Chapter 17 Section 3: Birth of the American Republic

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments to the Constitution; recognized idea that people had basic rights that the government must protect (freedom of religion, speech, and the press); put philosophes' ideas into practice

Position to control trade; climate favorable for business; winning side in European affairs over past 50 years; expansion of territory

Four reasons of Britain's global prominence

Articles of Confederation

Nation's first constitution, but too weak to rule new U.S. effectively

George Washington, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin

Nation's leaders gathered once more in Philadelphia; (Hot summer of 1787) met in secret to redraft articles of the new constitution, result: document establishing government run by the people, for the people

Thomas Jefferson

Principal author of Virginia who wrote the Declaration of Independence

John Adams

Radical yet fair-minded Massachusetts lawyer, defended British soldiers involved in Boston Massacre in their trial

Continental Congress

Representatives from each colony gathered in Philadelphia

George Washington

Virginia planter and soldier

Navigation Acts

(1600s) Regulates colonial trade and manufacturing; not enforced, so smuggling was common

George III

(1760) Began 60-year reign during revolutionary period; wanted to end Whig domination, choose his own ministers, dissolve cabinet system, and make Parliament follow his will

Sugar Act

(1764) Imposed import taxes

Stamp Act

(1765) Imposed taxes on items such as newspaper and pamphlets; repealed in 1766

Second Continental Congress

(1776) Took momentous step, voting to declare independence from Britain

Battle of Saratoga

(1777) First turning point in the war when the Americans triumphed over the British; victory persuaded alliance with France

Yorktown, Virginia

(1781) French fleet blockaded Chesapeake Bay, enabled Washington to force the surrender of a British army

French Revolution

(1789) As Constitution became supreme law of the land, French revolutionaries toppled the monarchy in the name of liberty and equality

Revolutionary War, or American Revolution

(April 1775) Ongoing tension between colonists and the British exploded into war in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts

Valley Forge

(Brutal winter of 1777-1778) Continental troops suffered from cold, hunger, and disease; Washington was patient, courageous, and determined to hold the ragged army together

Boston Tea Party

(December 1773) Handful of colonists hurled cargo of recently arrived British tea into harbor to protest a tax on tea

Boston Massacre

(March 1770) British soldiers in Boston opened fire on crowd that was pelting them with stone and snowballs; death of five protesters

Declaration of Independence

A document that reflects John Locke's ideas of the government's obligation to protect the people's natural rights to "life, liberty, and property"; included that people had the right "to alter or to abolish" unjust governments—a right to revolt; adopted in July 4, 1776

Loyalists

About one third of the American colonists that supported Britain

Treaty of Paris

American, British, and French diplomats signed this treaty, ending the war; Britain recognized independence of U.S.A.

Continental Army

Army set up by the congress and led by George Washington

Declaratory Act

Complete authority over colonists

Popular Sovereignty

States that all government power comes from the people, is also an important point in the Declaration

Framers of the Constitution

Studied history and absorbed ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau

Federal republic

With power divided between the federal, or national, government and the states; Central feature: separation of powers