Combo with AP US History - Unit 2 - Articles of Confederation and 1 other
Loyalists (Torries)
American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence.
Eli Whitney
American inventor who developed the cotton gin. Also contributed to the concept of interchangeable parts that were exactly alike and easily assembled or exchanged.
Jonathan Edwards
American theologian whose sermons and writings stimulated a period of renewed interest in religion in America (1703-1758).
Pontiac's Rebellion
An Indian uprising after the French and Indian War, led by an Ottawa chief, Pontiac. They opposed British expansion into the western Ohio Valley (squatters) and began destroying British forts in the area. The attacks ended when Pontiac was killed.
Quartering Act, 1765
An act that allowed British troops to live in the homes of the colonists. Was protested by the colonists, but it was commonly accepted.
Iroquois Confederacy
An alliance of five northeastern Indian peoples (that made decisions on military and diplomatic issues through a council of representatives. Allied first with the Dutch and later with the English, it dominated Western New England.
Republican Motherhood
An ideology that justified a woman's presence in politics. Said that women encouraged civic virtue by being responsible teaches of their children by instilling strong republican beliefs in them.
Non-Importation Agreements
Agreements not to import goods from Great Britain. They were designed to put pressure on the British economy and force the repeal of unpopular parliamentary acts and taxes.
Royal Colonies
Colonies controlled by the British king through governors appointed by him and through the king's veto power over colonial laws.
Proprietary Colonies
Colonies in which the proprietors (who had obtained their patents from the king) named the governors, subject to the king's approval.
Charter Colonies
Colony established by a group of settlers who had been given a formal document allowing them to settle.
Jay's Treaty
Commercial Treaty negotiated by John Jay over British seizure of US ships, and debts owed to British merchants. It was looked at as betrayal to the French
George Whitefield
Credited with starting the Great Awakening, also a leader of the "New Lights. His powerful speeches were known to bring people to their knees.
Northwest Ordinance
Defined a process where new states could be admitted in the union. Allowed religious freedom in northwest territory. Prohibited slavery in northwest territory. Said Indians were to be treated equally (not really).
Shay's Rebellion
During a depression in 1785-1789 Daniel Shays' led a group of MA farmers to revolt against creditors because they didn't want to loose their land due to high taxes and a shortage of cash.
Mercantilism
Economic policy that held that the strength of a nation is based on the amount of gold and silver it has; also, that the country needs a favorable balance of trade and that colonies exist for the good of the mother country as a source of raw materials and a market for manufactured goods
Treaty of Paris, 1783
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
Pilgrims
Group of English Protestant dissenters who established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in 1620 to seek religious freedom after having lived briefly in the Netherlands.
Haitian Rebellion
Haitian uprising lead to the ousting of the French rule and a new independent republic of Haiti. Was an inspiration to slaves in America because they wanted freedom much like the Haitians.
Roger Williams
He founded Rhode Island for separation of Church and State. He believed that the Puritans were too powerful and was ordered to leave the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious beliefs.
Tea Act, 1773
Law passed by parliament allowing the British East India Company to monopolize tea sales and sell its low cost tea directly to the colonies. Undermining colonial tea merchants; led to the Boston Tea Party.
New York Conspiracy
Laws about slaves made more strict due to Stono rebellion, whites suspected a gang of thieves of trying to create a slave revolt, 31 blacks, 4 whites were executed.
Cotton Gin
Machine that produced a more efficient way to get the seeds out of cotton, and expanded southern development and slavery.
Treaty Alliance, 1778
Made during the American Revolution and created a defensive alliance between France and the U.S.
Western land cession, 1781
Maryland demanded that the US government have control over all western lands. Maryland postponed her ratification of the Articles until all states complied because she feared large states would become too powerful. The land given to the US government was for public domain.
New England Confederation
New England colonists formed the New England Confederation in 1643 as a defense against local Native American tribes and encroaching Dutch. The colonists formed the alliance without the English crown's authorization.
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 December 1775 passed the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies.
Thomas Paine
Patriot and writer whose pamphlet Common Sense, published in 1776, convinced many Americans that it was time to declare independence from Britain.
Indentured Servants
People who could not afford passage to the colonies could become indentured servants. Another person would pay their passage, and in exchange, the indentured servant would serve that person for a set length of time (usually seven years) and then would be free.
Anti-Federalists
People who opposed the Ratification of the Constitution, led by Thomas Jefferson. (Small farmers, Artisans,etc.)
Separatists
People who wanted to have a separate, or different church. Also known as Pilgrims.
Federalists
Supporters of the Constitution that were led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. They firmly believed the national government should be strong. They didn't want the Bill of Rights because they felt citizens' rights were already well protected by the Constitution.
Stono Rebellion
The most serious slave rebellion in the the colonial period which occurred in 1739 in South Carolina. 100 African Americans rose up, got weapons and killed several whites then tried to escape to South Florida. The uprising was crushed and the participants executed. The main form of rebellion was running away, though there was no where to go.
Critical Period
The period where The Articles of Confederation couldn't carry out threats against foreign enemies or pass trade regulations. The paper money in the colonies was almost worthless, and Congress could not pay back debts because they couldn't tax.
Deism
The religion of the Enlightenment (1700s). Followers believed that God existed and had created the world, but that afterwards He left it to run by its own natural laws. Denied that God communicated to man or in any way influenced his life.
Freedom Of Conscience
The right of an individual to believe and act in accordance with his/her own religious or philosophical beliefs so long as such beliefs and actions do not infringe on the life, liberty or property of another. A principal part of the Declaration of Independence.
Middle Passage
The route in between the western ports of Africa to the Caribbean and southern U.S. that carried the slave trade. Was very dangerous and most slaves died of disease (small pox).
Articles of Confederation's strengths
The strengths of this document were that it concluded the Revolutionary War with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, it kept the states together with a common national citizenship, and settled the question of Western land claims.
Trade and Navigation Acts
These acts severely limited American trade to all countries except for England. The establishment of this act created many smugglers and the Dominion of New England was created, in part, to enforce the act. The act was seen by Americans as unnecessary and easy to get around.
Second Continental Congress
They organized the continental Army, called on the colonies to send troops, selected George Washington to lead the army, and appointed the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence
Intolerable/ Coercive Acts, 1774
All of these names refer to the same acts, passed in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party, and which included the Boston Port Act, which shut down Boston Harbor; the Massachusetts Government Act, which disbanded the Boston Assembly (but it soon reinstated itself); the Quartering Act, which required the colony to provide provisions for British soldiers; and the Administration of Justice Act, which removed the power of colonial courts to arrest royal officers.
First Bank of the United States
A federal Bank that would handle the government's funds; Created by Alexander Hamilton.
Stamp Act Congress
A meeting of delegates from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act. It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament, and it showed signs of colonial unity and organized resistance. "No taxation without Representation"
Paxton Boys
A mob of Pennsylvania Scots-Irish Immigrants who led a revolt to protest colonial policies towards Native Americans.
Peter Zenger Trial
A newspaper publisher that was put on trial for criticizing the government. Established precedence that government can be criticized if accusations are true. Freedom of the press.
Republicanism
A philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people. The government is based on consent of the governed.
Proclamation of 1763
A proclamation from the British government which did not allow colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, and required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east.
Whiskey Rebellion, 1794
A protest caused by the excise tax on liquor, it tested the will of the government and Washington's quick response showed the new government's strength.
Sons of Liberty
A radical political organization formed after the passage of the Stamp Act to protest various British acts; organization used both peaceful and violent means of protest.
Boston Tea Party
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.
Puritans
A religious group who wanted to purify the Church of England. They came to America for religious freedom and settled Massachusetts Bay.
King Philip's War
A series of battles in New Hampshire between the colonists and the Wompanowogs, led by a chief known as King Philip. The war was started when the Massachusetts government tried to assert court jurisdiction over the local Indians. The colonists won with the help of the Mohawks, and this victory opened up additional Indian lands for expansion.
Quasi-War
A state of semi-war with France.
Bill of Rights
A statement of fundamental rights and privileges provided under the constitution. The first ten amendments to the Constitution.
Townshend Duties, 1767
A tax that the British Parliament placed on leads, glass, paint and tea.
Stamp Act, 1765
A tax that the British Parliament placed on newspapers and official documents sold in the American Colonies. Lead to huge protest by the colonists and was repealed.
Declaration of Independence
This document was adopted on July 4, 1776. It established the 13 American colonies as independent states, free from rule by Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson wrote the majority of this document.
Mayflower Compact
This document was drafted in 1620 prior to settlement by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Bay in Massachusetts. It declared that the 41 males who signed it agreed to accept majority rule and participate in a government in the best interest of all members of the colony. This agreement set the precedent for later documents outlining commonwealth rule.
Articles of Confederation
This document, the nation's first 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.
Northwest Ordinance
This law provided that the area north of Ohio would be divided into three to five territories, and allowed a territory to have a governor, secretary, three judges, and a legislature if inhabited by 5,000 white males. The territory could apply to the US government for statehood if it had 60,000 white males.
Land Ordinance of 1785
This law stated that the US government would sell, at auction, western lands for a minimum of $1 an acre. The profit would be used to pay off the national debt. The public domain was surveyed into township systems that were 6 square miles. Each township was divided into 36 1-square-mile areas. One section equalled 640 acres.
Pinckney's Treaty
Treaty between the United States and Spain that changed Florida's border, made it easier for American ships to use the port of New Orleans, and allowed American use of the Mississippi.
Battle of Saratoga
Turning point of the American Revolution. It was very important because it convinced the French to give the U.S. military support. It lifted American spirits, ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River, and, most importantly, showed the French that the Americans had the potential to beat their enemy, Great Britain.
Citizen Genet Affair, 1793
United States Government attempted to remain neutral in the conflict between Great Britain and Revolutionary France. The controversy was ultimately resolved by Genêt's recall from his position. As a result of the Citizen Genêt affair, the United States established a set of procedures governing neutrality.
French and Indian War
War fought by French and English on American soil over control of the Ohio River Valley. English defeated French in 1763. Established England as number one world power, began to gradually change attitudes of the colonists toward England for the worse. Also known as the Seven Years War.
Washington's Farewell Address
Warned Americans not to get involved in European affairs, not to make permanent alliances, not to form political parties and to avoid sectionalism.
Articles of Confederation's weaknesses
9 of the 13 states needed to ratify a bill before it became a law. All states needed to accept an amendment. Little/no enforcement of laws that the President made. No foreign policy. States printed their own currency. Federal government could not tax. No federal army. No judicial system. Lack of national compulsive power over states.
Great (Connecticut) Compromise
A Bicameral Legislature in which the Lower house (House of Representatives) would be proportionate to state population and the upper house (Senate) would have two reps for each state.
XYZ Affair, 1798
A French attempt to bribe the United States by demanding money before discussing French seizure of neutral American ships and issues created by the Jay Treaty.
William Bradford
A Pilgrim, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, 1621-1657. He developed private land ownership and helped colonists get out of debt. He helped the colony survive droughts, crop failures, and Indian attacks.
Halfway Covenant
A Puritan church policy of 1662, which allowed partial membership rights to persons not yet converted into the Puritan church; It lessened the difference between the "elect" members of the church from the regular members. Women soon made up a larger portion of Puritan congregations.
William Penn
A Quaker that founded Pennsylvania to establish a place where his people and others could live in peace and be free from persecution. A "holy experiment" in religious freedom.
Phyllis Wheatly
A captured African American and sold as slave. A family took her in as a family member and became literate. The first published African American poet.
"No taxation without Representation"
A common slogan and view of the colonists against British acts. They felt without a colonial representative, the acts passed by parliament should not apply to them.
City On A Hill
Biblical ideal, invoked by John Winthrop, of a society governed by civil liberty (where people did only that which was just and good) that would be an example to the world.
Salutary Neglect
British colonial policy during the reigns of George I and George II. Relaxed supervision of internal colonial affairs by royal bureaucrats contributed significantly to the rise of American self government.
Virtual Representation
British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members or have a representative of their own.
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.
Annapolis Convention
Called to resolve the issues of the Articles of Confederation; Only 5 states sent delegates, they met over a few days to discuss but decided there wasn't enough of them.
Sugar, 1764
English Parliament placed a tariff on sugar, molasses and other products. Colonists avoided the tax by smuggling and by bribing tax collectors.
Thomas Hobbes
English materialist and political philosopher who advocated absolute sovereignty as the only kind of government that could resolve problems caused by the selfishness of human beings.
John Locke
English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; also said people have natural rights to life, liberty and property.
Three-fifths Compromise
For every 5 slaves, 3 will be counted in the population, and escaped slaves would be returned to their masters.
Harvard College
Founded in 1636 as the first university in America, it resides in Cambridge Massachusetts and was created to educate the young men in the ways of religion. However, as time passed and the enlightenment came, more and more subjects were introduced.
James Ogelthorpe
Founded the colony of Georgia for debtors. Colony was the last to be settled and slow to develop. The Spaniards were a threat on our southern border
Annapolis Conference
In this convention, states near the Chesapeake Bay area talked about the lowering of taxes and tariffs to increase trade between states. Alexander Hamilton told the states to meet one yea later in Philadelphia so they could overhaul the Articles of Confederation.
Albany Plan of Union
Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the Crown.
Headright System
Plots of land consisting of about 50 acres which were given to colonists who brought indentured servants into America. They were used by the Virginia Company to attract more colonists.
Land Ordinance of 1785
Provided survey and sale of northern Ohio territory. Allowed an orderly settlement because the area was divided equally into townships.
Bacon's Rebellion
Rebellion of discontent former landless servants led by Nathaniel Bacon. Though the rebellion was crushed, it caused a move from indentured servants to African slaves for labor purposes.
New Jersey Plan
Representation in Congress by equal amounts of votes for each states.
Virginia Plan
Representation in Congress by the population of the states.
Great Puritan Migration
Settlement of over twenty thousand Puritans in Massachusetts Bay and other parts of New England between 1630 and 1642.
Salem Witch Trials
Several accusations of witchcraft led to sensational at which Cotton Mather presided as the chief judge. 18 people were hanged as witches. Most of the people involved admitted that the trials and executions had been a terrible mistake.
Anne Hutchinson
She preached the idea that God communicated directly to individuals instead of through the church elders. She was forced to leave Massachusetts in 1637. Her followers founded the colony of New Hampshire in 1639.
Assumption
The Federal Government will assume the state's Revolutionary War debts.
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774, to protest the Intolerable Acts. The congress voted for a boycott of British imports, and sent a petition to King George III, conceding to Parliament the power of regulation of commerce but objecting to its taxation and unfair judicial system.
Great Awakening (First)
The First Great Awakening was a time of religious fervor during the 1730s and 1740s. The movement arose in reaction to the rise of skepticism and the waning of religious faith brought about by the Enlightenment. Protestant ministers (George Whitfield) held revivals throughout the English colonies in America, stressing the need for individuals to repent and urging a personal understanding of truth.
Gaspee Affair
The colonists thought that there was a conspiracy against them. Seizing their opportunity to destroy the hated vessel, a group of colonists disguised as Native Americans ordered the British crew ashore and then set fire to the ship.
House of Burgesses
The first elected legislative assembly in the colonies established in the Colony of Virginia in 1619, representative colony set up by England to make laws and levy taxes, but England could veto its legislative acts.
