Alexis Fountainsocial studies

flash cards

1776

*Adoption of the Declaration of Independence*Main Author: Thomas Jefferson

*Committee Included: Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Livingston

*“Common Sense”Written by: Thomas Paine

American Revolution Era, 1775 - 1783

• Taxation without Representation• Boston Massacre• Boston Tea Party• Unalienable Rights• Battles of Lexington and Concord,

Saratoga, and Yorktown• Declaration of Independence• Articles of Confederation

Causes of the American Revolution

• Proclamation of 1763• Stamp Act• Intolerable Acts• Mercantilism• Lack of representation in Congress• British economic policies following the

French and Indian War

Proclamation of 1763

• *British Parliament law; colonists were forbidden to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains, *Britain wanted a buffer zone between the colonists and the Native Americans, but the colonists wanted to settle the fertile Ohio River Valley

Stamp Act, 1765

• Required all legal documents and papers have an official stamp showing that a tax had been paid.

• British used this to generate revenue to help cover the cost of the French and Indian War;

• colonists reacted by rioting through groups such as the Sons of Liberty;

• Stamp Act Congress meets in October, 1765, to take action and ask Parliament to repeal the act

•

Coercive / Intolerable Acts, 1774

• British reaction to the Boston Tea Party• Closed the port of Boston until tea was paid for• Restructured Massachusetts government by taking

away local control• Troops were quartered in Boston and British

officials accused of crimes were sent to England or Canada for trial

• Colonists reacted by boycotting British goods • First Continental Congress is formed, September,

1774

Mercantilism

• A system by which a nation increases its wealth and power by obtaining from its colonies gold, silver, and other raw materials.

• It includes a favorable balance of trade. • The colonies became a source of raw materials for

the mother country (England.) • The colonies are expected to be the purchasers of

manufactured goods from the mother country.• Belief that a colony exists for the economic benefit

of the mother country.

Taxation without Representation

• Since the formation of the colonies, the colonists had set up their own legislative assemblies.

• Colonists were unhappy about Britain’s insistence on the supremacy of Parliament (taxation).

• The debate turned into one regarding representation in Britain’s law-making body (Parliament).

• Britain argued that the colonies had “virtual representation.”

Abigail Adams

• Wife of John Adams• Served as John Adams’ confidant and support while

he served in the Continental Congress, when John and others were considering a declaration of independence.

• Abigail reminded him to “remember the ladies”; take care of the women who could not hold themselves bound by laws in which they had no voice.

• Advocate for women’s rights.

John Adams

• Lawyer and politician• Defended the British soldiers after the Boston

Massacre• A member of the Continental Congress

(representing Massachusetts)• Strong supporter of independence• Member of the committee that wrote the

Declaration of Independence

Wentworth Cheswell

• African American Patriot• Like Paul Revere, he made an all-night ride

back from Boston to warn his community tof the impending British invasion

• Served in the Continental Army• Fought at the Battle of Saratoga

Sam Adams

• American Patriot• Played a role in many of the events which

contributed to the Revolution • Including: Sons of Liberty, organized opposition

to the Stamp Act and the Boston Massacre• Member of the Continental Congress

(representing Massachusetts)• Cousin to John Adams

Mercy Otis Warren

• Wife of a Massachusetts Patriot• Anonymously wrote several propaganda

pieces supporting the Patriot cause

James Armistead

• *Slave in Virginia• *Marquis de Lafayette recruited him as a spy

for the Continental Army.• *Posed as a double agent, forger and servant at

British headquarters.• *He moved freely between the lines with vital

information on British troop movements for Lafayette

• *Contributed to the American victory at Yorktown.

Benjamin Franklin

• *A member of the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence.

• *Spent most of the time during the American Revolution in France.

• *He represented the colonies as the American envoy starting in 1776 and returned in 1785.

• *He negotiated the alliance with France for support after the victory at Saratoga.

• *Member of the committee that negotiated the terms for the Treaty of Paris in 1783 that ended the war.

Bernardo de’ Galvez

• *Spanish nobleman• *Became governor of the Spanish province of

Louisiana (January 1777)• *protected American ships in the port of New

Orleans• *helped transport war supplies• *took up arms to fight the British and protect

Louisiana

Crispus Attucks

• African American male• Unemployed dockworker in Boston, MA• Became the first casualty (first to die) of the

American Revolution • Shot and killed in what became known as the

Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770

King George III

• *King of England during the Revolutionary Era• *Feared the loss of one group of colonies

would lead to the loss of others and the eventual decline of the empire.

• *To prevent this, the Crown maintained an aggressive policy against colonial resistance.

• George III struggled to enforce royal authority throughout his reign.

Haym Solomon

• Polish-born Jewish immigrant to America• Played an important role in financing the American

Revolution• Arrested by the British as a spy• Used by the British as an interpreter with their German

troops• Helped British prisoners escape and encouraged

German soldiers to desert the British Army• Became a broker to the French consul and paymaster

to French troops in the American Revolution

Patrick Henry

• Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses• Spoke against the Stamp Act• Famous quote, “Give me liberty, or give me

death!”• During the American Revolution he served in

the Continental Army

Thomas Jefferson

• Virginian• Early leader in the American Revolution• Delegate to the Constinental Congress in

Philadelphia in 1776• Member of the committee that wrote the

Declaration of Independence• Chief author of the Declaration of

Independence

Marquis de Lafayette

• *French aristocrat who joined Washington and his troops at Valley Forge, PA

• *Played a leading role in both the American and French Revolutions

• *Respected the concepts of liberty and freedom and a constitutional government

• *Commanded forces under George Washington as a major-general in the Continental Army

Thomas Paine

• Propagandist• Journalist• In January, 1776, published a pamphlet,

“Common Sense”• Persuaded many Americans to join the Patriot

cause.

George Washington

• Virginian• *surveyor, planter• *a soldier in the French and Indian War• *a delegate to the First and Second

Continental Congresses• *commander-in-chief of the Continental Army

during the American Revolution

Issues Surrounding Important Events of the American Revolution

• Declaring Independence• Writing the Articles of Confederation• Battles of Lexington and Concord• Battle of Saratoga• Battle of Yorktown• Enduring the winter at Valley Forge• Signing the Treaty of Paris 1783

Declaration of Independence

• Reaction to King George III’s refusal to acknowledge the colonial requests/demands, “dissolve the political bands” with Britain, provided philosophy for the establishment of the new nation

• “…all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”

• Listed grievances against the King of England• Written by Thomas Jefferson• July 4, 1776• Second Continental Congress; Philadelphia

Writing of the Articles of Confederation

• Occurred at the Second Continental Congress• Created a new form of government for the

independent colonies• Included one branch – a Congress• Each state had one vote• Created a very weak government with no

executive

Major Battles of the American Revolution

• Lexington and Concord: Shot ‘heard round the world; first battles of the American Revolution; April 19, 1775

• Saratoga: turning point of the war; France joined the colonists after this victory, tipping the scales in their favor

• Yorktown: surrender of Cornwallis to the British

Enduring the Winter at Valley Forge

• Winter, 1777• After suffering several defeats, Washington took his

army to Valley Forge for the winter of 1777• Outbreak of small pox• Martha Washington came to help care for the men• The men were trained by Frederick von Steuben to

become a more professional army rather than militias• Thomas Paine wrote “American Crisis” to encourage

the men to stay the course and follow through with the revolution to the end

Treaty of Paris, 1783

• 1783• Peace treaty that ended the American

Revolutionary War and recognized American independence

• Great Britain gave up almost all of its land claims in North America

• Boundaries extended to Canada in the north, the Mississippi River in the west, and Florida in the South

Colonial Grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and how those grievances were

addressed in the U.S. Constitution

• Grievance in Declaration of Independence • Constitution • Taxation without representation • All states have representation in Congress, which sets taxes • King has absolute power • Congress has the power to override Presidential veto • Colonists not allowed to speak out against the King • 1st Amendment – Freedom of Speech • Quartering Act forced colonists to house troops • 3rd Amendment – No quartering of Troops • allowed homes to be searched without warrants • 4th Amendment – No unwarranted search & seizure • No trial by jury of peers • 6th amendment—Speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury • 7th amendment—Right of trial by jury

Unalienable Rights

• Fundamental rights, or natural rights, guaranteed to people naturally instead of by the law.

• In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson said these are the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Civil Disobedience

• *The concept of refusing to follow laws within a community or ignoring the policies and government of a state or a nation when a person considers the laws unjust.*Refusing to follow laws considered to be unlawful and/or unconstitutional.

• *Examples include boycotts, protests, refusal to pay taxes

• *Boston Tea Party is an example of civil disobedience

Different Points of View of Interest Groups During the American Revolution

• Loyalists – these were colonists who remained loyal to the British monarchy and did not feel taxation was a reason to declare independence or break away from the mother country.

Different Points of View of Interest Groups During the American

Revolution• Patriots were colonists who favored breaking

away from Great Britain and becoming an independent country

John Paul Jones

• Founder of the United States Navy• Led raids on British vessels during the

American Revolution• During a fight with a British vessel he was told

to surrender. Instead, Jones said, “I have not yet begun to fight” and was able to defeat the attacking British ship.

Boston Massacre

• Engraving of the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere• March 5, 1770• Event in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of

unarmed citizens of Boston• Killed five• This engraving was used as propaganda to

encourage patriotic sympathies and support for American Independence

• Paul Revere, a silversmith and engraver, was also a member of the Boston Sons of Liberty

Yankee Doodle

• *Song sung by British military to mock the unorganized colonial “Yankees” who served in the French and Indian War with British soldiers.

• *The meaning of the song implies that the Americans are so “simple” they think simply sticking a feather in a cap would make them fashion leaders.

French and Indian War

• *Fighting between the British and the French for control of North America.

• *Allies of the French were the Native Americans, or Indians.• *Broke out in the Ohio River Valley in 1756. Throughout the

world it was known as the Seven Years’ War• *Ben Franklin suggested that the colonies join together to

fight against the French in the Albany Plan of Union.*This was the first attempt to unify the colonies

• *French and Indians were defeated.• * British became in debt because of the war and taxed the

colonists as a result.

1607

• Year in which representatives of the Virginia Company of London established the first permanent English settlement in North America at

• Jamestown, Virginia.

First written constitution in the colonies; document that people had the right to elect governors, judges, and a legislature. Was written by the people; the fact that it was written

down gave the document credibility.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Mayflower compact

• Written in 1620 by male Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Created government where none had existed based on majority rule.

• A social contract where all agreed to abide by these rules in

• the colonies.

Mercantilism

• Economic theory in which a nation’s wealth is based on the amount of revenue is generated from its colonies.

• The more gold and • silver a nation has • determine its • wealth.

Slave trade

• The buying and selling of millions of Africans to North America.

Trianglular trade route

• Trade route from:• • Europe→Africa• Africa→West Indies• West Indies→Europe

Plantation System

• System of agricultural production based on large scale landownership; depended upon slave labor; Assisted in the development of an agrarian society

• in the South

House of Burgesses

• First elected body of representatives in the American colonies; met in Williamsburg, Virginia.

• Based on Parliament.

New England Colonies• Along the Atlantic Coast• Subsistence farming• Poor soil• Cold climate• Forests• Economic factors: raw materials, logging, fishing

shipbuilding• Political factors: town meetings, representative

government• Social factors: small coastal towns (Boston only large city)• Religious factors: Puritans, Pilgrims

Middle Colonies

• Rich soil• Broad, deep rivers• More natural ports• River valleys• Mild winters• Raw materials• Economic factors: large farms, logging, fishing, shipbuilding• Political factors: more tolerance; diversity• Social factors small coastal towns (Philadelphia, Baltimore,

New York were large cities)• Religious factors: Quakers, Catholics

Southern Colonies

• Appalachian Mountains• Navigable rivers• Richer soil• Warm climate• Raw materials• Economic factors: plantations, cash crops, tobacco, rice,

cotton• Political factors: more slaves, penis, more class-based society• Social factors and small coastal towns (Savannah, Charleston

were large cities)• Religious factors: Church of England, Catholics (Maryland),

more diverse

Effects of Physical and Human Geographic Factors on Major

Historical and Contemporary Events• Physical geographic factors – proximity to Atlantic coastline

determined where settlements/colonies were created• The NewEngland Middle colonies had access to waterways

that resulted in high population and larger urban areas.• Southern colonies had an abundant amount of fertile soil

that resulted in an agricultural society• Human geographic factors – removal of the Native

Americans, disease and conflict (ex. Georgia as a buffer between the other British colonies and Spanish Florida)

Great Awakening

• Religious movement in the 1730s and 1740s.• Preached personal salvation as opposed to the

Puritan beliefs of pre-destination.• JONATHAN EDWARDS – one of the best known

preachers of the time – his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” urged believers to develop a personal relationship with God.

• This movement revitalized American religion by adding emotion. The Abolitionist Movement began in response to the Great Awakening.