2 things the navigation act did
-prevented colonists from selling their most valuable products to any country except britain
-colonists had to pay high taxes on imported french and dutch goods
what is the connection between the french-indian war and the american revolution?
the british won the war, but they had run up a huge debt. they thought that since winning the war benefited the colonists, that they should help pay the debts. to get the money from the colonists, the passed the stamp act.
what act was passed as a result of the french-indian war?
the stamp act
the stamp act (2)
-an act passed by the british to get money from the colonists to pay the french-indian war debt.
-colonists had a tax to have an official stamp on wills, deeds, newspapers, and other printed material.
3 things that were taxed as a result of the stamp act
wills, deeds, newspapers
why was the stamp act passed?
so the british could get money from the colonists to pay off the french-indian war debt
what did the colonists mean by "no taxation without representation"?
the colonists thought the stamp act violated their rights. in britain, citizens consented to taxes through their representatives in parliament. the colonists, however, had no representation in parliament. thus, they argued they could not be taxed.
why were british citizens okay with the taxation but the colonists were not?
the british citizens had a say in the parliament, but the colonists couldn't vote and didn't have any involvement with the british politics but still had to pay taxes to them.
describe the boston tea party (2)
-to protest a tax on tea, colonists dumped a large load of british tea into the boston harbor.
-george III, infuriated by the "boston tea party" ordered the british navy to close the port of boston
what did the colonists do to protest the tax on tea?
they dumped a large load of british tea into the boston harbor
who was king at the time of the american revolution?
george III
what did king george III do as a result of the boston tea party?
he ordered the british navy to close the port of boston
what did the enlightenment have to do with the american revolution?
colonial leaders used enlightenment ideas to justify independence. the colonists had asked for the same political rights as people in britain, but the king refused. the colonists then started rebelling against a tyrant who had broken the social contract.
who wrote the declaration of independence?
thomas jefferson
who issued the declaration of independence?
the second continental congress
the declaration of independence was based on the ideas of which enlightenment philosophe?
john locke
the declaration of independence reflected the ideas of...
natural rights
the declaration of independence included a list of...
king george III's abuses
the declaration of independence ended by declaring...
the colonies' separation from britain
why was the american's motivation much stronger than that of the british?
they were defending their homeland
why did british generals make several mistakes?
they were overconfident
what was on the side of the americans?
time
why, money-related, did the americans win the american revolution?
fighting an overseas war, 3,000 miles from london, was terribly expensive for the british. tax-weary british citizens had to call for peace.
the americans had the help of which country?
france
why did louis XVI want to help the americans?
he didn't care for the american revolution, but he would do anything to weaken france's rival, britain.
what were the articles of confederation?
a loose confederation in which they held most of the power
the articles of confederation had the problem of having no...
executive or judicial branches
what was the one body of government the articles established?
congress
how many bodies of government were established by the articles?
one
how many votes did each state have in congress under the articles?
one, regardless of size
3 things congress could do under the articles
declare war, enter into treaties, and coin money
2 things congress couldn't do under the articles
collect taxes or regulate trade
why was passing new laws difficult under the articles?
laws needed approval of 9 of the 13 states
what was the two biggest differences between the articles of confederation and the new US constitution?
power was more divided between the states and the central government & the 3 branches of government checked each others actions
what did colonists do since they didn't trust in a powerful central government?
they established three seperate branches -- legislative, executive, and judicial
checks and balances
a system where each branch checks the actions of the other two
example of the checks and balances
the president recieved the power to veto legislation passed by congress. however, congress could override a presidential veto with the approval of 2/3 of its members
federal system
power is divided between national and state governments
what were antifederalists?
people who didn't support the constituion
why did antifederalists not support the constitution?
they feared it gave the central government too much power
how did the federalists and the antifederalists work out their differences over the constitution?
the federalists added 10 amendments to the constitution called the bill of rights
what were federalists?
supporters of the constitution
what was the name of the famous work of the federalists?
the federalist papers
bill of rights
ten amendments that protected the rights of individual citizens
4 basic rights that the bill of rights protected
freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion
who were the three philosophes that advocated some of the rights in the bill of rights?
voltaire, rosseau, and locke
why did the federalists support the constitution?
they thought the it would provide a better balance between national and state powers