American Revolution Vocab Flashcards
What does “World Power” mean?
Any country or government that has enough strength to affect the lives or decisions of other nations or regions
EXAMPLE – United States’ decisions can affect the trade in China, the value of different markets, or
even encourage other countries to go to war
What was the “French and
Indian War” and who won most of the control?
A conflict between
France, England, and
their Native American
allies over control of
land in North America
England will win and
gain control of most of
North America
What does the word “representation” mean?
The act of speaking for/voting on the behalf of someone who has selected you, often through voting
Example – in Virginia, you vote for representatives in the House of Representatives/Senate, who then vote on important issues in the Federal Government
What does the word “parliament” mean?
Britain/England’s representative
government
* Made up of House of
Commons
* Elected representatives
* Only white men with
property could vote
* Made up of House of Lords
* Unelected
representatives; passed
down by families; had to
come from Church of
England or from nobility
What does the word “taxation” mean?
Process of a government gathering money from its citizens to pay for
something
Who made the “Proclamation of 1763” and what did it do?
Law made by King George III and English Parliament
- All land west of the Appalachian Mountains was for Native Americans; American settlers were not allowed to settle there
Who made the “Stamp Act” and what did it do?
Law made by the English Parliament
- Required American colonists to buy paper only from England; paper had to have a stamp on it; any other paper was illegal
What did the “Unalienable/Inalienable
Rights” mean and what was it?
Belief that people are born with certain privileges that cannot be taken away; also known as Natural Rights
Generally agreed to be “life, liberty, property, or pursuit of happiness”
Who wrote the “Declaration of
Independence” what did it do?
Document written by America’s
Founding Fathers (Jefferson,
Adams, Franklin, Roger Sherman,
Robert Livingston)
- Explained why American colonies
had split from England and that
America was a full nation, separate
from England
Read this!
NO ANSWER!!!
- The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
- 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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
Who wrote “Common
Sense” and how did it effect the colonists?
- Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine
- Convinced many colonists that the rule of a king was unjust, pushing them to rebel against England
Read this part of the pamphlet “ Common Sense”
NO ANSWER!!
“In England a king hath little more to do than to make war and give away places; which in plain terms, is to impoverish the nation and set it together by the ears. A pretty business indeed for a man to be allowed eight hundred thousand sterling a year for, and worshipped into the bargain! Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.”
Who signed the “Treaty of Paris (1783)” and who wrote it?
- Signed by US and British
representatives in 1783; officially
ended Revolutionary War,
recognized US independence, and
granted the US a large amount of
North American territory.
John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William
Temple Franklin (left to right)
