Chapter 7 - The Road to Revolution

John Hancock

1737-1793. Patriot leader and President of the second Continental Congress; first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Lord North

Prime Minister of England from 1770 to 1782. Although he repealed the Townshend Acts, he generally went along with King George III's repressive policies towards the colonies even though he personally considered them wrong. He hoped for an early peace duri

George Grenville

British Prime Minister; Architect of the Sugar Act; his method of taxation and crackdown on colonial smuggling were widely disliked by Americans. He passed the Stamp Act arguing that colonists received "virtual" representation in Parliament

Samuel Adams

Massachusetts Revolutionary leader and propagandist who organized opposition to British policies after 1764; radical member of Sons of Liberty, worried that violence of group would discredit it; proposed united plea for repeal of Townshend Duties and anot

Charles Townshend

Government official, close to the king, likeable, sponsored taxes, "Champagne Charlie", sponsored taxes for: lead, glass, paper, paint & tea.

John Adams

Lawyer who defended British soldiers in the Boston Massacre trial. He believed in "innocent until proven guilty." In spite of these actions, he supported colonial independence.

Crispus Attucks

Killed in Boston Massacre, black laborer, only African-American person killed in Boston Massacre (first).

Marquis de Lafayette

Young patriot from France who became George Washington's aide durng the Revolution. Gave money to the colonial cause and became like a son to George Washington.

King George III

King of England, stubborn, stupid, levied taxes even though he knew colonist would hate it, poor ruler, passed Quartering Act, hated colonists, wanted to show who's in charge.

Baron von Steuben

A stern, Prussian drillmaster that taught American soldiers during the Revolutionary War how to successfully fight the British.

Thomas Hutchinson

Believed the tea tax was unjust, but disagreed that the colonists had a right to rebel. He angered Bostons radicals when he ordered the tea ships not to clear the Boston harbor until they had unloaded their cargoes.

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

Benjamin Franklin

American public official, writer, scientist, and printer. After the success of his Poor Richard's Almanac (1732-1757), he entered politics and played a major part in the American Revolution. Franklin negotiated French support for the colonists, signed the

Edmund Burke

English statesman famous for his oratory, pleaded the cause of the American colonists in Parliament and defended the parliamentary system (1729-1797)

John Dickinson

Drafted a declaration of colonial rights and grievances, and also wrote the series of "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" in 1767 to protest the Townshend Acts. Although an outspoken critic of British policies towards the colonies, Dickinson opposed t

Adam Smith

1723-1790. Pioneering economic theorist. Father of economics. Explained how rational self-interest and competition, operating in a social framework which ultimately depends on adherence to moral obligations, can lead to economic well-being and prosperity.

Mercantilism

An economic system (Europe in 18th C) to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests.

No taxation without representation

Reflected the colonists' belief that they should not be taxed because they had no direct representatives in Parliament.

Nonimportation agreement

An act signed by 200 merchants pledging not to buy any British goods until Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, colonial merchants and planters signed these agreements to promise to stop importing goods taxed by the Townshend acts.

Royal Veto

The power of the Privy Council in colonial days to declare a colonial policy or law null and void.

Internal taxation

Revenues levied directly on property (such as land or livestock), persons (such as poll taxes), or governmental functions (such as the Stamp Act).

External Taxation

Britain wanted a way to tax Americans without upsetting them. They started it from outside the country.

Virtual" Representation

British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members.

Boycott

A group's refusal to have commercial dealings with some organization in protest against its policies.

Enumerated" Products

Certain products that the colonies could only ship to Britain (tobacco, rice, cotton)

Board of Trade

Commissioned by King William III of England to supervise commerce, recommend appointments of colonial officials, and review colonial laws to see that none interfered with trade or conflicted with the laws of England.

Sons of Liberty

A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the l

Daughters of Liberty

This orginization supported the boycott of British goods. They urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods that were previously available only from Britain. They believed that way, the American colonies would become economically indep

Quebec Act

Designed to facilitate the incorporation of French Canadians into British America; Colonists feared a precedent had been established in the nonrepresentative government in Quebec; they resented the expansion of Quebec's territory, which they had been deni

Navigation Acts

Laws that governed trade between England and its colonies. Colonists were required to ship certain products exclusively to England. These acts made colonists very angry because they were forbidden from trading with other countries.

Declaratory Act

In 1766, the English Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and at the same time signed the Declaratory Act. This document stated that Parliament had the right "to bind" the colonies "in all cases whatsoever." It is important in history because it stopped the

First Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774, to protest the Intolerable Acts. The congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, voted for a boycott of British imports, and sent a petition to King George III, conceding to Parliament the power of

Sugar Act

(1764) British deeply in debt partly to French & Indian War. English Parliament placed a tariff on sugar, coffee, wines, and molasses. Colonists avoided the tax by smuggling and by bribing tax collectors.

Townshend Acts

A tax that the British Parliament placed on leads, glass, paint and tea.

Quartering Act

March 24, 1765 - Required the colonials to provide food, lodging, and supplies for the British troops in the colonies.

Boston Massacre

The first bloodshed of the Amercan Revolution, as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five americans.

The Association

A document produced by the Continental Congress in 1775 that called for a complete boycott of British goods. This included non-importation, non-exportation and non-consumption. It was the closest approach to a written constitution yet from the colonies. I

Stamp Act

An act passed by the British parliment in 1756 that raised revenue from the American colonies by a duty in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents.

Committees of Correspondence

Committees of Correspondence, organized by patriot leader Samuel Adams, was a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies. They provided the organization necessary to unite the colonies in opposition to Parli

Hessians

German soldiers hired by George III to smash Colonial rebellion, proved good in mechanical sense but they were more concerned about money than duty.

Admiralty Courts

British courts originally established to try cases involving smuggling or violations of the Navigation Acts which the British government sometimes used to try American criminals in the colonies. Trials in Admiralty Courts were heard by judges without a ju

Boston Tea Party

Demonstration (1773) by citizens of Boston who (disguised as Indians) raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor.

Loyalists

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act. It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament, and it showed signs of colonial unity a

Intolerable Acts

In response to Boston Tea Party, 4 acts passed in 1774, Port of Boston closed (Boston Port Act) , reduced power of assemblies in colonies (The Massachusetts Government Act), permitted royal officers to be tried elsewhere (Administration of Justice Act), p

British East India Company

Government charted joint-stock company that controlled spice trade in the East Indies after the Dutch.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

These two battles occurred on the same day. They were the first military conflicts of the war. Lexington was the first one, in which a shot suddenly rang out as minutemen were leaving the scene at Lexington. Fighting then occurred. The British won the bri