1 Vocabulary Unit 2: New Beginnings United States: French & Indian War: French and Indian War definition. A series of military engagements between Britain and France in North America between 1754 and 1763. The French and Indian War was the American phase of the Seven Years' War, which was then underway in Europe. Albany Plan of Union: The Albany Plan of Union was a plan to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, suggested by Benjamin Franklin, then a senior leader (age 45) and a delegate from Pennsylvania, at the Albany Congress on July 10, 1754 in Albany, New York. George Washington: Washington, George definition. The first president of the United States, and the commanding general of the victorious American army in the Revolutionary War. The best known of the Founding Fathers, Washington is called the father of his country. Parliament: the highest legislative (lawmaking body) in Britain made up of the monarch, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. King George III: The King of England (Britain) during the American Revolution. Proclamation of 1763: Issued October 7, 1763 by King George III of England that prohibited white settlers from claiming lands in what was considered Indian territory. It was intended to make peace with the Indian tribes after the French and Indian War. Stamp Act: an act of British Parliament in 1765 that exacted revenue from the American colonies by levying a stamp duties (taxes) on items such as newspapers, legal and commercial documents. Colonial opposition led to the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766 and helped to encourage the revolutionary movement against the British Crown.
2 "No Taxation without Representation": a phrase that represented the resentment American colonists felt about being taxed by the British Parliament to which they were not allowed to elect representatives to. Became an anti-british slogan leading up to the American Revolution: taxation without representation is tyranny Quartering Act: Name given to two acts made by the British parliament that required colonists to provide for the quartering, or housing, and feeding of British troops (soldiers) in private colonial homes. Boston Massacre: a riot occurring in Boston, Massachusetts on March 5, 1770, that arose from the resentment felt by American colonists toward British troops that were quartered, or housed, in the city. British troops fired on the mob killing several citizens. Propaganda: information of a biased or misleading nature used to promote a particular political cause or point of view. Townshend Act: a series of acts passed by the British parliament in 1767 that allowed for duties, or taxes, to be placed on items such as tea, paper, lead, paint that was imported into the American colonies in an attempt to raise funds for the British Crown. Boston Tea Party: A raid on three British ships anchored in Boston harbor on December 16, 1773, that was led by American colonists disguised as Native Americans. The raiders threw several hundred chests of tea overboard into the harbor to protest against British taxes on tea in the colonies and against the monopoly granted by the East India Company, a private British trading company. Boycotts: to refuse to buy, use, or participate as a way of protesting. Protests: a complaint or objection to against an idea, an act, or way of doing things. Intolerable Acts: A series of punitive (punishment) laws established by British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party that were meant to punish Boston colonists for their defiant act of throwing a large shipment of British tea into Boston Harbor.
3 Sons of Liberty: a secret organization of American colonists formed to protect the rights of American colonists and to fight taxation by the British Parliament. Samuel Adams: An American Revolutionary leader and patriot. He was an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock: American Revolutionary patriot who who was president of the Continental Congress and was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams: One of the Founding Fathers, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the second President of the United States. Benjamin Franklin: A printer and author by trade who later became a politician. He helped to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the American colonies. He was also a scientist who was well known for his research about electricity. Paul Revere: An American silversmith and patriot who became famous for his night time horseback ride to warn the citizens of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts about the imminent arrival of British troops on April 18, 1775. Loyalists/Tories: American colonist who supported Britain during the American Revolution. Patriots/Whigs: American colonist who supported the American colonies during the Revolutionary War. Redcoats: British soldiers. Continental Congress: A convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution.
4 Declaration of Independence: Written by Thomas Jefferson, the declaration was a formal statement declaring the freedom of the Thirteen American Colonies from British rule; adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson: One of the Founding Fathers and main author of the Declaration of Independence; became the third President of the United States. Responsibility of Government: The basic functions of the U.S. Government are listed in the Constitution and include: To form a more perfect Union [bring together all states]; To ensure justice; to ensure domestic tranquility [domestic peace] ; to provide for the common defense [provide for a military to defend the nation]; to promote the general welfare [to ensure the safety of it people]; and to secure the blessings of Liberty [protect individual rights and freedoms]. Responsibility of Citizens: Obey the laws or pay the consequences; serving on jury; pay taxes; be informed about our government and community; to participate by voting in elections. General Cornwallis: General in charge of British forces during the American Revolution. Lexington & Concord: Location of the first battle of the American Revolution. Shot heard around the world : Phrase that refers to the first shots of the American Revolution being fired near Lexington as British troops advance on Concord, Massachusetts. Which side fired the first shot remains undetermined, and American troops had to withdraw but they did manage to slow down the advancement of British troops who were advancing on Concord where a American arms stockpile was located. Saratoga: Battle that was the turning point of the American Revolution; fought in northern New York state in 1777 in which British troops were turned back by American forces. The French supplied monetary and military support to help the American forces outlast the British troops. Yorktown: Last battle of the American Revolution fought in 1781 near the Virginia coast. British General Cornwallis surrendered to American Commanding General George Washington.
5 Foreign Aid: Economic, military, or technical aid given by one country to another for the purposes of relief or rehabilitation (rebuilding). Democracy: A system of government in which the power is given to the people who can rule either directly or through elected representatives. Articles of Confederation: The original constitution of the United States ratified in 1781. Constitutional Convention: the gathering that drafted, or wrote, the United States Constitution in 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The convention designed a government with three separate branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. Virginia Plan: a plan created by James Madison, and proposed by Edmund Randolph, governor of Virginia (1787), proposed a new form of government and called for the number of votes each state received in Congress to be based on the population of each state rather than each state receiving one vote. It proposed for a bicameral (two house) legislature, an executive, and judicial branch. This plan helped to shape the way our government is structured and works today. James Madison: A member of the Continental Congress, a leader in drafting the Constitution, and author of the Federalist Papers essays. Served as the fourth president of the United States. Known as the Father of the Constitution because he had a major role in writing the document, and he also drafted the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights. U.S. Constitution: A document that contains the fundamental laws and principles by which the United States is governed. It is the Supreme Law of the Land. Slavery (human rights violations): forced labor: the buying and selling of human beings to receive free labor Great Compromise: a compromise adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, providing the states with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives.
6 Three Fifths Compromise: a compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 between the delegates from the Northern and Southern states that outline the process of counting slaves for the purpose of determining representation and taxation for the federal government. Federalists: a major early political party that supported the idea of a strong central government and the Constitution. Anti-Federalists: a major early political party who opposed the adoption of the U.S Constitution because they feared a central government that held too much power. They wanted the states to have more authority than the federal, or central, government. Limited Government: is a system in which the primary leaders have very little governing powers over the decisions and laws that are created without approval from other branches or leaders within the government. Popular Sovereignty: a doctrine in political theory that government is created by and subject to the will of the people. Separation of Powers: System in which powers and responsibilities of the government are divided among the legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch. Republicanism: the belief of governing a state (nation) as a republic where the People hold popular sovereignty, rather than be the subjects of a monarch. Federalism: a system of government where the power is divided between a strong, central (national) government and the state governments. Individual Rights: refer to the liberties of each individual to pursue life and goals without interference from other individuals or the government. Examples of individual rights include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as outlined in the Declaration of Independence.
7 Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guarantees freedoms of speech, assemble, and worship. Three Branches of Government: Legislative branch (lawmaking), Executive Branch (carry out, or execute, the laws), and Judicial Branch (interpret the laws - Supreme Court and all lower courts). Checks and Balances: a system that allows each branch of a government to amend or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one branch from exerting too much power. Amendments: refers to an addition or deletion or change to the Constitution. Political Parties: an organized group of people with generally the same or very similar political ideas, opinions, and goals. North Carolina: Lords Proprietors: a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an American colony in the 17th century. This charter issued by King Charles II of England proposed the formation of the Lords Proprietor and gave the lands of Carolina to the eight proprietors: the Earl of Clarendon, Duke of Albemarle, Lord Craven, Lord Berkeley, Lord Ashley, Sir George Carteret, William Berkeley and Sir John Colleton. Proprietary Colony: colonies that were granted to an individual or group by the British crown and that were granted full rights of self-government. Royal Colony: a type of colonial administration of the British overseas territories. Crown, or royal, colonies were ruled by a governor appointed by the monarch. Carolina Charter of 1663: The document marked the beginning of organized, representative government in the province of Carolina. It granted to the eight Lords Proprietors all of the territory between 31 and 36 north latitude from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Ocean, or in effect from about 70 miles south of the
8 border of present-day Florida to about 40 miles south of the present northern boundary of North Carolina. Edenton Tea Party: a political protest in Edenton, North Carolina, in response to the Tea Act, passed by the British Parliament in 1773. The protest, led by women, drew up resolves not to buy English tea and cloth. They wrote down their protest, signed it, and mailed the document to England. Mecklenburg Resolves: The Mecklenburg Resolves, or Charlotte Town Resolves, was a list of statements adopted at Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on May 31, 1775; drafted in the month following the fighting at Lexington and Concord. It was a signed declaration of independence from England stating that Mecklenburg county was no longer under the rule of the British. Halifax Resolves: T he Halifax Resolves was a name later given to the resolution adopted by North Carolina on April 12, 1776. The adoption of the resolution was the first official action in the American Colonies calling for independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. Overmountain Men: The Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Appalachian Mountains who took part in the American Revolutionary War. They are best known for their role in the American victory at the Battle of King s Mountain in 1780. Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge: Battle of the American Revolution fought near Wilmington, NC where the victory of North Carolina revolutionary forces over southern Loyalists helped them to build political support for the Revolution and helped them recruit more soldiers into their troops. Battle of Guilford Courthouse: Battle fought near Greensboro, NC on March 15, 1781 was a pivotal battle in the American Revolution. British forces led by General Cornwallis scored a tactical victory over American forces led by Nathaniel Greene, they suffered significant loss of troops. Afterward, Cornwallis abandoned his
9 Carolina campaign and retreated to Virginia where he would later surrender to General George Washington after the Battle of Yorktown. NC Constitution of 1776: A state constitution created to reaffirm the rights of the people and establish a government compatible with the ongoing struggle for American independence. It explicitly affirmed the principle of the separation of powers and identified the familiar three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. It gave the greatest power to the General Assembly, which would make the laws as well as appoint all state executives and judges. The governor, serving a one-year term, would exercise little power. Sectional differences led to the Regulator movement: The Regulator Movement in mid-eighteenth-century North Carolina was a rebellion initiated by residents of the colony's inland region, or backcountry, who believed that royal government officials were charging them excessive fees, falsifying records, and engaging in other mistreatments. The movement's name refers to the desire of these citizens to regulate their own affairs. An unfair system of taxation prevailed under which less productive land, such as that in the western and Mountain regions, was taxed at the same rate as the more fertile, level soil of the Coastal Plain. These and other hardships contributed to the Regulators' feelings of sectional discrimination and deep distrust of authorities rooted in eastern North Carolina. The Regulators organized a resistance to these abuses, first through protest and ultimately through violence.