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French and Indian War
SUMMARY: Conflict between the English colonists and the allied Native groups and French; lasted seven years; fought within the Ohio River Valley
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Mercantilism
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Proclamation line of 1863 -
Pontiac's Rebellion
SUMMARY: Chief Pontiac of the Odawa people led a major rebellion against the colonists who were moving westward into their land
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Westward expansion of colonizers
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Proclamation line of 1763 -
Stamp Act
SUMMARY: Required that all revenue papers have a stamp placed on them; the first direct tax as opposed to imported good taxes
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Help pay for British troops staying in colonies during French and Indian War
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Taxation without representation -
Declaratory Act
SUMMARY: Asserted that Parliament had the right to tax and make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever"
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: assert the authority of the British government to tax its subjects in Americas after it repealed the much-hated Stamp Act
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: End of salutary neglect -
Tea Act
SUMMARY: Enabled the Dutch East India Company a monopoly on selling tea in the colonies, complicating the colonists’ ability to buy cheaper tea elsewhere
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Support the East India Company
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Strong colonial resentment -
First Continental Congress
SUMMARY: Communion of delegates from all colonies (except Georgia) to a convention in Philadelphia, passed the Suffolk Resolves, Declaration and Resolves, Continental Association, and stated Second Continental Congress would meet in 1775 if colonial rights weren't recognized by then
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Coercive Acts (1774)
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Boycotting British goods -
Boston Tea Party
SUMMARY: A direct response to British taxation policies and the Tea Act in which the colonists expressed their opposition by throwing 342 crates of British tea into the Boston Harbor
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: British taxation policies regarding tea
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Growing tension between British parliament and American population -
Second Continental Congress
SUMMARY: Meeting in Philadelphia that approved the creation of a professional Continental Army to defend the American colonies, appointed George Washington as the commander in chief of the army
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Violence broke out between British troops and colonists in Massachusetts
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Created US Army -
Declaration of Independence
SUMMARY: Developed by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, eventually adopted on July 4, 1776 to declare that the colonies were calling for independence from the British monarchy
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Infractions of colonial rights by British parliament
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Official declaration of freedom from Britain by the American colonists -
Articles of Confederation
SUMMARY: Written by John Dickinson and adopted by Congress in 1777, the Articles set guidelines for the governments of each state
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Uncertainties between state government structures
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Loose sovereign of states, set outline for Constitution -
Treaty of Paris
SUMMARY: Agreement signed by colonial American and Great Britain, stating Britain would recognize the existence of the United States as independent, the Mississippi River would be the western boundary of that nation, Americans would have fishing rights off the coast of Canada, and Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants and honor Loyalist claims for property confiscated during the war
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: French and Indian War
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: American freedom -
Constitutional Convention
SUMMARY: Event in Philadelphia that address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Weaknesses within the Article of Confederation
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Established a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting relations with foreign government -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
SUMMARY: Congressional policy that set rules for creating new states; granted limited self-government to developing territories and prohibited enslavement
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Uncertainty as to how to divy up western land and dictate laws
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Guaranteed that newly created states would be equal to the original thirteen states -
Constitution
SUMMARY: Signed in September 1787, the Constitution aimed to establish a central government strong enough to hold thirteen states together
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Ineffective Articles of Confederation
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Basis of all decisions made in modern US government -
Ratification of the United States
SUMMARY: When the Constitution was ratified
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Discontinuities between state governments
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Set the basis for the system of governing at the national and state level -
Proclamation of Neutrality
SUMMARY: Issued by President Washington, stated that the infant US wasn't to get involved with foreign conflict
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: French Revolution
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Kept the United States out of a war it wasn't prepared for -
Whiskey Rebellion
SUMMARY: Rebellion leaded by a group of farmers who refused to pay the federal excise tax on whiskey in 1794; quickly ended after 15,000 state militiamen under the command of Hamilton
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Federal excise tax on whiskey
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Represented the fear that resonated with lawmakers around the nation when they were setting the boundaries of Congress -
Jay's Treaty
SUMMARY: An agreement was reached in which British ships were to be evacuated from their posts on the US western shore
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Conflicts regarding trade between the US and Britain
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Restricted US commercial access to the British West Indies -
Pinckney's Treaty
SUMMARY: Spain agreed to open the lower Mississippi River and New Orleans to American trade in 1795, along with accepting the claim that Florida's northern boundary should be at the 31st parallel
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Land dispute between Spain and US
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Allowed the US to more easily access trade routes and more systematically categorize state boundaries -
Washington's Farewell Address
SUMMARY: Written address outlining policies and practices that he considered unwise for Americans: getting involved in European affairs, making "permanent alliances" in foreign affairs, form political parties, and fall into sectionalism
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Weak and susceptible condition of US
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Exhorted Americans to set aside their violent likes and dislikes of foreign nations -
XYZ Affair
SUMMARY: An attempt to resolve issues with the French who were seizing US merchant ships; unnamed French ministers nicknamed X, Y, and Z demanded bribes to enter negotiations
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Signing of the Jay Treaty between the US and Great Britain
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Upset American population -
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
SUMMARY: Resolutions adopted by Virginia and Kentucky legislatures that essentially put the Alien and Sedition Acts out of practice in those states
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Alien and Sedition Acts
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Helped establish the practice of being able to declare acts of federal government as unconstitutional -
Alien and Sedition Acts
SUMMARY: Acts that authorized the president to deport "aliens considered dangerous and detain enemy aliens in the time of war" and made it illegal for newspaper editors to criticize either the president or Congress, punished through fines or imprisonment
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Federalist ideals
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Gave the president the right to essentially control the media and the income of people into their land -
Election of 1800
SUMMARY: Democratic-Republican lawmakers quickly overthrew the Federalist majority by taking control of both the House and the Senate
SIGNIFICANT CAUSE: Required by Constitution
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT: Two-party system