Social studies Flash Cards

Selena Corral

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

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

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 of 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

• 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• 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

• Taxation without representation

• King has absolute power

• Colonists not allowed to speak out against the King

• Quartering Act forced colonists to house troops

• allowed homes to be searched without warrants

• No trial by jury of peers

Constitution All states have representation in Congress, which sets taxes Congress has the power to override Presidential veto 1st Amendment – Freedom of Speech 3rd Amendment – No quartering of Troops 4th Amendment – No unwarranted search & seizure 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 Rever, a silversmith and engraver, was also a member of the Boston Sons of Liberty

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.