Soc chp 3-4 test Flashcards
Thomas Hobbes vs. John Locke’s ideas of the state of nature and the social contract
Thomas Hobbes said the state of nature was a time when people were left entirely to themselves. He described the state of nature to be fairly miserable because according to Hobbes people had no notions of right and wrong so life was a war of every man against every man. John Locke also believed that people who lived in the state of nature were free to do whatever they want, but unlike Hobbes, Locke believed that the people in the state of nature had 3 natural rights, life, liberty, and property. Locke also believed that in the state of nature humans followed a moral law, a “natural law”, that required them to respect the rights of others.
Locke’s role for government
Locke came up with the idea that in the state of nature people made a social contract with each other and formed the commonwealth. By doing this they agreed to give up some of their liberties (not liberty itself) in order to preserve their life and property. Locke’s thought is called liberalism. To Locke and other liberal thinkers, the government exists to make sure that every person may exercise his rights with as much freedom as possible.
French and Indian War
The French and Indian war started when the French began building fortresses in land that the English claimed to own, as the French claimed it was actually their land. This all led to the French and Indian war, where they fought over this land, and at the beginning of this war it was going pretty bad for the English until William Pitt became secretary of state and prime minister of Great Britain, leading the English to victory. This war led to extreme debt in Great Britain since the war had cost so much.
Causes of Revolutionary War
Some of the Revolutionary War causes were an extreme amount of taxes that were placed on the American Colonies that they thought were unfair as they thought they were not being treated as Englishmen. Some of the taxes placed on them were the Stamp Act which forced them to pay a tax on all legal documents, Declaratory Act which stated that the colonists only had rights that parliament granted them, and the Quartering Act required Boston citizens to house soldiers.
Loyalists vs Patriots
Loyalists are people who support the crown while patriots are people who support the revolution and oppose the crown.
Treaty that ends the war
Treaty of Paris
Outcomes of Firsts and Second Continental Congress
The first Continental congress resulted in the writing of a Declaration of Resolves, which redressed grievances from the mother country. The second Continental Congress resulted in the designation of colonial troops around Boston as the provisional army although the colonies insisted they did not seek independence from Great Britain.
Advantages and disadvantages for Loyalist troops and British troops (gear, weapons, strategy)
Some advantages for loyalist and british troops are that they had proper training, money, and trained generals. Some disadvantages are they are not used to the terrain in America with its forests, heavy uniforms and supplies (slowing them down), bright uniforms making them easier to spot, they were unused to the style of fighting that the Americans used as they hid in bushes and trees camouflaged while the British were not camouflaged in there bright red uniforms.
Modern country that Hessians came from
Hesse-Cassel
4 parts of the Declaration of Independence
The reason for writing the document, principles of government, list of Great Britain’s violations of these principles, and explanation of the colonies tried to resolve their problems with Great Britain
“No taxation without representation”
Argues that Parliament had no right to tax them since the colonies had no representation in Parliament so they could give their consent.
Boston Massacre
When British soldiers fired into a mob that had been pelting them with snow and stones, killing 3 and wounding 2 Bostonians.
Boston Tea Party
When Sons of Liberty had dressed as Indians and snuck onto British tea ships and dumped the tea into the harbor.
“The Shot Heard Around the World”
Refers to the opening shot to the battles of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolutionary War.
Minute Men
Patriot soldiers who were expected to be ready to fight within a minute.
Henry Knox
Was in charge of America’s artillery, he would strategically place cannons during battle and was an important part of the war.
Baron Friedrich von Steuben
Military officer who reformed the Continental Army and turned them into professional soldiers when they were struggling during the winter.
Valley Forge
Was where Washington and his army settled for the winter as they constructed log cabins and rested from the battles in 1777-1778.
Battle at Bunker Hill
Was a 3 hour battle resulting in the Continental Army needing to retreat as they ran out of ammunition, and although it was technically a British victory it felt more like an American victory as the British suffered nearly 1000 casualties while Americans only 400.
Battle of Trenton
Was Washington’s first victory of the war, Henry Knox surrounded the British camp with cannons and Washington with troops when the British saw they were surrounded they retreated by boat.
Battle of Saratoga
Battle that prevented the attempts to control the Hudson River Valley that ended in many British casualties. Benedict Arnold led the army during that battle but when the victory was announced ,Heratio Gates took all the credit.
Surrender at Yorktown
The continental army and French soldiers surrounded Cornwallis at Yorktown. Cornwallis managed to endure it for nearly a month and requested backup from Clinton, but when Clinton never came Cornwallis was forced to surrender.
First constitution ratified by the US and why it proves ineffective
The Articles of Confederation, they prove ineffective because it caused Congress to have to rely on the states for revenue, so it was constantly low on money, because it gave Congress so little power they could not settle disagreements between states, they could not protect the property of loyalists and could not enforce its will on the matter, and more.
