Chapter 6 - Making War and Republican Governments, 1776-1789 Flashcards
George Washington
general in the Continental Army; later became the first president
General William Howe
British officer and commander in chief during the American Revolution
Battle of Long Island
first major engagement of new Continental Army; resulted in forced American retreat to Manhattan Island
Battle of Saratoga
turning point of war - British officer Burgoyne and troops were herded and attacked by thousands of American militiamen, forcing surrender
Horatio Gates
leader of American troops in the Battle of Saratoga
nonassociators
people who refused to join neither the Patriot nor the Loyalist side
Robert Morris
chief American treasury official; secured loans from France, Holland, and wealthy colonials during the Revolutionary War
Valley Forge
encampment of Washington’s Continental Army during the winter of 1777; resulted in thousands of deaths and casualties from malnutrition and disease
Baron von Steuben
former Prussian military officer who joined the American cause and drilled soldiers into professional militarism at Valley Forge
Comte de Vergennes
French foreign minister who was determined to avenge the loss of Canada in the Great War for Empire, thus advocating for France to join the American cause (formally declared after victory at Saratoga)
Louis XVI
French monarch who aided colonists during the Revolutionary War
Treaty of Alliance (1778)
defensive treaty of alliance between France and America
Ethiopian Regiment
army of slaves led by Lord Dunmore for the British cause
Philipsburg Proclamation
declared that any slave who deserted a rebel master would receive protection, freedom, and land from Great Britain
Sir Henry Clinton
British officer who captured southern regions as an effort to enlist slaves in the British army
General Nathanael Greene
Continental general who forced British officer Charles Cornwallis and troops to abandon the Carolinas and head to Virginia
General Benedict Arnold
general who betrayed the colonies (who he originally fought for) and switched to the British side
Battle of Yorktown
French and American forces cornered Cornwallis’s army, forcing surrender and ending the war
“currency tax”
an implicit tax on Continental bills as a result of rampant inflation
Treaty of Paris (1783)
Great Britain formally recognizes American independence and relinquishes land claims south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River (consequently forcing Indians to cede land)
Treaty of Versailles (1783)
Britain made peace with France and Spain (neither American ally gained much)
Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776
created one-house legislature with complete power and no governor to exercise a veto
mixed government
British Whig theory where the monarch, the House of Lords, and the Commons share power
Abigail Adams
wife of John Adams; demanded equal legal rights for married women
Judith Sargent Murray
author of “On the Equality of the Sexes” - argued that men and women had equal capacities for memory and that women had superior imaginations
Articles of Confederation
written document defining the Union as a confederation of equal states, with no executive and limited powers, existing mainly to foster a common defense
Ordinance of 1784
established principle that territories could become states as their populations grew
Land Ordinance of 1785
mandated rectangular grid system of surveying and specified minimum price of $1 per acre, placed limits on sizes of land parcels
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
created territories that would later become Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin; prohibited slavery, supported schools, promised that Congress would appoint a governor and judges to each territory until the population reached 5,000 free adult men (at which point citizens could elect a legislature), promised application to join the Confederation once the population reached 60,000
Shays’s Rebellion
uprising led by angry farmers in western Massachusetts (many of them Revolutionary War veterans) protesting taxation policies of eastern elites who controlled the state’s government
Constitution of 1787
created new two-level political federation in which national government would exercise delegated powers while existing state governments would retain authority over everything else
The Philadelphia Convention
meeting of 55 American delegates to debate, draft, and sign the Constitution
Virginia Plan
a scheme for powerful national government devised by James Madison (supported by larger states)
New Jersey Plan
devised by William Paterson; gave national government minimal powers and preserved state control of individual laws and guaranteed their equality (supported by smaller states)
The Great Compromise
agreement to have an upper chamber (Senate, two representatives per state) and lower chamber (House of Representatives, representatives based on population) in national legislature
Three-Fifths Compromise
agreement that every slave be counted as three-fifths of a free person for purposes of taxation and representation
Federalists
supporters of the Constitution and centralized government
Antifederalists
opposers of the Constitution and centralized government
Federalist Papers
a series of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay in support of Federalism; they influenced leaders throughout the country to support the new Constitution - John Jay got sick after writing 5, James Madison wrote 29, and Hamilton wrote the other 51
Federalist No. 10
one of the Federalist Papers in which Madison challenged the view that republican governments only worked on a small scale, arguing that a large state would better protect republican liberty
James Madison
American statesman, political theorist, and fourth president
John Adams
Founding Father and second president (as well as first vice president)
John Hancock
politician, entrepreneur, and soldier famous for his large signature on the Declaration of Independence
