Chapter 6: Making War and Republican Government, 1776-1789 Flashcards
Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)
Mohawk chief who translated the Bible into Mohawk language and attacked American settlements during the Revolution.
Battle of Long Island (1776)
Cause(s): Howe (Britain) went to NY to seize control of the Hudson and isolate Patriots in New England from the rest of the colonies
Effect(s): Continental Army retreats ultimately to Pennsylvania. During the winter, they crossed the Delaware river on Christmas and attacked Trenton and Princeton (for a morale boost)
Why was the Continental Army weak around 1776?
- Inexperienced soldiers, deserters, resentment, poorly supplied (and the Radical Whig Patriots thought the army was a threat to liberty)
What did Lord Germain’s military campaign look like?
Three-pronged attack into Albany: Burgoyne attacks from Quebec, Leger and the Iroquois attack from the west, and Howe north from New York City
Battle of Saratoga (1777)
- Howe attacked Philadelphia, trying to end the Continental Congress (its capital) with a single blow & camped there
- Leger’s force is defeated by Benedict Arnold
- Burgoyne captures Fort Ticonderoga (Horatio Gates and Arnold surrounded them and force their surrender)
Battle of Saratoga C&E
Cause(s):
- British want to isolate Rhode Island
Effect(s):
- Lifted morale
- Secured an alliance with the French (and money from the Dutch)
- Foreign recognition of independence
What were some wartime difficulties after (but not as a direct result of) Saratoga?
- British naval blockade cut off supplies from European manufacturers
- Disrupted New England fishing industry
- Reduced trade because of occupation (scarce goods meant increased donations for the army)
- Blocked tobacco export, so people grew grain for armies
How did war affect people in America?
- New England imposed price ceilings (max price) so people refused to sell goods
- People were endangered, harassed, raped, or forced to flee
- Divided communities
Committees of Safety
Groups authorized by the Congress to oversee its rules, collect taxes, and seize property of those who refused to pay
How did states raise taxes and what was the effect of this ineffective strategy?
Issued bonds and then a lot of paper money (led to inflation). Tried to get money from states, but they couldn’t officially tax them, so they got loans from France and Holland and sold their loan certificates. Led to exchange rate deterioration and social upheaval.
Why did Valley Forge actually suck?
Cold weather, fatigue, gross clothes, bad food, no shoes, little support, malnutrition, disease
Who led Washington’s men out of war with a strict drill system that generated a disciplined force?
Baron von Steuben
What happened (most significantly) in 1778?
Continental Congress concludes a military alliance with France (America gets money, supplies, and troops)
Why did the French and Americans ally?
Wanted to avenge the loss of Canada and the chance to conquest land in the West Indies
How did Franklin exploit the Treaty of Alliance of February 1778?
Specified that the treaty would not end until the US achieved independence
Why did Britain not want war and how did it try to stop it?
- Because then the West Indies and Ireland (British territory) might also seek independence
- North repealed the Tea and Prohibitory Act and renounced its supreme power to tax the colonies
Why did Spain enter the war?
Wanted to regain Florida and the fortress of Gibraltar (mouth of Mediterranean)
What was the Southern Strategy & who implemented it?
Capture the southern colonies (Virginia, Carolinas, and Georgia) and use those loyal to the British there to maintain power there. Implemented by Sir Henry Clinton
The Revolution was a ____ War in the south due to the _____ who constituted strategic problems for patriots (with uprisings)
Triangular, slaves
Philipsburg Proclamation
Cause(s):
- (source) Dunmore’s proclamation to recruit slaves for his Ethiopian Regiment
- Slaves played a crucial point in military strategy
Effect(s):
- A lot of slaves left their masters and got protection, freedom, and land from GB (less manpower for the Americans)
In what way did the Southern Strategy work before the arrival of French troops?
Successfully attacked Savannah GA, Augusta, Charleston SC, and Camden (curtesy of Cornwallis)
How did American militias win some territory despite the Southern Strategy?
French troops to the mainland in addition to Comte de Rochambeau to Newport. Nathaniel Greene created a bunch of guerrillas under strong leaders and wore down the British until they won in King’s Mountain and Cowpens, SC
War of Attrition (in context of Greene and Cornwallis)
Greene wore down the British until they forfeited (beat them until they can’t get up anymore)
Describe the context of the Battle of Yorktown.
Cornwallis exploited the social divisions (poor people didn’t want to fight for rich ones) and invaded the coast of Virginia
Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Cause(s): Cornwallis goes to Yorktown to secure and protect a harbor for the British fleet
Effect(s): GW surrounded Cornwallis, broke Britain’s resolve, and got GB to surrender (turning point)
Why did Britain lose to the Americans (various ways)?
Howe’s disobedience in Philadelphia, French Aid, and George Washington’s leadership
Describe the significance of the currency tax in American victory
Hidden tax on depreciated continental bills. Using these bills as a medium of exchange meant that you lost some money with every transaction, but American willingness to use these bills regardless helped the Army pay for things
Why did the British and Americans want peace after the Battle of Yorktown
America had the independence it wanted while its allies, France and Spain, still wanted islands in the West Indies/Gibraltar/Florida. Britain didn’t want to give up these territories, so wanted peace instead
Treaty of Paris of 1783
Cause(s): America and GB want peace
Effect(s):
- US independence!!
- America gets land south of the Great Lakes (and East of the Mississippi) & ceded native land
- No more persecuting British loyalists (and return property)
- Fishing rights in Newfoundland
The Treaty of Versailles (1783)
Cause(s): GB wanted peace with Spain and France
Effect(s):
- Spain gets Florida
- France gets Tobago (West Indies island)
What did republicanism mean to Americans once they got independence?
No more monarchy, popular sovereignty, and the social contract
Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776
Cause(s): Enlightenment thought and resentment towards the proprietor family
Effect(s):
- Ousted Penn family from office
- Property ownership was no longer a qualification to vote or hold office
- Education was mandatory
- People can’t be imprisoned bc of debt
What was Thoughts on Government by John Adams about?
Radical whig theory with mixed government which meant that governments should have 3 branches to disperse power. The upper chamber of rich people should offset popular majorities in the lower chamber
- Governors should have veto power
- Judges should be appointed
What did women insist on during this time?
Women wanted an end to restrictive customs and laws
Which state allowed unmarried and widowed female property holders to vote?
New Jersey
What was Judith Sargent Murray’s argument regarding women?
Women have equal capacity for memory, but are not given the opportunity to learn.
What were the results of Revolution for yeomen (and people like them)?
Assured yeomen that their property would be protected and that they’d have more access to land (since we got a ton from the Treaty of Paris). Squatters wanted land claims recognized and before the uSA could go any further, had to remove native claims to land
Articles of Confederation (1777)
Weak central government with powers to call war, trade, and sign treaties. Each state retained its sovereignty, gets 1 vote regardless of size, and laws needed 9/13 majority to amend a law. Could settle state disputes, print money, and demand funds if necessary (but couldn’t enforce because no taxation)
Bank of North America
Philadelphia institution to stabilize inflated currency. Morris implemented a new bureaucracy and an import tax (which many states rejected)
Which new state wanted admission into the Confederation?
Franklin (also known as Tennessee)
All states ____ of the Ohio River allowed ___ ____
South, Human Bondange
Ordinance of 1784 (Jefferson)
Territories can be states if they have a certain population
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Created territories (modern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, and Wisconsin) and prohibited slavery north of the Ohio River. Also used money to finance schools and appointed governors until territories were populated enough to elect a legislature
Land Ordinance of 1785
Surveying for land and a minimum of $1 per acre (which had to be sold in bundles, so really the only people who could buy were wealthy farmers). Laid out the process by which lands west of Appalachian Mts were surveyed and sold.
Why did America’s economy suck after the revolution and how did they fix it?
Causes: Shipping and exports were down, no more trade with British West Indies, cheap British companies drove out domestic competition, war debt, inflation
Solution: Gov authorized more paper currency and let debtors pay private creditors in installments
Shay’s Rebellion (1786-1787)
Cause(s): MA had an elite made up of the people with the most in bonds who made taxes 5x and demanded payment in hard currency (seized land/property if no pay)
Effect(s):
- Call to revise the Articles of Confederation
- Forced governments to provide economic relief
Riot Act
Forbade gatherings of more than 12 armed people
Philadelphia Convention
Cause(s): Needed to solve economic problems of America seen in Shay’s Rebellion
Effect(s): No more Articles of Confederation and new central government was drafted (without John Adams or Jefferson, so its values were different) by combining the NJ and VA Plan
Who missed out on the fun during the Philadelphia Convention (why was this significant)?
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Their absence allowed different-minded delegates to decide things (increased national authority and a strong central government)
Virginia Plan
About: Bicameral legislature, representation based on population, national government can make laws and impose them on states as well as veto state laws
Flaws: Smaller states are underrepresented and people thought their state sovereignty was being taken away
New Jersey Plan
About: Every state gets equal representation regardless of size, unicameral legislature, states retain sovereignty
Flaws: Big states didn’t like being underrepresented
What did the convention propose regarding government and authority?
Senate (elected by state legislature) gets two members per state, HOR representation is based on population, Judicial power in one Supreme Court, and no requirement for voting
Gouverneur Morris (beliefs)
Wanted to protect property rights, life terms for senators, property qualification for voting, and a strong president with veto power. He rejected feudal dues (poor taxes to the rich) and slave ownership as property
Because southern states insisted on slave labor or else they would not be part of the union, the convention denied Congress what power?
The power to regulate immigration (and therefore the slave trade)
Because southern states insisted on slave labor or else they would not be part of the union, the convention denied Congress what power?
The power to regulate immigration (and therefore the slave trade)
What was the fugitive clause and which words did it intentionally leave out?
Masters could reclaim enslaved blacks (or indentured servants) who fled to other states. The words slavery and slave were left out.
Describe the hypocrisy of Southern states in the context of slavery and the census.
Slaves couldn’t vote, so congress wanted to leave them out of the census, but the Southern states insisted that slaves be counted in the census the same as full citizens (but wait, didn’t you just say they were property?) so they could have more representation. Slaves counted as 3/5 of a person
Which powers did the new Constitution grant the government?
The power to tax, raise an army and a navy, regulate foreign/interstate commerce, and make all laws necessary and proper (prohibited states from producing their own currency).
What did the delegates do to get the Constitution passed rather than submitting it to state legislatures for unanimous consent?
Required 9 of 13 states to ratify it before it took effect (and no alterations to the Constitution)
The Federalists
Group who supported the ratification of the new federal Constitution of 1787 (yay for strong central governments) and used pamphlets and newspapers to justify their cause
The ANTI-Federalists
Group who OPPOSED the ratification of the Constitution because they feared a strong government would revoke their new liberty, out of touch with the needs of the citizens, and run by wealthy men
Large electoral districts restricted office holding to ____ ____ while smaller districts used in state elections produced legislatures made of ____
wealthy men, yeomen
Which group argued that republican institutions were best suited to small polities?
Anti-federalists (because Montesquieu said it)
The Federalist Papers ideas
Showed the faults of the Articles of Confederation, why centralized power is more beneficial, the benefits of the new Constitution, and why central government does NOT mean domestic tyranny (slay ig)
Federalist No. 10
A large state guards against the danger of control by a narrow interest/faction
Which states hoped that a strong national government would offset the power of larger states?
Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut
