American revolution Flashcards

1
Q

1754-1763

A

French and Indian War

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2
Q

Outline salutary neglect

A

Salutary neglect refers to the period in which the thirteen colonies were neglected by Britain and left to virtually govern themselves. This gave the colonists an idea of life with a separation from Britain, therefore prompting the beginning of the revolution.

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3
Q

What were the writs of assistance?

A

a search warrant from the government permitting a search for contraband items in American homes. Argued against by James Otis, with his speech Against the Writs of Assistance. Demonstrates the growing agitation and repel of the colonists towards Britain.

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4
Q

What did otis dispute in 1764?

A

Britain’s right to tax colonists, with his pamphlet Rights of British Colonies Asserted and Proved. This conveyed the concepts of no taxation without representation and the ideas of natural rights.

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5
Q

define no taxation without representation

A

The people did not want to be taxed if they were not represented, and wanted to be directly represented in Britain.

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6
Q

Define mercantilism

A

The process by which Britain bought materials from America, used them to make items, and sold these items back to the Americans.

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7
Q

Sugar Act, 1764

A

A tax placed on Sugar to reinstitute Britain’s mercantilist policy. It became the first ‘direct tax’ in America and violated the colonist’s no taxation without representation policy. In response, James Otis produced his Rights of British Colonists Asserted and Proved pamphlet.

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8
Q

Stamp Act, 1765

A

A tax placed on an item that every colonist used - paper. Designed to cover the costs of defending the colonies, aka the war debt. The first tax to target the entirety of social classes in America. The American’s upper class petitioned and wrote resolves.

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9
Q

Stamp Act Congress, October 1765

A

Held in new York. Suggested by James Otis. The congress agreed upon the Declaration of Rights, which pledged loyalty to King George 3 whilst stating that Britain had illegally forced colonial rights.

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10
Q

Sons Of Liberty

A

The Sons of Liberty were an influential group that formed from the Loyal nine. The tarred and feathered opponents, and caused the repeal of the Stamp Act. They were instrumental in the Boston Massacre of 1770 and carried out the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

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11
Q

Quartering Act, 1765

A

The Quartering act of 1765 gave the Crown permission to compel colonists to accommodate and feed British Troops after the French and Indian War. The New York Colonial Assembly refused to comply and it was suspended in 1767.

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12
Q

Declaratory Act, 1766

A

The Declaratory act granted Parliament the authority to pass laws for its American colonies. It signified Britain’s intentions.

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13
Q

Townshend Duties, 1767

A

The purpose was to raise revenue and to assert the power of the British Parliament. It was a duty on products such as paper, lead, glass, oil, paint and tea - items used by almost every colonist, and each item imported from Britain. The colonists resisted with boycotts and the refusal to import British products.

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14
Q

Standing Army

A

An army of soldiers in red coats. It was a theoretical threat, and seen was a risk to liberty under the Enlightenment ideals.

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15
Q

What were John Locke’s 3 natural rights?

A

Life, Liberty and Property.

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16
Q

What did the daughter’s of liberty do?

A

The Daughters of Liberty rebelled against Britain by refusing to import their food. This was powerful as women dominated the domestic sphere and placed a severe economic pressure on Britain.

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17
Q

The Boston Massacre, 1770

A

Reignited the Sons Of liberty in society, and was a confrontation between Bostonians and The Sons of Liberty and British troops.

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18
Q

1771 and 1772: a momentary lull

A

a short quiet period that belied the fact that the Revolution was soon to take a major turn for the worst for American colonists.

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19
Q

The Boston Tea Party, 1773

A

The dockworkers refused to unload the tea from the boat. Samuel Adams represented the Bostonians. No tax would be paid if the ships never unloaded their cargo. The Sons of Liberty dressed as First Nations and poured the tea into Boston Harbour. This triggered the Coercive Acts.

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20
Q

The Tea Act, 1773

A

A tax imposed on tea, which was imported by the colonists from Britain.

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21
Q

The Coercive Acts, 1774

A

A response from Britain to the Boston Tea Party as a punishment for the lost tea. It became known to Americans as ‘The Intolerable Acts’.

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22
Q

The Coercive Acts, 1774 - The Boston Port Act, 1774

A

Closed Boston Harbour to all trade

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23
Q

The Coercive Acts, 1774 - The Massachusetts Government Act

A

Stripped the power of the colonial assembly of Massachusetts and gave it, effectively, to the King.

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24
Q

The Coercive Acts, 1774 - The Administration of Justice Act

A

This ensured that those charged with crime would be trialled in either Britain or another British colony, ensuring Britain control over the outcome to favour them.

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25
Q

The Coercive Acts, 1774 - The Quartering Act

A

The Quartering Act was reinstated

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26
Q

The Coercive Acts, 1774 - The Quebec Act

A

The Quebec Act took land won in the Indian reserve by the Americans in the French and Indian War and added it to the British Canada province of Quebec.

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27
Q

The Fairfax Resolves, 1774

A

A committee in the colony of Virginia that wrote a set of resolutions which rejected the British parliament’s claim of supreme authority over the colonies.

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28
Q

The Suffolk Resolves, 1774

A

A declaration made by leaders in the colony of Massachusetts that rejected the Massachusetts government act and resolved on a boycott of imported goods from Britain unless the Coercive ‘Intolerable’ Acts were repealed.

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29
Q

First Continental Congress, 1774

A

The first time the colonies came together to discuss their mutual problems. Each colony set up a Commit of Correspondence, a Committee of Safety and their militia became known a minute men.

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30
Q

Battle of Lexington Concord, 1775

A

Paul Revere discovered the British were on the march, and warned Patriots. The British fought their way into Concord, but were harassed all the way back to Boston. The revolutionary war had begun.

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31
Q

Second Continental Congress, 1775

A

Response to the Battle of Lexington-Concord. Beginning to act like a revolutionary federal American government. It dealt with issuing currency,

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32
Q

The Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775

A

fought between the British and the Massachusetts Militia. The British won, however suffered more casualties than the militia.

33
Q

Continental Army

A

Formed in the wake of the Battle of Bunker Hill by Congress. George Washington was elected to lead them. He became the commander in Chief of the Army in 1775, and trained the army to fight the War of Independence.

34
Q

The Olive Branch Petition, 1775

A

A peace offering to Britain, pledging loyalty to the King whilst demanding autonomy.

35
Q

The Declaration of Independence, 1776

A

a list of grievances against the King, assuming him of breaking the social contract and stating that the people can form a new government.

36
Q

Outline the problems the British had during the war.

A
  • Supplies

- Insurgent Warfare

37
Q

New Jersey, 1776

A

Washington staged a series of Daring and remarkable attacks on British forces that began the transformation of Washing to a father of the United States

38
Q

The Crossing of the Delaware, 1776

A

Washington crossed the Delaware for a surprise attack on the Hessian forces in Trenton. Washington had Paine’s American Crisis read aloud to the troops.

39
Q

The Battle of Trenton, 1777

A

Washington performed a counter-attack at Trenton on 2 January 1777, and defeated the British. It demonstrated to the British that under the right circumstances they could stand up to the British Army

40
Q

Who pledged support for the US?

A

Spain, France, and the Dutch and the Sultanate of Mysore in India.

41
Q

Valley Forge, 1777-1778

A

Washington was in trouble, as the conditions his soldiers were living in were far from acceptable. Many men’s enlistments were ending and there was a lack of pay for the men.

42
Q

Why did the British capture the South?

A

They believed it would lure Loyalists into their cause due to the large loyalist following in the South.

43
Q

When was the war effectively over?

A

The Battle at Yorktown, 1778-1783

44
Q

The Treaty of Paris, 1783

A

Formally ended the Revolutionary war, and forced Britain to recognise the independence of the US.

45
Q

What was the structure of the new society?

A

All 13 colonies had been turned into states by the DOI. Each state established a new government and wrote its constitution. Each constitution included a declaration of citizen’s rights, reflecting the English Bill of Rights (1688)

46
Q

The Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776

A

embodied the ideals that developed throughout the revolution, and was written by George Mason, It was adopted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1776.

47
Q

Jefferson’s Statute of Religious Freedom, 1777

A

Jefferson’s document guaranteed, in law, that people were free to practise religion (or not) in any way they saw fit. It was introduced in Virginia in 1779 but did not pass.

48
Q

define ‘Separation of powers’

A

Separation of powers refers to the separation of the Church and the state.

49
Q

What did Jefferson believe?

A

Jefferson believed that real liberty was impossible without the separation of the Church and the state.

50
Q

The Articles of Confederation, 1777

A

formed the first federal government of the United States, It reflects the fear of tyranny. It formed a confederacy whilst still allowing the states their power. It contained 13 separate articles that outlined the structure of the government.

51
Q

What 2 major things did the AOC (1777) contain?

A

Created a Confederation Congress, where each state had one vote
A 3/4 majority was required to pass laws, and a unanimous vote required for amendments of the Articles.

52
Q

What were some successes of the AOC government?

A

It won the War of Independence
It supplied the army during the war
It ratified the Treaty of Paris
It passes the Land Ordinance Act

53
Q

outline the problems associated with the Articles of Confederation government

A
  • nearly all sovereignty lay in the hands of the states
  • The government could not pass laws, tax or even raise and pay for a national army without state approval.
  • The AOC government states that Congress required all the states to vote to change the Articles, and 3/4 for a law to be passed. This rare occurred, and after the War of Independence, Congress was almost powerless against the British.
54
Q

Economic Problems under the Articles of Confederation government

A

Congress had no power to make grand agreements or establish trade regulation.
The States each had their own currencies, making trade between states almost impossible.
States established trade agreements that often disadvantaged other states.
Congress and the states were in war debt
there was no national currency of bank.

55
Q

Outline the Military Problems

A

The US were practically defenceless as the Congress could not raise military forces or control the state’s militias. The government also could not pay soldiers.

56
Q

The Pennsylvania Line mutiny of 1781

A

protested the appealing conditions that the Continental Army soldiers suffered, as well as payments owed.

57
Q

The Pensylvania Mutiny of 1783

A

Nearly 400 soldiers of the Continental Army protested over unpaid wages from the war.

58
Q

The Newburgh Conspiracy, 1783

A

Talk of action against congress began to circulate. The officers circulated letters criticising congress and raising the prospect of a coup. Officers also drafted a petition.

59
Q

Shays’ Rebellion, 1786

A

In Massachusetts, many unpaid soldiers had had to become farmers. The did not receive promised pay or land grants. They marched with Daniel Shays to the Massachusetts court in Springfield and closed it. The rebellion was crushed, however many soldiers convictions were pardoned, including Shays himself.

60
Q

The Annapolis Convention, 1786

A

delegates from New Jersey, new York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia met at Annapolis to discuss the barriers that limited the states in trade and commerce under the Articles of Confederation.

61
Q

What was the direct result of the Annapolis Convention?

A

The Philadelphia Convention of 1787

62
Q

The Philadelphia Convention, 1787

A

designed to address the problems under the AOC Government and to revise the articles. They wanted to ensure George Washington was elected president of the convention. Later, they would create the presidential office with George Washington in mind.

63
Q

James Madison and Alexander Hamilton

A

The meeting of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton resulted in a powerful alliance that enabled them to dominate the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia and the ratification debates.

64
Q

What were some disputes of the Philadelphia Convention?

A
  • the structure of the government
  • The division of power
  • The method of election
  • whether to abolish slave trade
65
Q

How many plans, and what were they, were proposed at the Philadelphia convention?

A

4

  • The Large States Plan
  • The Small States Plan
  • The Hamilton Plan
  • The Charles Pinckney Plan
66
Q

The Large States (or the Virginia Plan)

A
  • written by James Madison, proposed two houses of congress, both elected based on population, therefore allowing the larger states to dominate.
67
Q

The Small States (or the New Jersey) Plan

A

-Written by William Patterson, proposed a single house of congress that allowed each state have one vote, therefore giving the smaller states an equal say.

68
Q

The United States Constitution

A

A culmination of revolutionary ideology, it outlined the structure of the society and the powers of each, along with the rights of the people as outlined in the enlightenment ideals.

69
Q

Outline the tripartite system

A
The Congress (legislature)
The President (executive)
The Supreme Court (judiciary)
70
Q

Who missed out on the benefits of the new society?

A

Slaves
Women
First Nations

71
Q

Outline how women missed out on the benefits of the new society

A
  • divorce laws were difficult for women to obtain

- the idea of the ‘Republic Mother’, who was charged to remain in the domestic sphere

72
Q

Outline how First Nations Americans missed out on the benefits of the new society

A
  • Some sided with Britain as they believed their future would be more secure under the crown
  • they had no standing in the judicial system
  • they had their land dispossessed
73
Q

Outline how slaves missed out on the benefits of the new society

A

-Slaves were counted as 3/5ths of a person in the Constitution

74
Q

The Ratification Debates

A

A debate between federalists and anti-federalists

75
Q

Anti-Federalists

A
  • They believed in a decentralisted system of authority to prevent papers
  • wrong the Anti-Federalist papers in response to the Federalist Papers
  • They feared the office of president could lead to the rise of another tyrant - this time indigenous
76
Q

Federalists

A
  • They believed in the constitution, as they thought it would empower people, and provide for the separation of powers (a secular society).
  • They also believed a federal government could properly defend the republic in a way that the AOC government almost failed to.
77
Q

The Bill of Rights

A

The BOR served to answer the fears of the Anti-Federalists and the states. It was based on the Virginian Declaration of Rights and ratified in 1791 with 10 amendments.

78
Q

The President of the United States

A

George Washington was elected President i 1789. The office was essentially created with him in mind.