Key Topic 1 - America Flashcards
1
Q
What area of Canada did Britain gain from the ‘7 Years War’?
A
Quebec
2
Q
How had America been governed since the 1600s?
A
Salutary neglect
3
Q
Who could vote in America?
A
50-80% of white males
4
Q
What did Americans vote for?
A
Legislative assemblies
5
Q
What was one of the largest cities in 1770?
A
Boston
6
Q
What was the population of Boston?
A
20,000
7
Q
How many redcoats were stationed in Boston since 1768 to keep peace?
A
600
8
Q
How many new citizens in Canada did Britain have?
A
80,000
9
Q
How many people were needed in the defence force in America?
A
10,000
10
Q
What was Britain’s annual national debt?
A
£4.4 million
11
Q
What was the colonial administration fee?
A
£350,000 per year
12
Q
When and what taxed sugar?
A
Sugar duties, 1764
13
Q
When and what taxed printed materials?
A
Stamp Act, 1765
14
Q
What was taxed in the Townshend Duties of 1767?
A
Glass, wine, China, lead, paint, paper, tea
15
Q
What did colonists say about taxation?
A
‘No taxation without representation’
16
Q
What was Boston like in 1770?
A
A powder keg - the hub of the coming revolution
17
Q
What were frequent riots held against
A
British taxation - usually held on Thursdays (market day)
18
Q
Who was Governor of Boston
A
Thomas Hutchinson
19
Q
What happened to Hutchinson?
A
House was ransacked
20
Q
What happened to those showing loyalty to the British?
A
Tarred and feathered
21
Q
What happened on March 5th 1770?
A
Boston Massacre
22
Q
Why did the Boston Massacre happen?
A
Customs House guards were attacked by men throwing snowballs and stones
23
Q
How many died in the Massacre?
A
5
24
Q
When were the years of calm?
A
1770-73
25
Which taxes were repealed due to the Massacre?
Townshend Duties and Stamp Act
26
Why was Union between the 13 colonies low during the years of calm?
Huge wealth divisions, religious divisions, virtual civil war in the Carolina’s between small farmers and Tidewater officials
27
What 3 groups was society split roughly into
Loyalist, apathetic, patriot
28
Which of the 3 groups was best at recruiting?
Patriots
29
When and who set up the Committee of Correspondence?
1771, Sam Adams
30
What was the Committee of Correspondence?
A system of letter sharing and news sharing that the British couldn’t control
31
What was taxed in 1773?
Tea
32
Why was tea taxed?
Partly to tax the colonies and partly to help the struggling East India Trading Company
33
What did the colonists do out of principle despite the tea tax being light?
Still preferred to buy smuggled tea out of principle
34
Where was the most intense defiance?
Boston
35
How many ships were carrying over £10,000 worth of tea?
3
36
When did the Boston Tea Party happen?
December 1773
37
How many members of what group boarded the ships in the Tea Party?
60 members of the Sons of Liberty
38
How many chests of tea were sunk?
342
39
How did Britain react?
Outraged, decided to try and isolate Boston
40
What was passed in retaliation to the Tea Party?
Coercive Acts
41
When were the Coercive Acts passed?
1774
42
What were the Coercive Acts?
1) Closure of the port of Boston until the tea was paid for
2) Hutchinson replaced with Gage, governor can appoint and dismiss officials
3) Murder trials held in England
4) Power to military commanders to quarter troops in private houses
43
How successful were British in isolating Boston?
Not successful at all, the Coercive Acts had the opposite effect. Galvanised the patriot support across America
44
Where and when did the First Continental Congress meet?
Philadelphia, September 1774
45
What did the Congress do?
Become the de facto government of the US, declare independence and finance the patriot army
46
Which state was called upon to arm for defence?
Massachusetts
47
What was set up to coordinate the colonists actions?
Committees of Safety
48
How much of Massachusetts was under British control in 1775?
Just Boston - under General Gage
49
How many troops did General Gage have?
4,000
50
When did the British declare Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion?
February 1775
51
When did British troops march from Boston to Concord?
April 18th 1775
52
What was the British secret mission (why they were heading to Concord)
To seize stockpiled arms
53
Who sounded the alarm for the patriots “The British are coming”
Paul Revere
54
What was the patriots reaction to Revere’s alarm?
Colonial militiamen began mobilising to intercept the redcoats
55
Where did the Redcoats and Patriots confront? (Where was the shot heard around the world fired from?)
Lexington town green
56
What happened in Lexington?
British were soon retreating under fire
57
What were the British casualties from Lexington and Concord?
273, with 73 killed
58
What were the patriot casualties from Lexington and Concord?
88, with 39 killed
59
How many colonial militia surrounded Boston after the Battle of Lexington and Concord?
20,000
60
When did Bunker Hill happen?
17th June 1775
61
What hill did the Battle of Bunker Hill take place on?
Breed’s Hill
62
How close were the Redcoats to the Americans before musket fire began?
40 yards
63
How many times did the Americans hold the British back?
3 times
64
What happened when the British reached the top of Breed’s Hill?
Hand-to-hand combat and American retreat
65
Who led the British in the Battle of Bunker Hill?
British General William Howe
66
Despite losing the Battle of Bunker Hill, how did American casualties compare to the British casualties?
The Americans lost less than half of what the British lost
67
Of the 2500 British in the Battle of Bunker Hill, how many became casualties?
More than 1000
68
Who did Congress elect as commander of the Continental Army in June 1775?
George Washington
69
How much was Washington paid for being commander of the army?
$500 per month for pay and expenses
70
How did Congress deal with the costs of the war?
They issued paper money
71
Why was the Olive Branch Petition created in July 1775?
Because many Americans (moderates) didn’t want to break away forever from Great Britain and still believed that an agreement could be made with the King
72
How did the more radical faction react to the moderates?
Let the moderates have their way as they knew the petition would be rejected - also hoped it would get more moderates onto the radical side
73
Who was the petition addressed to?
King George III
74
Who did the Americans blame in the petition for the war?
Parliament and Governors
75
When did the King respond?
August 1775
76
How did the King react to the Olive Branch Petition?
Rejected it and declared the 13 colonies to be in open rebellion
77
What effect did the rejection of the petition have on the Americans?
Made more unsure Americans become committed Patriots
78
Why did Congress consult the different states between 1775-76?
To gradually build up a case for independence
79
What pamphlet argued that compromise with Britain was now impossible?
Common Sense
80
Who wrote Common Sense?
Thomas Paine
81
When did Common Sense get published?
January 1776
82
How many copies of Common Sense were sold quickly?
12,000
83
What did Common Sense argue?
Reconciliation was no longer possible and the Americans should establish a new and fairer system of government
84
Where did Washington besiege in March 1776?
Boston
85
Where were the British forces to withdraw to after the besiege of Boston in March 1776?
Nova Scotia
86
When did Congress appoint the committee to write a Declaration of Independence?
June 11th 1776
87
Who was on the committee to write the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Benjamin Franklin
Robert Livingston
Roger Sherman
88
Who’s ideas of Enlightenment did Jefferson take inspiration from?
John Locke
89
What did John Locke believe?
People are born with natural rights: life Liberty, and property
If governments interfere with these rights, the people have the right to overthrow them
90
What are the 4 parts to the Declaration of Independence?
Preamble
Declaration of Natural Rights
List of Grievances
Resolution of Independence
91
What is the Preamble’s purpose?
Explains why the Continental Congress wrote the Declaration of Independence
92
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another …a decent respect of opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separate
When it is necessary for people to separate from their government, these people need to tell others the reasons why they are separating
93
What is the Declaration of Natural Rights?
Lists the rights of citizens
Explains that in a republic, the government is there to protect the rights of the people, not take them away
94
What does Jefferson call the Natural Rights?
‘Unalienable’ rights, which means they can never be taken away
95
What does the Declaration of Natural Rights say?
We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
96
What group of people are the only ones mentioned in the Declaration of Independence?
White men
97
What is the List of Grievances?
List of the colonist’s complaints with England
Specifically blame King George III
98
How many Grievances are in the Declaration of Independence?
28
99
What is the Resolution of Independence?
Declares that the colonies are “Free and Independent States”
Includes the signatures of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
100
Who was first to sign the Declaration of Independence?
John Hancock
101
When did John Hancock sign the Declaration of Independence?
August 2nd 1776
102
Why did John Hancock sign the Declaration of Independence first?
He was President of the Second Continental Congress
103
How many signers of the Declaration of Independence were there?
56
104
What crime was signing the Declaration of Independence?
Treason - Punishable by death
105
When was the Declaration of Independence ratified and adopted by Congress?
July 4th 1776
106
When did Congress engross the Declaration of Independence on parchment and begin signing?
August 2nd 1776
107
How much debt was Britain in after the 7 Years War?
£8 million
