APUSH Chapter 2

Black market

A black market is an illegal market, which contains some form of noncompliant behavior with a particular set of rules. Examples are drug trade, illegal currency transactions, etc.

First Continental Congress

A meeting of delegates from twelve of the 13 colonies that met on September 5th to October 26th, 1774 at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, PA, early in the American Revolution. The British Parliament called it to solve the tension over the passage of the Coercive Acts. 56 delegates attended the Congress. Georgia did not send delegates because they were hoping for British assistance with Native American problems on their frontier and did not want to upset the British. The Congress discussed a boycott of British trade, rights, and grievances. They petitioned King George III for redress of those grievances.

Continentals

A member of the colonial army in the Revolutionary War.

Militia

A military force that is raised from the civil population to form a regular army in the case of an emergency.

Boston Tea Party

A political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston on Dec. 16, 1773. The Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native Americans and destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company. They threw the chests of tea into the Boston Harbor in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10th. This event was one of the causes of the American Revolution.

Coercive Acts

A series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 relating to Britain's colonies in North America. The Coercive acts sought to punish Massachusetts as a warning to the other colonies. Tensions over the Coercive Acts led to the revolutionary war.

"No taxation without representation"

A slogan created during the 1750s-60s that demonstrated a grievance of the American colonists in the 13 colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution by Patrick Henry.

Lee's Resolutions

A three-part resolve by the Second Continental congress to declare the United Colonies independent of the British, to establish a plan for ensuing American foreign relations, and to establish a plan of a confederation to unite them officially. The resolution is named for Richard Henry Lee of Virginia who proposed it to Congress.

Writs of Assistance

A written order issued by a sheriff or tax collector to perform a certain task. General writs of assistance increased tensions that led to the revolutionary war. Colonists argued that the writs violated their rights as British subjects. The writs were permanent, but they were transferable.

Concord

After Lexington, the British went to Concord to look for arms. They burnt the little amount that they found, but the fire went out of control. Militiamen thought the whole town would be torched. They rushed to Concord's North Bridge, which was defended by the British. The British fired first but fell back when colonists returned fire.

Quartering Act

An act that states that American colonists must provide the British soldiers with housing or any necessary accommodations, as well as food.

Benedict Arnold

Arnold (Jan. 1741-Jun 1801) was a general during the American Revolution who initially fought for the American Continental Army but defected to the British Army. While he was on the American side, Arnold obtained command of the forts at West Point, NY and planned on surrendering it to the British. He was caught in 1780, and was transferred to the British Army.

George Rogers Clark

Clark (Nov. 1752-Feb. 1818) was the highest-ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the war. He was leader of the Kentucky and Virginia militia during the war. He is known for capturing Kaskaskia and Vincennes during the Illinois Campaign, which greatly hurt the British. Clark is known as the "Conqueror of the Old Northwest."

Charles Cornwallis

Cornwallis (Dec. 1738-Oct. 1805) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He was one of the leading generals in the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis surrendered in 1781 to a French and American force at the Siege of Yorktown. After the war, he served as a governor in Ireland and India.

John Dickinson

Dickinson (Nov. 1732-Feb. 1808) was a Founding Father, as well as a solicitor and politician from Philadelphia. He was known as the "Penman of the Revolution" for his twelve Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. He was a member of the First and Second Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association. He also wrote the Olive Branch petition.

Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga was originally named Fort Carillon and was controlled by the French in 1755. In 1759, British soldiers led by General Jeffrey Amherst defeated the French and gained possession of the fort, renaming it Fort Ticonderoga. In April 1775, fighting between militiamen and British soldiers left the fort with only 50 British men. The fort was the location of the first rebel victory of the Revolution. This battle was a morale booster for the militiamen and continued to hold their key artillery for the first year of the war.

Lord North

Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (April 1732-Aug. 1792) was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence. He was also Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Edward Braddock

General Braddock (Jan. 1695-July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the beginning of the French and Indian War (1754-1765). He commanded an expedition against the Ohio River Valley, which was taken over by the French, in 1755, and died after the expedition became a disaster.

Graft

Graft is the use of a politician's authority for personal gain.

Nathanael Greene

Greene (Aug. 1742-June 1786) was a general of the Continental Army in the American Revolution. He forced British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis to abandon the Carolinas and move to Virginia. He was known as George Washington's most dependable officer.

George Grenville

Grenville (Oct. 1712-Nov. 1770) was a British Whig statesman who became Prime Minister of Great Britain. He first entered Parliament as an MP for Buckingham. He became one of Cobham's Cubs, a group of young Parliament associated with Lord Cobham. He is known for the Stamp Act policy which caused widespread opposition in the American colonies.

Iroquois Confederacy

Group of six Indian tribes residing across New York State that were an important aspect of the struggle between the French and British in the French and Indian War. These Indians sided with Britain and began to rely on the British for European goods. They aided the British during the French and Indian War.

Nathan Hale

Hale (June 1755-Sept. 1776) was an American soldier and spy for the Patriots. He volunteered for an information-gathering mission in NYC but was captured and killed by the British. Before he was hanged, Hale said these famous words-"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

John Hancock

Hancock (Jan. 1737-Jan. 1793) was an American merchant, smuggler, statesman, and Patriot. He was president of the Second Continental Congress and served two terms as governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is remembered for his unique signature on the Declaration of Independence.

Patrick Henry

Henry (May 1736-June 1799) was an American attorney, planter and politician. He was also a Founding Father who served as the first and sixth post-colonial governor of Virginia. Henry led the opposition to the Stamp Act 1765. He is most famous for the words "give me liberty or give me death!" in one of his speeches.

Hessians

Hessians were Germans contracted for military service by Britain's government. The was easier for the British government to borrow money to pay for their service than to recruit its own soldiers.

Thomas Hutchinson

Hutchinson (Sept. 1711-June 1780) was a Loyalist politician. He became a proponent of hated British taxes. His Boston mansion was attacked in 1765 during protests against the Stamp Act. He also came to the scene of the Boston Massacre during the aftermath and ordered troops from Boston to be removed.

Stamp Act

Imposed a direct tax on the colonies of British America and required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, which carried a revenue stamp. Printed material included any legal document, magazine, playing cards, newspaper, and more.

John Paul Jones

Jones (July 1747-July 1792) was an American sailor and naval fighter during the war. His actions gave him the nickname "the Father of the American Navy."

Proclamation of 1763

King George III issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 on October 7, 1763 after the end of the French and Indian War. The Proclamation prohibited settlement past a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains.

Charles Lee

Lee (Jan 1731-Oct. 1782) was an American general. He was a Whig who stopped the British from capturing Charleston. He was later captured by British cavalry and held prisoner for a year. Later, he led a failed assault on the British. This ended his career.

Loyalists

Loyalists were American colonists who stayed loyal to the British during the American Revolution. They were also called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men.

James Wolfe

Major General Wolfe (January 1727-September 1759) was a British army officer who is known for defeating the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Canada in 1759. Wolfe fought during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Jacobite Rebellion, and became a lieutenant colonel at 23 years old. He was killed during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham after being shot three times.

Francis Marion

Marion (1732-Feb. 1795) was a military officer for the Continental Army. He is considered one of the first to use guerrilla warfare and maneuver warfare. Because of this, he was known as the "Swamp Fox."

Samuel Adams

Often called the "Penman of the Revolution," Adams was a master propagandist and an engineer of rebellion. Though very weak and feeble in appearance, he was a strong politician and leader that was very aware and sensitive to the rights of the colonists. He organized the local committees of correspondence in Massachusetts, starting with Boston in 1772. These committees were designed to oppose British policy forced on the colonists by spreading propaganda.

Thomas Paine

Paine (Feb. 1737-Jun 1809) was an English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was also one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He wrote two of the most famous pamphlets during the beginning of the American Revolution, and inspired the rebels to become independent from Britain.

Patriots

Patriots were American colonists who rebelled against British control during the Revolution. They were also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or Whigs.

Paxton Boys

Paxton Boys were frontiersmen of Scottish and Irish background from along the Susquehanna River who created a group in 1763 against local American Indians after the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion. They murdered 21 Susquehannock in what is known as the Conestoga Massacre. In January 1764, Paxton Boys went to Philadelphia to discuss their issues to the legislature. They only agreed to leave when Ben Franklin promised that their issues would be considered.

William Pitt

Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (Nov 1708-May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whigs. He led Great Britain's government two different times in the 18th century. Pitt was known as The Great Commoner, because he refused to accept a title until 1766. He was a member of the British cabinet and led the ministry during the French and Indian War (aka Seven Year's War).

Pontiac's Rebellion

Pontiac's Rebellion was a war that began in 1763 when Native American tribes became unhappy with the British reactions after the French and Indian War. Warriors from different tribes began an uprising to drive British soldiers and settlers out of the region. The Native Americans destroyed eight forts and killed hundreds of colonists. The attacks ended in 1764 when the British Army created peace negotiations for the next two years.

Benjamin Franklin

Printer, author, inventor, diplomat, scientist, statesman, and Founding Father. One of the few Americans who was highly respected in Europe, primarily due to his discoveries in the field of electricity. He helped to negotiate French support for the American Revolution. After the success of his Poor Richard's Almanac (1732-1757), he entered politics and played a major part in the American Revolution. Franklin negotiated French support for the colonists, signed the Treaty of Paris (1783), and helped draft the Constitution (1787-1789). His numerous scientific and practical innovations include the lightning rod, bifocal spectacles, and a stove. During the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin served as an ambassador to France. Franklin was the oldest delegate to the Constitutional Convention and his advice proved crucial in the drafting of the Constitution. Franklin has often been held up as the paradigm of Enlightenment throughout in Colonial America because of his contributions to the fields of science and philosophy connected the colonies to Britain, opposed to unnecessary unfair taxation; strong influence on Albany Plan

Committees of Correspondence

Shadow governments organized by Patriot leaders of the 13 colonies before the American Revolution. The committees rallied opposition on common causes and established plans for collective action, and so the group of committees was the beginning of what later became a formal political union among the colonies.

Lexington

The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19th, 1775, began the American Revolution. At dawn, 700 British troops arrived in Lexington and came upon 77 militiamen gathered on the town green. The militiamen were ordered to disperse when a shot rang out. Nobody knows which side fired first, but more shots began to fire. There were 17 American casualties, but only one Redcoat was hurt.

Battles of Trenton and Princeton

The British pursued New Jersey after taking over Fort Washington in New York. Washington's men divided into columns as they fired cannons at the British in Trenton. The Hessians quickly surrendered. Washington's troops then marched to Princeton. Washington's goal was to destroy a bridge after defeating General Hugh Mercer's troops. The Americans succeeded.

Newburgh Conspiracy

The Newburgh Conspiracy was a military coup by the Continental Army in March 1783 at the end of the war. An anonymous letter was brought into the army camp at Newburgh, NY. It suggested that the army should take action against Congress to resolve the issue of the lack of funding for promised pensions.

Sugar Act

The Parliament of Great Britain passed the sugar Act on April 5th, 1764. This act raised revenue for sugar, molasses, and other goods.

Quebec Act

The Quebec Act of 1774 was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It stated that the province's territory was expanded to take over part of the Indian Reserve, the reference to the Protestant faith was removed from the oath of allegiance, it guaranteed free practice of the Catholic faith, it restored the use of the French civil law for matters of private law, maintained English common law for matters of public law, and restored the Catholic Church's right to impose tithes.

Olive Branch Petition

The Second Continental Congress adopted this petition on July 5th, 1776. The petition affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and beseeched the king to prevent further conflict.

Treaty of Alliance (1778)

The Treaty of Alliance with France was a defensive alliance between France and the USA that was created during the Revolutionary War. The treaty promised America that the French would provide military support in case the British attacked again. French representatives and the Second Continental Congress signed the treaty.

Townshend Acts

These were a series of acts passed in 1767 by Great Britain's Parliament for the North American colonies. The Townshend Acts raised revenue in the colonies to pay the salaries of governors and judges in order to keep them loyal to Great Britain.

American Prohibitory Act

This act was passed as a measure of retaliation by Great Britain against the general rebellion then going on in the American colonies. It declared and provided for a naval blockade against American ports.

Battle of Saratoga

This battle is considered the turning point in the war. After several battles, the British and Hessian troops surrendered to the Americans on October 17, 1777.

Battle of Bunker Hill

This battle was fought on June 17, 1775 during the Siege of Boston in the Revolutionary War. It is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, even though the majority of the fighting took place on Breed's Hill. The battle was a tactical victory for the British, even though they suffered more casualties than the colonists.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

This treaty between USA and Great Britain ended the revolutionary war and allowed the Americans to become independent. Five members appointed by the Continental Congress-John Adams, Ben Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens negotiated the treaty with British representatives.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

This treaty, negotiated between the USA and Great Britain, ended the revolutionary war and allowed American independence. The Continental Congress had appointed John Adams, Ben Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens to negotiate the treaty.

Second Continental Congress

This was a convention of delegates from the 13 Colonies that started meeting during 1775 in Philadelphia. The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved towards independence. They adopted the US Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. The Congress raised armies, directed strategy, appointed diplomats, and made formal treaties. This government was the first foundation of the future US government.

Stamp Act Congress

This was a meeting held between October 7-25, 176 in NYC, which had representatives from the North American British colonies. The meeting was held to discuss the protests against British taxation.

Albany Plan

This was a plan made by Benjamin Franklin to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, and was presented at the Albany Congress on July 10, 1754.

Virtual representation

This was the British response to the First Continental Congress in the American colonies. The Congress wanted representation in Parliament. Parliament claimed that their members had the well being of the colonists in mind.

Valley Forge

Valley Forge was the military camp in Pennsylvania where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-78. Over 2,500 soldiers died from starvation, disease, and exposure before February '78.

Gaspee Incident

Was one of the events leading up to the revolution. Gaspee was a British customs schooner that was used for anti-smuggling. A group of men led by Abraham Whipple and John Brown attacked, boarded, looted, and torched the ship.

Yorktown

When Cornwallis was forced to take a defensive position in Yorktown, American and French forces descended from different directions in a joint operational tactic, and caught Cornwallis between land and sea, where he surrendered his whole army of over 7,000 on October 17, 1781.

Baron Friedrich von Steuben

von Steuben (Sept. 1730-Nov. 1794) was an American military officer. He was an inspector and major general of the Continental Army. He taught the army military drills, tactics, and disciplines. At the end of the war, he was Washington's chief of staff.