Week 1 Flashcards
joint stock company
a group of private investors who poole their money to support big projects, economic system used by colonies
royal charter colonies
colonies that have to be governed by a governor from England and are not able to create their own government
proprietary charter colonies
colonies owned by an individual, the individual has the freedom to create their own government
House of Burgesses
assembly formed by colonists in Virginia to make their own laws, 1619
Separatists
Puritans who wanted to form their own congregations separate from the Anglican Church
“Salutary Neglect”
term used by colonists to describe British policies in an attempt to control the colonies
Quakers
objected all political and religious authority and opposed war war as means to settledisputes
Zenger Case
first example and set the precedent for the freedom of press
French and Indian War
British victory, left England in a lot of debt which caused them to create acts and taxes on the colonists lives and later lead to the American Revolution
Pontiac’s Rebellion
after Seven Years War, Indians rebelled in a last effort to push British out of their land
Mercantilism
The theory that a state’s power depends on its wealth
Navigation Act
All goods shipped to and from colonies be carried on English ships, specific products be sold only to England, staple act - required all colonial imports to come through England
Proclamation of 1763
Colonists cannot expand west past the Appalachian mountains
Colonial assemblies
local assemblies elected by the colonists
Power of the purse
the ability of one group to control another by withholding funding or putting stipulations on the use of funds
Enlightenment
Movement in the 1700s that promoted thoughts about the government and their people
Indentured servants
An individual who contracts to work for a colonist for a specified number of years in exchange for transportation to the colonies, food, shelter, and clothing
Glorious Revolution
1688; a successful revolution where King James II stepped down from power and vacated the thrown for Mary and William of Orange, parliament issued the English Bill of Rights which protected freedom of speech and banned excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment
Sugar Act
raised taxes on imports of raw sugar and molasses, silk, wine, coffee, and indigo
Stamp Act
required stamps to be bought and placed on most written materials, first direct tax
Declaratory Act
declaration that British had total control over American colonists
Sons of Liberty
Rebel group lead by Samuel Adams
virtual representation
idea that each member of Parliament represented the entire empire even when only a remote few can be a Parliament official
direct representation
each representative’s vote is weighted in proportion to the number of citizens who have chosen that candidate to represent them
townshed acts
put customs duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea and gave customs officers new powers to arrest smugglers
stamp act congress
first congress of the American colonies, purpose was to devise a unified protest against British taxes
committees of correspondance
committee organized in each colony to communicate with and unify the colonies
Boston Massacre
colonists patronizing British officers and lead to the British opening fire on the colonists, began fire against the British and lead the way to the American Revolution
writs of assistance
a written order issued by a court instructing a law enforcement officer to preform a certain task
Sam Adams
leader of the sons of liberty, leader of resistance
John Hancock
leader of Massachusetts militia and secret assemblies
Paul Revere
made engraving of Boston Massacre and messenger
Tea Act
created favorable business for the struggling East India Company
Boston Tea Party
raid of ships carrying cargo of tea where radicals dumped crates of tea into Boston Harbor
Intolerable Acts
(Coercive Acts) closed Boston port, expanded power of British governor, banned town meetings, stationed more troops in Boston
First Continental Congress
55 delegates from 12 colonies except Georgia decided to boycott British goods and agreed to meet again if British command does not improve
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Massachusetts, minutemen met British army in Lexington to stop them form going into Concord: “shot heard round the world”, when British army arrived at Concord, the arms and supplies were gone
Battle of Bunker Hill
Massachusetts, British victory: “don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes”
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
1776, pamphlet that persuasively argued that King George III, and not Parliament, was responsible for British actions against the colonies
Second Continental Congress
1775 sent King George the Olive Branch Petition which urged the King to resolve their differences peacefully
John Adams
helped Thomas Jefferson edit the Declaration of Independance
George Washington
in charge of continental army
Thomas Jefferson
wrote the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence
document where the colonies dissolved ties with Britain, written by Thomas Jefferson
Loyalists / Torres
people who remained loyal to Britain
Patriots
people who rebelled against Britain and favored the creation of a new country
Northwest Ordinance
plan for selling and governing lands west of the Appalachian Mountains
Land Ordinance
lands were to be divided into 10 separate states
Articles of Confederation
first draft of a government for the United States of America and proved to be unproductive and problematic
Shay’s Rebellion
Daniel Shays lead 1200 followers to revolt against high taxes, proved the weakness of the Articles of Confederation
James Madison
master builder of the framework of the Constitution, proposed Virginia Plan
Constitutional Convention
1787, every state except Rhode Island sent delegates (55) decided to abandon Articles of Confederation and draft a new constitution
Alexander Hamilton
Federalist and delegate at the Constitutional Convention
George Mason
Anti Federalist and delegate at the Constitutional Convention
John Jay
responsible for many compromises
Federalists
favored ratification, separation of powers, Federalist Papers, support of George Washington
Anti-Federalists
opposed ratification, Bill of Rights
Federalists Paper
series of 85 essays written to explain the reasons why the Constitution should be ratified
Bill of Rights
ensures specific rights of the people
Arts 1, 2, 3 of Constitution
- Legislative, 2. Executive, 3. Judicial
Federalism
political system in which power is divided between national and state governments
reserved powers
not specifically given to the national government so therefore reserved for the states
delegated powers
given exclusive to the national government
concurrent powers
shared by both the national and state governments
republican government
government based on representation rather than direct voting
