The Colonies Grow Apart, 1754-1772

Question 1

French and Indian War (1756-1763)

Answer 1

Part of the Seven Years’ War in Europe. Britain and France fought for control of the Ohio Valley and Canada. The Algonquins, who feared British expansion into the Ohio Valley, allied with the French. The Mohawks also fought for the French while the rest of the Iroquois Nation allied with the British. The colonies fought under British commanders. Britain eventually won, and gained control of all of the remaining French possessions in Canada, as well as India. Spain, which had allied with France, ceded Florida to Britain, but received Louisiana in return.

Question 2

Albany Plan of Union, Benjamin Franklin

Answer 2

During the French and Indian War, Franklin wrote this proposal for a unified colonial government, which would operate under the authority of the British government.

Question 3

General Braddock

Answer 3

British commander in the French and Indian War. He was killed and his army defeated in a battle at the intersection of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers, known as the Battle of Fallen Timbers. After his death, his colonial second-in-command, Col. George Washington, temporarily lead the British forces.

Question 4

William Pitt (1708-1778)

Answer 4

British secretary of state during the French and Indian War. He brought the British/colonial army under tight British control and started drafting colonists, which led to riots.

Question 5

Fort Pitt, Fort Duquesne

Answer 5

Fort Duquesne became one of the principal French outposts in the northern Ohio Valley, and, in 1754 the French troops in Fort Dusquesne destroyed nearby British Fort Necessity, after Washington and the colonial army surrendered it to them. The British rebuilt Fort Necessity as Fort Pitt in 1758.

Question 6

Wolfe, Montcalm, Quebec

Answer 6

1759 - British general James Wolfe led an attack on Quebec. The French, under Marquis de Montcalm, fought off the initial attack, but the British recovered and took Quebec in a surprise night attack in September, 1759.

Question 7

Treaty of Paris, 1763

Answer 7

Treaty between Britain, France, and Spain, which ended the Seven Years War (and the French and Indian War). France lost Canada, the land east of the Mississippi, some Caribbean islands and India to Britain. France also gave New Orleans and the land west of the Mississippi to Spain, to compensate it for ceding Florida to the British.

Question 8

Pontiac’s Rebellion

Answer 8

1763 - An Indian uprising after the French and Indian War, led by an Ottawa chief named Pontiac. They opposed British expansion into the western Ohio Valley and began destroying British forts in the area. The attacks ended when Pontiac was killed.

Question 9

Proclamation of 1763

Answer 9

A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east.

Question 10

Writs of Assistance

Answer 10

Search warrants issued by the British government. They allowed officials to search houses and ships for smuggled goods, and to enlist colonials to help them search. The writs could be used anywhere, anytime, as often as desired. The officials did not need to prove that there was reasonable cause to believe that the person subject to the search had committed a crime or might have possession of contraband before getting a writ or searching a house. The writs were protested by the colonies.

Question 11

James Otis

Answer 11

A colonial lawyer who defended (usually for free) colonial merchants who were accused of smuggling. Argued against the writs of assistance and the Stamp Act.

Question 12

Paxton Boys

Answer 12

A mob of Pennsylvania frontiersmen led by the Paxtons who massacred a group of non-hostile Indians.

Question 13

Navigation Acts

Answer 13

A series of British regulations which taxed goods imported by the colonies from places other than Britain, or otherwise sought to control and regulate colonial trade. Increased British-colonial trade and tax revenues. The Navigation Acts were reinstated after the French and Indian War because Britain needed to pay off debts incurred during the war, and to pay the costs of maintaining a standing army in the colonies.

Question 14

Grenville’s Program

Answer 14

As Prime Minister, he passed the Sugar Act in 1764 and the Stamp Act in 1765 to help finance the cost of maintaining a standing force of British troops in the colonies. He believed in reducing the financial burden on the British by enacting new taxes in the colonies.

Question 15

Sugar Act, 1764

Answer 15

Part of Prime Minister Grenville’s revenue program, the act replaced the Molasses Act of 1733, and actually lowered the tax on sugar and molasses (which the New England colonies imported to make rum as part of the triangular trade) from 6 cents to 3 cents a barrel, but for the first time adopted provisions that would insure that the tax was strictly enforced; created the vice-admiralty courts; and made it illegal for the colonies to buy goods from non-British Caribbean colonies.

Question 16

Molasses Act, 1733

Answer 16

British legislation which had taxed all molasses, rum, and sugar which the colonies imported from countries other than Britain and her colonies. The act angered the New England colonies, which imported a lot of molasses from the Caribbean as part of the Triangular Trade. The British had difficulty enforcing the tax; most colonial merchants did not pay it.

Question 17

Currency Act, 1764

Answer 17

British legislation which banned the production of paper money in the colonies in an effort to combat the inflation caused by Virginia’s decision to get itself out of debt by issuing more paper money.

Question 18

Vice-admiralty courts

Answer 18

In these courts, British judges tried colonials in trials with no juries.

Question 19

Non-importation

Answer 19

A movement under which the colonies agreed to stop importing goods from Britain in order to protest the Stamp Act.

Question 20

Virtual, actual representation

Answer 20

Virtual representation means that a representative is not elected by his constituents, but he resembles them in his political beliefs and goals. Actual representation mean that a representative is elected by his constituents. The colonies only had virtual representation in the British government.

Question 21

Stamp Act

Answer 21

March 22, 1765 - British legislation passed as part of Prime Minister Grenville’s revenue measures which required that all legal or official documents used in the colonies, such as wills, deeds and contracts, had to be written on special, stamped British paper. It was so unpopular in the colonies that it caused riots, and most of the stamped paper sent to the colonies from Britain was burned by angry mobs. Because of this opposition, and the decline in British imports caused by the non- importation movement, London merchants convinced Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act in 1766.

Question 22

Virginia Resolves

Answer 22

May 30, 1765 - Patrick Henry’s speech which condemned the British government for its taxes and other policies. He proposed 7 “resolves” to show Virginia’s resistance to the British policies, 5 of which were adopted by the Virginia legislature. 8 other colonies followed suit and had adopted similar resolves by the end of 1765.

Question 23

Stamp Act Congress, 1765

Answer 23

27 delegates from 9 colonies met from October 7-24, 1765, and drew up a list of declarations and petitions against the new taxes imposed on the colonies.

Question 24

Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

Answer 24

An American orator and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses who gave speeches against the British government and its policies urging the colonies to fight for independence. In connection with a petition to declare a “state of defense” in Virginia in 1775, he gave his most famous speech which ends with the words, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Henry served as Governor of Virginia from 1776-1779 and 1784-1786, and was instrumental in causing the Bill of Rights to be adopted as part of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 25

Sons of Liberty

Answer 25

A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.

Question 26

Internal taxes

Answer 26

Taxes which arose out of activities that occurred “internally” within the colonies. The Stamp Act was considered an internal tax, because it taxed the colonists on legal transactions they undertook locally. Many colonists and Englishmen felt that Parliament did not have the authority to levy internal taxes on the colonies.

Question 27

External taxes

Answer 27

Taxes arose out of activities that originated outside of the colonies, such as customs duties. The Sugar Act was considered an external tax, because it only operated on goods imported into the colonies from overseas. Many colonists who objected to Parliament’s “internal” taxes on the colonies felt that Parliament had the authority to levy external taxes on imported goods.

Question 28

Declaratory Act, 1766

Answer 28

Passed at the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed, the Act declared that Parliament had the power to tax the colonies both internally and externally, and had absolute power over the colonial legislatures.

Question 29

Quartering Act

Answer 29

March 24, 1765 - Required the colonials to provide food, lodging, and supplies for the British troops in the colonies.

Question 30

Townshend Acts, reaction

Answer 30

Another series of revenue measures, passed by Townshend as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1767, they taxed quasi-luxury items imported into the colonies, including paper, lead, tea, and paint. The colonial reaction was outrage and they instituted another movement to stop importing British goods.

Question 31

John Dickinson

Answer 31

Drafted a declaration of colonial rights and grievances, and also wrote the series of “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania” in 1767 to protest the Townshend Acts. Although an outspoken critic of British policies towards the colonies, Dickinson opposed the Revolution, and, as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776, refused to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Question 32

Massachusetts Circular Letter

Answer 32

A letter written in Boston and circulated through the colonies in February, 1768, which urged the colonies not to import goods taxed by the Townshend Acts. Boston, New York, and Philadelphia agreed to non-importation. It was followed by the Virginia Circular Letter in May, 1768. Parliament ordered all colonial legislatures which did not rescind the circular letters dissolved.

Question 33

Sam Adams (1722-1803)

Answer 33

A Massachusetts politician who was a radical fighter for colonial independence. Helped organize the Sons of Liberty and the Non-Importation Commission, which protested the Townshend Acts, and is believed to have lead the Boston Tea Party. He served in the Continental Congress throughout the Revolution, and served as Governor of Massachusetts from 1794-1797.

Question 34

The Association

Answer 34

A military organization formed by Benjamin Franklin which formed fighting units in Pennsylvania and erected two batteries on the Delaware River.

Question 35

Repeal of the Townshend Acts, except tax on tea

Answer 35

1770 - Prime Minister Lord North repealed the Townshend Acts, except for the tax on tea.

Question 36

Boston Massacre, 1770

Answer 36

The colonials hated the British soldiers in the colonies because the worked for very low wages and took jobs away from colonists. On March 4, 1770, a group of colonials started throwing rocks and snowballs at some British soldiers; the soldiers panicked and fired their muskets, killing a few colonials. This outraged the colonies and increased anti-British sentiment.

Question 37

Crispus Attucks (1723-1770)

Answer 37

He was one of the colonials involved in the Boston Massacre, and when the shooting started, he was the first to die. He became a martyr.

Question 38

John Adams

Answer 38

A Massachusetts attorney and politician who was a strong believer in colonial independence. He argued against the Stamp Act and was involved in various patriot groups. As a delegate from Massachusetts, he urged the Second Continental Congress to declare independence. He helped draft and pass the Declaration of Independence. Adams later served as the second President of the United States.

Question 39

Carolina Regulators

Answer 39

Western frontiersmen who in 1768 rebelled in protest against the high taxes imposed by the Eastern colonial government of North Carolina, and whose organization was crushed by military force by Governor Tryon in 1771. In South Carolina, groups of vigilantes who organized to fight outlaw bands along the Western frontier in 1767-1769, and who disbanded when regular courts were established in those areas.

Question 40

Battle of the Alamance

Answer 40

May 1771 - An army recruited by the North Carolina government put down the rebellion of the Carolina Regulators at Alamance Creek. The leaders of the Regulators were executed.

Question 41

Gaspée Incident

Answer 41

In June, 1772, the British customs ship Gaspée ran around off the colonial coast. When the British went ashore for help, colonials boarded the ship and burned it. They were sent to Britain for trial. Colonial outrage led to the widespread formation of Committees of Correspondence.