unit 2 key terms Flashcards
The British hired foreign/German soldiers to serve in British armies. Most were from the German state of hesse-cassel
Hessians
Primarily civilians summoned from their homes to fight in the armies-this helped the patriots to create an army with little money-many were unreliable and ungovernable
Citizen Soldiers (militiamen)
The patriots ambush against the British after crossing into New Jersey in the middle of the night of Christmas 1776. The patriots surprised 1500 sleeping hessians. Only two of Washingtons men were killed and some 900 hessians were captured
Battle of Trenton
Led by General Burgoyne on the British side, and General Horatio Gates on the American side, the three week long battles, the British tried to break through the Americans twice and failed. On October 17, 1777 Burgoyne surrenders his outnumbered army and handed over troops and weapons to the patriots.
Battles of Saratoga
The American victory at Saratoga convince the French to sign two crucial treaties- crafted by ben franklin in Paris. Both parties agreed that both countries would continue to fight until the states won the war, no peace treaty would be signed with the British, and each would guarantee the others possessions in America. The French also agreed no to seek possessions from Canada or Britain.
Alliance with France
-Near Philadelphia
George Washingtons army of 12,000 patriots suffered intensely. Many soldiers left hungry, cold and without shoes or blankets. More than 2,500 soldiers died and another 1,000 deserted.
Valley Forge
Began Sept 28 1781, The American and French troops closed off the British last escape route in the Chesapeake bay and began bombarding the British with cannons. The British held out for three weeks before running out of food and suffering from widespread disease. By October 17, 1781, the British soldiers marched out of their trenches and laid down their weapons.
Battle of Yorktown
American revolutionaries embraced a representative democracy instead of the aristocratic or monarchial outlook that had long dominated Europe. In which property holding white men governed themselves through the concept of _______ whereby they elected representatives to make key decisions
Republican Ideology
The war for independence sparked a wave of new______ that remains unique in history. Revolutionary leaders believed that they must protect the rights of individuals and states from being violated by the national government. Limiting the powers of the government so as to protect the rights of the people.
State Constitutions
When the______ were finally ratified in March 1781, they essentially legalized the way things had been operating since Independence had been declared.
Articles of confederation
Declared that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever” and “that all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matter of religion”. These statutes, helped shape the course that religious life would take in the new Unite states- diverse and voluntary rather than monolithic and enforced by the government.
Virginia statute of Religious Freedom
The sharing of power among national, state, and local government.
Federalism
the ____ of 1787 set forth two key principles to better manage western expansion: the new western territories would not be treated as subordinate colonies as was the European tradition; and slavery would be banned from the region north of the Ohio river. Also included a promise, which would be rapidly broken, that Indian lands shall never be taken from them without their consent.
Northwest Ordinance
Shays and his followers demanded that states issues paper currency to help ease the payment of debts and the right to postpone paying taxes until the postwar agricultural depression lifted.
Shays rebellion
Opponents of the Constitution- wanted to start over or revise the proposed constitution. Wanted it to read “we the states” instead of “we the people” . Most ______ feared that the new government would eventually grow corrupt and tyrannical. They also criticized the absence of a Bill of Rights to protect individuals and states from the growing power of the national government.
Anti-Federalists
The debate over the Constitution______, a collection of 85 essays published in New York newspapers between 1787 and 1788. Written by James Madison, alexander Hamilton, and john jay, the essays defended the concept of a strong national government and outlined the major principles and assumptions embodied in the Constitution.
The Federalist Papers
A set of constitutional amendments intended to protect individual rights approved by three-fourths of the states by the end of 1789
Bill of Rights