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Pontiac's Rebellion
After several British colonies continued in their expansion into the Western territory, a group of Indians rose up and attempted to kill them so that they would stop invading their homes. This series of rebellion includes the burning of several colonists forts in the area and only ended when Pontiac was killed. This took place after the French-Indian War. -
Stamp Act's Congress
This was the first meeting of the American colonists in the attempts of getting Britain to treat them fairly and reduce the amount of heavy taxation that were being imposed onto them. This came after all of the American colonists had to pay a tax which was written in the form of a stamp, hence the name. -
Intolerable Acts
The intolerable acts were punitive laws passed by British parliament in the aims of punishing any participants-specifically Massachusetts colonists-involved in the Boston Tea Party where loads of British imports on tea were dumped into the harbor. This came after heavy taxation on the colonists and contributed to the American Revolution. -
Minutemen
Given their name for their quick ability and accessibility, the minutemen were typically young men 25 years or younger who showed a particular interest and enthusiasm towards winning the American Revolution. They were hand picked to be apart of this militia by their leading officers and helped win the war by carrying the necessary supplies and information across the colonies. -
Declaration of Independence
This document entitles citizens of the United States to what's called unalienable rights, to that of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It lists out the country's purpose in separating from Britain and lists the colonists grievances against the King. It lets the people know that as their government they want to listen to what the people have to say and sets up the foundation of democracy. -
'Common Sense'
This book, written by Thomas Paine, during the enlightenment period was meant to convince America to free themselves from British Rule and establish an independent government which would serve to protect their natural rights. -
Articles of Confederation
The purpose of this document was to outline the kind of government that America wanted to establish, however they forgot to put certain power there such as the government lacking the power to impose taxes on its citizens. -
Battle of Saratoga
This was a British defeat in the American Revolution, that while having arguably prolonged the war, it was a significant turning point towards independence. The colonists convinced the French to join them in attacking Britain, which helped them win. -
Battle of Yorktown
This was another British defeat following the Battle of Saratoga, but in this case the British surrendered under American arms, and this battle was the last to be fought during the American Revolution and brought it to an end. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
This treaty signified the end to the American Revolution and was signed by King George III's representatives and representatives of the United States, it showed that the U.S. was formally its own country and separated ties with their former rulers. (Signed in Paris.) -
3/5's Compromise
This was a compromise between the Southern and the Northern states because slaves were said to count as 3/5's of a person, which would enable the Southern states to have a larger representation in congress but not as much as they would've had given that they counted slaves as a whole human. This also gave them a third more of electoral votes. -
Federalists
This was America's first political party and was composed of people who wanted to have a ratification on the Constitution and create a stronger central government, obviously they won and the Bill of Rights got added in. -
Anti-Federalists
This was the opposing political party of the Federalists, who voted against the ratification of the Constitution and believed that the government shouldn't have too much power, mainly in fear of the oppressive government which they had just fled. They believed that most of the power should be in state and local governments to help the people, but they were unsuccessful and the Bill of Rights was added. -
Checks and Balances
To prevent the government from over exercising its hand, the system of checks and balances was created. This system rotates through the three branches of government; judiciary, legislative, and executive. Judiciary has the power to review laws and uphold the constitution and the other two can try to create laws but it needs to be approved by all the other branches in order to get officially passed. The judges and presidents can be impeached if found that they aren't doing their duty correctly. -
Judiciary Act
This is when the Supreme Court and a system of respected judges was established by George Washington, he enabled the country to have a Supreme Court where cases of the constitution could be called into question and law. He still allowed for the other parts of federal government to have power which would turn out as checks and balances. -
Whiskey Rebellion
This rebellion occurred after a tax on whiskey had been imposed and the people tried to fight it, which called into question the real authority of the government, however it shortly collapsed after President Washington sent the militia out to stop it. It took place in Western Pennsylvania. -
Neutrality
This proclamation would help keep America out of unwanted wars and set a precedent for how foreign policy should be handled. It meant that in a war, America would not pick a side to fight for in the hopes that America would only be fighting for itself. -
Washington's Farewell Address
After leading the country into newfound independence and helping America win the war and then establish a successful government, it was time for George Washington to step down, seeing that he had already served his full term in government. When he gave his farewell address he warned to any future president against joining in foreign affairs, which contributed to America having a long standing isolationist policy. He also warns the people of how the government may try to become too powerful. -
Aliens and Sedition Acts
These acts came into place during Adams presidency with the help of the Federalist congress and made it easier to deport foreign immigrants and harder for them to gain the right to vote. -
Revolution of 1800
Nicknamed by Thomas Jefferson, this "revolution" was meant to signify the change in government from one political party to the next as he won the election.
