The Crisis of Empire, Revolution, and Nation Building (1754-1800) Flashcards
French and Indian War
Identify:
- Phases
War between France and Britain in the American colonies due to mutual encroachment. The War brought a shift in American Indigenous alliances.
3 phases:
1: Local affair between British colonists and French forces. Most Indigenous groups sides with the French, who were more accommodating. The British were losing.
2: William Pitt takes over. He enforces heavy handed tactics that are unpopular and resisted amongst colonists, putting the entire British effort in jeopardy.
3: Pitt works with colonial assemblies, which proves successful. France loses the war.
Fort Duquesne and Fort Necessity
French and British fort respectively, both in Pittsburgh. British fort was in response to the French one, and these forts were the prelude to the French and Indian War.
Benjamin Franklin (French and Indian War)
Proposed the Albany Plan which was rejected by the delegates. It was an attempt to organize an inter-colonial government, since the British war effort was scattered.
Albany Plan
An attempt to organize an inter-colonial government, since the British war effort was scattered.
William Pitt (French and Indian War)
Oversaw phases 2 and 3 of the war.
Treaty of Paris
France’s surrendering of almost all of its North American empire to Britain and Spain. This occurred after the loss of the French and Indian War.
Sugar Act
Post French and Indian War tax levied on the British settlers due to the heavy debt incurred by Britain as a result of constant warfare. The act actually lowered the existing tax on molasses imported into North America from French colonies in the West Indies. However, it also cracked down on smuggling in an attempt to generate more income.
Stamp Act
Departure from previous British policy. It aimed solely to raise revenue, rather than regulating trade. This provoked much resentment amongst colonists. It is often considered to be the beginning of the American Revolution era.
Quartering Act
Act that stated that if there were not enough barracks, soldiers would be housed in local pubs, inns, etc. Colonial assemblies were expected to shoulder the costs of these soldiers. These troops often supplemented their part time wages by finding work in the community. This act was in response to the influx of British soldiers following the French and Indian War.
Jeffrey Amherst
Commander-in-chief of British forces in North America who exemplified the difference between British and French approaches to local Indigenous tribes. Amherst saw gift exchanges as demeaning, unlike the French, who regularly participated tin them. The Indigenous saw gift giving as an expression of dominance and protection.
Neolin
Indigenous leader who gave an apocalyptic vision of what would happen if Indigenous people did not change their ways. He encouraged them to curb contact with Europeans and lessen infighting. This came in response to French withdrawal from North America. He helped set the stage for a unified resistance.
Ottawa Tribe
After the French and Indian War, they found themselves without allies, since British Colonists had set their sights on their traditional lands. They led a rebellion on Fort Detroit and surrounding forts and settlements. They were initially successful.
Pontiac
Leader of the Ottawa Tribe during their rebellion.
Thomas Gage
Replaced Amherst due to Amherst’s failure in dealing with the Ottawa Tribe’s rebellion. Gage ultimately broke the rebellion, but smaller skirmishes continued until the American Revolution.
Proclamation of 1763
British government drew a line through the Appalachian Mountains and ordered colonists not to settle beyond it. This came in response to Pontiac’s Rebellion. Many colonists were disappointed by this, and access to western lands was one of the first major disputes between colonists and the government.
Scots-Irish
Identify:
- Initial Destination
Presbyterians from Scotland who generations earlier had settled in Ireland. Difficult economic conditions compelled them to move to America, making them the largest immigrant group in the middle colonies.
They initially aimed to settle in Pennsylvania, where there was available land and a need for workers. The South was dominated by slavery, the North’s Puritanism enforced homogeneity, and New York City’s land was mostly taken by large estates.
Paxton Boys
Vigilante group of Scots-Irish who raided Indigenous groups on the Pennsylvania frontier.
Conestoga Indians
Group attacked by the Paxton Boys. Most Conestoga Indians were Christians.
Apology (Paxton Boys)
Paxton Boy’s presentation of grievances toward Pennsylvania legislature. They were bitter about the presence of Indigenous groups on the Pennsylvania frontier, as well as grievances against the Quaker Elite maintaining a more lenient policy.
Declarations of the Stamp Act Congresss
Asserted that only representatives elected by colonists could enact taxes on the colonies. This came from delegates of nine colonies who met up in New York following the Stamp act.
No Taxation Without Representation
Rallying cry of opponents of British policies.
Patrick Henry
Wrote the Virginia Resolves
Virginia Resolves
Came before the Declarations of the Stamp Act Congress. They called for more autonomy that went beyond moderate proposals.
Virtual Representation
British government’s response to No Taxation Without Representation. This theory claimed that MP’s represented the entire Empire, so the colonists were technically represented, despite not being voted by the colonists.