American Yawp Chapter 5 Flashcards

Patriot Whigs

• Advocated for an imperial vision centered on trade and manufacturing, challenging land and resource-based dominance.
• Believed in equal status for colonies and Britain, proposing economic growth as a solution to national debt.

James Otis

• Asserted colonists' rights, arguing they should receive the same rights as British citizens, if not more.

Colonial Assemblies

• Functioned like the British House of Commons, taxing residents, managing revenues, and paying royal officers.
• Colonists favored these assemblies, seeking recognition from Britain, which opposed them.

John Locke

• Influenced colonial thought by highlighting the impact of environment on individuals.
• Proposed that aristocratic success stemmed from education, wealth access, and patronage, stressing the significance of education.

First Great Awakening

• Religious revival in the colonies from the 1730s to the 1770s, emphasizing individual significance.
• Intersected with Enlightenment and deist ideas, enhancing personal spirituality.

George Whitefield

• Traveling preacher known for emotional sermons stressing personal responsibility in one's relationship with God.
• Promoted the concept of a "conversion" experience, critiquing unqualified ministers.

Sugar Act

• Aimed to reduce molasses smuggling in New England by lowering duties but enhancing enforcement.
• Smugglers were tried in vice-admiralty courts.

Currency Act

• Restricted colonies from producing paper money, worsening their economic woes post-war due to a shortage of gold and silver.

Stamp Act

• Required documents to be printed on taxed paper, marking the first direct tax by Parliament and inciting significant colonial resistance.

Internal vs External Taxes

• Internal taxes: levied directly by Parliament; External taxes: customs duties contributing to the empire's revenue.

Virginia Resolves

• Anti-Stamp Act resolutions asserting colonists’ rights akin to British subjects and claiming only colonial assemblies could tax them.

Patrick Henry

• Key figure in advocating against British taxation, recognized for his radical stances during the colonial resistance.

Stamp Act Congress

• Assembly of delegates from nine colonies asserting loyalty to the king while claiming the right to be taxed only by their own assemblies.

Virtual Representation

• British claim that colonial interests were represented in Parliament, which colonists contested vehemently.

Non-importation Agreements

• Colonial merchants boycotted British goods in response to the Stamp Act, prompting British merchants to lobby for its repeal.

Sons of Liberty

• Organized groups in the colonies promoting resistance against British taxation and oppressive acts.

Declaratory Act

• Legislation confirming British authority to legislate for the colonies after repealing the Stamp Act.

Townshend Acts

• Imposed customs duties on imported goods and established stricter measures for enforcement, incentivizing customs officers.

Vice Admiralty Courts

• Created under the Townshend Acts to prosecute smugglers, circumventing regular jury trials.

Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer

• John Dickinson argued for acceptable duties for trade regulation, opposing revenue-based taxation imposed by Britain.

Homespun Protest

• Movement encouraging the use of locally made clothing to oppose British textile imports.

Committees of Correspondence

• Networks formed among colonies to share resistance strategies and news of British actions.

Boston Massacre

• Incident where British soldiers shot into a crowd of Bostonians, resulting in five civilian deaths, escalating tensions.

Paul Revere

• Created propaganda depicting the Boston Massacre, fueling colonial outrage against British authority.

John Adams

• Defended British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre, contributing to their eventual acquittal.

Crispus Attucks

• A former slave and dockworker, he was among the first casualties in the Boston Massacre, symbolizing resistance.

Tea Act

• Targeted to assist the East India Company, it consistently met colonial resistance despite lowering duty costs, seen as an acceptance of British taxation.

Samuel Adams

• Leader of Boston’s Sons of Liberty, orchestrating efforts to block British tea shipments to avoid tax payments.

John Hancock

• Co-led resistance efforts in Boston against the landing of tea ships, playing a critical role in colonial protests.

Boston Tea Party

• Protest event where colonists, disguised as Mohawk Indians, dumped tea into Boston Harbor in defiance of British tax.

Edenton Tea Party

• Similar protest in Edenton where tea was either dumped or seized, expressing opposition to British tea taxes.

Coercive Acts

• Series of four punitive measures aimed at quelling the Boston rebellion, including shutting down Boston Harbor and altering Massachusetts governance.

Continental Congress

• Gathering of delegates to unify colonial response against British treatment, insisting on rights similar to British subjects, such as representation and trial by jury.

Continental Association

• A document from the Continental Congress voicing colonial discontent with British oppression, promoting unity and moral grounds for resistance.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

• First military engagements of the Revolutionary War; local militias confronted British troops, marking the start of armed conflict.

"Shot heard 'round the world'"

• Phrase symbolizing the start of the Revolutionary War, representing the first percussion of resistance against British rule.

Thomas Jefferson

• Radical delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress, later instrumental in drafting the Declaration of Independence.

Olive Branch Petition

• Moderate attempt to appeal to Britain for resolution and harmony, expressing a desire to avoid conflict.

Thomas Paine

• Authored "Common Sense," openly criticizing monarchy and British imperial logic, widely circulated for its persuasive language and arguments.

Lord Dunmore's Proclamation

• Declared martial law offering freedom to indentured servants and slaves joining the British army, inciting fear among Southern whites.

Richard Henry Lee

• Declared the complete severance of ties between Britain and the American colonies, urging independence.

Declaration of Independence

• Document created primarily by Jefferson outlining colonial grievances against Britain and affirming natural rights as justification for independence.

Hessians

• German mercenaries contracted by Britain, serving as hired soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

Battle of Trenton

• Washington's surprise victory against Hessians, revitalizing American morale and recruitment efforts.

Battle of Saratoga

• Major American victory that convinced France to support the colonies against Britain, shifting the war's momentum.

Battle of Yorktown

• Final significant battle where combined American and French forces trapped British troops, leading to their surrender and effectively ending the war.

Treaty of Paris 1783

• Ceased hostilities formally, but failed to uphold protections for Loyalists or prevent capture of escaped slaves by British forces.

Revolutionaries justified their new nation with

• Progressive ideals that ignited a global wave of revolutions, emphasizing liberty and self-governance.