Defintions

Chapter 6 1. Albany Conference- a 1754 meeting, held in Albany, NY, between the British and leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy. 2. Plan of Union- Plan put forward by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 calling for an intercolonial union to manage defense and Indian affairs. The plan was rejected by participants at the Albany Congress. 3. French and Indian War- The last of the Anglo-French colonial wars (1754-1763) and the first in which fighting began in North America. The war ended with France’s defeat. Also known as the Seven Years’ War. 4. Treaty of Paris- the formal end to British hostilities against France and Spain in February 1763. 5. Royal Proclamation of 1763- Royal proclamation declaring the trans Appalachian region to be “Indian Country.” 6. Republicanism- a complex, changing body of ideas, values, and assumptions that influenced American political behavior during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries 7. Sugar Act- Law passed in 1764 to raise revenue in the American colonies. It lowered the duty from 6 pence to 3 pence per gallon on foreign molasses imported into the colonies and increased the restrictions on colonial commerce. 8. Whigs- The name used by advocates of colonial resistance to British measures during the 1760s and 1770s. 9. Stamp Act- Law passed by Parliament in 1765 to raise revenue in America by requiring taxed, stamped paper for legal documents, publications, and playing cards. 10. Virtual representation- The notion that parliamentary members represented the interests of the nation as a whole, not those of the particular district that elected them. 11. Sons of Liberty- Secret organizations in the colonies formed to oppose the Stamp Act. 12. Nonimportation movement- A tactical means of putting economic pressure in Britain by refusing to buy its exports to the colonies. 13. Declaratory Act- Law passed in 1776 to accompany repeal of the Stamp Act that stated that Parliament had the authority to legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” 14. Townshend Revenue Acts- Act of Parliament passed in 1767, imposing duties on colonial tea, lead, paint, paper, and glass. 15. Boston Massacre- After months of increasing friction between townspeople and the British troops stationed in the city, on March 5, 1770, British troops fired on American civilians in Boston. 16. Tea Act- Act of Parliament that permitted the East India Company to sell through agents in America without paying the duty customarily collected in Britain, thus reducing the retail price. 17. Boston Tea Party- Incident that occurred on December 16, 1773, in which Bostonians, disguised as Indians, destroyed 18000 worth of tea belonging to the British East India Company in order to prevent payment of the duty on it. 18. Coercive Acts- Legislation passed by Parliament in 1774; included the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act of 1774. 19. Intolerable Acts- American term for the Coercive Acts and the Quebec Act. 20. Quartering Act- Acts of Parliament requiring colonial legislatures to provide supplies and quarters for the troops stationed in America. 21. Quebec Act- Law passes by Parliament in 1774 that provided an appointed government for Canada, enlarged the boundaries of Quebec, and confirmed the privileges of the Catholic Church. 22. First Continental Congress- Meeting of delegates from most of the colonies held in 1774 in response to the Coercive Acts.
Chapter 7 1. Patriots- British colonists who favored independence from Britain. 2. Continental Army- the regular or professional army authorized by the Second Continental Congress and commanded by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. 3. Loyalists- British colonists who opposed independence from Britain. 4. Tories- A derisive term applied to Loyalists in America who supported the king and parliament just before and during the American Revolution. 5. Constitution- The written document providing for a new central government of the United Sates. 6. Articles of Confederation- Written document setting up the loose confederation of states that comprised the first national government of the United States. 7. Land Ordinance of 1785- Act passed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation that created the grid system of surveys by which all subsequent public land was made available for sale. 8. Northwest Ordinance of 1787- Legislation that prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territories and provided the model for the incorporation of future territories into the union as co-equal states. 9. Bill of Rights – A written summary of inalienable rights and liberties. 10. Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom- a bill authored by Thomas Jefferson establishing religious freedom in Virginia. 11. Constitutional Convention- convention of delegates from the colonies that first met to organize resistance to the Intolerable Acts.
Chapter 8 1. Virginia Plan- Proposal calling for a national legislature in which the states would be represented according to population 2. New Jersey Plan- Proposal of the New Jersey delegation for a strengthened national government in which all states would have an equal representation in a unicameral legislature. 3. Great Compromise- Plan proposed at the 1787 Constitutional Convention for creating a national bicameral legislature in which all states would be equally represented in the senate and proportionally represented in the House. 4. Federalist- Supporters of the Constitution who favored its ratification 5. Anit- Federalist- Opponents of the Constitution in the debate over its ratification. 6. Bill of rights- The first ten amendments of the Constitution 7. Judiciary Act of 1789- Act of congress that implemented the judiciary clause of the Constitution by establishing the Supreme Court and a system of lower federal courts. 8. Judicial review- A power implied in the Constitution that gives federal courts the right to review and determine the constitutionality of acts passed by Congress and state legislatures. 9. Intercourse Act- Passed in 1790, this law regulated trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes and declared public treaties between the United states and Indian nations the only means of obtaining Indian lands. 10. Whiskey Rebellion- Armed uprising in 1794 by farmers in western Pennsylvania who attempted to prevent the collection of the excise tax on Whiskey. 11. Treaty of Greenville- Treaty of 1795 in which Native Americans in the Old northwest were forced to cede most of the present state of Ohio to the United states. 12. Jays Treaty- Treaty with Britain negotiated in 1794 in which the United States made major concessions to avert a war over the British seizure of American Ships. 13. XYZ Affair- Diplomatic incident in 1798 in which Americans were outraged by the demand of the French for a bribe as a condition for negotiating with American diplomats. 14. Quasi-War- Undeclared naval war of 1797 to 1800 between the United States and France. 15. Alien Act- Act passed by Congress in 1798 that authorized the president to imprison or deport suspected aliens during wartime. 16. Sedition Act- An act passed by Congress in 1798 that provided fines for anyone convicted of writing, publishing, or speaking out against the government or its officers. 17. States’ rights- Favoring the rights of individual states over rights claimed by the national government. 18. Suffrage- The right to vote in a political election. 19. Annapolis Convention- Conference of state delegates at Annapolis, Maryland, that issued a call in September 1786 for a convention to meet at Philadelphia to consider fundamental changes.
Chapter 9 1. Marbury v. Madison- Supreme court decision of 1803 that created the precedent of judicial review by ruling as unconstitutional part of the Judiciary Act of 1789. 2. Embargo Act- Act passed by congress in 1807 prohibiting American ships from leaving for any foreign port. 3. Pan-Indian military resistance movement- Movement calling for the political and cultural unification of Indian tribes in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. 4. War hawks- Members of congress, predominantly from the south and west, who aggressively pushed for a war against Britain after their election in 1810. 5. War of 1812- War fought between the US and Britain from June 1812 to January 1815 largely over British restrictions on American shipping. 6. Nullification- a constitutional doctrine holding that a state has a legal right to declare a national law null and void within its borders. 7. Treaty of Ghent- treaty signed in December 1814 between the United States and Britain that ended the War of 1812. 8. Era of Good feelings- the period from 1817 to 1823 in which the disappearance of the federalists enabled the republicans to govern in spirit of seemingly nonpartisan harmony. 9. American system- the program of government subsidies favored by Henry Clay and his followers to promote American economic growth and protect domestic manufacturers from foreign competition. 10. Tariff of 1816- a tax imposed by congress on imported goods. 11. Rush-Bagot Treaty of 1817- Treaty between the US and Britain the effectively demilitarized the Great Lakes by sharply limiting the number of ships each power could station on the them. 12. Monroe Doctrine- Declaration by President James Monroe in 1823 that the Western Hemisphere was to be closed off to further European colonization and that the United States would not interfere in the Internal affairs of European nations. 13. Missouri Compromise- sectional compromise in Congress in 1820 that admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state and prohibited slavery in the northern Louisiana Purchase territory.
Chapter 10 1. Industrial Revolution- revolution in the means and organization of production. 2. Gang System- the organization and supervision of slave field hands into working teams on Southern plantations. 3. Second Great Awakening- Religious revival among black and white southerners in the 1790s. 4. Black codes- Laws passed by the states and municipalities denying many rights of citizenship to free black people before the civil war. 5. Yeoman- Independent farmers of the south most of whom lived on family sizes farms. 6. Denmark Vesey’s conspiracy- The most carefully devised slave revolt in which rebels planned to seize control of Charleston in 1822 and escape to freedom in Haiti, a free black republic, but they were betrayed by other slaves, and seventy-five, conspirators were executed. 7. Nat Turner’s Revolt- Upspring of slaves in Southampton Country, Virginia in the summer of 1821 led by Nat Turner that resulted in the death of fifty-five white people. 8. Manumission- the freeing of a slave.
Chapter 11 1. Bank war- the political struggle between President Andrew Jackson and the supporters of the second Bank of the United States. 2. Democrats- Political party formed in the 1820s under the leadership of Andrew Jackson; Favored states’ rights and a limited role for the federal government. 3. Nullifications Crisis- Sectional crisis in the early 1830s in which a states’ rights party in South Carolina attempted to nullify federal law. 4. Indian removal act-President Andrew Jackson’s measure that allowed state officials to override federal protection of Native Americans. 5. Trail of tears-the forced march in 1838 of the Cherokee Indians from their homelands in Georgia to the Indian Territory in the West. 6. Whigs- the name used by advocates of colonial resistance to British measures during the 1760s and the 1770s 7. Specie circular- Proclamation issued by President Andrew Jackson in 1836 stipulation that only gold or silver could be used as payment for public land. 8. Second American Party System- the basic pattern of American politics of two parties each with appeal among voters of all social voters and in all sections of the country.