Unit 2 Vocabulary

Unit 2 Vocabulary

Term / Definition / Historical Context (How does this term fit into the time period?) and Significance (What is the big picture? Cause/Effect? Long-term implications?)
Albany Plan of Union / 1754 plan, largely created by Ben Franklin, which sought to unite the colonies into a confederation as the French and Indian War approached. Although rejected, it showed the need for unification politically and militarily in the colonies.
Boston Massacre / 1770 event in Boston in which British soldiers opened fire into a crowd of rebel hecklers. The situation had reached a boiling point as Bostonians resented the British soldiers stationed there and it manifested into this violent incident. Five would die in the incident. The “massacre” would help to unify the colonists to the cause of independence from Britain.
Bacon’s Rebellion / A 1676 attack on neighboring Native American tribes (who had been mostly peaceful) led by Nathaniel Bacon. The attack was precipitated by heavy taxation, low crop prices, and hunger for land. The attacks drove Governor Berkeley out of power. The rebellion revealed serious problems in Virginia: economic crisis, opportunism, and racial intolerance toward Native Americans.
Boston Tea Party / A group of sixty members of the Sons of Liberty (led by Samuel Adams) would dress as Native Americans and dump thousands of dollars of tea from the East India Tea Company into the Boston Harbor. The event was caused by the Tea Act which gave the East India Co. a monopoly on tea in the colonies. The colonists felt oppressed by this. Parliament, outraged, passed the Coercive Acts which further restricted the colonists’ rights and eventually led to the First Continental Congress to address problems with Britain.
Connecticut Plan/ Great Compromise / Agreement authored by Roger Sherman at the Constitutional Convention which combined the Virginia and New Jersey Plans (large and small state plans). It called for a bicameral legislature with representation in the lower house determined by population and an upper house with two representative per state.
Declaratory Act / 1766 act passed by Parliament in response to the repeal of the Stamp Act. It restated Parliament’s authority to tax and control the colonies. It was a reflection of the growing unrest between the British and her colonies in North America.
English Bill of Rights / 1689 document that protected the basic civil rights of the English people (such as elections and speech). It followed the Glorious Revolution and the violation of religious rights by James II.
French and Indian War / Part of the Seven Years’ War in Europe. Britain and France fought for control of the Ohio Valley and Canada. The Algonquins, who feared British expansion into the Ohio Valley, allied with the French. The Mohawks also fought for the French while the rest of the Iroquois Nation allied with the British. The colonies fought under British commanders. Britain eventually won, and gained control of all of the remaining French possessions in Canada, as well as India. Spain, which had allied with France, ceded Florida to Britain, but received Louisiana in return.
It was during this time that Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union. It was rejected because colonies feared central control; however, the idea was used to coordinate the colonies against the British.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut / 1639 written constitution of Connecticut that laid out basic ideas of individual freedom and liberty. These ideals would later be applied to the Constitution and new government in the colonies.
House of Burgesses / First elected legislative assembly in the colonies (1619). Although limited in some ways by the Crown, it met to discuss and vote on key issues in Jamestown such as tobacco prices and legal issues. It reflected the colonists’ commitment to a government of elected representatives.
Indentured servants / Poor workers whose fee for crossing the Atlantic to come to the colonies was paid by a wealthy merchant/landowner. For approximately seven years, the “servant” would work for the owner to pay off his debt. When the debt was paid, the servant would be freed. The system provided hope for the poor, but was typically quite corrupt and left the servant at the mercy of the wealthy owner. Many indentured servants never received their freedom, but those who did often continued to live lives of poverty with little hope of upward social mobility.
Intolerable Acts/ Coercive Acts / A series of acts passed in response to the Boston Tea Party which severely limited the colonists’ rights. These acts, such as the Quartering Acts, would lead the colonists to meet in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress in 1774 to discuss options to counter British oppression
John Locke / Proponent of Social Contract Theory and belief in natural rights. His ideas were fueled by the Enlightenment and would be addressed in the Declaration of Independence.
Jonathan Edwards / Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, a Careful and Strict Inquiry Into...That Freedom of Will
Part of the Great Awakening, Edwards gave gripping sermons about sin and the torments of Hell.
Joint-stock Companies / A business venture in which wealthy Englishmen would invest in a colony for an expected return on the investment. These companies were similar to the corporation today. It was a way to raise the capital needed to start and sustain a colony while giving the investors the hope of a profit on their investment. The English colonies were driven more by the people who had a stake in its success as compared to other European countries whose settlements were financed primarily by the king or queen.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 / It established a government for the Northwest Territory and outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union. It was created by the Confederation Congress and Northwest Ordinance also protected civil liberties of the people in those territories and banned slavery there.
Proclamation of 1763 / Decree by George III that banned settlement west of the Appalachian mountains. It was a result of continued encroachments on Native American lands. The colonists were angered by this as many had already begun moving westward, securing trade and land rights, and felt the British were violating their rights. The king felt this would prevent the costs of continually defending the colonies against Native American attacks.
Quartering Act / After the French and Indian War, the British continued to station troops in the colonies, an act the colonists resented after the war. 1765 act of Parliament requiring that British soldiers be housed in public meeting houses or inns and given food provisions. This was met with great resistance in the colonies and the fear of the soldiers and costs of supplies made the colonists feel violated. It would be a cause of the American Revolution.
Social Contract Theory / Theory that grew out of Enlightenment thought and promoted that there is a link between the government and the governed. John Locke is the most prominent and believed in the natural rights of human beings. This concept of “inalienable” rights would be addressed in the Declaration of Independence.
Sons of Liberty / A secret organization of men in the colonies that opposed the Stamp Act and other decrees of the Parliament. Paul Revere and Samuel Adams were among the leaders. They used economic means like boycotts to counter British oppression peacefully, other times, in violent ways.
Stamp Act / 1765 act of Parliament which taxed paper products such as licenses and documents in the colonies. Colonial merchants became angry. The British were trying to offset the cost of defense of the colonies as they were heavily in debt from the French and Indian War. This created resentment and anger in the colonies and helped to rally the colonists to the cause of independence.
Stamp Act Congress / Meeting in New York City in 1765, representatives of nine of the colonies convened to address the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act Resolves were written and the Stamp Act repealed. This was the important step toward independence from Britain.
Sugar Act / 1764 act (after a number of other acts which taxed molasses) that taxed the colonists on sugar and molasses. Parliament defended it as a way to offset costs of defending the colonies. Colonists were angered by this taxation and encroachment of rights and would eventually lead to the American Revolution.
Treaty of Paris, 1763 / Treaty between Britain, France, and Spain, which ended the Seven Years War (and the French and Indian War). France lost Canada, the land east of the Mississippi, some Caribbean islands and India to Britain. France also gave New Orleans and the land west of the Mississippi to Spain, to compensate it for ceding Florida to the British.
Tea Act / 1773 act by Parliament which gave the East India Co. a monopoly on tea imported into the colonies. This was intended to help this company by securing a monopoly for it with the colonies, but caused anger and outrage in the colonies. It led to the Boston Tea Party.
Townshend Acts / A series of acts in 1767 which taxed items like paint, paper, tea and glass. The British were using the taxes to offset the costs of defending the colonies and to help with the debt incurred during the French and Indian War. Parliament eventually repealed all but the tea tax. This would lead to the American Revolution.
Treaty of Paris, 1783 / Treaty ending the Revolutionary War. Britain would recognize the United States as free and independent of British rule and greatly expand US land and land boundaries.
Whiskey Rebellion / 1793 (occurred over a period of time Rebellion in Pennsylvania of backwoods farmers over a tax on luxuries. Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of Treasury created a plan to pay off US debt after the Revolutionary War which included these taxes on luxuries. Farmers in these rural areas refused to pay the tax and began using violence and bloodshed to attack the tax collectors. George Washington suppressed the rebellion and enforced the law. Washington’s actions showed that the federal government would enforce its law and that no group could defy a law, only fight for its repeal. Its results strengthened the federal government.