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Enlightenment
The Age of Reason. The enlightenment period was an intellectual movement in Europe and the American colonies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, emphasizing a rational and scientific approach to problems; Enlightenment thinkers believed that human society could be perfected through the power of reason. -
Benjamin Franklin
Born January 17, 1706, Benjamin Franklin was a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor and diplomat. During the American Revolution, he served in the Second Continental Congress and helped draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He also negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War. -
Proclamation of 1763
At the end of the French and Indian War, the British issued a proclamation, mainly intended to make peace with the Indians by checking the territory of settlers on their lands. -
Stamp Act Congress
The stamp act was an act that put a tax on all paper documents in the colonies. The parliament repealed the act in 1766. -
Boston Massacre
On the 5th of March 1770, several men and boys were taunting a lone British sentry as he stood on duty near the Customs House in Boston. At the end of the brawl five colonists had been killed. The Boston Massacre is remembered as a key event in helping to motivate the colonial public to the Patriot cause. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was an attempt to assert the rights of the colonists while maintaining their loyalty to the British. -
Thomas Paine/ Common Sense
In Common Sense, Paine gave reasoning to why the colonies should sever all ties with England. This pamphlet publicly urged independence for the first time. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that "all men are created equal" and they had the rights to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." -
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Federalist Era
The Federalist Era is best remembered as the time when Americans successfully launched their bold new experiment in republican government. -
Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga lasted from September 19,1777 to October 13, 1777. Saratoga solidified American morale and encouraged new enlistments, the battle also captured the attention of the French, who began to think it might be possible for the small and underfunded Continental Army to beat the Redcoats -
French Alliance
In this treaty America and France promised that, unless the other country agreed, neither would enter into a treaty with Britain. France' support of the US proved to be crucial to America's victory in the Revolutionary War. -
Articles of Confederation
Under the Articles of confederation, the thirteen states established "a perpetual union" and a "firm league of friendship... for their common defense... and mutual and general welfare." -
Treaty of Paris 1783
"A final peace with the Americans." In this treaty, Britain formally recognized the US as "free sovereign and independent states." The treaty gave the US control over not just the thirteen colonies but all of the land from Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean, and from Canada to Spanish Florida. -
Federalist vs Anti-federalists
The federalists were for ratification whereas the anti federalist disagreed with them worrying that a strong, central government would override the public good and impose tyranny on the people. -
3/5 Compromise
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a constitutional agreement between slaveholding and nonslaveholding states providing that, for purposes of taxation and representation, slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person -
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
After the Revolution many northern states had outlawed slavery. All of the founders of the Constitutional Convention knew that slavery was wrong. Although they were opposed to slavery, in practice they did not know what to do about it. They eventually decided that they should just ignore it. The words "slavery" and "slave" never appear in the Constitution. -
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Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion alarmed leading citizens in many states. It raised threat of citizens taking up arms against their own governments. -
The Great Compromise/ Connecticut Compromise
The Great Compromise was an agreement at the 1787 Constitutional Convention that established the system of representation in which each state would have two representatives in the Senate and representation in the house based off of population. Known as the Connecticut Compromise because it was proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut. -
Ratification
Ratification was when the Constitution was trying to get all states to ratify (sign or give formal consent.) Once complete states started to prepare to elect the first president in the US. -
Bill of Rights
Most state constitution included a bill of rights- a section that listed specific liberties the government could not take away. The Constitutional Convention decided against a bill of rights because Madison and the others insisted that the states and the people retained all the right and powers not specifically granted to the federal government.
