What were the characteristics of colonial society by the 1750s?
Diverse religious denominations, absence of a hereditary aristocracy, growing non English population, acceptance of slavery, no rejection of the British monarchy.
What was required for voting and officeholding in Puritan New England?
Church Membership
How was slavery established in the colonies? Legally established in all colonies by the early 1700s
Legally established in all colonies by the early 1700s with enslaved people forming strong kinship and social networks despite forced separations.
What strengthened colonial British identity between 1650 and 1750? Trade
Trade, access to British goods, and shared wars.
What is Deism? The belief that God created the world but allowed it to run according to natural laws.
The belief that God created the world but allowed it to run according to natural laws.
What British actions followed the Seven Years’ War? Taxation of colonies to pay war debt
Taxation of colonies to pay war debt Proclamation of 1763 restricting westward settlement, Declaratory Act asserting Parliament’s authority, Currency Act controlling colonial money.
What forms of colonial resistance emerged against British taxation? Boycotts
protests
What was the significance of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense? It attacked monarchy and called for independence from Britain
building on earlier Patriot arguments.
What did John Adams claim about the American Revolution? He claimed it began in the colonists’ minds during the 1760s
before actual fighting broke out.
What were the main principles of the Declaration of Independence? Based on natural rights
accused King George III of tyranny
What were the initial goals of the Patriots during the Revolution? To defend rights as English subjects rather than seeking independence initially.
What caused the Revolutionary War? Competition between Britain and France
British taxation
What justified armed resistance in the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms? It outlined the reasons for taking up arms against British rule.
What were key factors in the American victory during the Revolutionary War? French military support
local Patriot mobilization
What did the Treaty of Paris (1783) accomplish? It ended the Revolutionary War and was negotiated by John Adams.
What were the strengths of the Articles of Confederation? Provided for statehood in western territories and established a roadmap for public schooling.
What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? Weak central government
inability to regulate interstate commerce
What was the purpose of the Constitutional Convention (1787)? To balance interests of large vs. small states and free vs. slave states
establishing separation of powers.
What compromise was reached regarding slavery during the Constitutional Convention? The ⅗ Compromise.
What were key features of the U.S. Constitution? Electoral College
checks and balances
What was the Whiskey Rebellion and how did Washington respond? A rebellion against the whiskey tax; Washington used military force to suppress it.
What was Republican Motherhood? The idea that women were responsible for raising virtuous citizens
leading to the later ‘cult of domesticity.’
What was the gradual emancipation in the North? Began around 1780
often slow and incomplete
What was the significance of the abolition of the international slave trade? Outlawed by Britain and the U.S. after 1800.
