/ boycott / an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons.
/ siege / a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. Sieges involve surrounding the target and blocking the reinforcement or escape of troops or provision of supplies. Sieges can often be decided by starvation, thirst or disease, which can afflict either the attacker or defender.
/ French & Indian War / (1743–1756) the American name for the North American theater of the Seven Years' War. The war was fought primarily between the colonies of British America and New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France. In 1756, the war escalated from a regional affair into a world-wide conflict. The name reflects the two enemies of the British Colonists.
/ The American Revolutionary War / (1775–1783) The American War for Independence or Revolutionary War was fought between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America. It escalated into a broader war with United States, France, Netherlands and Spain fighting against Great Britain.
/ Proclamation of 1763 / The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War. The purpose of the proclamation was to organize Great Britain's new North American empire and to stabilize relations with Native North Americans through regulation of trade, settlement, and land purchases on the western frontier. Disallowed British colonization past the Appalachian Mountains and may have contributed the worsening relations between the colonies and Great Britain.
/ Stamp Act / The Stamp Act 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp. Many colonists considered it a violation of their rights as Englishmen to be taxed without their consent. The Stamp Act set the stage for the beginning of the organized rebellion against Great Britain.
/ Intolerable Acts / a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 relating to Britain's colonies in North America. The acts triggered outrage and resistance in the Thirteen Colonies and were important developments in the growth of the American Revolution. The more inflammatory laws included: the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Quartering Act and the Quebec Act.
/ Continental Congress / From 1774 to 1789, the Continental Congress served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States.
- 1774 - The First Continental Congress with delegates from the colonies met in response to the Coercive Acts.
- 1775 - The Second Continental Congress convened after the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) had already begun.
- 1776 - Declared independence from Great Britain.
- 1781 - Ratified the first national constitution, the Articles of Confederation.
/ Declaration of
Independence / a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire.
/ Georgia Signers of the Declaration of Independence / Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
/ Loyalist / American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain (and the British monarchy) during the American Revolutionary War.
/ Patriot / the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who violently rebelled against British control during the American Revolution and in July 1776 declared the United States of America an independent nation.
/ Articles of
Confederation / an agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution.
/ Constitutional
Convention / May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. The result of the Convention was the United States Constitution.
/ The Three-Fifths compromise / The Three-Fifths Compromise outlined the process for states to count slaves as part of the population in order to determine representation and taxation for the federal government.
- Southern states wanted to count all slaves.
- Northern states did not want slaves to count in the population because they would lose representation in Congress.
/ The Great Compromise / (Also called the Connecticut Compromise) An agreement between the large and small (population) states that determined how the states would be represented in Congress. The large states wanted representation based on population, but small states wanted equal representation.
- Representation in the lower house (House of Representatives) would be based on population.
- Each state would have two representatives in the upper house (Senate)
/ United States Constitution / the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the oldest written national constitution in continuous use, and it influenced later international figures establishing national constitutions.
/ Georgia Signers of the Constitution / William Few and Abraham Baldwin
/ Unicameral / A legislative body with a single legislative chamber (one house). This was the structure of the legislative branch for Georgia under its first constitution and the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
/ Bicameral / A legislative body with two legislative chambers (two houses). This is the current structure of the legislative branches of the United States and Georgia.