Terms Timeline Review 3

• Seven Years' War/French Indian War (1754-1763)


  Definition:

  - fighting began in the colonies and spread to Europe in the 4th war

  - French built a chain of forts in the Ohio River Valley to halt the westward growth of British Colonies

  - Britain won

  
  

  Significance:

  - Britain and France began to recognize the full importance of their colonies and shipped large numbers of troops overseas to North America rather than rely on the "amateur" colonial forces

  - Britain's victory gave them unchallenged supremacy in North America and best. them as a dominant naval force in the world

  - Britain and the Colonies were unimpressed by each others efforts
• Albany Plan of Union (1754)


  Definition:

  - developed by Benjamin Franklin

  - provided an intercolonial government and a system for recruiting troops and collecting taxes from the various colonies for the common defense

  - never took effect because each colony was too jealous fo its taxation powers

  
  

  Significance:

  - set a precedent for later, more revolutionary congresses in the 1770's
• Pontiac's Rebellion (1763)


  Definition:

  - Chief Pontiac led a major attack against the colonial settlements on the western frontier

  - American Indians were angered by the growing westward movement of European settlers onto their land and British refusal to offer gifts as the French had done

  
  

  Significance:

  - Pontiac's alliance of American Indians in the Ohio Valley destroyed forts and settlements from New York to Virginia

  - British sent regular British troops to put down the uprising rather than relying on colonial forces
• Proclamation of 1763


  Definition:

  - effort to stabilize the western frontier

  - prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains

  - British hoped this would prevent future conflicts between colonists and American Indians

  
  

  Significance:

  - colonists reacted with anger and defiance

  - hoped to access westward lands after 7 Years' War win

  - thousands of colonists streamed westward beyond the imaginary

  boundary
• Sugar Act (1764)


  Definition:

  - placed taxes on foreign sugar and certain luxuries

  - purpose was to provide money for the crown

  
  

  Significance:

  - companion law provided for stricter enforcement of Navigation Acts to stop smuggling

  - those accused of smuggling were to be tried by admiralty courts

  by crown appointed judges without juries
• Quartering Act (1765)


  Definition:

  - required the colonists to provide food and living quarters for British soldiers stationed in the colonies

  
  

  Significance:

  - was repealed because the colonists were upset they were being taxed without having a say in it

  - taxation without representation
• Stamp Act (1765)


  Definition:

  - required that revenue stamps be placed on most printed paper in the colonies (newspapers, legal documents, etc.)

  - used to raise funds for the British military forces in the colonies

  
  

  Significance:

  - the first direct tax collected from those who used the goods, paid by the people in the colonies, rather than indirect taxes on imported goods
• Stamp Act Congress (1765)


  Definition:

  - James Otis called for cooperative action among the colonies to protest the Stamp Act

  - representatives from 9 colonies met in New York

  
  

  Significance:

  - resolved that only their elected representatives had the legal authority to approve taxes
• Sons and Daughters of Liberty (1765)


  Definition:

  - secret society organized for the purpose of intimidating tax agents

  
  

  Significance:

  - members sometimes destroyed revenue stamps and tarred and feathered revenue officials
• Declaratory Act (1766)


  Definition:

  - asserted that Parliament had the right to tax and make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever"

  
  

  - Grenville was replaced by another prime minister

  - stamp act not repealed

  
  

  Significance:

  - lead to the renewed conflicts between the colonists and the British government
• The Townshend Acts (1767)


  Definition:

  - enacted new duties to be collected on colonial imports of tea, glass, and paper

  - provided for the search of private home for smuggled goods; only need a writ of assistance rather than a judge's warrant

  - suspended New York's assembly for defiance of the Quartering Act

  
  

  Significance:

  - most colonists accepted the new taxes because they were indirect taxes paid by merchants (not direct taxes on consumer goods)

  ⮑ leaders soon protested
• writ of assistance


  a general license to search anywhere
• Dickinson's Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1767-1768)


  Definition:

  - written by John Dickinson

  - in protest of the Townshend Acts

  
  

  Significance:

  - wrote that Parliament could regulate commerce, but argued that duties were a form of taxation, so they couldn't be levied on the colonies without the consent of their representative assemblies

  - argued that the idea of taxation without representation was an essential principle of English law
• Massachusetts Circular Letter (1768)


  Definition:

  - written by James Otis and Samuel Adams

  - urged various colonies to petition Parliament and repeal the Townshend Acts

  - was sent to every colonial legislature

  
  

  Significance:

  - British officials in Boston ordered the letter retracted, threatened to dissolve the legislature, and increased the number of British troops in Boston

  - colonists conducted boycotts of British goods

  - merchants increased their smuggling activities to avoid Townshend duties
• Repeal of the Townshend Acts (1770)


  Definition:

  - Lord Frederick North urged Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts because they damaged trade and generated a small amount of revenue

  
  

  Significance:

  - ended the colonial boycott

  - 3 year respite from political troubles as the colonies entered into a period of economic prosperity

  - Parliament retained a small tax on tea as a symbol of its right to tax the colonies
• Boston Massacre (1770)


  Definition:

  - crowd of Bostonians harassed British guards near the customs house

  ⮑ guards opened fire and killed 5 colonists

  - Bostonians resented the British Troops who had been quartered in their city to protect custom officials from being attacked by the Sons of Liberty

  
  

  Significance:

  - Samuel Adams denounced the shooting incident as a "massacre" and used it to fuel the anti-British feeling
• Committees of Correspondence (1772)


  Definition:

  - initiated by Samuel Adams

  - device for spreading the idea that British officials were undermining colonial liberties

  - included Boston and other Massachusetts towns

  
  

  Significance:

  - organized committees would regularly exchange letters about suspicious or potentially threatening British activities

  - The Gaspee

  - British customs ship that caught smugglers

  - colonists disguised as American Indians ordered the British crew

  ashore and set fire to the ship
• Boston Tea Party (1773)


  Definition:

  - colonists continued their refusal to buy British tea because Britain insisted on their right to tax the colonies

  - a shipment of the East India Company's tea arrived

  - Bostonians disguised as American Indians boded the ship and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor

  
  

  Significance:

  - mixed reaction from the colonists

  - many applauded it as a justifiable defense of liberty, while others

  thought the destruction of private property was far too radical

  - reason for the coercive acts
• Tea Act (1773)


  made the price of the East India Company's tea with tax cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea
• Intolerable Acts/Coercive Acts (1774)


  Definition:

  1) Port Act: Boston port closed, prohibiting trade, until the destroyed tea was paid for

  2) Massachusetts Government Act: reduced the power of the Massachusetts legislature and increased the power of the royal government

  3) Administration fo Justice Act: allowed royal officials accused of crime to be tried in Britain

  4) expanded the Quartering Act to enable British troops to be quartered in private homes

  
  

  Significance:

  - directed mainly at punishing the people of Boston and Massachusetts; wanted to bring the dissidents under control

  ⮑ colonists were outraged
• Quebec Act (1774)


  Definition:

  - established Roman Catholicism as the official religion of Quebec

  - set up a government without a representative assembly

  - extended Quebec's boundary to the Ohio River

  
  

  Significance:

  - colonists viewed the act as a direct attack on them

  - took away lands they claimed along the Ohio River

  - feared Britain would enact similar laws in America to take away

  their representative government

  - protestants were resentful
• Dunmore's Proclamation (1775)


  - offered to free any slaves and indentured servants who would leave their patriot masters to join the British forces

  - hoped to augment the British army and disrupt the economy

  - about 1000 slaves rallied to accept his offer
• salutary neglect


  a period from 1607-1763 in which England did not strictly enforce Parliamentary laws, which allowed the colonies to flourish as almost independent states for many years
• Common Sense (1776)


  Definition:

  - written by Thomas Paine

  - argued for the colonies becoming independent states and breaking all political ties with the British monarchy

  - contrary to common sense for a large continent to be ruled by a small and distant island and for people to pledge allegiance to a king whose government was corrupt and whose laws were unreasonable

  
  

  Significance:

  - helped spark the colonists rebellion later that year
• First Continental Congress (September 1774)


  Definition:

  - colonial delegates convened in Philadelphia to respond to what they viewed as Britain's alarming threats to their independence

  - most did not want independence, just wanted to restore the relationship with the crown that existed before the 7 Years' War

  
  

  Significance:

  - Convention adopted new measures:

  1) Suffolk Resolves: immediate repeal of the intolerable acts, boycott British goods, and military preparations

  2) urged the king to redress colonial grievances and restore colonial rights

  3) created a network of committees to enforce the Suffolk Resolves

  4) if colonial rights weren't recognized, they would meet again in May 1775
• Lord Dunmore's War


  Definition:

  - large scale confrontation between the Virginia militia and some Shawnee warriors

  - no clear winner

  
  

  Significance:

  - allowed thousands of settlers to come across the mountains

  - Lord Dunmore's Proclamation:

  - offered to free nay slaves or indentured

  servants who would leave their rebel masters

  and join the royal forces
• Lexington and Concord (April 18, 1775)


  Definition:

  - British force sent to seize control of military supplies in Concord

  - Lexington:

  - assembled to face the British

  - forced to retreat under heavy British fire

  - Concord:

  - British destroyed some military supplies

  - militiamen fired from behind stone walls

  
  

  Significance:

  - the beginning of military violence between the American colonies and Britain

  - British suffered over 250 casualties

  - humiliated for being so badly mauled by

  "amateur" forces
• Second Continental Congress (May 1775)


  Definition:

  - delegates were divided

  - one group, mainly from New England, thought

  the colonies should declare their independence

  - another group, mainly from the middle colonies,

  believed conflict could be resolved by

  negotiating a new relationship with England

  
  

  Significance:

  - adopted a Declaration of the Causes and

  Necessities for Taking Up Arms and called on the

  colonies to provide troops

  - adopted peace efforts (Olive Branch Petition)
• Bunker Hill (June 1775)


  Definition:

  - colonial militia of Massachusetts fortified Breed's

  Hill

  - British force attacked the colonists' position and

  managed to take the hill, but suffered over a

  thousand casualties

  
  

  Significance:

  - Americans claimed a victory having succeeded in

  inflicting heavy losses on the British Army

  - training ground for the colonists to prepare for

  more extreme battle

  - confidence boost for the Patriots
• Olive Branch Petition (July 1775)


  Definition:

  - the colonies pledged their loyalty and asked

  King George III to intercede with Parliament to

  secure peace the the protection of colonial rights

  
  

  Significance:

  - George dismissed the plea

  - Parliament's Prohibitory act declared the

  colonies in rebellion

  - Parliament forbade all trade and shipping

  between England and the colonies
• Declaration of Independence (adopted July 4, 1776)


  Definition:

  - Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution

  declaring the colonies to be independent

  - Jefferson and five other delegates formed a

  committee to write a statement in support of

  Lee's resolution

  - drafted by Thomas Jefferson

  
  

  Significance:

  - listed specific grievances against George III's

  government and expressed the basic principles

  that justified revolution
• Patriots/Whigs (1775-1783)


  Definition:

  - mainly from New England states and Virginia

  - most soldiers were reluctant to reveal outside

  their won region

  - served in local militia units for short periods

  
  

  Significance:

  - several hundred thousands fought on the patriot

  side, but no more than 20,000 troops were under

  command at one time

  - army was chronically short on supplies, poorly

  equipped, and rarely paid
• Loyalists/Tories (1775-1783)


  Definition:

  - those who maintained allegiance to the King

  - fought next to British soldiers, supplied them with

  arms, food, and joined in raiding parties that

  pillaged Patriot homes and farms

  
  

  Significance:

  - made the Revolutionary War a civil war in some

  aspects: colonists against colonists

  - members of the same family joined opposite

  sides
• Battle of Trenton (December 1776)


  Definition:

  - American forces under George Washington

  surprised and captured a garrison of German Hessians

  - Washington planned a sneak attach and attacked

  from both sides of the Delaware River

  - Patriots win

  
  

  Significance:

  - boosted the Continental Army's morale

  - encouraged people to enlist in the Continental

  Army

  - ruined British plans for a quick end to the war

  - game the Americans confidence that they could

  stand up to the British in battle
• Battle of Saratoga (October 1777)


  Definition:

  - British forces marched through the colonies from

  3 directions in attempt to separate New England

  from the rest of the colonies

  - American troops led by Horatio Gates and

  Benedict Arnold attacked at Saratoga

  - British surrendered

  
  

  Significance:

  - American victory persuaded France to join in on the war against Britain

  - convinced France to become an ally: gave the

  American revolutionaries money and supplies

  - French alliance widened the war and forced the

  British to divert military resources away from

  America
• Valley Forge (March 1777)


  Definition:

  - place where Washington's army spent the winter

  - were poorly equipped

  - was a freezing winter

  
  

  Significance:

  - a quarter of the troops died from disease and

  malnutrition

  - reflected the main weakness of the American

  Army: lack of stable supplies and munitions
• Murray's "On the Equality of Sexes" (1779)


  Definition:

  - written by Judith Sargent Murray

  - book concerning the 18th century thoughts on

  women

  
  

  Significance:

  - argued women have equal intellect to men and

  therefore should have similar rights
• Philipsburg Proclamation (1779)


  Definition:

  - declared that any slave who deserted a rebel

  master would receive protection, land, and

  freedom from Great Britain

  
  

  Significance:

  - expanded Lord Dunmore's Proclamation

  - encouraged slaves to run away and enlist in

  Royal Forces
• Battle of Yorktown (1781)


  Definition:

  - strongly supported by French navy and military

  forces

  - Washington's army forced the surrender of a

  large British army command by General Charles

  Cornwallis

  
  

  Significance:

  - last major battle of the Revolutionary War

  - signified the end of the war, although it was not

  the end of fighting
• Articles of Confederation (ratified 1781)


  Definition:

  - central government that consisted fo a congress;

  each states was given one vote

  - congress could wage war, make treaties, send

  diplomatic representatives, and borrow money

  - congress could not regulate commerce or

  collect taxes

  
  

  Significance:

  - Accomplishments:

  - claimed some credit for the ultimate victory of

  Washington's army and for negotiating favorable

  terms in the treaty of peace with Britain

  - Land Ordinance of 1785: set aside a piece of

  land in each township for public education and

  established a policy for surveying and selling

  the western lands

  - Northwest Ordinance of 1787: set the rules for

  creating new states and limited self government

  in developing territory and prohibited slavery

  - Problems:

  - financial issues; printed money was worthless,

  could not pay debts

  - European nations had little respect for a new

  nation that couldn't pay their debt or take

  effective, unified action in crisis

  - domestic problems