APUSH

• Jamestown

  • first successful English settlement built in North America
  • birthplace of democracy in America
• First Africans brought to Virginia (1619)

  • when a ship containing 20 African entered Jamestown port, many considered them as indentured servants at first
  • by 1640, at least one African had been declared a slave
• Mayflower Compact (1620)

  • first governing document in US
  • drafted in 1620 on the Mayflower ship, full of Pilgrims seeking religious freedom
  • all 41 men who signed it declared that they believed in majority rule and would govern colony according to its members best interests
• Great Migration of Puritans to Massachusetts (1630 & 1640)

  • Puritans went to Massachusetts because of their belief that the English authority was ruining the church
  • ran their own community and were able to have religious freedom
• Roger Williams and Establishment of Rhode Island (1636)

  • Puritan minister Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and later purchased land from a native tribe to form Providence, which later turned into religiously tolerant colony of Rhode Island
  • first colony to guarantee all citizens freedom of worship
• William Penn and Establishment of Pennsylvania

  • in 1681, Penn used the charter he received from King Charles II to found Pennsylvania
  • established freedom of religion, as well as a way to have people of different languages/cultures participate fully in government (“seed of the nation”)
• James Oglethorpe and Establishment of Georgia (1732)

  • Oglethorpe wanted to erect a military barrier against Spanish lands and provide a refuge for impoverished English men/women
• Jonathan Edwards and Great Awakening (1734)

  • Edwards began to preach in Connecticut and sparked Great Awakening by preaching to people of New England to get them to leave Church of England and listen to his religious beliefs
• French and Indian War

  • also called Seven Years’ War
  • dispute between France and Great Britain
• Proclamation of 1763

  • issued by King George III following Great Britain’s gain of French territory in Americas after French and Indian War
  • restricted all settlement past a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains
• Stamp Act 1765-1766

  • imposed to raise revenue from colonists in support of new military
  • stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents
• Declaratory act (1766)

  • passed after stamp act was repealed
  • told colonies that British still had power to tax them
• Townshend Acts (1767)

  • taxed glass, lead, paper, tea, and paint
  • passed to pay salaries of governors and officials in order to remain loyal to Britain
• First Continental Congress (1774)

  • in response to Intolerable Acts forced on colonists
  • response committee consisting of 56 delegates from 12/13 (except Georgia) colonies to draft declaration of rights and grievances
• Second Continental Congress (1775)

  • intercolonial assembly that met in Philadelphia
  • main goal was to get the British Acts repealed that raised money for an army and navy
• Lexington and Concord (1775)

  • began what is known as Revolutionary War
  • ”shot heard round the world”
• Boston Tea Party

  • act of rebellion by Sons of Liberty due to raised tea prices and high tax on tea
  • on December 16, 1773, rebels boarded British tea ships and dumped tea into the Boston harbor
  • lead to Intolerable Acts
• Common Sense

  • pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that convinced many people that war for independence was worth fighting
  • argued for American Independence from Britain and establishment of independent American government
• Declaration of Independence (1776)

  • written document proclaiming that colonies of Britain would become their own independent country to escape tyranny and taxation of British rule
  • outlined what makes America different by listing freedoms and natural rights that all humans should have
• Treaty of Alliance

  • military alliance between France and America during American Revolution
• Battle Of Yorktown (1781)

  • last major land battle in Revolutionary War
  • signified end of war because the American and French forces surrounded Yorktown and captured Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis and his troops
• Articles of Confederation

  • discovered that flaws such as no separation of power, no power to tax, no enforcement of decisions, no power to regulate state tariffs, and requiring 9/13 states to pass a law was inefficient and problematic
• Treaty of Paris (1783)

  • ended Revolutionary War
  • Britain recognized American independence
  • US returned all lands seized from loyalists
• Northwest Ordinances of 1784, 1785, 1787

  • Ordinance of 1784 divided Northwest territory (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) into self-governing areas
  • Ordinance of 1785 arranged territories into grid systems
  • Ordinance of 1787 allowed each area to be governed by a governor and judges appointed by Congress; slavery was outlawed in these areas; equal freedom to everyone (except women)
• Shay’s Rebellion (1786)

  • Shays, a former Continental Army captain, and other western Massachusetts veterans and farmers formed an insurrection against government for failing to address economic grievances
• Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (1787)

  • discussed problems in US and to create a new government instead of fixing the Articles of Confederation
• Federalist Papers (1787 - 1788)

  • series of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay pushing for ratification of US Constitution
• Creation of a new government (1789)

  • adopted Constitution, House of Representatives, Senate, and First Congress, which elected Washington as president
• Samuel Slater establishes the first textile mill (1790)

  • Slater brought designs from England’s textile machines and started several textile mills in America
  • kick started American Industry by starting first manufacturing plant in America
• Bill of Rights

  • first ten amendments to US Constitution that state certain unalienable rights guaranteed to all citizens
• Cotton Gin (1793)

  • invented by Eli Whitney
  • revolutionized speed in which cotton was produced
• Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality (1793)

  • when French government went to war with Great Britain and its allies, so Washington and Congress established America as neutral
• Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

  • Western Pennsylvanian corn farmers refused to pay federal excise tax on whiskey so Washington sent state militia under Hamilton’s command to collapse the rebellion
  • first test of Washington’s authority as president
• Washington’s Farewell Address

  • as Washington left office, he was worried that America would be dragged into one of their allies wars and lose
  • also warned against forming political parties
• X, Y, Z Affair (1797)

  • US delegates requested to speak with French Foreign Minister about ending impressment of US sailors by France but had to pay “required” fee of $250,000 just to speak with minister, which they refused
  • contributed to demands of US population for war with France, leading to undeclared war
• Alien & Sedition Acts (1798)

  • Federalists enacted legislation designed smother immigrant support for the Jeffersonian Republican party and to silence critics
  • violated open door hospitality and speedy assimilation by implementing new hurdles to citizenship and granting power to forcibly expel foreigners
  • ”lockjaw” Sedition Act violated freedom of press by broadening power to jail newspaper editors for “scandalous and malicious writing”
• Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions (1798-1799)

  • created in opposition to Alien & Sedition Laws and emphasized need for balance in government
  • questioned who could decide if something was constitutional or not and Jefferson & Madison asserted it was states
• Midnight Judges

  • Adams appointed federal judges last minute in his administration
  • Jefferson told Madison not to pay judges but Marbury, a judge, sued for his commission
  • Supreme Court Justice John Marshall ruled Marbury did have a right to commission according to Judiciary Act but also ruled that the Judiciary Act was unconstitutional
• Marbury vs. Madison

  • announced that smaller courts, such as state courts, could disregard a congressional ruling if it conflicted with constitution
• Louisiana Purchase

  • purchase made by Jefferson of Louisiana in 1803 to continue US expansionism