chapters 3 & 4 Flashcards
balance of trade
difference in value between imports and exports
mercantilism
economic theory that a country should acquire as much buillon as possible by exporting more goods than it imports
salutary neglect
Great Britain’s policy in the early 1700s of not interfering in the American colonies’ politics and economy as long as such neglect served British economic interests
staple crop
A crop that is in constant demand such as cotton, wheat, or rice
triangular trade
trade between the Americas, Europe, and Africa
gentry
in colonial America, men and women wealthy enough to hire others to work for them
apprentice
person placed under a legal contract to work for another person in exchange for learning a trade
self-sufficient
having the necessary resources to get along without outside help
migration
movement of people for the purpose of settling in a new place
itinerant
traveling from place to place, or on a circuit
dissent
difference of opinion or belief
Albany plan of union
1754 proposal by Benjamin Franklin for the creation of a grand Council of representatives from Britain’s American colonies
prime Minister
highest official in a parliamentary government
siege
tactic in which an enemy is surrounded and starved in order to make it surrender
treaty of Paris 1763
treaty that ended the French and Indian war and in which France gave up it’s land claims in North America to Britain
Pontiacs rebellion
1763 rebellion by Native Americans in the Great Lakes region
proclamation act of 1763
ordered by the British king that closed the region west of the appalachian Mountains to all settlement I colonists
stamp act
1765 law passed by the British Parliament that taxed newspapers, legal documents, and other printed materials in the colonies
boycott
refusal to buy certain products or to use a service
Boston massacre
incident on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers in Boston killed five colonists
first Continental Congress
Assembly of representatives from the colonies that first met in Philadelphia in September 1774
revolutionary war
American colonists’ war of independence from Britain, fought from 1775 to 1783
common sense
pamphlet written by Thomas Paine and published in January 1776, which called for American independence from Britain
Second Continental Congress
Assembly of representatives from the colonies that first met in May 1775 in Philadelphia
Olive branch petition
plea by the American colonists to King George the third in 1775 that he halt the fighting
declaration of independence
1776 statement, issued by the second Continental Congress, explaining why the colonies wanted independence from Britain
enlightenment
18th century movement that emphasize to science and reason to improve society
natural rights
Rights that belong to people simply because they are human
rule of law
a type of government in which decisions must be based on the law, not personal wishes
casualty
military term for a person killed, wounded, captured, or missing in action
loyalist
person who remained loyal to Great Britain during the revolution
mercenary
A foreign soldier who fights for pay
blockade
to isolate, or close off, a place from outside contact
profiteering
selling scarce items at unreasonably high prices
inflation
A steady increase in prices over time, reducing the ability to buy
treaty of Paris 1783
treaty that ended the Revolutionary war and in which britain acknowledged American independence
patriotism
Love of one’s country; The passion that aims to serve one’s country, either in defending it from invasion, or in protecting its rights and maintaining its laws and institutions and vigor and purity
