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.
Boston massacre
Parliament sent 1,000 troops to boston to enforce the townshend acts. Protesters began throwing snowballs, and eventually rocks at a group of soldiers. Someone fired a shot, and the soldiers killed 5 protesters
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
Election of 1797
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
Battle of Bunker hill
British troops marched to take a militia's weapons. They we're beaten back and chased back to boston by militia minutemen
Britain didn't want to spend more money defending the colonies from the natives, so they banned settling beyond the Appalachian mountains
violent tax protest from 1791-1794.
the whiskey was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by president Washington to pay for the war. It unfairly burdened poor farmers west of the Appalachian mountains because they couldn't do business anymore
the Compromise of 1790
between US and spain, defined border US and spanish florida, guranteed US navigation rights in mississippi river
Hamilton's financial plan
1) Establish the U.S. credit worthiness 2) Unify the states' debt 3) Create a national bank 4) Whiskey tax to pay for the revolution 5) Establish tariffs to protect american businesses
Thomas Gage
The new appointed governor of Massachusetts who began to strictly enforce parliaments laws
Democratic Republicans
French revolution
The Virginia plan
The plan for representation favored by large states. It called for 2 houses with population based representation and a strong national government.
Olive branch petition
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.
Checks and balances
12/13 states met to amend the articles of confederation. They eventually decided to draft a new constitution
Reduced the tax on molasses, but strengthened the court system to end smuggling, making many wealthy smugglers angry.
Federalism
The division of powers between different levels of government.
A dispute over a french fort spiraled into a global conflict. Indigenous tribes tried to play Britain and France off of each other.
British beliefs after 7 years war
virginia and kentucky resolutions
drafted by thomas jefferson and james madison, claimed that alien and sedition acts were unconstitutional and overstepped federal authority under the constitition, and could therefore be nullified by the states
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
Colonial attitude towards independence
They didn’t want it. Initially the revolution was a petition to get the same rights as other British citizens
The plan for representation favored by small states. It called for 1 house of Congress with each state getting equal representation.
The areas where both colonists and native people would trade and coexist
Virtual representation
The idea that each representative in parliament represented the empire as a whole, and therefore, the colonies were represented.
