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Seven Years War: occurred from 1754-1763. The British and French were the two main opposing forces. This war was the first world war, because it involved so many countries. France and Britain were each trying to take control of the thirteen colonies, and they lost many me

Albany Plan of Union: proposal to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, suggested by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress in 1754; very early attempt to unify colonies

John Locke: English philosopher and political theorist that laid much of the groundwork for the Enlightenment and made central contributions to the development of liberalism. He was a key advocate of the Scientific Revolution. His political theory of government by th

Patrick Henry: lawyer and politician and an outspoken opponent of the Stamp and Townshend Acts levied by England, stirred discord with his Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death speech to the Virginia Assembly. Served a crucial role in the overthrow of the royally appointed V

George III: the king of England from 1760 to 1820, exercised a greater hand in the government of the American colonies than had many of his predecessors. Colonists were torn between loyalty to the king and resistance to acts carried out in his name. After he rejected

Lord North: Prime minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782 who was on good terms with King George III. He was responsible for much of the tax repeals, replacements, and enforcement that led up to the American Revolution. During the war, he continued to persist i

George Grenville: Prime minister, who, in 1763, ordered the British navy to begin strictly enforcing the Navigation Laws; he also secured from Parliament the Sugar Act of 1764, the Quartering Act, and the Stamp Act

Stamp Act Congress: A meeting between October 7 and 25 in New York City in which representatives from the colonies met to decide how to protest against the newly passed Stamp Act. They decided that Parliament could not tax them because they weren't being represented.

First Continental Congress: it was summoned in 1774 in response to intolerable acts. Affluent delegates from many colonies met in Philadelphia to discuss how to respond to British. The most significant action from this congress was the association a complete boycott of British goods

Sons of Liberty: Group of Patriot rebels who were against the tyranny and over extension of power by England. Often committed acts like boycotts and rebelled against the English troops positioned within the colonies, they supported the freedom of the colonies.

John Adams: He was the second President and the first Vice President of the US. He played a large part in drafting the declaration of independence. Adams was a lawyer and won an unpopular case defending the soldiers for the Boston Massacre. He negotiated the treaty w

Abigail Adams: the wife of the second president of the united states, and the mother of John Quincy, who became the sixth president. She did not attend school, although she was an educated women and a devoted reader. All throughout her husband’s political career and p

Benedict Arnold: a member of the Sons of Liberty and rose to the rank of general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He subsequently became a spy for the British, plotting to arrange a siege(surrendering) of West Point, New York. When the plans came to l

Joseph Brant: a mohawk chief who eventually converted to Anglicanism. He believed that American expansion to the West would be stopped if the British won. Therefore, he led many other Indians mostly Iroquois (4 out of the 6 nations) to fight with the British against th

George Rogers Clark: a strong military leader during the Revolutionary War, fighting on the Western frontier. He became known as the “Conqueror of the Old Northwest”, capturing territory that expanded America’s frontier. After fighting and claiming land in Kentucky, I

Olive Branch Petition: adopted July 5, 1775 by the second continental congress and was the colonists last attempt at peace with Britain. The petition acknowledged loyalty to the crown, but the king refused the petition leading to an all out war, the revolutionary war.

privateers: Privately owned armed ships authorized by Congress to prey on enemy shipping during the Revolutionary War. These, more numerous than the tiny American Navy, inflicted heavy damages on British shippers. More than 1000 American ones with over 76000 men resp

American Revolution: began with rejection of the sudden increase of taxation from British Parliament and consider separating from Britain. Colonies protested and Parliament kept sending over acts of taxation, and a statement of their authority over the colonies. Tensions esc

Declaration of Independence: a document signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4,1776 by 56 delegates of the Continental Congress. The purpose of this document was to announce and explain separation from Britain.

Thomas Jefferson: author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; voiced the aspirations of a new America as no other individual of his era. As pub

Ben Franklin: became the apprentice to his brother James, who was a printer. After helping James compose pamphlets, he sold their products in the streets when he was 12 years old. Best known as one of the Founding Father who drafted the Declaration of Independence and

Thomas Paine/Common Sense/The Crisis: challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.

Articles of Confederation: The original constitution of the US, ratified in 1781, which provided a loose federal government until it was replaced by the US Constitution in 1789. It was a weak document which provided no chief executive or judiciary, and the legislature of the Confed

Treaty of Paris (1783): signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War. Two crucial provisions of the treaty were British recognition of U.S. in

Constitution: a body of principles or precedents by which a state or other organization is governed. The United States Constitution was ratified in 1788 and is still the basis of our government today.

Bill of Rights: the first 10 amendments. It guarantees personal freedoms. These were mainly created to get the anti-federalists on board with the constitution.

Northwest Ordinance (1787): created a policy for administering the Northwest Territories; included a path to statehood & forbade the expansion of slavery into the territories

Northwest Territory: used to be called Old Northwest, area of land northwest of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes. It was used to help pay off the national debt when sold and neatly divided into towns with public schools. Could become

Washington's Farewell Address: an open letter of advice and warning to the American people about their long-term safety and happiness. For a great leader to voluntarily relinquish political power and retire from public life was itself unprecedented, contributing to the establishment of

republican motherhood: selfless devotion of a mother to her family was often cited as the very model of proper republican behavior; elevated women to a newly prestigious role as the special keepers of the nation's conscience

nationalism: Idea of national pride, the proudness of being a part of a certain nation that influences the limit to which people are willing to do things for their country. It can be expressed in reasonable fashion, like displaying support for the nation, serving the

Shay's Rebellion: 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

The Constitution: A document that would change the form of government in the United States. This document gave more power to the congress to help ensure the they can impose taxes and laws. It had to be ratified by nine states before it came into effect, but was eventuall

Virginia Plan: an idea that representation in the houses of congress should be determined by a state's population. Known as large state plan. It was largely written by James Madison. It also determined that there would be three branches of government

New Jersey Plan: a proposal of legislature where the government was unicameral. This system of government gave equal representation to all of the states, meaning that all states had an equal number of representatives in the government. This favored smaller states because

Great Compromise/Connecticut Compromise: also known as Sherman’s compromise happened during the Constitutional convention in 1787 and was an agreement between large and small states on having a bicameral legislature. One house would be representation based on population and the other was equal

Three-Fifths Compromise: allowed a state to count three fifths of each Black person in determining political representation in the House. The debate was over whether, and if so, how, slaves would be counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representatio

Electoral College: a body of people made up of 538 electors who cast votes to decide the President and Vice-President of the United States. The candidate who receives a majority of electoral votes (270) wins the Presidency.

judicial review: proposed by John Marshall of the Supreme Court, and it gave the Supreme Court the power to decide if a law is or is not constitutional. It was finally accepted because of the famous case of Marbury vs. Madison. This helped give increas

ratification: the confirmation or validation of an act (such as a constitution) by authoritative approval; unlike the Articles of Confederation which required unanimity, the Constitution required only 9 of the 13 states to sign for ratification

Anti-Federalists: A group of people that opposed the ratification of the new federal constitution. Many approved of the articles of confederation and those that did not agree completely with them thought amending the document was the solution, not a whole new constitution.

Federalist Papers (The Federalist): the collection of essays written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton and published in 1788 during the ratification debate in New York to lay out the Federalists’ arguments in favor of the new Constitution. Since their publication, these

The Cabinet: persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers

Alexander Hamilton: a founding father of the United States, chief staff aide to General George Washington, one of the most influential interpreters and promoters of the U.S. Constitution, the founder of the Federalist Party; the world's first voter-based political party; the

Judiciary Act of 1789: Organized the federal legal system. establishing the Supreme Court, federal district and circuit courts, and the office of the attorney general

French Revolution: began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as absolute monarchy and the feudal

political party: An organization of people who share the same views about the way power should be used in a country or society (through government, policy-making, etc).

Jeffersonian Republicans: The Republican Party. Known informally as the Jeffersonian Republicans, this group of politicians organized in opposition to the policies of Federalists such as Alexander Hamilton, who favored a strong central government

tariff: a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports. Tariffs are imposed by the government and used to generate revenue or protect domestic industries from competition.

excise tax: this taxed a few items, mainly whiskey. There was a tax of 7 cents per gallon

Whiskey Rebellion: tax protest beginning in 1791 against the whiskey tax (a tax on all spirits but most significantly whiskey)

Jay's Treaty: officially titled “Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation” was negotiated by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay and signed between the United States and Great Britain on November 19, 1794. It settled outstanding issues between the two countries tha

XYZ Affair: A commission had been sent to France in 1797 to discuss the disputes that had arisen out of the U.S.'s refusal to honor the Franco-American Treaty of 1778. President Adams had also criticized the French Revolution, so France began to break off relations w

Alien and Sedition Acts: Four laws passed by the Federalist Congress and signed by President Adams in 1798: The first 3 were enacted in response to the XYZ Affair, and were aimed at French and Irish immigrants, who were considered subversives. The Sedition Act was an attempt to s

Kentucky and Virginia Resolves (Resolutions): In protest to the Alien and Sedition Acts, the two resolutions for the state legislatures. Jefferson anonymously wrote the Kentucky Resolution, then presented them to the Kentucky legislat

Bank of the United States (1791): chartered by Congress as part of Alexander Hamilton’s financial program, the bank printed paper money and served as a depository for Treasury funds; it drew opposition from Jeffersonian Republicans, who argued that the bank was unconstitutional

Federalists: supported a strong central government; they believed that the government should support private enterprise, not interfere with it; and they supported the British. were led by George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Most lived in the settled areas along

Second Continental Congress: met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. All 13 colonies were represented. Drafted a set of appeals to which the king and British people rejected; independence was still not a widely accepted goal. The Second Continental Congress selected George Washington to

albany plan of union: proposal to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, suggested by Benjamin Franklin at the Congress in 1754; very early attempt to unify colonies

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