Resistance, Rebellion, and Revolution (1750-1775)

Question 1

French and Indian War (1756-1763)

Answer 1

AKA the Seven Years’ War, a conflict between British and French involving Natives and colonial forces. The Frech defeat in this war greatly decreased their influence in the colonies.

Question 2

Stamp Act (1765)

Answer 2

dictated that all legal documents in the colonies needed legal stamped paper. Created resentment in the colonies and was repealed

Question 3

Townshend Acts (1767)

Answer 3

British legislation that forced colonies to pay duties on most goods coming from England; they were heavily resisted and repealed in 1770

Question 4

Boston Massacre (1770)

Answer 4

conflict between British soldiers and Boston civilians on March 5th. Five colonists were killed and six wounded.

Question 5

Sons of Liberty

Answer 5

radical group organizing resistance against British policies in Boston in the 1760s-170s. They organized the Boston Tea Party.

Question 6

Committees of Correspondence

Answer 6

created in Massachusetts and spread to other colonies. Circulated grievances against the British within their colonies.

Question 7

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Answer 7

response to taxes on tea, radicals disguised as Natives threw 350 chests into Boston Harbor on December 16th. A symbolic act of resistance to British economic control.

Question 8

First Continental Congress (1774)

Answer 8

meeting in Philadelphia where colonists promised to resist further economic control efforts.

Question 9

Albany Congress (1754)

Answer 9

meeting of representatives of colonies to coordinate efforts against French and Native threats in the Western front.

Question 10

Currency Act (1764)

Answer 10

Act forbidding colonies to issue legal paper money. Was repealed in 1773 as an effort to reduce tensions.

Question 11

Sugar Act (1764)

Answer 11

Effort to pay for British army in North America. Taxed sugar and other imports. British had prevented flow of sugar from French colonies and now attempted to make money from this trade. The act also punished smugglers of sugar who didn’t pay the import duty.

Question 12

Quartering Act

Answer 12

British edict saying that to help defend the empire, colonial governments must assist British troops. Colonists considered this to be the ultimate insult since they were paying for troops to control them.

Question 13

Declaratory Act of 1766

Answer 13

British law stating that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies and make laws enacted in the colonies.

Question 14

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Answer 14

Head of the department in the British government that issued and collected taxes. Many acts issued by this force created resentment in the colonies.

Question 15

Circular Letter

Answer 15

reaction to Townshend acts: Massachusetts assembly circulated a letter to other colonies to request protest against British authorities. The British response encouraged colonists to work closer together.

Question 16

Tea Act (1773)

Answer 16

provided American colonies with cheap tea, but forced colonists to admit that Parliament could tax them. Sons of Liberty acted against this with the Boston Tea Party.

Question 17

Intolerable/Coercive Acts (1774)

Answer 17

term used by anti-British speakers for the bills passed to punish Massachusetts colony for the Boston Tea Party. Included closing of the harbor, prohibiting meetings, and mandatory quartering of troops in the homes of residents.

Question 18

Declaration of Rights and Grievances

Answer 18

measure adopted by the First Continental Congress saying that Parliament had the right to regulate trade, but not to tax without consent.

Question 19

Suffolk Resolves

Answer 19

sent from Suffolk County, MA to the First Continental Congress. Called for citizens to take up arms against the British. Was adapted controversially by the First Continental Congress.