Unit 2

James Madison

"Father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President of the United States.

Committees of Correspondence SSUSH3

- Much of the planning for the First Continental Congress was carried out by committees of correspondence. - Formed because American patriots could not communicate publicly. - One committee would exchange written communications with another committee within or between the colonies. - organized network for passing along news of British activity to the colonies

2nd Continental Congress

1)Agreed to write a formal letter declaring their independence from England- DECLARATION OF THE CAUSES AND NECESSITY TO TAKE UP ARMS-This became the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 2)Created a continental army with George Washington as the leader.

The Tea Act (1773)

A law passed by parliament allowing the British East India Company to sell its low-cost tea directly to the colonies - undermining colonial tea merchants; this led to the Boston Tea Party

Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty and their influence SSUSH3

A political organization formed by Sam Adams after the passage of the Stamp Act. Organized protest meetings and intimidated tax collectors. Both organized effective boycotts of British goods: The British repeal the Stamp Act in 1766

Proclamation of 1763 SSUSH3

A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east. It was attempt to keep peace with western Indian tribes. The British did not want to have to put the resources into protecting western colonial farmers.

Stamp Act (1765) SSUSH3

A tax that the British Parliament placed on newspapers and official documents sold in the American Colonies It was the first direct tax on the colonies. (legal docs, playing cards, etc.)

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

Battle which was the "turning point" in the Revolutionary War. Lead to the French joining the war as an American ally.

Boston Massacre

British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were teasing and taunting them. Five colonists were killed. The colonists blamed the British and the Sons of Liberty and used this incident as an excuse to promote the Revolution.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.

Separation of powers (influence of Montesquieu)

Dividing the government into 3 separation sections so that no one section has more power than the other. Inspired by French philosopher Montesquieu

Treaty of Paris 1763 SSUSH3

Ended French and Indian War; France lost Canada and land east of the Mississippi to the British, New Orleans and west of Mississippi to Spain. Parliament began taxing the colonists to pay for the war. The colonists objected to the loss of control over their own affairs ----> leads to thoughts of American revolution.

George Washington

Fought in French and Indian War. Commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. First President of US who served 2 terms. Warned against political parties and fighting in foreign wars.

Benjamin Franklin

Founding Father; example of social mobility; Ambassador to France who Helped secure French assistance against the British during the American Revolution. American public official, writer, scientist, and printer.

Marquis de Lafayette

French military leader that helped Washington and the Continental Army. He commanded American troops and fought battles in many states. He also returned to France for a time to work with Franklin and the French king on how to win American independence.

Thomas Jefferson

He was a delegate from Virginia at the Second Continental Congress and wrote the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the third President of the United States.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Last major battle of the American Revolution. *Historical Significance:* Prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Intolerable Acts 1774 and Colonist's response SSUSH3

Laws intended to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. Massachusetts was where the majority of the boycotts against the British were taking place. The Intolerable Acts: - Shut down the port of Boston - Administration of Justice Act (moved trials of British soldiers) - New Quartering Act - Placed a military governor over Massachusetts Colonists called for the First Continental Congress to protest these actions & formed colonial militias to resist enforcement of these acts.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Major accomplishment of Confederation of Congress: Statehood achieved in three stages: 1. Congress appoints 3 judges and governors 2. Pop. reaches 5,000 adult male landowners -> elect territorial leg. 3. pop reaches 60,000 -> elect delegates for constitutional convention 4. Made slavery illegal in this area

Battle of Trenton/Crossing the Delaware

On Christmas night Washington lead his troops down the Delaware. Then in the morning, at Trenton, attacked British troops and Hessians. Shows how the Americans will do anything for their freedom, and kept people in the army. 1776

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption.

Thomas Paine SSUSH3

Patriot and writer whose pamphlet Common Sense, published in 1776, convinced many Americans that it was time to declare independence from Britain.

Declaration of Independence

Primary author was Thomas Jefferson. The document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain - Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft and then made revisions suggested by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and others. - The text borrowed phrases from the influential writings of English philosopher John Locke. This helped convince readers that American independence was supported by the ideas of a famous philosopher. - Gives numerous examples of how King George III violated the rights of the colonists. -Offers a discussion of the Americans' many unsuccessful attempts to get relief from Britain and ends with the conclusion that the only way for Americans to have their rights restored is to restore them themselves by declaring independence from Britain and by controlling their own government.

Shay's Rebellion

Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution were led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. They firmly believed the national government should be strong.

Lexington and Concord

The first battle of the American Revolution (April 19, 1775)

The Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Constitutional Convention of 1787

The meeting where state delegates met to revise the Articles of Confederation, but ultimately decided to write the Constitution as a replacement.

John Locke

This English philosopher argued that all men were born with natural rights and that a government's purpose was to protect these rights. (Social Contract)

Treaty of Paris 1783

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and 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

Salutary Neglect SSUSH3

Throughout the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the English government did not enforce those trade laws that most harmed the colonial economy. The purpose of salutary neglect was to ensure the loyalty of the colonists in the face of the French territorial and commercial threat in North America. The English ceased practicing salutary neglect following British victory in the French and Indian War which led to the colonists being upset with the King

Executive, Legislative, Judicial

What are the three branches of government?

1st Continental Congress

in 1774, meeting of delegates from 12 colonies in Philadelphia (Georgia did not attend)

Townshed Acts SSUSH3

laws passed in 1767 that taxed goods such as glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea. Tax collectors could search people's home. Ships came with Board of customs commisoners

Boston Tea Party SSUSH3

protest against increased tea prices in which colonists dumped British tea into Boston harbor

Lord Charles Cornwallis

the commander of British troops in the South, best known for his defeat at the Battle of Yorktown

Articles of Confederation

this document, the nations first government constitution, was adopted by the second continental congress in 1781 during the revolution. the document was limited because states held most of the power, and congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or control coinage

Minutemen

volunteer soldiers who were ready to fight in a moments notice

Great Compromise (1787)

was an agreement between large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution. It proposed a bicameral legislature, resulting in the current United States Senate and House of Representatives.