APUSH Chapter 5 Vocab
Thomas Paine
A British citizen, he wrote Common Sense, published on January 1, 1776, to encourage the colonies to seek independence. •Common Sense spoke out against the unfair treatment of the colonies by the British government and was instrumental in turning public opinion in favor of the Revolution.
Edmund Burke
A conservative British politician who was generally sympathetic to the colonists' grievances, and who felt that Britain's colonial policies were misguided. (b. 1729 d.1797)
Robert Morris
A delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He agreed that Britain had treated the colonies unfairly, but he did not believe that the colonies should dissolve ties with Britain. He argued against the Declaration of Independence.
Articles of Confederation
A document adopted in 1777 that articulated the powers of the Second Continental Congress. •It preserved states' rights while authorizing a limited central govt. - the Congress—with some power to defend the Union and conduct foreign affairs. •Since it allowed for no taxation, executive (president), or national judiciary, the Articles left the Congress too weak to carry out even its limited duties. •It was replaced by the Constitution in 1789.
Land Ordinance of 1785
A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Provided for the orderly surveying and distribution of land in the Northwest territory. It provided funding for a public school in every township by setting aside the proceeds from one section. Land was divided into sections and each section consisted of 640 acres at $1 per acre. The minimum purchase price of $640 greatly benefited land speculators since the ordinary person could not afford to buy 640 acres.
Gilbert Stuart
American painter, most famous for painting the portrait of Washington which was copied for the one dollar bill. (b. 1755 d.1828)
Charles Wilson Peale
An American naturalist painter who was the preeminent painter of his generation. He was known especially for his portraits of George Washington. (b. 1741 d. 1827)
Shay's Rebellion
Occurred in the winter of 1786-87 under the Articles of Confederation. Poor, indebted landowners in Massachusetts blocked access to courts and prevented the government from arresting or repossessing the property of those in debt. •The federal government was too weak to help Boston remove the rebels, a sign that the Articles of Confederation weren't working effectively.
Valley Forge
Valley Forge was not a battle; it was the site where the Continental Army camped during the winter of 1777- '78, after its defeats at the Battles of the Brandywine and Germantown. The Continental Army suffered further casualties at Valley Forge due to cold and disease. Washington chose the site because it allowed him to defend the Continental Congress if necessary, which was then meeting in York, Pennsylvania after the British capture of Philadelphia.
Abigail Adams
Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the home front. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.
1780's Depression
Caused by a post-war decrease in production and increase in unemployment, and also caused by tough interstate commerce rules which decreased trade.
Declaration of Independence
July 2-4, 1776- The Declaration of Independence was signed by the Second Continental Congress on July 4. It dissolved the colonies' ties with Britain, listed grievances against King George III, and declared the colonies to be an independent nation.
Richard Henry Lee's Resolution
June 7, 1776- Stated that the colonies should be independent and sever all political ties with Britain. It was adopted by Congress and was the first step towards independence.
Battle of Fallen Timbers
1794- General Anthony Wayne gained control of the Ohio Valley when he defeated the Miami Indians. The victory ended the fighting between the Indians and whites over white settlement west of the Ohio River that had been ongoing since the early 1790s.
Second Continental Congress
1775- All thirteen colonies with the exception of Georgia sent representatives to this Congress which met three weeks after Lexington and Concord. The Congress took the following actions: •Members agreed to support the war. •They approved the Olive Branch Petition which made a final offer of peace to Britain, offering their loyalty to the British govt. if it resolved their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). •They also passed the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms which stated the British govt. had left only two courses of action to the colonists - submission to tyrannical actions by British ministers or resistance by force. •George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of a new colonial army.
Battle of Bunker Hill
1775- At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the British troops were based in Boston. The British army had begun to fortify the Dorchester Heights near Boston, and so the Continental Army fortified Breed's Hill, north of Boston, to counter the British plan. British general Gage led two unsuccessful attempts to take this hill, before he finally seized it with the third assault. •The British suffered heavy losses and lost any hope for a quick victory against the colonies. •Although the battle centered around Breed's Hill, it was mistakenly named for nearby Bunker Hill.
George Rogers Clark
1778- American revolutionary general who conquered the Old Northwest. In 1778 Clark took an expedition into Illinois county and took the British-held settlements of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes. Clark hoped to take Detroit as well but never received adequate supplies to advance on the settlement.
Disestablishment, Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom
1779- Written by Thomas Jefferson, this statute outlawed an established church and called for separation of Church and State.
Society of the Cincinnati
1783- A secret society formed by officers of the Continental Army. The purpose of the group was to promote union and national honor, maintain wartime friendships, and look after members in need. George Washington was the first president and many of the Constitution's signers belonged to the group.
Treaty of Paris
1783- This treaty ended the Revolutionary War and provided for the following: •Britain recognized the independence of the United States. •The Mississippi River would be the western boundary of the United States. •Americans would have fishing rights off the coast of Canada. •Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants and pay Loyalist claims for property confiscated during the war. •British would abandon forts on Northwest territories •The Treaty of Paris set the colonial boundaries as being the southern border of Canada, the northern border of Florida, the Atlantic coast, and the Mississippi River. •Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, John Adams
Northwest Ordinance
1787- A major success of the Articles of Confederation. This ordinance set up the framework of a government for the Northwest territory. The Ordinance provided that the Territory would be divided into 3 to 5 states, outlawed slavery in the Territory, and set 60,000 as the minimum population for statehood. •It was one of the few accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation government.
Treaty of Greenville
1795- The Miami Indians signed this treaty with the United States a year after their defeat at Fallen Timbers. The tribe relinquished land in the Northwest Territory in return for the federal government's recognition of their sovereignty over lands that remained under their control. This marked the first time the new federal govt. recognized the sovereignty of the tribes over Indian lands.
Benedict Arnold
Arnold was a Colonel in the Connecticut militia at the outbreak of the Revolution and soon became a General in the Continental Army. He won key victories for the colonies in the battles in upstate New York in 1777, and was instrumental in General Gates' victory over the British at Saratoga. •After becoming Commander of Philadelphia in 1778, he went heavily into debt, and in 1780, he was caught plotting to surrender the key Hudson River fortress of West Point to the British in exchange for a commission in the royal army. •He was the most famous traitor in American history.
Yorktown and Lord Cornwallis
Because of their lack of success in suppressing the Revolution in the northern colonies, in early 1780 the British switched their strategy and undertook a series of campaigns through the southern colonies. This strategy was equally unsuccessful, and the British decided to return to their main headquarters in New York City. •While marching from Virginia to New York, British commander Lord Cornwallis became trapped in Yorktown on the Chesapeake Bay. His troops fortified the town and waited for reinforcements. The French navy, led by DeGrasse, blocked their escape. •After a series of battles, Cornwallis surrendered to the Continental Army on October 19, 1781, which ended all major fighting in the Revolutionary War.
Committee of Five
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Roger Livingston, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson made up the committee which drafted the Declaration of Independence.
Battle of Saratoga
British General John Burgoyne attacked southward from Canada along the Hudson Valley in New York, hoping to link up with General Howe in New York City, thereby cutting the colonies in half. Burgoyne was defeated by American General Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777, at the Battle of Saratoga, surrendering the entire British Army of the North. •The victory convinces the French to make an open alliance with the Patriots.
Newburgh Conspiracy
December 1782-March 1783: The officers of the Continental Army had long gone without pay, and they met in Newburgh, New York to address Congress about their pay. Unfortunately, the American government had little money after the Revolutionary War. They also considered staging a coup and seizing control of the new government, but the plotting ceased when George Washington refused to support the plan.
Marquis de Lafayette
French major general who aided the colonies during the Revolutionary War. He and Baron von Steuben (a Prussian general) were the two major foreign military experts who helped train the colonial armies.
Benjamin Franklin
He represented the United States in France and worked to convince the French to recognize and ally with the new nation. His popularity in France helps the American cause.
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.
Conway Cabal
Intrigue in the Continental Army to replace George Washington as commander of the Continental Army with General Horatio Gates. Washington was being criticized for his recent losses at Brandywine and Germantown and Gates had just won the Battle of Saratoga. Gates publicly supported Washington and the effort to replace him came to an end. •This incident is a reminder that Washington came in for his share of criticism during the Revolution and did not have the mythical status he is later given in American history.
Olive Branch Petition
On July 8, 1775, the colonies made a final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). •It was rejected by Parliament, which in August, 1775, passed the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies.
John Paul Jones
Revolutionary War naval officer. His ship, the Bonhomme Richard, was crippled in a battle with the British ship Serapis, yet when the British captain asked if Jones was ready to surrender, the answer came proudly, "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight." Jones went on to win the battle. He was the most famous of the American naval leaders.