Chapter 6 - Making War and Republican Governments (1776-1789) Flashcards
Battle of Long Island (1776)
First major engagement of the new Continental Army, defending against 32,000 British troops outside of New York City
Battle of Saratoga (1777)
A multistage 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
Valley Forge
A military camp in which George Washington’s army of 12,000 soldiers and hundreds of camp followers suffered horribly in the winter of 1777-1778
Philipsburg Proclamation
A 1779 proclamation that declared that any slave who deserted a rebel master would receive protection, freedom, and land from Great Britain
Battle of Yorktown (1781)
A battle in which French and American troops and a French fleet trapped the British army under the command of General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The Franco-American victory broke the resolve of the British government
Currency Tax
A hidden tax on the farmers and artisans who accepted Continental bills in payment for supplies and on the thousands of soldiers who took them as payment. Because of rampant inflation, Continental currency lost much of its value during the war: thus, the implicit tax on those who accepted it as payment.
Treaty of Paris of 1783
The treaty that ended the Revolutionary War. In the treaty, Great Britain formally recognized American independence and relinquished its claims to lands south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River.
Pennsylvania Constitution of Mixed Government (1776)
A constitution that granted all taxpaying men the right to vote and hold office and created a unicameral (one-house) legislature with complete power; there was no governor to exercise a veto. Other provisions mandated a system of elementary education and protected citizens from imprisonment for debt.
Articles of Confederation
The written document defining the structure of the government from 1781 to 1788, under which the Union was a confederation of equal states, with no executive and limited powers, existing mainly to foster a common defense.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
A land act that provided for orderly settlement and established a process by which settled territories would become the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.
Shays’ Rebellion
A 1786-1787 uprising led by dissident farmers in western Massachusetts, many of them Revolutionary War veterans, protesting the taxation policies of the eastern elites who controlled the state’s government.
Virginia Plan
A plan drafted by James Madison was presented at the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. It designed a powerful three-branch government, with representation in both houses of the congress tied to population; this plan would have eclipsed the voice of small states in the national government.
New Jersey Plan
Alternative to the Virginia Plan drafted by delegates from small states, retaining the confederation’s single-house congress with one vote per state. It shared with the Virginia Plan enhanced congressional powers to raise revenue, control commerce, and make binding requisitions on the states.
Federalists
Supporters of the Constitution of 1787, which created a strong central government; their opponents, the Antifederalists, feared that a strong central government would corrupt the nation’s newly won liberty.
Antifederalists
Opponents of ratification of the Constitution. Antifederalists feared that a powerful and distant central government would be out of touch with the needs of citizens. They also complained that it failed to guarantee individual liberties in a bill of rights.
