The French and Indian War, beginning the colonial unrest

Question 1

John Perter Zenger Trial

Answer 1

Zenger published articles critical of British governor William Cosby. He was taken to trial, but found not guilty. The trial set a precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies.

Question 2

Glorious Revolution, 1688

Answer 2

King James II’s policies, such as converting to catholicism, conducting a series of repressive trials known as the “Bloody Assizes,” and maintianing a standing army, so outraged the people of England that Parliament asked him to resign and invited King William of the Netherlands (who became known as William II in England), to take over the throne. King James II left peacefully (after his troops deserted him) and King William II and his wife Queen Mary II took the throne without any war or bloodshed, hence the revolution was termed “glorious.”

Question 3

John Locke (1632-1704), his theories

Answer 3

Locke was an English political philosopher whose ideas inspired the American revolution. He wrote that all human beings have a right to life, liberty, and property, and that governments exist to protect those rights. He believed that government was based upon an unwritten “social contract” between the rulers and their people, and if the government failed to uphold its end of the contract, the people had a right to rebel and institute a new government.

Question 4

A democratic society or not?

Answer 4

The Founding Fathers were not sure that democracy was the right form of government for America. They feared anarchy and the rise of factions whose policies would not represent the true will of the people. Hence, the government which they designed contains many aspects of a republic; that is, an indirect democracy in which the people do not vote directly on the laws, but instead elect representatives who vote for them.

Question 5

Land claims and squabbles in North America

Answer 5

The British controlled the colonies on the east coast, and the French held the land around the Mississippi and west of it. Both the British and the French laid claim to Canada and the Ohio Valley region.

Question 6

Differences between French and British colonization

Answer 6

The British settled mainly along the coast, where they started farms, towns, and governments. As a general rule, whole families emigrated. The British colonies had little interaction with the local Indians (aside from occasional fighting). The French colonized the interior, where they controlled the fur trade. Most of the French immigrants were single men, and there were few towns and only loose governmental authority. The French lived closely with the Indians, trading with them for furs and sometimes taking Indian wives.

Question 7

Queen Anne’s War, 1702-1713

Answer 7

The second of the four wars known generally as the French and Indian Wars, it arose out of issues left unresolved by King Williams’ War (1689-1697) and was part of a larger European conflict known as the War of the Spanish Succession. Britain, allied with the Netherlands, defeated France and Spain to gain territory in Canada, even though the British had suffered defeats in most of their military operations in North America.

Question 8

Peace of Utrecht, 1713

Answer 8

Ended Queen Anne’s War. Undermined France’s power in North America by giving Britain the Hudson Bay, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia.

Question 9

War of Jenkin’s Ear (1739-1743)

Answer 9

Land squabble between Britain and Spain over Georgia and trading rights. Battles took place in the Caribbean and on the Florida/Georgia border. The name comes from a British captain named Jenkin, whose ear was cut off by the Spanish.

Question 10

King George’s War (1744-1748)

Answer 10

Land squabble between France and Britain. France tried to retake Nova Scotia (which it had lost to Britain in Queen Anne’s War). The war ended with a treaty restoring the status quo, so that Britain kept Nova Scotia).

Question 11

French and Indian War (1756-1763)

Answer 11

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, ceeded Florida to Britain, but received Louisana in return.

Question 12

Francis Parkman (1823-1893)

Answer 12

An historian who wrote about the struggle between France and Britain for North America.

Question 13

Albany Plan of Union, Benjamin Franklin

Answer 13

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 14

General Braddock

Answer 14

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 15

William Pitt (1708-1778)

Answer 15

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 16

Fort Pitt, Fort Duquesne

Answer 16

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 17

Wolfe, Montcalm, Quebec

Answer 17

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 18

Treaty of Paris, 1763

Answer 18

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 ceeding Florida to the British.

Question 19

Pontiac’s Rebellion

Answer 19

1763 - An Indian uprising after the French and Indian War, led by an Ottowa 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 20

Proclamation of 1763

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Writs of Assistance

Answer 21

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 22

James Otis

Answer 22

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 23

Paxton Boys

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Navigation Acts

Answer 24

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 25

Grenville’s Program

Answer 25

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 26

Sugar Act, 1764

Answer 26

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 27

Molasses Act, 1733

Answer 27

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 28

Currency Act, 1764

Answer 28

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 29

Vice-admiralty courts

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Non-importation

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Virtual, actual representation

Answer 31

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 32

Stamp Act

Answer 32

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 33

Virginia Resolves

Answer 33

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 resisitence 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 34

Stamp Act Congress, 1765

Answer 34

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 35

Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

Answer 35

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 36

Sons of Liberty

Answer 36

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 37

Internal taxes

Answer 37

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 38

External taxes

Answer 38

Taxes arose out of activities that originated outside of the colonies, such as cusotms 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 39

Declatory Act, 1766

Answer 39

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 40

Quartering Act

Answer 40

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

Question 41

Townshend Acts, reaction

Answer 41

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 instutited another movement to stop importing British goods.

Question 42

John Dickinson

Answer 42

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 43

Massachusetts Circular Letter

Answer 43

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 44

Sam Adams (1722-1803)

Answer 44

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 45

The Association

Answer 45

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

Question 46

Repeal of the Townshend Acts, except tax on tea

Answer 46

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

Question 47

Boston Massacre, 1770

Answer 47

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 48

Crispus Attucks (1723-1770)

Answer 48

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 49

John Adams

Answer 49

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 50

Carolina Regulators

Answer 50

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 fignt outlaw bands along the Western frontier in 1767-1769, and who disbanded when regular courts were established in those areas.