American Revolution Flashcards
(30 cards)
Who inspired many colonists to demand natural rights and self-government?
Enlightenment philosopher John Locke.
What 1763 royal order banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachians?
Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III.
What British economic policy restricted colonial trade to the mother country only?
Mercantilism
Which 1764 law taxed sugar, textiles, coffee, wine, and indigo in the colonies?
The Sugar Act.
What was the first direct tax on printed matter in the colonies, passed in 1765?
The Stamp Act
Which 1765 act required colonists to house and feed British soldiers?
The Quartering Act
Which 1767 laws placed import duties on paper, glass, tea, lead, and paint?
The Townshend Acts.
What 1770 incident in Boston left five colonists dead and fueled anti-British sentiment?
The Boston Massacre.
Which 1773 law gave the British East India Company a tea monopoly?
The Tea Act
What protest saw colonists dump tea into Boston Harbor?
The Boston Tea Party (December 1773).
Name the five punitive laws Parliament passed in 1774 to punish Massachusetts.
The Intolerable (Coercive) Acts—closing Boston Harbor, placing Massachusetts under royal control, moving trials of British officials to Britain, strengthening the Quartering Act, and enacting the Quebec Act.
Which 1774 gathering of 12 colonies coordinated resistance to the Intolerable Acts?
The First Continental Congress.
Where were the first shots of the Revolutionary War fired in April 1775?
Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
What 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine argued for full independence?
Common Sense.
On what date did the Second Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence?
July 4, 1776.
Which 1777 American victory convinced France to ally with the United States?
The Battles of Saratoga—the war’s turning point.
What 1778 agreement brought French troops, ships, and funds to the American cause?
The Franco-American Alliance (Treaty of Alliance).
Which 1783 treaty formally ended the Revolutionary War?
The Treaty of Paris (1783).
What 1793 proclamation kept the young United States out of European wars?
Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality.
What 1777 document created the first national government of the United States?
The Articles of Confederation.
List three major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Congress could not tax, could not raise a standing army, and could not regulate currency or interstate disputes.
Which 1787 uprising of Massachusetts farmers exposed the Articles’ weaknesses?
Shays’ Rebellion.
What 1787 meeting produced a new U.S. Constitution?
The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
Define confederation as used in early U.S. history.
A union of sovereign states that cooperate for common purposes while granting limited powers to a central authority.
