US History Ch 5 SG
Boston Tea Party
A 1773 protest against British taxes in which Boston colonists disguised as Mohawks dumped valuable tea into Boston Harbor.
Crispus Attucks
A free black man who was the first person killed in the Revolution at the Boston Massacre.
Regulators
A group of wealthy residents in the South Carolina backcountry in the 1760s who protested the lack of government in the backcountry enforcing the law and order.
Sons of Liberty
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.
Virtual Representation
British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members.
Stamp Act
Happened b/c: Britain in debt because of the French and Indian War, taxed colonists against their will Caused the Riot against taxes because they were mad that they did not have any say in Parliament.
Was war with Great Britain inevitable? Why or why not?
I believe that the war with Great Britain was inevitable because there was so much tension between the colonists and Britain because of the conflict of how the colonists should be governed that rebellion was inevitable due to a lack of representation in Parliament, taxes imposed on the colonists (Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Act, Intolerable Act all led to the colonists wanting their freedom from a government that wouldn't give them a voice.), and basic freedoms being ignored by the mother county — Britain.
Boston Massacre
The first bloodshed of the American Revolution, as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five Americans.
How did new ideas of liberty contribute to tensions between the social classes in the American colonies?
The ideas of liberty and having freedom meant getting rid of the hereditary hierarchy of England. And the salves who fought were granted freedom and it confused where they would fit into society. Liberty in the United States meant no more monarchy, aristocracy, or hereditary privilege, which had oppressed Europe. Individual self-fulfillment unimpeded by the government meant that everybody had the potential to realize their own life goals, they did not have to be stuck in one social position / class.
Battle of Yorktown
Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781. Once news had reached London, the people of Britain did not support the war anymore, so talks about peace began.
writs of assistance
search warrants used to enter homes or businesses to search for smuggled goods
Declaration of Independence
the document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain
Battle of Bunker Hill
First major battle of the Revolutions. It showed that the Americans could hold their own, but the British were also not easy to defeat. Ultimately, the Americans were forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition, and Bunker Hill was in British hands. However, the British suffered more deaths. British Leader = Sir William Howe
Intolerable Acts
(AKA Coercive Acts) in response to Boston Tea Party, 4 acts passed in 1774, Port of Boston closed, reduced power of assemblies in colonies, permitted royal officers to be tried elsewhere, provided for quartering of troop's in barns and empty houses
Battles of Lexington and Concord
1st battle of the American Revolution. Known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World". The battles of Lexington and Concord initiated the Revolutionary War between the American colonists and the British. British governor Thomas Gage sent troops to Concord to stop the colonists who were loading arms. The next day, on April 19, 1775, the first shots were fired in Lexington, starting the war. The battles resulted in a British retreat to Boston
Continental Congress
A body of representatives from the British North American colonies who met to respond to England's Intolerable Acts. They declared independence in July 1776 and later drafted the Articles of Confederation.
Townshend Acts
A tax that the British Parliament passed in 1767 that Britian was trying to put more taxes on more goods to prevent smuggling in 1767, and slowly this upset Americans. Because of this law, the American used more of their own goods instead of the British goods - which became the symbol of American resistance.
Benedict Arnold
American General who was labeled a traitor when he assisted the British in a failed attempt to take the American fort at West Point.
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation
An offer by the British governor and military commander in Virginia for freedom to any slave who escaped to his lines and fought for the British.
Look up the word "appeasement" in a dictionary. Do you think that this word describes British policies toward the colonies before 1773? Explain your reasoning.
Appeasement means to "pacify or placate (someone) by acceding to their demands." Appeasement means to "give into someones demands to avoid confrontation" I believe that this word does describe the policies that the British put forth on the colonies before 1773 because Parliament was offering a voice for the colonists in the government, even though the colonists wanted to decide for themselves if they could be taxed. Then William Pitt convinced Parliament to repeal the Sugar and Stamp Act. Also, Britain finally took away all the taxes except for a small tax on tea.
Continental Army
Army formed in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress and led by General George Washington
How did the actions of the British authorities help to unite the American colonists during the 1760s and 1770s?
Britain's Townshend Acts and the Intolerable Acts and the Quebec Act helped to unify the colonist because they were imposing laws on the colonists without allowing them to represent themselves in Parliament to fight the laws. The laws allowed things like taxing Colonists for British goods, British soldiers to live in their houses and promoted Catholicism, which made the Protestants unhappy.
What were some of the key events between the late 1760s and early 1770s that increased the divide between Britain and the colonists?
Britain's Townshend Acts and the Intolerable Acts and the Quebec Act helped to unify the colonist because they were imposing laws on the colonists without allowing them to represent themselves in Parliament to fight the laws. The laws allowed things like taxing Colonists for British goods, British soldiers to live in their houses and promoted Catholicism, which made the Protestants unhappy. The colonists opposed the above acts with the Boston Tea Party, where they dumped all of the tea that Britain was trying to sell to them with taxes. The Boston Massacre also helped to divide the British and the colonists when the colonists blamed the British for taking the first shot and killing a colonist.
Summarize the difference of opinion between British officials and colonial leaders over the issues of taxation and representation.
British: wanted taxation to pay for their war debts and for maintaining the colonies as a superpower country. British did not want to give away the power for the colonists to tax themselves because it would give them too much power— they wanted to maintain control over the colonies. Colonial Leaders: Thought Britain had no right to tax them at all, since they were no represented in Parliament. Right to consent to taxation was "essential to the freedom of a people". Began to boycott British goods.
Why did people in other countries believe that the American Revolution (or the Declaration of Independence) was important to them or their own countries?
By America refusing tyranny, they became a symbol of freedom to the whole world. America was the place where the principle of "universal freedom" started. Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration said, "the opinions of mankind" not referring to just the colonists of Great Britain, but so that it could apply to anyone, anywhere. The idea that a principle legitimate political authority rests on the will of the "people" has been used all around the world, in other words, the idea that the "people" posses rights were a new concept that other countries began to adopt.
Hessian
German mercenaries hired to fight with the British in the American Revolution. Important because Washington led surprise attacks against them, which helped them win and helped to boost the morale of the Americans.
Britain adopted much firmer policies toward the colonies after the Boston Tea Party. In your opinion, did the mother country overreact, or was this the case of a mother finally realizing that her children had spun out of control? Explain your reasoning.
I believe that this was the case of a mother finally realizing that her children had spun out of control because before The Boston Tea party Britain did not pay much attention to the colonies and they thought they were in control over the colonies, but because of the Boston Tea Party, they realized that the colonists had strong support among the patriots and they were going to start fighting back.
In your opinion, would the American War of Independence have taken place if the first shot of Lexington had not been fired in April 1775?
In my opinion, I believe that the American War of Independence would still have happened even if the first shot of Lexington and Concord had not actually been shot because there was still so much tension between the colonists and Britain because of the conflict of how the colonists should be governed, that if that shot had not been fired, another shot or other rebellions would have happened at some point.
Patrick Henry proclaimed that he was not a Virginian, but rather an American. What unified the colonists and what divided them at the time of the Revolution?
People are seeing that they have no representation in Parliament and Britain was able to control them however they wanted. Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense also helped to unite the colonists, because his writing was made for all to understand, even the common man. The colonists became unified as one, who were separate from Britain when Britain imposed the Intolerable Acts. What divided them would have been their beliefs on wanting to stay loyal to britian
Discuss the ramifications of using slaves in the British and the Continental armies. Why did the British authorize the use of slaves? Why did the Americans? How did the slaves benefit?
Ramifications were that many black men were able to be free. Lord Dunmore's Proclamation authorized the use of slaves in order to try to disrupt the colonist's economy and it also promised the slaves freedom. George Washington authorized the use of slaves because the British had done so. The Colonists also would let someone substitute their slave in the their place, which enabled the elite to keep from going to war. Having a slave fight meant that he would gain their freedom.
Explain how America was able to prevail during the Revolutionary War.
The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the American Revolution. This battle was very important because it convinced the French to give the U.S. military support. It lifted American spirits, ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River, and, most importantly, showed the French that the Americans had the potential to beat their enemy, Great Britain. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle of the Revolutions. It showed that the Americans could hold their own, but the British were also not easy to defeat. Ultimately, the Americans were forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition, and Bunker Hill was in British hands. However, the British suffered more deaths. British Leader = Sir William Howe. Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered on October 19, 1781. Once the news had reached London, the people of Britain did not support the war anymore, so talks about peace began. Led to Treaty of Paris
Although the colonies rejected Benjamin Franklin's call in 1754 to unite the face of the threat from France, they came together to resist effectively British efforts to impose new taxes after 1763. What accounts for the increased cooperation?
The colonists came together to resist effectively British efforts to impose new taxes after 1763 because of the Intolerable Acts, which closed the port of Boston and suspended the charter of Massachusetts.
Why did the colonists reach the conclusion that membership in the empire threatened their freedoms, rather than guaranteed them?
The colonists reached the conclusion that membership in the empire threatened their freedoms because of the many different taxes that Britain had imposed on the colonists, without the colonists having any representation in Parliament. The colonists also came to this conclusion because of "Virtual Representation", which was allowed Parliament to speak for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not have representation in Parliament fighting for their own best interests.
What were the main economic factors motivating the American colonists to oppose the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act? What political principles were at stake for the colonists?
There were several main economic factors that motivated the American colonists to oppose the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act. Because of the French and Indian War, Britain had a lot of war debt and wanted the colonists to help pay the costs. Even though the British made the Proclamation of 1763, which told the colonists they could not settle west of the Appalachians, the colonists would not follow it, which made England nervous that the colonists would be more independent and not continue to provide money to the Mother country, so England began to tax the American colonists on both sugar and stamps. Some political principles were at stake for the colonists because England began to enforce the taxes more than before, having them also pay for lodging of soldiers, this made the colonist angry, and the "patriots" were the new colonists that were protesting the taxes because they were angry they had no say in the taxes and denied them their rights as basic English subjects. The colonists wanted to be able to be in control of taxing themselves. This was a direct tax while the Navigation Acts were called "tarrifs"; Navigation Acts was taxed on the merchants while the other taxes directly taxed each citizen while the colonists did not have any representation in Parliament
Treaty of Paris 1783
Treaty Between England and the Colonies which formally ended the American Revolutionary War and England finally recognized the independence of the American colonies. England also granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River. And the right to fish in the Atlantic Ocean. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay were all representatives of America who negotiated the treaty.
Battle of Saratoga
Turning point of the American Revolution. It was very important because it convinced the French to give the U.S. military support. It lifted American spirits, ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River, and, most importantly, showed the French that the Americans had the potential to beat their enemy, Great Britain.
Why did William Pitt press for the repeal of the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act? Why did his compromise proposal fail to end conflict between Britain and the colonies?
William Pitt, a leader in Parliament, pressed for the repeal of the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act because he agreed that Parliament should not be imposing taxes on the colonists when they had no voice in Parliament. His compromise proposal failed to end the conflict between Britain and the colonies because even though Parliament repealed the taxes, the passed a new Declaratory Act, where Parliament could now make laws binding on the colonies "in all cases what so ever" — which lead to many more conflicts. In 1769 the British also said they would get rid of the Townshend Acts, which the colonists were frustrated by as they imposed more taxes on their goods.
Commitee of Correspondence
an organization that used meetings, letters, and pamplets to spread political ideas through the colony created by Samuel Adams
Sugar Act
law passed by the British Parliament setting taxes on molasses and sugar imported by the colonies. Which actually reduced the existing tax on the sugar—but they had to pay some kind of levy (tax, fee).
*Common Sense* by Thomas Paine
pamphlet that advocated independence for the American colonies. Special because it was written for the common man.
"no taxation without representation"
reflected the colonists' belief that they should not be taxed because they had no direct representatives in Parliament
