American History Flashcards
When was the Americas discovered and by who?
Christopher Colombus, 1492.
What was the time period called when the major European empires began to explore and claim land in the New World, aka the Americas?
Age of Discovery / Age of Exploration.
What was the Seven Years War?
A global conflict between the British Empire and France for global pre-eminence and dominion. Prussia and Austria were fighting on the European continent over territorial disputes that emerged from the war of the Austrian Succession while Britain, France and Spain were engaging in conflict in the New World over territorial disputes.
Who formed alliances with one another in the Seven Years War in EU?
Britain, Prussia and Portugal vs Austria, France, Sweden, Russia and Spain.
What was the French and Indian War?
a theater of the Seven Years’ War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. Both sides engaged in combative disputation over territorial expansion and imperialist activities.
What was the Treaty of Paris?
A treaty that designated the termination of the French and Indian War in 1763, in addition to the European Seven Years War. France ceded the Eastern half of the French Louisiana (Land east to the Mississippi river) to Britain, however Britain accrued an extortionate quantity of debt that was owed to the French.
What heroic American founding father was appointed commander of a Virginia militia in the French and Indian War?
George Washington.
How much debt did the British Empire accumulate?
120 million pound sterling
How did the British Empire plan on generating revenue from the debt they had accrued?
The imposition of taxation upon the British Colonies, justifying this tax enforcement because of their engagement in the War and defending the territorial integrity of the land.
What were some of the Tax Acts that were imposed upon the Colonists?
Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Tea Act, Townshend Act, Intolerable Act and Navigation Act
What was the Boston Massacre?
A confrontation that emerged from British military officials and colonists which resulted in the massacring of 5 civilians. The military soldiers were stationed in Massachusetts for the purpose of enforcing unpopular Parliamentary legislation, contributing to the augmentation of demonstrations and protest.
What was the Gaspee Affair?
The Gaspee Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. HMS Gaspee was a British customs schooner that enforced the Navigation Acts; the American Colonists attacked, boarded and burned the ship.
Why were the American Colonists opposed to the recipience of taxation?
Because of the negation of their representation.
What was the Boston Tea Party?
A protest against the Tea Act of ‘73 which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts. They viewed this as unfair when colonial importation of Tea had to be taxed. The demonstrators boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into the Boston Harbor.
What was the British variation of penalization that they inflicted upon the colonies as a reverberation of the Boston Tea Party?
The Intolerable Act
What was the Intolerable Acts?
Laws that were passed to punish Massachusetts colonists for the Boston Tea Party; the abolition of the Province of Massachusetts, allowing british soldiers to be stationed in the housing of colonists, demanding tax reparations for the damages of the boston tea party and barricading and terminated the port for all colonist commerce in Massachusetts
When was the first Continental Congress formed and by who?
September 5th, 1774 and by all colonies except Georgia.
Where was the first Continental Congress established and what was its purpose?
Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia, to engage in linguistic deliberation about how the colonies could collectively respond to the British governments’ coercive actions. They adjudicated to boycott British goods being imported into the colonies unless the British parliament repealed the Intolerable Acts; they established an adjudication to sanction the British Government.
How did the British Empire retaliate against the boycotting of british imports?
The invocation of the Restraining Act; limiting all importation to British West Indies and Britain.
What was the purpose of the Massachusetts Provincial Government?
To recruit and train a militia for possible hostilities.
Why did open fire occur in Lexington and Concord and on what date did firing occur?
April 19th, 1775, because British soldiers were on their way to confiscate military arsenal, weaponry and equipment.
Who was Paul Revere
The person who performed a midnight ride to warn the Patriot Militia that the british were coming
Who won the battle of Lexington and Concord
The colonial militia
What happened after the British soldiers retreated to the town of Boston?
The conglomeration of soldiers that were part of the militia materialized a blockade of the parameters, initiating the Siege of Boston.
What was the Battle of Bunker Hill?
A battle between the militia and british soldiers that was oriented towards securing the positioning of Bunker Hill because it gave the proprietors access to the Boston Harbor.
Who won the Battle of Bunker hill?
The british won, however suffering heavy casualties in the process. The colonists defended the british from to waves of aggression, but had to give up their positions because of the diminutive quantity of ammunition and resources they had to stabilize the onset of future advancements.
Why was the continental army established who was appointed Commander in Chief?
General George Washington, because of the necessity of establishing a sophisticated and organized army
What did George Washington read to his army to augment their morale?
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
What was Washington’s plan he utilized to encourage the withdrawal of the british from Boston?
The ordering of artillery to be transferred from Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge by Henry Knox
What was one of the driving contributing factors the cultivate and establish the Declaration of Independence?
To demonstrate to France the authenticity of their ambitious aspirations to achieve independence, this being a condition necessary to receive legitimate assistance from France in fighting the war.
What was one of the driving contributing factors the cultivate and establish the Declaration of Independence?
To demonstrate to France the authenticity of their ambitious aspirations to achieve independence, this being a condition necessary to receive legitimate assistance from France in fighting the war.
Why did the British evacuate and withdrawal from the Boston and where did they go?
Because of the assemblage of artillery on the parameters of the siege; they went to Nova Scotia.
Who won the battle of Brooklyn?
British Empire
Who won the battle of the White Plains?
Royal Army.
Who was the commander of the army advancing in the battles of New York for the British?
William Howe
Who lost the battle of Fort Washington and lee and why was it so disastrous?
Continental Army; 3,000 soldiers had been captured and military morale had suffered greatly.
