Chapter 5: The American Revolution Flashcards
Age of Revolutions
The period of history from 1774 to 1849 that saw large scale revolutionary movements in Europe and the American colonies. Contributed to the shape of our modern international system by replacing absolutist monarchies with representative governments grounded in a written constitution of rights, as well as the construction of nation states based around the ideas of shared cultures and history.
Articles of Confederation
First frame of government for the United States; in effect from 1781-1788, it provided for a weak central authority and was soon replaced by the Constitution
Battle of Saratoga
A multi-stage battle in New York ending with the surrender of British general John Burgoyne. The victory ensured the diplomatic success of American representatives in Paris, who won a military alliance with France, that became the deciding factor of US victory.
Boston Tea Party
Dramatic attempt by Boston leaders to show colonial contempt for the Tea Act; Sons of Liberty, dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped British tea into Boston Harbor; triggered similar actions across the colonies
Citizenship
An individual’s relatoinship to the state, wherein citizens swear allegiance to that state, and the state in return is obligated to provide rights to those citizens
Civil liberties
Individual rights regarding freedom that are created by a constitution and a political regime
Civil Rights
Idividual rights regarding equality that are created by a constitution and a political regime
Civil Society
Organizations outside of the state that help people define and advance their own interests
Coercion
The act of compelling behavior by threatening harm
Coercive Acts
British Parliament’s retalitation against the Boston Tea Party that was meant to coerce Boston colonists by reducing the colony’s rights to self-governance. Closed the port of Boston until residents paid for the damaged property and moved Massachusetts court cases against royal officials back to England in a bid to weaken colonial authority.
Colonialism
An imperialist system of physically occupying a foreign territory using military, economic institutions, or settlers
Committees of Correspondence
First called by Samuel Adams; formed in Boston, spread throughout the colonies to share information about British abuses of power, particulaly in response to the Sugar Act
Common Sense
Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in Jan 1776 that attacked the English principles of hereditary rule, monrachical government, and the legitimacy of an entire contintent being ruled by an island.
Conservatism
A political ideology that is skeptical of change and supports the current order (status quo)
Constituency
A geographical area that an elected official represents
Continental Association
Document drafted by the First Continental Congress. Sought to unite and direct 12 revolutionary governments, establish economic and moral policies, and empower common colonists by giving them an important and unprecedented degree of on-the-ground political power
Coup d’etat
A move in which military forces take control of the government by force
Crispus Attucks
Former slave turned dockworker. During the Boston Massacre, was allegedly at the head of the crowd of hecklers who baited the British troops, was killed when the British troops fired on the crowd.
Declaratory Act
1766 act announcing Parliament’s authority to pass any law “to bind the colonies and peoples of North America closer to Britain”
Democracy
A politcal system in which political power is excercised either directly or indirectly by the people
Direct Democracy
Democracy that allows the public to participate directly in government decision making
Dunmore’s Proclamation
1775 Proclamation issued by the British commander Lord Dunmore that offered freedom to all enslaved African Americans who joined the British Army. The proclamation heightened concerns among some patriots about the consequesnces of independence.
Empire
A single political authority that has a large number of external regions or territories and different peoples under its sovereignty
Enlightentment
European intellectual movement from the late 17th Century to the end of the 18th Century that stressed the importance of rational scientific thining and reason, over traditonal religion and superstition, in the pursuit of ultimate truth.
First Continental Congress
Early gathering of colonial delegates in 1774 that called for the repeal of all oppressive parliamentary laws since 1763
Globalization
The process of interaction and exchange between peoples and ideas from different parts of the globe, the extension of economic, political, and cultural relationships among nations, through commerce, migration, and communication.
Glorious Revolution
1688 English rebellion in which members of Parliament ousted James II from the English throne and replaced him with WIlliam and Mary, and imposed the Declaration of Rights, creating a contitutional monarchy that enhanced the popular sovereignty at the expense of the Crown. The Glorious Revolution led to greater political and commerical autonomy for the British colonies, and served as an inspiration for the movement for American independence.
Government
The leadership or elite in charge of running the state
Great Awakening
The first major series of American religious revivals; began in the 1720s and and ended in the 1750s