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Bacon's Rebellion
A war against Native Americans resulting in many deaths and lands taken. -
2. Great Awakening
Puritanism had declined by the 1730s, and people were upset about the decline in religious piety. The Great Awakening was a sudden outbreak of religious fervor that swept through the colonies. One of the first events to unify the colonies. -
Pontiac's Rebellion
During the French and Indian War, Chief Pontiac gathered Native American groups to capture British posts. Indians came to a peace agreement and British took control of the land after Indians lost -
Declaratory Act
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and passed this act which reaffirmed Parliament's right to "bind" the colonies. -
Boston Massacre
In March 1770, a crowd of colonists protested against British customs agents and the presence of British troops in Boston. Violence flared and five colonists were killed. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty organized an event where colonists dressed up as Indians would board British ships to throw away tea into the Boston Harbor -
Coercive Acts
These are also known as Intolerable Acts. These acts were the response to the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts were seen by American colonists as a blueprint for a British plan to deny the Americans representative government. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress on July 4, 1776. drafted by Thomas Jefferson, it formalized the colonies' separation from Britain and laid out the Enlightenment values (best expressed by John Locke) of natural rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" upon which the American Revolution was based. -
British lose at Saratoga
This is the point of the war where America proved to France that America is capable of winning over the British. This led to the involvement of France in the American Revolution -
Articles of Confederation
Adopted in 1777 during the Revolutionary War, the Articles established the United States of America. The Articles granted limited powers to the central government, reserving most powers for the states. The result was a poorly defined national state that couldn't govern the country's finances or maintain stability. The Constitution replaced them in 1789. -
Shay's Rebellion
A rebellion by former veterans of the revolutionary war who did not receive enough compensation to sustain a life after the war. Tax collectors were not very sympathetic towards the vets and these conflicts became known as Shay's Rebellion, and small armies were raised prepared to fight. This rebellion was squashed by Jefferson who feared that it would get out of hand, and therefore prevented any further problems. This showed that there was going to be no deconstruction of the new empire. -
Constitutional Convention
Congress called for the states to send delegates to Philadelphia to amend the Articles of Confederation. Delegates came to the convention in May 1787, and drafted an entirely new framework that would give greater powers to the central government. This document became the Constitution. -
Constitution
The Constitution outlines the operation and central principles of American government. As opposed to the Articles of Confederation, which it replaced, the Constitution created a strong central government with which broad judicial, legislative, and executive powers, though it purposely restricted the extent of these powers through a system of checks and balances. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
These consist of four laws passed by the Federalist Congress and signed by President Adams in 1798 to limit the people from banning his party members from political powers -
Citizen Genet
A thirty-year-old representative of the French republic that landed at Charleston, South Carolina, who took advantage of the existing Franco-American alliance by fitting out privateers. Represented foolish misconception that the Neutrality Proclamation did not reflect the wishes of the people. -
Whiskey's Rebellion
Homespun pioneers of western Pennsylvania rebelled against Hamilton's high excise tax bore. President Washington called upon the militia, and 13000 men from different states answered the call. When the militia reached Western Pennsylvania, the rebellion had already cooled down. Displayed the power of the central government, which was able to summon a force from different colonies to fight for the federal government. -
Louisiana Purchase
U.S. acquisition of the Louisiana territory from France in 1803 for $15 million. The purchase secured American control of the Mississippi river and doubled the size of the nation. -
Embargo Act
In response to British attack on American warship of the coast of Virginia, this 1807 law prohibited foreign commerce. -
Non-Intercourse Act
Replaced the Embargo of 1807. Unlike the Embargo, which forbade American trade with all foreign nations, this act only forbade trade with France and Britain. It did not succeed in changing British or French policy towards neutral ships, so it was replaced by Macon's Bill No. 2. -
War of 1812
British impressment of sailors, British seizure of neutral American trading ships, and the reasons given by the War Hawks (the British were inciting the Indians on the frontier to attack the Americans, and the war would allow the U.S. to seize the northwest posts, Florida, and possibly Canada). -
Treaty of Ghent
Ended the War of 1812 and restored the status quo. For the most part, territory captured in the war was returned to the original owner. It also set up a commission to determine the disputed Canada/U.S. border. -
Missouri Compromise
Admitted Missouri as a slave state and at the same time admitted Maine as a free state. Declared that all territory north of the 36°30" latitude would become free states, and all territory south of that latitude would become slave states. -
Monroe Doctrine
Declared that Europe should not interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere and that any attempt at interference by a European power would be seen as a threat to the U.S. -
U.S. acquires California from Mexico
U.S. won California from Mexico in a battle
