Chapter 4 IDs Flashcards
Specie
Hard money; money that is gold, silver, or another precious metal, not paper money.
Vice admiralty courts
naval courts without juries designed to settle disputes between merchants and seamen. These courts could condemn sea vessels on smuggling charges
Virtual representation
an idea proposed by George Grenville that Parliament represented ALL British people, including the colonists. He argued that M.P.s represented every empirical subject when making legislative decisions.
writs of assistance
blanket search warrants allowing customs collectors to search trading ships without any prior evidence as justification in order to catch suspected smugglers. These angered many colonists.
Loyal 9
an informal popular rights group in Boston with the same ideals as Sam Adams, who communicated protest plans with important men like Ebenezer Mackintosh and Henry Swift. Led by Sam Adams. An aggressive patriotic Boston group.
Stamp Act
The first time Parliament exercised its authority to charge the colonists direct taxes. The act required colonists to pay for stamps to be attached to 50+ paper items, diplomas, deeds, wills, etc, and that stamps be paid for in specie. Grenville hoped to generate substantial revenue with this act to pay for keeping redcoat soldiers in the colonies.
Stamp Act Congress
Facing the stamp act, the Massachusetts General Court called for all colonies to join this congress to be held in New York in October 1765. Nine colonies responded, with 27 delegates total, to petition Parliament to relinquish its ability to tax the colonies because there was no representation. It was an example of intercolonial unity.
Whigs
A political faction in British Parliament
Tories
AKA loyalists, colonists who remained loyal to the king.
Political slavery
state of government in which power-hungry officials take over and strip citizens of all liberties, forcing them to live under tyranny.
Committee of correspondence
After the Gaspee incident, popular colonial leaders set up committees of correspondence to comminucate with each other because they feared that the colonists responsible for Gaspee may be sent back to England for trial. They were to tell each other if any British government leaders tried to jeapordize any colonial liberties. They communicated with each other to spread news also and were a sign of intercolonial unity.
1st Continental Congress
After Coercive Acts, an intercolonial union of delegates were called to form the First Continental Congress (Only Georgia didn’t show). Met in Carpenter’s Hall and discussed action: They would petition Parliament but also prepare for war. Approved the Suffolk Resolves, boycotted British goods, established committees of observation, and determined that the Second Congress would happen in May 1775 unless everything resolved.
Seven Year’s War
AKA French and Indian War, a conflict between Britain and allies and France and allies. Ended with the Treaty of Paris in which Britain got most of Canada, Louisiana, and Florida. It was a war over new world territory.
Townshend Acts
new taxation techniques created by Charles Townshend based on Ben Franklin’s statement that the colonists only objected to direct taxation, not indirect taxation (like hidden trade duties). Luxury items like glass, paper, and lead were taxed, but colonists did not want to pay taxes just to raise British revenue. They protested with a Circular Letter, boycotting British goods, and violence (Boston Massacre).
Boston Massacre
Angry about the presence of redcoats, Bostonian workers converged on a lone redcoat guard at the customs house, harassing him. He was joined by some fellow soldiers, and as the crowd got more violent, a soldier fired a shot in fear and the rest followed suit. Five colonists died, and all but two redcoats were found innocent because of self-defense.
