Unit 3: Period 3: 1754–1800

Imperial crisis

Post–Seven Years’ War conflicts over money, administration, and authority in the British Empire—especially who should pay for empire and who had the right to govern—pushing many colonists from loyalty to resistance.

Ohio River Valley

Strategic and economically valuable region (fur trade, river “highways,” and land) that became the main flashpoint between British and French expansion in the 1750s.

Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War)

Global war (1754–1763) in which Britain and France fought for empire; in North America it was called the French and Indian War.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Treaty ending the Seven Years’ War; France ceded Canada to Britain, and Britain gained control of Canada and almost all land east of the Mississippi River.

Pontiac’s Rebellion

1763 uprising led by Ottawa war chief Pontiac and allied tribes attacking British/colonial outposts in the Ohio Valley in response to British postwar policies.

Proclamation Line of 1763

British policy limiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to reduce costly frontier conflict and the need for troops.

Albany Plan of Union

Benjamin Franklin’s 1754 proposal for an intercolonial government and shared tax system for defense; rejected because colonies feared losing control over taxation and governance.

Salutary neglect

Pre-1763 period when Britain loosely enforced trade laws and supervised colonial politics less strictly; ended after 1763 due to debt and new imperial costs.

Sugar Act (1764)

British law placing new duties and stricter enforcement on trade (including molasses), aiming to deter smuggling and raise revenue; angered colonists mainly because enforcement tightened.

Stamp Act (1765)

Internal tax requiring paid stamps on printed materials (legal documents, newspapers, licenses) to raise revenue; sparked broad colonial resistance.

No taxation without representation

Colonial argument (popularized by writers like James Otis) that Parliament could not tax colonists who lacked meaningful representation; colonists claimed assemblies should control internal taxation.

Sons of Liberty

Colonial protest groups that used organization and intimidation to oppose British taxes (especially the Stamp Act), helping force stamp distributors to resign.

Declaratory Act (1766)

Law passed alongside repeal of the Stamp Act asserting Parliament’s authority to legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever,” intensifying the sovereignty dispute.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Import duties on items such as glass, paint, paper, and tea; expanded enforcement and aimed in part to fund colonial officials, reducing colonial assemblies’ leverage.

Quartering Act (1765)

Policy requiring colonists to provide support (housing/feeding) for British troops, increasing resentment—especially in cities like Boston.

Boston Massacre (1770)

March 5, 1770 confrontation in which British soldiers fired into a crowd, killing five; Patriots used it as propaganda against British “tyranny,” though interpretation was contested.

Tea Act (1773)

Law restructuring the tea trade to aid the British East India Company and give it a major advantage; many colonists opposed it because it implied accepting Parliament’s taxing authority.

Boston Tea Party

Protest in which colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to resist the Tea Act and Parliament’s claimed authority.

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts

Punitive British measures after the Boston Tea Party (e.g., closing Boston Harbor, tightening control of Massachusetts, reinforcing quartering) meant to punish and isolate Massachusetts but instead unified resistance.

Quebec Act

British act that extended Quebec’s boundaries and granted greater liberties to Catholics; angered many colonists and was seen as obstructing westward expansion.

First Continental Congress

Late 1774 meeting (all colonies except Georgia) coordinating resistance—listing grievances and organizing a boycott—while many delegates still sought reconciliation, not independence.

Lexington and Concord

April 1775 battles that began open warfare when British troops marched to seize supplies; fighting at Lexington and Concord and the British retreat marked a shift from protest to war.

Second Continental Congress

Body that acted as a wartime government—creating offices, printing money, organizing the Continental Army, and selecting George Washington as commander—despite uncertain legitimacy.

Olive Branch Petition

July 5, 1775 appeal (pushed by John Dickinson) affirming loyalty to the king while requesting redress; rejected by George III, pushing more colonists toward independence.

Common Sense

Thomas Paine’s widely read 1776 pamphlet advocating independence and republicanism, written in accessible language that helped shift public opinion toward separation.

Declaration of Independence

Document drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted July 4, 1776; justified independence with grievances against George III and asserted Enlightenment principles like natural rights and government by consent, while containing major contradictions (e.g., slavery).

Saratoga (1777)

American victory that helped persuade France to openly ally with the United States, transforming the conflict into a broader, more expensive global war for Britain.

Franco-American Alliance (1778)

Alliance bringing French money, supplies, troops, naval power, and international legitimacy to the American cause; negotiated with major diplomatic involvement by Benjamin Franklin.

Yorktown (1781)

Event marking the war’s symbolic end when General Cornwallis surrendered after being trapped by Washington’s forces and the French navy, leading to peace negotiations.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Treaty ending the American Revolution; recognized U.S. independence and granted U.S. territory extending to the Mississippi River.

Articles of Confederation

First national constitution designed to limit central power: unicameral Congress, no executive or national judiciary, weak taxation and trade powers, and heavy reliance on state cooperation.

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Law creating a process for admitting new states from the Northwest Territory and prohibiting slavery there; established precedent of expanding by adding equal states rather than permanent colonies.

Shays’ Rebellion

1786–1787 Massachusetts uprising of farmers facing debt and taxes; highlighted the Articles’ weaknesses and convinced many elites the national government needed greater capacity to maintain order.

Constitutional Convention

1787 Philadelphia meeting initially called to revise the Articles but instead produced a new Constitution designed to create a functioning national government without recreating tyranny.

Federalism

Constitutional system dividing power between national and state governments to strengthen governance while limiting centralized authority.

Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

Agreement blending large- and small-state demands: House representation by population and Senate representation equal per state (originally chosen by state legislatures).

Three-Fifths Compromise

Constitutional compromise counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation, increasing slaveholding states’ political power.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Constitutional clause supporting implied powers by allowing Congress to pass laws needed to carry out enumerated powers; central to debates like the national bank controversy.

Bill of Rights (1791)

First ten amendments added as a political outcome of ratification debates to address Anti-Federalist concerns and protect individual liberties.

Hamilton’s assumption plan

Proposal for the federal government to assume state Revolutionary War debts and fund the national debt at full value, tying wealthy interests and states to the success of the new national government.

National bank

Hamilton-backed institution to stabilize currency and credit and promote economic growth; sparked a major debate between strict and loose constitutional interpretation and was signed by Washington.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Western Pennsylvania resistance to Hamilton’s whiskey excise tax; Washington used militia force to enforce federal law, demonstrating national authority unlike under the Articles.

Neutrality Proclamation

Washington’s declaration that the U.S. would remain “friendly and impartial” amid the French Revolution and European wars, reflecting U.S. vulnerability and economic realities.

Jay’s Treaty (1794)

Treaty aiming to settle unresolved issues with Britain and avoid war; highly controversial and helped establish the precedent of executive privilege when Washington withheld certain documents.

Pinckney’s Treaty (1795)

Treaty with Spain securing U.S. navigation rights on the Mississippi and access tied to New Orleans (including duty-free market access) and Spanish promises to remove forts and restrain attacks on settlers.

Federalists

Early political coalition (often linked to Hamilton) favoring a stronger national government, commerce/finance/manufacturing, and—practically—closer ties with Britain.

Democratic-Republicans

Early political coalition (linked to Jefferson and Madison) emphasizing states’ power and limited national authority, an agrarian vision, and generally more sympathy for France (especially early).

XYZ Affair

Diplomatic crisis in which French agents demanded a bribe from U.S. diplomats; Adams published the report with names replaced by X, Y, and Z, turning U.S. public opinion sharply anti-French.

Quasi-War

Undeclared naval conflict with France that occurred after the XYZ Affair; Adams avoided full-scale war while managing heightened tensions.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Federalist laws during the Quasi-War crisis expanding power over immigrants and allowing punishment of “scandalous and malicious” anti-government writing; widely viewed as partisan and the Sedition Act as violating the First Amendment.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Jefferson- and Madison-authored responses arguing states could judge constitutionality of federal laws and declaring the Alien and Sedition Acts void—later associated with the idea of nullification.

Election of 1800

Bitter partisan election that produced a peaceful transfer of power between rival political groups, often seen as a major test of the new constitutional system.