Period 3

• Abigail Adams


  (1744-1818) The 2nd first lady. We have learned about the fight for independence from her letters that she wrote to John Adams.
• Anti-Federalists


  Opponents of the 1787 Constitution, they cast the document as antidemocratic, objected to the subordination of the states to the central government, and feared encroachment on individuals' liberties in the absence of a bill of rights.
• Articles of Confederation


  (1781) First American constitution that established the United States as a loose confederation of states under a weak national Congress, which was not granted the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes. The Articles were replaced by a more efficient Constitution in 1789.
• Bill of Rights


  (1791) Popular term for the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The amendments secure key rights for individuals and reserve to the states all powers not explicitly delegated or prohibited by the Constitution.
• Declaration of Independence


  (July 4, 1776) Formal pronouncement of independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson and approved by Congress. The declaration allowed Americans to appeal for foreign aid and served as an inspiration for later revolutionary movements worldwide.
• Democratic-Republicans


  1790s, this party follows a strict interpretation of the constitution and favors a small government. They want the US to be a nation of small, independent farmers. Madison and Jefferson are a part of this and it was not a party developed formally when Washington was in office.
• Washington's Farewell Address


  (1796) Address at the end of his presidency, warning against "permanent alliances" with other nations. He did not oppose all alliances, but believed that the young, fledgling nation should forge allegiances only on a temporary basis, in extraordinary circumstances.
• Federalism


  A constitutional arrangement whereby power is divided between national and sub national governments, each of which enforces its own laws directly on its citizens and neither of which can alter the arrangement without the consent of the other.
• Federalists


  Proponents of the 1787 Constitution, they favored a strong national government, arguing arguing that the checks and balances in the new Constitution would safeguard the people's liberties.
• French and Indian War


  (1754-1763) Nine-year war between the British and the French in North America. It resulted in the expulsion of the French from the North American mainland and helped spark the Seven Years' War in Europe.
• Intolerable Acts


  (1774) Series of punitive measurements passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, closing the Port of Boston, revoking a number of rights in the Massachusetts colonial charter, and expanding the Quartering Act to allow for the lodging of soldiers in private homes. In response, colonists convened the First Continental Congress and called for a complete boycott of British goods.
• Jay's Treaty


  (1794) Negotiated by Chief Justice John Jay in an effort to avoid war with Britain, the treaty included a British promise to evacuate outposts outposts on U.S. soil and pay damages for seized American vessels, in exchange for which Jay bound the United States to repay pre-Revolutionary War debts and to abide by Britain's restrictive trading policies toward France.
• Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions


  (1798-1799) Statements secretly drafted by Jefferson and Madison for the legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia. Argued that states were the final arbiters of whether the federal government overstepped its boundaries and could therefore nullify, or refuse to accept, national legislation they deemed unconstitutional.
• Loyalists


  American colonists who opposed the Revolution and maintained their loyalty to the King; sometimes referred to as "Tories."
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787


  Created a policy for administering the Northwest Territories. It included a path to statehood and forbade the expansion of slavery into the territories.
• Pontiac's Rebellion


  (1763) Bloody campaign waged by Ottawa chief Pontiac to drive the British out of Ohio Country. It was brutally crushed by British troops, who resorted to distributing blankets infected with smallpox as means to put down the rebellion.
• Proclamation of 1763


  Decree issued by Parliament in the wake of Pontiac's uprising, prohibiting settlement beyond the Appalachians. Contributed to rising resentment of British rule in the American colonies.
• Republicanism


  Political theory of representative government, based on the principle of popular sovereignty, with a strong emphasis on liberty and civic virtue. Influential in eighteenth-century American political thought, it stood as an alternative to monarchical rule.
• Republican wife and mother


  Ideal of family organization and female behavior after the American Revolution that stressed the role of women in guiding family members toward republican virtue.
• separation of powers


  A feature of the Constitution that requires each of the three branches of government executive, legislative, and judicial-to be relatively independent of the others so that one cannot control the others. From this premise, adison developed his system of checks & balances setting power against power.
• Shay's Rebellion


  (1786) Armed uprising of western Massachusetts debtors seeking lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures. Though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of "mob rule" among leading Revolutionaries.
• Sons of Liberty


  Patriotic group that played a central role in agitating against the Stamp Act and enforcing non-importation agreements.
• Stamp Act


  (1765) Widely unpopular tax on an array of paper goods, repealed in 1766 after mass protests erupted across the colonies. Colonists developed the principle of "no taxation without representation" that questioned Parliament's authority over the colonies and laid the foundation for future revolutionary claims.
• U.S. Constitution


  The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of the U.S. government and the tasks these institutions perform. It replaced the Articles of Confederation.
• Salutary Neglect


  refers to an unofficial and long term 17th & 18th-century British policy of avoiding strict enforcement of taxes on the colonialists
• Albany Plan of the 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.
• Benjamin Franklin


  Printer, author, inventor, diplomat, statesman, and Founding Father. One of the few Americans who was highly respected in Europe, primarily due to his discoveries in the field of electricity. He helped to negotiate French support for the American Revolution.
• William Pitt


  The Prime Minister of England during the French and Indian War. He increased the British troops and military supplies in the colonies, and this is why England won the war.
• King George 3


  Was the King of England who disbanded the colonial legislatures, taxed the colonies, and refused the Olive Branch Petition leading to the final break with the colonies
• Sugar Act


  (1764) British deeply in debt because of the French & Indian War. English Parliament placed a tariff on sugar, coffee, wines, and molasses. Colonists avoided the tax by smuggling and by bribing tax collectors.
• Patrick Henry


  A leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies (1736-1799) - wrote the Virginia Resolves
• Virginia Resolves


  In response to the 1765 Stamp Act, Patrick Henry persuaded the Virginia House of Burgesses to adopt several strongly worded resolutions that denied Parliament's right to tax the colonies. These resolutions persuaded many other colonial legislatures to adopt similar positions.
• Stamp Act Congress


  A meeting of delegations 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.
• Declaratory Act


  Act passed in 1766 after the repeal of the stamp act; stated that Parliament had authority over the the colonies and the right to tax and pass legislation "in all cases whatsoever."
• Townshend Duties


  This Revenue Act of 1767 taxed glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea entering the colonies. The colonists objected to the fact that the act was clearly designed to raise revenue exclusively for England rather than to regulate trade in a manner favorable to the entire British empire.
• Boston Massacre


  The first bloodshed of the American Revolution (1770), as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five Americans
• Samuel Adams


  American Revolutionary leader and patriot, Founder of the Sons of Liberty and one of the most vocal patriots for independence; signed the Declaration of Independence
• Virtual Representation


  British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members
• Actual Representation


  In order to be taxed by Parliament, the Americans wanted to have actual legislators seated and voting in London, reps that were elected from the colonies
• Gaspée Incident


  In June, 1772, the British customs ship Gaspée ran around off the colonial coast. When the British went ashore for help, colonials boarded the ship and burned it. They were sent to Britain for trial. Colonial outrage led to the widespread formation of Committees of Correspondence.