APUSH Chapter 7

Radical Whigs

A group of British political commentators who feared the British monarchy and Parliament because it posed a threat to liberty. They warned against the "corruption" of the monarchy. Feared the threat to liberty posed by arbitrary power of a monarch and his ministers relative to elected representatives in Parliament..... against corruption and conspiracies

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act in 1765. It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament; the first sign of colonial unity and organized resistance.

Lord North

A new Prime Minister who persuaded Parliament that the taxes on trade within the empire were ill-advised and led to the repeal of the Acts (except tax on tea). attempted to appease the colonies by modifying the Townshend Acts and imposing the Tea Act, but he just caused tensions to escalate and boil over; forced to resign after the British surrender at Yorktown

Indicate why the forcible importation of taxable British tea sparked the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, and the outbreak of conflict between Britain and the colonists.

Americans were limited in what they could produce. These laws hindered their economic growth and they resented being governed by the British because they wanted their own government and sovereignty. It was to keep America subordinate to England

The event that precipitated the first real shooting between the British army and American colonists was the

British attempt to seize colonial supplies and leaders at Lexington and Concord.

Sugar Act

First law passed by Parliament that raised tax revenues in the colonies for the crown. It increased duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. It put tax on imports (sugar, coffee, wine, and other colonial imports) effects; price of goods went up.

Marquis de Lafayette

French who was made a major general in the colonial army at the age of 19; the "French Gamecock"; his services were invaluable in securing further aid from France.

admiralty courts

In British law, special administrative courts designed to handle maritime cases without a jury.

Boston Massacre

In March 1770, a crowd of colonists protested against British customs agents and the presence of British troops in Boston. Violence flared and five colonists were killed.

Describe the theory and practice of mercantilism, and explain why Americans resented it.

In mercantilism, a nation's wealth and power is measured by its treasury of gold or silver. The colonies supplied raw materials to England . America was being used for England's benefit in the form of ships, naval stores, lumber, tobacco, sugar, etc. They resented it because it hindered their economic growth.

Crispus Attucks

Killed in Boston Massacre, black laborer, only African-American person killed in Boston Massacre

John Hancock

King of the Smugglers; Patriot leader and president of the Second Continental Congress; first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.

The British parliamentary government at the time of the American Revolution was headed by

Lord North

What was the theory and practice of mercantilism? Was mercantilism actually as economically oppressive as the colonists came to believe? Were the psychological effects of colonial dependence less or more important than the economic ones?

Mercantilism measured a country's wealth through gold and silver which was possessed through exportation of products. This led to Britain passing the Navigation Laws so that the colonies could only trade with Britain and thus they were a self dependent empire for raw materials. The psychological effects of dependence were more important than economic effects since the colonists were fighting primarily for principles rather than prices.

Baron von Steuben

Organizational genius who turned raw colonial recruits into tough military soldiers. Taught American soldiers during the Revolutionary War how to successfully fight the British. Prussian General for American army.

Valley Forge

Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778, a 4th of troops died here from disease and malnutriton, Steuben comes and trains troops

George Grenville

Prime minister, to obtain funds for Britain after the costly 7-Years War, in 1763 he ordered the Navy to enforce the unpopular Navigation Laws, and in 1764 he got Parliament to pass the Sugar Act, which increased duties on sugar imported from the West Indies. He also, in 1765, brought about the Quartering Act, which forced colonists to provide food and shelter to British soldiers, who many colonists believed were only present to keep the colonists in line.

Assess the balance of forces between the British and the American rebels as the two sides prepared for war.

The British had the best army and navy in the world as well as the great advantage of loyal Indians. They were helped by mercenaries as well and had lots of weapons. However, they lacked any real motivation and even the radical Whigs supported the colonists. On the other hand the colonists were well acquainted with the turf, they didn't have as much weapons and lacked ammunition but they had advanced gun technology. They had great leaders, French and Iroquois support and a just cause worth fighting for.

Thomas Hutchinson

The British official, who was also the Massachusetts governor was determined not to budge under the colonists. He ordered the tea ships not to clear the Boston harbor until they had unloaded their cargo despite colonial objection. His house was pillaged and burned by the colonists.

Describe the first major new British taxes on the colonies and how colonial resistance forced repeal of all taxes, except the tax on tea, by 1770.

The first major British taxes on the colonies included the Stamp Act, the Navigation Laws only allowed colonists to legally trade with England and taxed Dutch imports, the Sugar Act which taxed colonist the sugar they got from the Indies and the Quartering Act which required colonists to shelter British soldiers and provide them with food.

Explain the beliefs of republicanism and radical Whigs that Britain's American colonists had adopted by the eighteenth century.

The idea of republicanism was based on the belief that all citizens could pursue their own interests for the common good. Together the Whigs and Republicanism predisposed colonists to be alert for anything that infringed on their rights.

What central political ideas had colonial Americans developed by the eighteenth century that made them deeply suspicious of centralized authority and fervent in defense of their rights?

They believed they had rights to self government and sovereignty and the infringement of their rights by the British made them suspicious of corruption and conspiracies.

The British political party that was generally more sympathetic to the American cause was the

Whig party

duty (duties)

a customs tax on the export or import of goods.

First Continental Congress

a meeting of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that met on September 5 to October 26, 1774 at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. Met to discuss their concerns over Parliament's dissoltions of the New York (for refusing to pay to quarter troops), Massachusetts (for the Boston Tea Party), and Virginia Assemblies. It rejected the plan for a unified colonial government, stated grievances against the crown called the Declaration of Rights, resolved to prepare militias, and created the Continental Association to enforce a new non-importation agreement through Committees of Vigilence. In response, in February, 1775, Parliament declared the colonies to be in rebellion

The British theory of mercantilism, by which the colonies were governed, held that

a nation's economy should be entirely shaped by free market forces, without government interference.

mulatto

a person of mixed African and European ancestry

Townshend Acts

acts that put a light import duty on such things as glass, lead, paper, and tea. The acts met slight protest from the colonists, who found ways around the taxes such as buying smuggled tea. Due to its minute profits, the Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770, except for the tax on tea. The tax on tea was kept to keep alive the principle of Parliamentary taxation.

Quartering Act

an act enforced by the British on their North American colonies. It required colonist to provide adequate housing and basic necessities like food to the troops.

inflation

an increase in the supply of currency relative to the goods available, leading to a decline in the purchasing power of money.

boycott

an organized refusal to deal with some person, organization, or product

The mobilization of nonimportation policies against the Stamp Act was politically important because it

aroused revolutionary fervor among many ordinary American men and women.

When British officials decided to enforce the East India Company's tea monopoly and the three-pence tax on tea,

colonists were outraged because their favorite beverage would cost more than ever before.

One of the advantages the colonists enjoyed in the impending conflict with Britain was

fighting defensively on a large, agriculturally self-sufficient continent.

The most important action the First Continental Congress took to protest the Intolerable Acts was

forming the Association to impose a complete boycott of all British goods.

In the Revolutionary War, African Americans

fought in both the American patriot and British loyalist military forces.

One of the ways in which mercantilism harmed the colonial economy was by

inhibiting the development of banking and paper currency in the colonies.

Charles Townshend

was control of the British ministry and was nicknamed "Champagne Charley" for his brilliant speeches in Parliament while drunk. He persuaded Parliament in 1767 to pass the Townshend Acts. These new regulations was a light import duty on glass, white lead, paper, and tea. It was a tax that the colonist were greatly against and was a near start for rebellions to take place.

Declaratory Acts

1766 Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and passed this act which reaffirmed Parliament's right to "bind" the colonies. It stopped the violence and rebellions against the tax on stamps. Also, it restarted trade with England, which had temporarily stopped as a defiant reaction to the Stamp Act.

Stamp tax

1765 George Grenville imposed this measure to raise revenue in support of the new military force. This Act mandated the use of stamped paper or the affixing of stamps, certifying payment of the tax.

Sons of Liberty

A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. Led the Boston Tea Party and threatened tax collectors

Explain why Britain adopted policies of tighter political control and higher taxation of Americans after 1763 and how these policies sparked fierce colonial resentment.

After the French and Indian War, Britain felt that Americans should pay them back for all they spent helping them out during the war in order to protect them. They were left in debt. However Americans didn't see it this way and instead felt that they were taking away their sovereignty and imposing taxes without any representation.

Quebec Act

An Act for making more effective Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America. It gave Catholic French Canadians religious freedom and restored the French form of civil law; this law nullified many of the Western claims of the coast colonies by extending the boundaries of the province of Quebec to the Ohio River on the south and to the Mississippi River on the west.

daughters of liberty

An organization formed by women prior to the American Revolution They got together to protest treatment of the colonies by their British Rulers. They also had a large influence during the war, although not as large an influence as the sons of liberty. For example, in the countryside, while Patriots supported the non-importation movements of 1765, and 1769, the Daughters of Liberty continued to support American resistance. They helped end the Stamp Act in 1766. In 1774, the patriot women helped influence a decision made by the Continental Congress to boycott all British goods.

At various times during the decade from 1765-1775, the British government backed down and sought compromise with the American colonies. Why did it react so differently, and harshly, after the Boston Tea Party? Was there any possibility that the Empire could have been repaired after the imposition of the Intolerable Acts?

In the times where the British catered to the desires of the colonists, there had already been a boycott or non-consumption of goods, angering British business men. At this point, the acts of rebellion were seen mostly as non-threatening, minor disagreements that would be settled by Britain. But the Boston Tea Party was a costly act of rebellion. The East India Tea Company was about to go bankrupt, so the ships full of their tea was a last ditch effort to save the company. The government was angered when colonists dumped the tea, and then did not pay for it. After the Coercive (Intolerable) acts, there wasn't really much hope of reconciliation. From the British rejection of the Olive Branch Petition to the posting of British troops in Boston, tension was increasing with no real hope of disappearing.

How and why did the Americans and the British differ in their views of taxation and of the relationship of colonies to the empire?

The British used the colonies for their own self interest and Americans felt that their rights were being neglected and sacrificed for England's welfare.

Was the American Revolution inevitable? Or could the thirteen colonies have remained attached to Britain for many years and then peacefully achieved their independence as the British colonies of Canada and Australia later did? How would the meaning of America have been different without this violent revolt from the home country?

No, it was not inevitable since the colonists and the British wanted different things for their own benefit and interests. Peaceful attempts were first made but these didn't work so they led to violent acts. Americans had already grown used to their freedom and rights prior to all the taxation acts and they felt stripped from their sovereignty,

Samuel Adams

Often called the "Penman of the Revolution" He 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. Founder of the Sons of Liberty and one of the most vocal patriots for independence; signed the Declaration of Independence.

Battles of Lexington and Concord

These battles initiated the Revolutionary War between the American colonists and the British. British governor Thomas Gage sent troops to Concord to stop the colonists who were loading arms. The next day, on April 19, 1775, the first shots were fired in Lexington, starting the war. The battles resulted in a British retreat to Boston. Quartering Acts soldieres warned British that Americans were stock-piling weapons-- British went to Lexington-- American militia (pre-army) were retreating when British shots were fired----British move to Concord where more Americans were, and they retreated to Boston

Explain how colonial agitators kept resistance alive from 1770-1773.

They created protests and boycotted British goods. They refused to let any tea into their harbors and the most remarkable of these was the Boston Tea Party. Delegates from the colonies held meetings where they discussed infringement on colonial rights and made petitions to the British Crown to remove taxation laws. The Sons and Daughters of Liberty also exemplify colonial rebellion against the English in their efforts to scare law re enforcers in America.

Prior to the outbreak of violence in 1775, what essentially nonviolent methods did the colonists use in their struggle with British authorities? Were these methods effective in achieving colonial goals? How did the British respond to them?

They would boycott British products and petitioned removal of some laws. The British mostly ignored all of these so they moved on to violent methods like the Sons and Daughters of Liberty.

"Intolerable Acts"

a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea party. They were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in throwing a large tea shipment into Boston harbor. The laws made restrictions on town meetings, and stated that enforcing officials who killed colonists in the line of duty would be sent to Britain for trial (where it was assumed they would be acquitted of their charges).

patronage

a system in which benefits, including jobs, money, or protection are granted in exchange for political support. "The Whigs mounted withering attacks on the use of patronage and bribes by the king's ministers..."

propaganda

a systematic program or particular materials designed to promote certain ideas; sometimes but not always the term is used negatively, implying the use of manipulative or deceptive means..

The passage of the Quebec Act aroused intense American fears because it

extended Catholic jurisdiction and a non-jury judicial system into the English-speaking Ohio country.

Boston Tea Party

in protest to the tea act, a raid on three British ships in Boston Harbor (December 16, 1773) in which Boston colonists, disguised as Indians, threw the contents of several hundred chests of tea into the harbor as a protest against British taxes on tea and against the monopoly granted the East India Company.

Committees of Correspondence

organized by patriot leader Samuel Adams, was a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies. They provided the organization necessary to unite the colonies in opposition to Parliament. The committees sent delegates to the First Continental Congress.

nonimportation agreement

pledges to boycott, or decline to purchase, certain goods from abroad.

Camp Followers

the "entorauge" of women (20,000) that followed and took care of soldiers of the Continental Army. Cooked, nursed, and washed (mostly the wives)

One of the advantages the British enjoyed in the impending conflict with the colonies was

the ability to enlist foreign soldiers, Loyalists, and Native Americans in their military forces.

monopoly

the complete control of a product or sphere of economic activity by a single producer or business.

veto

the constitutional right of a ruler or executive to block legislation passed by another unit of government.

mercantilism

the economic theory that all parts of a nation's or empire's economy should be coordinated for the good of the whole state; hence, that colonial economic welfare should be subordinated to that of the imperial power.

republicanism

the ideology of governing the nation as a republic, where the head of state is not appointed through hereditary means, but usually through an election , A philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people. The government is based on consent of the governed. (Greeks and Romans republics)

George III

the king of England from 1760 to 1820, exercised a greater hand in the government of the American colonies than had many of his predecessors. Colonists were torn between loyalty to the king and resistance to acts carried out in his name. After he rejected the Olive Branch Petition, the colonists came to see him as a tyrant.He lost all of the 13 American colonies and caused America to start to gain its freedom.

The most intolerable of the Intolerable Acts that the British imposed as punishment for the Boston Tea Party were

the law ending colonial self-governance and imposing martial law on Massachusetts.

The Association

the most important outcome of the Congress. It called for a complete boycott of British goods; nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption in an attempt to get legislation from Parliament repealed

virtual representation

the political theory that a class of persons is represented in a lawmaking body without direct vote.

American colonists especially resented the Townshend Acts because

the revenues from the taxation would go to support British officials and judges in America.

depreciate

to decrease in value, as in the decline of the purchasing power of money.

desert

to leave official government or military service without permission