US History ch 7

Quebec Act

Allowed the French residents of Québec to retain their traditional political and religious institutions, and extended the boundaries of the province southward to the Ohio River. Mistakenly perceived by the colonists to be part of Parliament's response to the Boston Tea Party.

Stamp Act Congress

Assembly of delegates from nine colonies who met in New York City to draft a petition for the repeal of the Stamp Act. Helped ease sectional suspicions and promote intercolonial unity.

Adams, Samuel (1722-1803)

Boston revolutionary who organized Massachusetts' committees of correspondence to help sustain opposition to British policies. A delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, Adams continued to play a key role throughout the revolutionary and early national periods, later serving as governor of his home state.

Hancock, John (1737-1793)

Boston smuggler and promi- nent leader of the colonial resistance, who served as presi- dent of the Second Continental Congress. In 1780 Han- cock became the first governor of Massachusetts, a post he held with only a brief intermission until his death.

nonimportation agreements

Boycotts against British goods adopted in response to the Stamp Act and, later, the Townshend and Intolerable Acts. The agreements were the most effective form of protest against British policies in the colonies.

George III (1738-1820)

British monarch during the run- up to the American Revolution, George III contributed to the imperial crisis with his dogged insistence on asserting Britain's power over her colonial possessions.

Grenville, George (1712-1770)

British prime minis- ter who fueled tensions between Britain and her North American colonies through his strict enforcement of navi- gation laws and his support for the Sugar and Stamp Acts.

Townshend, Charles ("Champagne Charley") (1725- 1767)

British prime minister whose ill-conceived duties on the colonies, the Townshend Acts, sparked fierce pro- tests in the colonies and escalated the imperial conflict.

Boston Massacre

Clash between unruly Bostonian protestors and locally stationed British redcoats, who fired on the jeering crowd, killing or wounding eleven citizens.

First Continental Congress

Convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that convened in Philadelphia to craft a response to the Intolerable Acts. Delegates established Association, which called for a complete boycott of British goods.

Sugar Act

Duty on imported sugar from the West Indies. It was the first tax levied on the colonists by the crown and was lowered substantially in response to widespread protests.

mercantilism

Economic theory that closely linked a nation's political and military power to its bullion reserves. Mercantilists generally favored protectionism and colonial acquisition as means to increase exports.

radical Whigs

Eighteenth-century British political commentators who agitated against political corruption and emphasized the threat to liberty posed by arbitrary power. Their writings shaped American political thought and made colonists especially alert to encroachments on their rights.

Valley Forge

Encampment where George Washington's poorly equipped army spent a wretched, freezing winter. Hundreds of men died and more than a thousand deserted. The plight of the starving, shivering soldiers reflected the main weakness of the American army—a lack of stable supplies and munitions.

Townshend Acts

External, or indirect, levies on glass, white lead, paper, paint and tea, the proceeds of which were used to pay colonial governors, who had previously been paid directly by colonial assemblies. Sparked another round of protests in the colonies.

Lexington and Concord

First battles of the Revolutionary War, fought outside of Boston. The colonial militia successfully defended their stores of munitions, forcing the British to retreat to Boston.

Lexington and Concord, Battles of

First battles of the Revolutionary War, fought outside of Boston. The colonial militia successfully defended their stores of munitions, forcing the British to retreat to Boston.

Lafayette, Marquis de (1757-1834)

French nobleman who served as major general in the colonial army during the American Revolution and aided the newly-indepen- dent colonies in securing French support.

Steuben, Baron von (1730-1794)

German-born inspec- tor general of the Continental army, who helped train the novice colonial militia in the art of warfare.

committees of correspondence

Local committees established across Massachusetts, and later in each of the thirteen colonies, to maintain colonial opposition to British policies through the exchange of letters and pamphlets.

The Association

Non-importation agreement crafted during the First Continental Congress calling for the complete boycott of British goods.

Declaratory Act

Passed alongside the repeal of the Stamp Act, it reaffirmed Parliament's unqualified sovereignty over the North American colonies.

Sons of Liberty

Patriotic groups that played a central role in agitating against the Stamp Act and enforcing non-importation agreements. (See also Daughters of Liberty)

Daughters of Liberty

Patriotic groups that played a central role in agitating against the Stamp Act and enforcing non-importation agreements. (See also Sons of Liberty)

republicanism

Political theory of representative government, based on the principle of popular sovereignty, with a strong emphasis on liberty and civic virtue. Influential in eighteenth-century American political thought, it stood as an alternative to monarchical rule.

Quartering Act

Required colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops. Many colonists resented the act, which they perceived as an encroachment on their rights.

Boston Tea Party

Rowdy protest against the British East India Company's newly acquired monopoly on the tea trade. Colonists, disguised as Indians, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor, prompting harsh sanctions from the British Parliament.

Hutchinson, Thomas (1711-1780)

Royal governor of Massachusetts during the run-up to the Revolution, Hutchinson misjudged colonial zeal during the Tea Act controversy and insisted that East India Company ships unload in Boston Harbor, thereby prompting the Boston Tea Party.

Dunmore, Lord (c.1730-1809)

Royal governor of Vir- ginia who, in 1775, promised freedom to runaway slaves who joined the British army.

Attucks, Crispus (1723-1770)

Runaway slave and leader of the Boston protests that resulted in the "Boston Massa- cre," in which Attucks was first to die.

"Intolerable Acts"

Series of punitive measures passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, closing the Port of Boston, revoking a number of rights in the Massachusetts colonial charter, and expanding the Quartering Act to allow for the lodging of soldiers in private homes. In response, colonists convened the First Continental Congress and called for a complete boycott of British goods.

North, Lord (1732-1792)

Tory prime minister and pli- ant aide to George III from 1770 to 1782. North's inef-fective leadership and dogged insistence on colonial sub- ordination contributed to the American Revolution.

admiralty courts

Used to try offenders for violating the various Navigation Acts passed by the crown after the French and Indian War. Colonists argued that the courts encroached on their rights as Englishmen since they lacked juries and placed the burden of proof on the accused

stamp tax

Widely unpopular tax on an array of paper goods, repealed in 1766 after mass protests erupted across the colonies. Colonists developed the principle of "no taxation without representation" that questioned Parliament's authority over the colonies and laid the foundation for future revolutionary claims.

Camp followers

Women and children who followed the Continental Army during the American Revolution, providing vital services such as cooking and sewing in return for rations.