Chapter 5 Review

Tea Act

The Tea Act removed some of the taxes on tea and gave the British East India Company primary control of the tea market in the colonies.

Intolerable Acts/Coercive Acts

Acts meant to punish the colonists for resisting British authority. Massachusetts recieved the worst punishments. Boston Harbor was closed cutting of trade and stopped most shipments of food and other supplies to the colony. The colonists believed all of these new laws violated their rights.

Suffolk Resolves

A set of statements issued by the people of Boston and other Suffolk County towns in Massachusetts, that claimed the Coercive Acts to be illegal

Why did the British government establish new policies?

*to control where the colonists settled * to enforce Trade Laws * to stop smuggling * to gain back the money they had lost from the French/Indian War

Battle of Bunker/Breed's Hill

A British victory that informed the King that beating the colonists would be no easy task. Breed's hill overlooked the city of Boston, providing an excellent lookout point over a major colonial city.

Boston Massacre

A fight between some Bostonians and soldiers. A seed of the Revolution and the precursor to the Boston Tea Party and the Coercive Acts.

Benjamin Franklin

A leader in the Pennsylvania legislature who represented the colonies in London (1965) and helped win the repeal of the Stamp Act. I Franklin was in charge of authorizing the printing of money and set up a post office.

Paul Revere's engraving of the Massacre

A major source of propaganda that spread through the colonies informing all of the Boston Massacre. The engraving portrayed the colonists as being weak and the redcoats strong; Britain on top and the colonies left to suffer.

(Militia)

A military force made up of ordinary citizens

Key Actions of the Second Continental Congress

Authorized the printing of money Set up a post office Formed committees to handle relations with Native Americans and foreign countries Created the Continental Army

Outcome of the French/Indian War

Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 which kept the colonists to the East of the Appalacian Mountains.

Concord

Colonist's ammunition and weapons were stored in the Massachusetts town.

Actions of the First Continental Congress

Called for the repeal of the 13 Acts of Parliments Voted to Boycott British Trade Endorsed (supported) the Suffolk Resolves which stated the Coercive Acts illegal Called on the colonists to arm themselves and form militias

How did the colonists react to the new British policies?

Colonists were angered by the policies. They thought that these laws violated their rights. They also thought that only colonial governments had the right to enforce taxes. Colonists boycotted these acts.

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army, an experienced soldier and a respected Southern planter.

Thomas Paine and Common Sense

Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. In bold language, Paine called for a complete break with British rule and listed powerful reasons why Americans would be better off without Great Britain.

What role did key individuals play in the movement towards independence?

Fifty-five delegates gathered in Philadelphia. They had come to set up a political body that would represent Americans and challenge British control. These 55 and others who would make up the First and Second Continental Congresses would be the pioneers of the Revolution.

British repsonse to Boston Massacre

Due to the boycotts that followed the Massacre Parliment repealed all the Townshend Acts except on Tea.

Proclamation of 1763

Enforced the colonists to settle only east of the Appalacian Mountains. Britain hoped that this would conserve peace between the colonists and Native Americans. It also allowed for the colonists to be closer to the Atlantic and Britian itself, which allowed for more control.

Green Mountain Boys

Ethan Allen (Vermont) and his men- joined up with Benedict Arnold's Connecticut militia to take over Fort Ticonderoga

Boston Tea Party

In 1773, three ships loaded with tea arrived in Boston Harbor. The Boston Sons of Liberty dressed as Native Americans, boarded the ships and threw 342 chests of tea overboard

First Continental Congress

In September 1774, fifty-five delegates gathered in Philadelphia. They had come to set up a political body that would represent Americans and challenge British control.

Grievances

Includes "cutting off our trade with all parts of the world" and "imposing taxes on us without our consent." The ignored "Petition for Redress" by the British.

John Locke

Locke, an english philosopher of the 1960's expressed the idea that people are born with certain natural rights to life, liberty, and property. He thought that people form governments to protect those rights, and that a government interfering with those rights could rightfully be overthrown.

How did individuals and events impact efforts for independence?

Major colonial figures such as Benjamin Franklin (colonial representative to Parliment), John Hancock (wealthy merchant who funded Sons of Liberty), and Thomas Jefferson (brilliant mind and excellent writer) were major stepping stones on the path to independence. Major actions were taken by the Second Continental Congress to establish independence. Authorizing the printing of money, organizing a post office, and creating the Continental Army are some examples.

How did the British government react to the actions of the colonists?

Parliment passed the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts). The colonists believed all of these new laws violated their rights as English citizens.

Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott

Paul Revere and William Dawes were members of the Son's of Liberty who rode to Lexington to spread the word that the British were coming. They were caught before they could make it and Samuel Prescott, another rider completed the mission.

How did the American colonists react to the Boston Massacre?

The Colonist viewed the Boston Massacre as a bloody attack on innocent citizens. They created propaganda supporting their cause and spread the word of the violent redcoats. The Boston Massacre was an early stage of strife between the colonies and Britain.

Stamp Act

Taxed ALL printed materials. Brought about the argument that only colonial governments could tax colonists.

Townshend Acts

Taxed goods before they were brought into the colonies.

Why were the battles at Lexington and Concord important?

The British learned that the colonists weren't messing around and that regaining control wasn't going to be easy. The "Shot Heard Round the World" was the beginning of the revolution.

Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress which met on May 10, 1775 included some of the greatest leaders in the colonies.

Olive Branch Petition

The Second Continental Congress's offering to Britain as a last chance way to avoid war. This formal request was called the Olive Branch Petition, it assured the king that the colonists wanted peace. It asked him to protect the colonists' rights.

Why did the American colonists declare independence?

The colonists felt that all the British policies and laws eradicated their rights as citizens and diminshed what they believed to be their natural rights as human beings.

Crispus Attucks

The first colonist killed in the Boston Massacre

Natural Rights

The idea that all men are created equal, with certain undeniable rights and that the government exists to protect these rights and if the government fails, it is the right of the people to abolish it and institute a new one.

Preamble

The preamble states that people who wish to form a new country should explain their reasons for doing so.

Thomas Jefferson

Writer of the Declaration of Independence.

(Minuteman)

a civilian during Revolutionary era, sworn to be ready to fight with only one minute's notice.

(Petition)

a formal request

(Effigy)

a mocking figure representing an unpopular individual

(Loyalist)

an American colonist who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

(Patriot)

an American colonist who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

(Resolution)

an official expression of opinion by a group

(Committee of Correspondence)

an organization that spread political ideas and information through the colonies

(Writ of assistance)

court document allowing customs officers to enter any location to search for smuggled goods

(Propaganda)

ideas or information intentionally spread to harm or help a cause

(Revenue)

incoming money from taxes or other sources

Sugar Act

lowered the tax on molasses coming in to the colonies. It was lowered in an attempt to get the colonists to stop smuggling and just pay the taxes.

(Rebellion)

open defiance of authority

(Preamble)

the introduction to a formal document that often tells why the document was written

(Repeal)

to cancel an act or law

(Boycott)

to refuse to buy items in order to show disapproval or force acceptance of one's terms