, Southern elite planters maintained that "all men" did not include enslaved people. * Political Democracy: Calls were made to expand voting rights (the franchise) to white men who did not own property. * Women's Roles: Abigail Adams wrote to her husband to "remember the ladies." Instead, women were relegated to "Republican Motherhood." * Definition: The idea that a woman’s role was to educate her sons in the notions of liberty and government. * Impact: While it limited political participation, it expanded women's access to education.
Global Influence: The American Revolution inspired the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution (the first black republic in history), and Latin American revolutions led by figures like Simone Bolivar.
The Articles of Confederation ( $1777$ ): * Structure: Created a very weak federal government to avoid centralized tyranny; power was concentrated in state legislatures. * Weaknesses: 1. International Trade: Britain, Spain, and North African pirates hampered U.S. trade, and the federal government was helpless. 2. Finances: The Congress had no power to tax and was "broke as a joke." 3. Interstate Commerce: States placed tariffs on one another; the federal gov could not settle disputes. 4. Foreign Relations: Britain kept occupied forts in the West; the U.S. had no army to remove them. 5. Shays’ Rebellion: Unpaid war veterans led by Daniel Shays attacked courthouses in Massachusetts. The federal government’s inability to stop it (they had no army or money) showed the Articles were an "intolerable weakness." * The Northwest Ordinance ( $1787$ ): A rare success under the Articles. It regulated the Western territory, reserved land for schools, banned slavery in the territory, and established rules for becoming a state.
The Constitutional Convention ( $1787$ ): * Delegates: $55$ men met in Philadelphia to replace the Articles. * Core Principles: * Separation of Powers: Three equal branches—Legislative (makes laws), Executive (enforces laws), Judicial (interprets laws). * Federalism: Power shared between federal and state governments. * Key Compromises: * The Great Compromise: Created a bicameral legislature. The House of Representatives is population-based (Virginia Plan); the Senate has equal representation (New Jersey Plan). * Three-Fifths Compromise: $3/5$ of the enslaved population would count for state representation in the House. * Slave Trade: Congress could not touch the international slave trade for $20$ years (until $1808$ ). * Ratification Debate: * Federalists: Led by Alexander Hamilton (author of the Federalist Papers), argued for a strong federal government. * Anti-Federalists: Feared tyranny and the lack of a Bill of Rights. They were pacified only by the promise of a Bill of Rights after ratification in $1788$ .

The Federal Government in Action and Emerging Parties

Washington’s Precedents: * The Cabinet: Formed the Department of State (Thomas Jefferson), Department of War (Henry Knox), Department of the Treasury (Alexander Hamilton), and Department of Justice (Edmund Randolph). * Two-Term Limit: A precedent Washington set by voluntarily stepping down, lasting until $1940$ (FDR) and then codified by the $22 ext{nd}$ Amendment. * Farewell Address: Warned against historical traps: political parties and entangling foreign alliances.
Judiciary Act of $1789$ : Created a tiered federal court system: $13$ district courts, $3$ courts of appeals, and a Supreme Court with $6$ justices.
The Emergence of Political Parties: * Federalists (Hamiltonian): Supported strong federal power and a National Bank. * Democratic-Republicans (Jeffersonian): Supported state power and agrarian interest. * Four Pivotal Debates: 1. Economic Policy: Hamilton proposed a National Bank to establish credit; Democratic-Republicans argued it was unconstitutional. 2. Liberty vs. Order: The Whiskey Rebellion ( $1791$ ) saw farmers protest a tax. Washington’s forceful suppression proved federal strength but enraged Jeffersonians. 3. Foreign Policy: During the French Revolution, Jeffersonians wanted to help France; Federalists worried about trade. Washington issued a Neutrality Proclamation. 4. Federal Power: The Alien and Sedition Acts (under John Adams) allowed the silencing of dissent. In response, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions proposed the idea of "nullification" (states can declare federal laws void).

Act 3: National Identity, Migration, and Conflict

Burgeoning National Identity: Defined by "Liberty." * Art: Charles Wilson Peele romanticized revolutionary leaders as republican heroes. * Literature: Hector St. John de Crevecoeur described the American as a "new man" blending European roots with frontier opportunity. * Architecture: The "Federal Style" rejected British Georgian styles. * Marginalized Voices: Gowen Pamphlet, a formerly enslaved man, became a minister of one of the earliest black Baptist congregations, claiming a portion of American identity.
Western Expansion and Conflict: * Resistance: American Indians resisted migration into the Ohio country. Britain and Spain encouraged this by arming tribes (Creeks/Cherokees in the South, others in the Ohio Valley). * Battle of Fallen Timbers ( $1794$ ): US troops defeated an Indian alliance, leading to the Treaty of Greenville which opened Ohio to settlement. * Diplomacy: * Jay’s Treaty ( $1794$ ): UK agreed to leave Western forts. * Pinckney’s Treaty ( $1796$ ): Spain recognized the US border and opened the Mississippi River and the Port of New Orleans to US merchants.
The Expansion of Slavery: As Southern planters moved West for fresh soil (tobacco and cotton depleted nutrients), they brought slavery. This created regional tension: Northerners (including Quakers/Mennonites) objected on moral or economic grounds (threat to paid labor); Southerners viewed slavery as essential to their economy.