American Revolution (1754-1789) Flashcards
1764 British act forbidding the colonies to issue paper money as legal tender
Repealed in 1773 by the British as an effort to ease tensions with the colonies
Currency Act
1773 act by Parliament that would provide the colonies with cheap tea, but at the same time force the colonies to admit that Parliament had a right to tax them
Effort to resolve financial problems of the East India Company
Rebates and tax exemptions allowed East India Company to dumb low cost tea in colonial market
Sons of Liberty resisted, most notably at the Boston Tea Party
Britain responded with the Coercive Acts
Tea Act of 1773
In response to the Tea Act and additional British taxes on tea, Boston radicals disguised as Native Americans threw nearly 350 chests of tea into Boston harbor on December 16, 1773
East India Company lost about $4 million
Parliment closed Boston harbor and passed the Coercive Acts
Boston Tea Party
Signed on September 3, 1783, formally ending the Revolutionary War
Britain recognized American independence
United States received a western boundary at the Mississippi River
Spain received Florida, and France received territory in Africa and the West Indies
Treaty of Paris, 1783
December 26, 1776 surprise attack launched by George Washington’s army against Hessians at Trenton, New Jersey
30 Hessians were killed and 950 captured, while only 3 Americans were wounded
Victory gave a great psychological boost to the American war effort
Battle of Trenton
An effort to pay for the British army located in North America, this 1764 measure taxed sugar and other imports
Tried to raise money from the American trade with the French West Indies
Harsh penalties were imposed on smugglers who did not pay the duty
Sugar Act
Established states of self-government for the WEst
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson
Divided regions into districts governed by Congress and then admitted to the Union
Ordinance of 1784
Crowds of debt-ridden farmers attempted to close courts in western Massachusett
Aim was to prevent the seizure of land for failure to pay debts and state taxes
Governor Bowdoin dispatched the army to disperse; 1,000 arrested in January 1787
Started debate over national authority versus state liberty
(Daniel) Shay’s Rebellion
Started with 1754 effort by British to dislodge French from forts in western Pennsylvannia
George Washington lost 1/3 of men at Fort Necessity from attack by French and Indians
British Prime Minister turned around war by pouring money and people
Seven Years’ War
British Prime Minister who took office in 1757
Poured money and people into Seven Years’ War
William Pitt
Agreement that concluded the Seven Years’ War
France ceded Canada to Britain, getting Guadeloupe, Martinique
Spain ceded Florida to Britain in return for Cuba and acquired Louisiana colony
Ended France’s 200 year old empire
Left Indians dependent on British
Peace of Paris, 1763
Indians launched revolt in Ohio Valley and Great Lakes
Influenced by teachings of Neolin, a Delaware religious leader
Ottawas, Huron and other indians attacked Detroit in 1763
Pontiac’s Rebellion
Prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
Goal was to stabilize relations between British and Indians
Proclamation of 1763
Conflict between British soldiers and Boston civilians on March 5, 1770
Civilians threw rocks and snowballs at the soldiers, the soldiers opened fire, killing 5 and wounding 6
Boston Massacre
Parliment passed in 1765 to help pay for the British Army in North America.
Imposed tax on all legal documents and newspapers
Resistance was severe and it was eventually repealed; first major split between the colonists and Britain
Stamp Act
Men who organized opposition to British policies during the late 1760s and 1770s
Founded in Boston in response to the Stamp Act
Organized the Boston Tea Party
Samuel Adams was one of their leaders
Sons of Liberty
1765 British edict stating that to help defend the empire, colonial governments had to provide housing and food for British troops
Many colonists perceived this to be the ultimate insult
Quartering Act
On October 17,1777, British army General John Burgoyne wsa forced to surrender
American victory pesuaded the French government to sign a treaty of alliance with the United States and enter the war against Great Britain
Battle of Saratoga
German troops who fought for Great Britain during the Revolutionary War
Mercenaries sold into British service by German princes who raised money by hiring out their regiments
Hessians
Place were George Washington camped his army during the winter of 1777-1778
Soldiers suffered from hunger, cold, and disease, leading 1,300 to desert
Morale was raised by the drilling and discipline instilled by Baron Von Steuben, a former Prussian officer
Valley Forge
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia moved that the Second Continental Congress declare this on June 7, 1776
Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft
Formally approved on July 2 and formally announced on July 4
Declaration of Independence
Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses
Introduced resolutions protesting the Stamp Act
Proclaimed that the act showed the tyranny of King George III, and reminded the king of the fates of Caesar and Charles I
Many considered his speech treasonous
Patrick Henry
Mssachusetts town were the first skirmish between British troops and colonial militiamen took place
During April 19, 1775 fight, 8 colonists were killed and another 9 were wounded
Lexington
Occured on April 19, 1775 between British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen
More than 70 British soldiers died and another 174 were wounded
Enabled a wider conflict between colonies and British to become much more probable
Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to it as the “shot heard round the world”
Battle of Concord
Meeting of delegates from the American colonies that began in May 1775
Some delegates hoped that the differences between the colonies and Britain could be reconciled
Congress authorized the creation of a Continental Army led by George Washington
Second Continental Congress
Colonists who remained loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution
Many came from upper strata of society
Large numbers moved to Canada, the West Indies, or Great Britan
Loyalists
Massachusetts Assembly response to the Townshend Acts, asking other colonies to work together and jointly issue a petition of protest
Strong-willed response of the British authorities led to the colonial assemblies to work more closely together
Circular Letter
June 1775 British attack on colonial forces outside of Boston
Despite frightful losses, British emerged victorious in the battle
Americans were heartened by the damage they did to the British
Bunker Hill
Popular 1776 publication written by Thomas Paine
Repudiated the concept of government by monarchy
Encouraged the sentiment for independance in the colonies
Common Sense
Leading opponent of British policy in 1760s and 1770s
Helped organize the Sons of Liberty
Leader in the agitation surrounding the Boston Massacre
Because of the Boston Tea Party, was marked for arrest by the British
Samuel Adams
American and French forces commanded by George Washington trapped the army of General Cornwallis
French fleet in Chesapeake Bay prevented the escape or rescue of the British
British surrender on October 19, 1781 ended British hopes of victory in the war
Battle of Yorktown
1767 parliamentery acts that forced colonists to pay duties on goods coming from England, including tea and paper
New board of customs commissioners collected duties and suppressed smuggling
Used revenues to pay salaries of governors and judges
Colonial resistance was fierce; Boston was occupied by British troops
Repealed in 1770
Townshend Acts of 1767
1767 pamphlet by Pennsylvania attorney and landowner John Dickinson, in which he eloquently stated the “taxation without representation” argument
Argued that Parliament could only meaningfully represent the colonies if colonists served in it
Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania
Head of the British governmental department that issued and collected taxes
Many acts issued caused great resentment in the American colonies
Chancellor of the Exchequer
1766 British law starting that Parliament had an absolute right to tax the colonies and to make laws that would be enacted in the colonies
Issued at the same time as the repeal of the Stamp Act
Declaratory Act
Representatives of 9 colonies met in New York in October 1765
Document maintained the loyalty of the colonies to the Crown but condemned the Stamp Act
Stamp Act Congress
Document sent to the First Continental Congress in September 1774
Called for all citizens of all the colonies to prepare to take up arms against the British
First Continental Congress adopted them
Suffolk Resolves
1774 measure adopted by the First Continental Congress
Stated that Parliament had some rights to regulate colonial trade with Britain but that Parliament did not have the right to tax the colonies without their consent
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
Term used in the colonies for the bills passed by Parliament to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party
Included closing Boston harbor, prohibiting local meetings, and mandatory quartering of troops in private homes
Also known as the Coercive Acts
Intolerable Acts
War fought to expand their empires in the Americas from 1754 to 1763
Spread to Europe and the rest of the world in 1756 and was called the Seven Years War
British were victorious
French and Indian War
1754 meeting of representatives from 7 colonies that coordinated their efforts against French and Native America threats in the western frontier regions
Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan of union that was rejected by both the colonies and the British government
Albany Congress
Seasoned British general sent to America to stop the French construction of a fort at what is now Pittsburgh
Braddock’s force of regulars and Americans was crushed in an ambush that cost Braddock and most of his men their lives
Edward Braddock
Responsible for overseeing colonial affairs
Colonial laws had to conform to royal instructions from this body
Encouraged assemlies to grant permanent salaries to governors
Seven Years’ War suspended this body
Board of Trade
Placed wool and hids on enumerated list
Revenue Act
Word that became widely used during Revolution
Trees and Halls and Poles used it
“Liberty”
First martyr of the Revolutionary War
Was killed by British at the Boston Massacre
Crispus Attucks
Parliament extended southern boundary of the Canadian province to Ohio River
Granted legal toleration to the Roman Catholic Church in Canada
Quebec Act
Convened in Philadelphia with leaders from 12 colonies
John Adams, Samuel Adams, George Washington, Patrick Henry Lee, Patrick Henry
Endorsed the Suffolk Resolves
Agreed to meet again in May 1775
(First) Continental Congress
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s reference to the Battle of Concord
“shot heard round the world”
Document sent to George III in July 1775 reaffirming loyalty
Olive Branch Petition
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”
Preamble to the Declaration of Independence
Idea that America had a special mission as refuge from tyranny
American Exceptionalism
Agreement with Frace to help supply American troops
Negotiated by Benjamin Franklin
Treaty of Amity and Commerce
Defector to British side; almost turned over West Point
Benedict Arnold
Negotiated American independence from Britain
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay
Control of region between Canada and Florida east of the Mississippi
Right to fish in Atlantic waters off Canada
Treaty of Paris of 1783
State constitution that established:
one house legislature
abolished office of the governor
eliminated property ownership qualifications for officeholding
guaranteed “freedom of speech, and of writing”
Pennsylvania Constitution
Restrictions on property ownership removed for this right
Vermont Constitution of 1777 completly severed financial requirements
Pennsylvania eliminated property holding but still required payment of taxes
Right to Vote
Deists wanted to erect a “wall of seperation”
Evangelicals wanted to protect from the corruption of government
States took away public funding and special privilges
Maryland’s Constitution of 1778 restored rights to Catholics
Virginia Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in 1786
Seperation of Church and State
“Equality is the very soul of republic”
“A general and tolerably equal distribution of landed property is the whole basis of national freedom”
Noah Webster
Result of Congress issuing hundreds of millions of dollars of paper money to finance the war
Result of hoarding of some goods by Americans hoping to profit from shortages
Inflation of 1779
“Invisible Hand” of free markets directed the economy better than governments
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations
First tract arguing against slavery
Samual Sewall’s The Selling of Joseph
Offered freedom to slaves who joined the British cause
800 blacks escaped and joined Britain’s Ethiopian Regiment as a result
George Washington reacted by accepting black recruits
5,000 blacks enlisted in state militias and the Continental Army
Lord Dunmore’s 1775 Proclamation
Voluntary release of slaves in 1780s by many owners in Virginia and Maryland
Most states discouraged the importation of more slaves
Vermont Constitution of 1777 banned slaves
First Emancipation
Disguised herself as a man and fought in the Continental Army
Extracted a bullet from her own leg
Deborah Sampson
Organized by Esther Reed and Sarah Franklin Bache
Raised funds
Helped propel women into new areas of public activisim
Ladies’ Association
Wife of early president and shrewd analyst of public affairs
Abigail Adams
Husband had legal authority over the person, property and choices
For women, marriage contract superseded the social contract
Principle of “Coverture”
Term for role that women played in training the future citizens
Encouraged the expansion of eduational opportunities
Republican Motherhood
First written constitution of the United States
Drafted by congress in 1777 and ratifed by the states in 1781 and allowed much power to retain with the states
More of a treat for mutual defense
One house Congress with each state having single vote
Major decisions required approval of nine states
No power to levy taxes or regulate commerce
No executive or president to enforce laws
No judiciary to enforce laws
Amendments required unanimous consent
Articles of Confederation
Treaties that secured large tracts of land for the United States from the Indians
Fort Stanwix, New York in 1784
Fort McIntosh near Pittsburgh in 1785
Peace Conferences
Established stages of self-government for the West
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson
Divided region into districts governed by Congress and then admitted to the Union
Ordinance of 1784
Regulated land sales north of the Ohio River
Became known as the “Old Northwest”
Sections of one square mile, 640 acres sold for $1 per acre. One section set aside for public education
Ordinance of 1785
Established three to five states north of the Ohio River
Jefferson’s principle of “empire of liberty” – admit states as political equals
Prohibited slavery in the Old Northwest
Ordinance of 1787
“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing”
Thomas Jefferson
“Liberty [is] endangered by the abuses of liberty as wellas the abuses of power”
James Madison
Believed future greatness depended on national authority
Included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton plus army officers and members of Congress who were used to working with others
Gathered in September 1786 to considered interstate commerce and in May 1787; decided to scrap the Articles of Confederation and draft a new Constitution
Nationalists of the 1780s
Gathering of 55 men including George Washington, George Mason, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton
Constitutional Convention
Economic theory derived from 18th century economist Adam Smith, who argued the economy would run smoothly if the government took a hands-off role
Opposed high tariffs and economic protectionism
Laissez-faire Economics
Soldiers who joined the national army commanded by Washington
Joined up for multi-year terms of service, unlike fellow citizens in the militias
Continentals
Belief that representation in the legislature should be based on population, with more populous states having more representatives
Proportional Representation
Proposal at the Constitutional Convention underwhich Congress would consist of one house with one representative from each state
Congress would have considerable power to regulate trade
New Jersey Plan
Plan drafted by Roger Sherman of Connecticut in which one house of Congress would be based on population while in the other all states would be represented equally
The plan speeded ratification of the Constitution
Great Compromise
Procedure outlined in the Constitution for the election of the president
Votes from a body from each state and not the popular vote determined who is elected president
A person who does not win the popular vote can still be elected president
Electoral College
Compromise that each slave would count as three-fifths of a free person
South wanted slaves to count in full and the North did not
Three-Fifths Compromise
Held in all states for the purpose of approving the new Constitution of the United States
Most states narrowly approved the Constitution; it was defeated in Rhode Island
Constitution was passed in July 1788
Ratifying Conventions
Legislative structure consisting of two houses
Membership of the House of Representatives is determined by population
In the Senate, all states have equal representation
Bicameral Legislature
Governmental structure with one -house legislature
United States had this structure under the Articles of Confederation
Unicameral Legislature
Exercised executive authority under the Articles of Confederation when Congress was in recess
One representative served from each state
Committee of Thirteen
(also known as Committee of the States)
Bills passed in 1784, 1785, and 1787 that authorized the sale of lands in the Northwest Territory to raise money for the national government
Carefully laid out the procedures for eventual statehood
Northwest Ordinances
Term for supporters of the Constitution during the ratification process
Later the name for the party of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams
Commercial interest favored this group
Influence ended after 1816
Federalists
Group that opposed ratification of the Constitution in 1787 and 1788
Feared that strong central government would take power “from the people” and behave as the British government had before the Revolution
Led by Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Patrick Henry
Anti-Federalists
Addition to the Constitution proposed by James Madison that added basic protections like freedom of speech
Added in 1791
Bill of Rights
Plan for a stronger central government drafted by James Madison and adopted by the Constitutional Convention
Proposed that powers of government be divided between the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government
Virginia Plan
authority diffused and balanced among three branches
Congress enacts laws but president can veto
Federal judges nominated by president but approved by Congress
President can be impeached by the House and removed by the Senate
System of Checks and Balances
Allowed slave trade to continue until 1808
South Carolina and Georgia imported 100,000 slaves until then
Slave Trade Clause
Eighty-five essays under the pen name Publius
Composed by Hamilton, Madison and Jay
Argued that the Constitution protected liberty and was not a threat
The Federalist Papers
Developed new vision that government must be based on the will of the people
Size of the government was a source of stability – the United States should “extend the sphere”
Multiplicity of religious denominations offered the best security for religious liberty
Federalist 10 and Federalist 51
Freedom of religion, speech, press, right of assembly
First Amendment
Established right to “keep and bear arms” with “well-regulated militia”
Second Amendment
Established that rights not mentioned in Constitution would be retained by the people
Ninth Amendment
Established that rights not delegated to the national government rised with the states
Tenth Amendment
“We the people…”
People were Indians, other persons (slaves), and people who were entitled to American freedom
Opening of American Constitution
Group led by Little Turtle that inflicted defeat on American forces in 1791
Miami Confederacy
Anthony Wayne defeated Little Turtle (Indian leader of Miami Confederacy) in 1794
Battle of Fallen Timbers
Twelve Indian tribes ceded most of Ohio and Indiana to the federal government
Treaty of Greenville of 1795
First legislative definition of American nationality
Congress restricted citizenship to “free white persons”
Naturalization Act of 1790