civic virtue
First contested election in American history, won by John Adams (Washington's vice president)
Townshend Acts
In opposing the stamp act, the colonists said trade should be regulated instead. Parliament passed the townshend acts and began taxing imports and exports.
Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson. Declared the colonies an independent country from Britain. Included a statement of intent, list of grievances, and a conclusion that dissolved ties with Britain
Jay treaty
Britain agreed to abandon outposts on the western frontier. In return the U.S. would favor trade with Britian. However, the treaty failed to address the british kidnapping, and American hatred of Britian caused riots.
sedition act
applied restrictions to immigration and speech in US made it a crime for americans to print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, malicious writing about the government
Connecticut compromise
Lexington and Concorde
British troops marched to take a militia's weapons. They we're beaten back and chased back to boston by militia minutemen
Declaratory act
Parliament repealed the stamp act, but enacted the declaratory act, saying they could pass any law they wanted.
Virtual representation
The idea that each representative in parliament represented the empire as a whole, and therefore, the colonies were represented.
alien laws
authorized the president to deport "aliens" and permitted their arrest imprisonment and deportation during war time
Farmers in southeast Pennsylvania stopped paying taxes for the larger military. John Fries led a peaceful protest, but John Adams ordered federal troops to stop the protest, and they made mass arrests, assaulted newspaper editors, and almost executed John Fries.
Articles of confederation
Looked to balance national coordination and states rights to prevent tyranny. It featured a unicameral legislature, but the federal government had no money and no military
Sugar act
Reduced the tax on molasses, but strengthened the court system to end smuggling, making many wealthy smugglers angry.
Britain didn't want to spend more money defending the colonies from the natives, so they banned settling beyond the Appalachian mountains
France and others wanted their debt paid back, yet the national government didn’t have money. States had individual economies that didn’t collaborate.
The New Jersey plan
The plan for representation favored by small states. It called for 1 house of Congress with each state getting equal representation.
Stamp act congress
Delegates met in New York to send the "declaration of rights & grievances" to the king. They also organized a boycott of British goods.
The areas where both colonists and native people would trade and coexist
Common sense
Attacked the obstacles to independence. It was the best selling work in American history because it presented his ideas in a vernacular way.
Weak national government
First political parties
Divisions over neutrality in the French revolution, the Jay treaty, the financial plan, and existing sectionalism created the first political parties.
Different branches of government could check each other to prevent abuse of power.
George Washington's Presidency
Established many precedents for the office of the president. Created a cabinet-style government, appointed cabinet officials based on merit, and stepped down after 2 terms
between US and spain, defined border US and spanish florida, guranteed US navigation rights in mississippi river
7 years war
A dispute over a French fort spiraled into a global conflict. Indigenous tribes tried to play Britain and France off of each other.
the Compromise of 1790
Jefferson and Hamilton agreed to pass Hamilton's financial plan in exchange for making Washington D.C. the Capital of the country
Battle of Bunker hill
British won, but had many casualties. They eventually abandoned Boston
The Virginia plan
Federalism
The division of powers between different levels of government.
