Unit 3: Conflict and American Independence (1754-1800) Flashcards
Albany Plan of Union (1754)
representatives from seven colonies met in Albany, New York. Developed by Benjamin Franklin, the plan provided for an intercolonial government and a system for collecting taxes for the colonies’ defense
–> rejected because colonists did not want to lose self-taxing control
“Join or Die” cartoon
French and Indian War (1754-1763)
French and Indians vs Britain and colonies
Cause of French and Indian war
colonial expansion as English settlers moved into the Ohio Valley and the French tried to stop them to protect fur trade
George Washington
led a colonial contingent and attacked a French outpost and lost badly
–> surrendered and returned to Virginia as a hero
Outcome of the French and Indian War
England won:
got control of Canada and east of the Mississippi Valley
William Pitt
English prime minister who encouraged colonial support during French and Indian War in exchange for pay and autonomy –> resentment with change in power
post-French and Indian War Native American relations
Natives previously negotiated alliances in return for land, goods, and to be left alone –> English raised prices of goods and ceased paying rent on western forts
Pontiac’s Rebellion
Ottawa war chief Pontiac rallied tribes in Ohio Valley and attacked colonial outposts for raising prices
Paxton Boys
a group of Scots-Irish frontiersmen in Pennsylvania who attacked the Susquehanook tribe in response to Pontiac’s Rebellion
Proclamation of 1763
in response to Pontiac’s Rebellion: forbid settlement west of rivers in Appalachians
settlers had already moved passed this and agitated colonies
King George III and prime minister George Grenville
ruled during French and Indian War and ran up huge debts - felt that colonists should help pay
Sugar Act 1764
established new duties containing provisions aimed at deterring molasses and smugglers – little resistance
Molasses Act of 1733
raised revenue but was a protective tariff aimed against French imports
Sugar Act of 1764
lowered the duty on molasses – strictly enforced as duties were collected
–> difficult for committing violations, violators were arrested
Currency Act
forbade the colonies to issue paper money
Stamp Act of 1765
a tax specifically aimed at raising revenue = more taxes, broad-based tax – affected lawyers, tax on goods produced within the colonies
–> no power to self-tax
James Otis’s The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved
“No taxation without representation” - representation in Parliament or greater degree of self-government
virtual representation
Britain’s response to “no taxation without representation” - they are represented because they are British subjects
Patrick Henry
drafted the Virginia Stamp Act Resolves - protesting tax and asserting the colonists’ right to autonomy
Sons of Liberty
protest groups throughout the colonies against the tax
Declaratory Act
implemented by Lord Rockingham after removing the Stamp Act - asserted the British government’s right to tax and legislate anywhere in the colonies
Townshend Acts
implemented by Charles Townshend -
- taxed goods imported directly from Britain
- some of the collected taxes was set aside to pay tax collectors
- created more vice-admiralty courts and new government offices to enforce Britain’s power
- Suspended the new York Legislature because it refused to comply with law requiring to supply British troops
- writs of assistance - licenses that gave Britain the power to search any place they suspected of hiding smuggled goods
Massachusetts Circular Letter
written by Samuel Letter and sent to other assemblies asking they protest the new measures in unison
protests to the tax
held rallies, boycotts, sought “commoners” for support, colonial women replaced imports with “American” products
The Quartering Act of 1765
stationed large numbers of troops in America and made colonists responsible for the cost of feeding and housing them
Boston Massacre
remaining British soldiers in the colonies heightened tensions - competition for jobs
–> confrontations:
pelted snowballs at soldiers and the soldiers fired guns back
Committees of Correspondence
set up by colonists to trade ideas and inform one another of political mood and to have other citizens take active interest
in response to new parts of Townsend Acts implemented in 1772
Boston Tea Party
The British gave the failing East India Tea Co a monopoly on the tea trade in the colonies –> cheaper tea but Parliament overstepping boundaries
- -> In Boston, colonists refused to allow their cargo be unloaded, and the governor refused to allow them to leave the harbor
- -> sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks boarded the ship and dumped its cargo into the Boston Harbor
Coercive Acts / Intolerable Acts
- closed the Boston harbor to all but essential trade until all tea in Boston harbor was paid for
- tightened English control over Massachusetts government
- stricter Quartering Act put British soldiers in civilian homes
Quebec Act
passed simultaneously with Coercive Acts
- granted greater liberties to Catholics whom the Protestant majority distrusted
- extended the boundaries of the Quebec Territory = furthering westward expansion
First Continental Congress (1774)
Colonists met to discuss grievances, discuss strategy, and formulate a colonial position on proper relationship with parliament
–> imposed boycott on British goods
Continental Association
agreed to at the First Continental Congress - towns set of committees of observation to enforce the boycott, became de facto government
expanded powers in 1775