America Flashcards
What states were in the southern part of the American colonies?
Georgia
South Carolina
North Carolina
Virginia
Maryland
What states were in the middle part of the American colonies?
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
New York
Delaware
What states were in new England?
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
What were the 5 significant towns of the colonies?
Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston
What percentage of colonists lived in the cities and why?
3.5% because most of them were farmers.
How many slaves were there in the colonies by 1763? what proportion of the population was this?
350,000 and a sixth of the population
67% population of south carolina and 40% pop of Virginia, Maryland and Georgia
What were the four aspects of the colonial governments?
British Crown with Parliament
Royal Governor
Council
Colonial assembily
Outline the british crown with parliament in terms of colonial government?
has the power to pass laws in order to tax colonists
Outline the governor in terms of colonial government
Appointed by the crown
oversees colonial trade
has final approval of colony’s laws
can dismiss colonial assembly
stayed in government for 5 years and could be dismissed by british government
Outline the council in terms of colonial government
Appointed by governor
Advisory board to governor
Acts as highest court in each colony
Outline the colonial assembly in terms of colonial government
elected by elidgable colonists
makes laws
Has authority to tax locally
pays governor’s salary
Outline the governor in terms of colonial government
Appointed by the crown
oversees colonial trade
has final approval of colony’s laws
can dismiss colonial assembly
what percentage of the population could vote in the colonies and in Britain?
between 50% and 80% in different areas in the colonies and 15% in Britain
How many colonial measures submitted between 1691 and 1775 were disallowed by Britain?
5% of the 8500
What was salutatory neglect?
the British method of governing the colonies - they left them alone for their own benefit
When were the navigation acts passed?
1651
What were the navigation acts?
They required trade to be conducted through English Ships and establish control of fishing rights by Britain.
They closed off admittance of foreign ships into ports
What was the mercantile system?
Wealth = power
Governments attempted to export export more than they imported, making their balance of trade more favourable
Why were colonies important to the mother country?
They were an outlet for exports, which increased jobs and industrial development at home, and produced raw materials for the mother country
What was the stamp act and when was it passed?
1765
It imposed stamps (requiring taxes to be paid) on almost all written or printed materials
What were the results of the stamp act?
boycotts of British goods, street protests, attacks on officers and buildings
In March 1766 it was repealed
When did the 7 years war end?
1763 with the peace of Paris
What were the financial results of the seven years war which led to the American revolution?
National debt increased to £75 million to £133 million
Soldiers returning from America reported that the colonists enjoyed a high standard of living
british tax payers were already feeling hard pressed - a cider tax in 1763 led to violence in apple growing areas
What were the political results of the seven years war which led to the American revolution?
Colonists argued British actions represented an exercise in tyranny and must be opposed
New negotiation of political settlement
What were the security related results of the seven years war which led to the American revolution?
With removal of the French army, the immediate foreign threat was gone new territories thinly populated with English colonists but many hostile French and Native Americans inhabitants. An estimated 10,000 troops were needed to provide security
What was Enlightenment?
A period in the late 17th and 18th century which challenged traditional ideas about science, religion, political rights and human relations, including the divine right of kings.
What were the Townshend duties?
1767 - new duties imposed on glass, wine, china, lead, paint, paper and tea - passed 180 to 98
What were the results of the Townshend duties?
After successive attempts by British to introduce new taxes during the 60s, colonists reacted very badly to these and turned further against the British
Colonial assemblies denounced the new duties
Economic boycott 1768-9
What was the significance of the colonial assemblies denouncing the new duties?
was the furthest the assemblies had ever gone in presenting formal protests - argued strongly for no taxation without representation - led to violent protests in Boston
Why did the British suspend the New York assembly in 1767?
They refused to pay for the chartering of British troops.
Outline the 1768-9 economic boycott
Every colony except new Hampshire had organisations pledged to boycott British goods
Ordinary colonists joined in
Home manufacturing developed to provide alternatives to British goods
Committees of inspection were set up to enforce the boycott
British luxury goods regarded as morally dubious
What was the significance of the 1768-9 economic boycott?
Increased unity and resolve of colonists and confirmed their independent identity
Outline the Boston Massacre
1770 - 5 bostonians shot dead in a protest outside a customs house
Outline the committees of correspondence
1771 - set up to collect and communicate grievances