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A loose system of economic organization designed, through a favorable balance of trade, to guarantee the prosperity of the British empire. Mercantilists advocated possession of colonies as places wehre the mother country could aquire raw materials not available at home.

Navigation Acts

Seventeenth century Parliamentary statutes to control trade within the British empire so as to benefit Britain and promote its administration of the colonies. Bring Gold and silver into the Royal Treasury, to develop the imperial merchant fleet, channel the flow of colonial raw materials into England, and to keep foreign goods and vessels out of colonial ports.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual movement of the eighteenth century that celebrated human reason and scientific advances and expressed doubts about the truth claims of sacred texts.

Albany Plan (1754)

A proposal, drafted in Albany, NY, in 1754 by Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, for a "plan of union" for the collective defense of the British colonies against its rule, the British government never adopted the plan.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting in New York City of delegates of most of the colonial assemblies in America to protest the Stamp Act, a revenue measure passed by Parlament in 1765; it was a precursor to the Continental Congress.

Declaratory Act

Colonies are subordinate and that Parliament could enact any law it wished "to vind the colonies and people of America". Americans felt it unconstitutional, a flagrant violation of their understanding on how the British imperial system was supposed to work. The Act highlighted how British and American views of the system drifted apart.

Boston Massacre

A violent confrontation between British troops and a Boston mob on ZMarch 5, 1770; the soldiers opened fire and killed five, an incident that inflamed sentiment against the British.

Sam Adams

One of the founding fathers of the United States. Politician in Massachusetts, leader of the the American Revolution movement. His circular letter resulted in the Boston massacre.

Intolerable Acts

The American name for the Coercive Acts. It described a series of laws passed by British Parliament in 1774 relating to Britain's colonies in the U.S. This started the American Revolution.

First Continental Congress

An assembly comprised of delegates from twelve colonies that met in Philadelphia in 1774. It denied Parliament's authority to legislate for the colonies, adopted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, created a Continental Association to enforce a boycott of British imports, and endorced a call to take up arms against Britain.

Which part of the colonial government was typically bestowed with the most power? (pg 82)


How frequently did the Board of Trade exercise its veto power over colonial legislation? (pg 82)

Only about 5% of the laws reviewed were rejected.

What were the central features of the Great Awakening? (pg 86-87)

The Awakening began in the Middle Colonies as the result of religious developoments that originated in europe. It helped some peiole to rid themselves of the idea that disobedience to authority entailed damnation. Anything that God justified, human law could not condemn. New colleges were opened: Princeton (new side presbyterians), Brown (baptists), Rutgers (Dutch reformers), Dartmouth (New light congregationalists).

The English colonies in New England often found themselves in conflict with the French colonists in Canada. What are the main sources of conflict? (pg 89-90)

Language, culture and religion.

Which young British officer from Virginia gained notoriety in the colonies for his attempt to defend British claims in the Ohio Valley? (pg 92)

George Washington

As a result of the Treaty of Paris (1763), what happened to most French possessions in North America? (pg 94)

France abandoned all claim to North America except for two small islands near Newfoundland;

Which post war problem was the most difficult for the British government in administering its expanded empire? (pg 95)


"Proclamation of 1763". Which territory was set aside as an Indian Reserve? (pg 97)

Area between applachian mountains and mississippi river.

Other than sugar, which goods were subject to the import tariffs under the Sugar act (1764)? (pg 100)

Sugar, coffee, wines and other things imported into America in substantial amounts.

What was it about the Sugar act that concerned and frightened the American colonists the most? (pg 100)

The nature of the Sugar Act and the manner of its passage. Violations of the Sugar Act were to be tried before British naval officers in vie admiralty courts. (smuggling, corruptions and inefficiency)

What did British government hope to accomplish with the passage of the Tea Act (1773)? (pg 106-107

Parliaments main goal in the Tea Act was to aid the british east india tea company. Remit the british tax and allow sale directly in America through its own agents. Saving would permit a sharp reduction of the retail price and at the same time yield profit to the company.

Second Continental Congress

A gathering of American Patriots in May 1775 that organized the Continental army, reguisitioned soldiers and supplies, and commissioned George Washington to lead it.

Olive Branch Petition

The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Continental Congress in July 1775 in a fortified attempt to avoid a full-blown war with Great Britain. The petition affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and entreated the king to prevent further conflict. In August 1775 the colonies were formally declared to rebellion by the Proclamation of Rebellion, and the petition was rejected infact, although not having been received by the king before declaring the colonists traitors.

Thomas Paine

An english corset maker and civil servant turned pamphleteer, who had been in america less than a year and published "common sense". It called for complete independence, attacked George III and the idea of monarchy itself.


Sometimes called "Tories", the term for American colonists who refused to take up arms against England in the 1770's.

Articles of Confederation

The Charter establishing the first government of the United States, ratified in 1781. The Articles placed the coercive powers to tax and regulate trade within the individual state governments; the national government, widely criticized for being weak, was superceded by the government established by the Consitution of the United States, effective in 1789.

Northwest Ordinance of (1787)

A 1787 measure of the Continental Congress, passed according to the Articles of Confederation, to provide for governance of the region north of the Ohio River and the eventual admission of up to five territories - ultimately the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The ordinance also prohibited slavery in the region and reserved lands for Indians.

Why was the British army sent to Concord, Massachusetts in April 1775? (pg 114)

To capture arms reported in that town.

Declaration of Independence (pg 118)

We hold these turths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Lierty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are institued among Men, deriving their just poewrs from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government...

What advantages did the Americans have in the fight for Independence? (pg 119)

Americans already possessed their lands. Had grand cause fighting for their rights, their independence and their liberty. The British army fought a war far from home, supplies took months to arrive, debated the necessity of the expense of war. Alliance with the French gave Americans courage and tangible threat.

What was the impact of the battles of Trenton and Princeton? (pg 121)

Washington's victories helped turn the tide of the American Revolution. He never put his troops in vulnerable positions again and they became an army.

What conditions did Washington's troops face at Valley Forge in the winter of 1778? (pg 123-124)

The Army's supply system collapsed, nothing to eat but "fire cake", a mixture of ground grain and water molded on a stick & baked over campfire. They had no coats, hats, shirts or shoes, feet and legs froze til they grew black and amputate. Congress talked about replacing washington with Horatio Gates. Officers resigned and enlisted ran away by the hundreds.

Which city was captured by General Clinton in May 1780? How do your authors describe the city's surrender? (pg 125)

Charleston. More than 3,000 soldiers were captured, the most overwhelming American defeat of the war.

What factor played a large role in the surrender of British General Cornwallis at Yorktown? (pg 127)

He was outnumbered.

Why were the American negotiators able to win such favorable terms for the U.S. in the Peace of Paris (1783)? (pg 129)

The delegates recognized that the Congress was a legislative body rather than a complete government and from the start they struggled to create a workable central authority.

How did the American government finance the Revolutionary War? (pg 130)

The Continental Army was financed by Congress. The people paid much of the cost of the war through the depreciation of their savings.

Which branch of the new state governments was given the most power? (pg 130)

Superintendent of Finance.

Jefferson's Virigina Statute of Religious Liberty (pg 131)

Separate church and state. "Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry"

Which notable American women reflected the attitude that post-revolution society needed to be reformed when she encouraged her husband to "remember the ladies"? (pg 133)

Abigail Adams

What impact did the Revolution have on social attitudes toward women's education? (pg 133-134)

At least half the white women in America could not read or write. Female education began to catch on, schools for girls were founded and the level of female literacy gradually rose.

What did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 say about slavery? (pg 135)

Slavery was prohibited.

Noah Webster's statement about how americans should understand themselves and their nation - give details. (Pg 137)

"We ought not to consider ourselves as inhabitants of a particular state only, but as Americans." The impact of post revolutionary nationalism on American education was best refected in the immense success of the textbooks of Noah Webster. "websters dictionarys'

Sources of turmoil in mid-eighteenth century America

Resistance to taxation

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