A. THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, 1754-1763
1. As a result of the French and Indian War, France relinquished its North American empire. England now dominated lands east of the Mississippi, as well as parts of Canada.
2. The French and Indian War was a pivotal point in America's relationship with Great Britain, because it led Great Britain to impose revenue taxes on the colonies.
B. THE PROCLAMATION OF 1763
1. The Proclamation of 1763 forbade British colonists to cross an imaginary boundary along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains.
2. The primary purpose of the Proclamation of 1763 was to avoid conflict between the trans-Appalachian Indians and British colonists seeking inexpensive land.
C. STAMP ACT, 1765
1. The act's primary purpose was to raise revenue to support British troops stationed in America.
2. The issues raised were these:
• Does Parliament have the right to tax the colonies?
• Can Parliament truly reflect colonial interests?
3. A debate was provoked over the issue, "no taxation without representation."
4. The act was important for the following reasons:
• The colonists demonstrated their willingness to use violence rather than legal means to frustrate British policy.
• The British maintained that the colonies had no right to independence from parliamentary authority.
• Patriot leaders claimed that the act denied them their British birthrights.
• Many colonists believed they were entitled to all the rights and privileges of British subjects.
5. The act was repealed because of a colonial boycott of British exports.
D. THE COERCIVE ACTS, 1774
1. The Coercive Acts were Parliament's angry response to the Boston Tea Party.
2. They were designed to punish Massachusetts in general and Boston in particular. Massachusetts lost many of its chartered rights, and the Port of Boston was closed until damages caused by the Tea Party were paid.
E. "COMMON SENSE," 1776
1. "Common Sense" was a political pamphlet written by Thomas Paine.
2. The pamphlet was a strongly worded call for independence from Great Britain.
3. Paine opposed monarchy (he called King George a Pharaoh!) and strongly favored republican government.
4. Paine offered a vigorous defense of republican principles.
5. Paine's words helped overcome the loyalty many still felt for the monarchy and the mother country.
6. Paine used biblical analogies and references to illustrate his arguments.
F. ENLIGHTENMENT
1. Enlightenment is an eighteenth-century philosophy stressing that reason can be used to improve the human condition.
2. Enlightenment thinkers, such as Thomas Jefferson, stressed the idea of natural rights—an idea that can be seen clearly in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
3. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were representative examples of American Enlightenment thinkers.
G. DEISM
1. Deism is the belief that God created a universe that is governed by natural law.
2. These natural laws can be discovered by the use of human reason.
H. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 1776
1. The authors of the Declaration of Independence used the philosophy of natural rights, derived from the writings of John Locke.
2. The authors appealed to the sympathies of the English people.
3. They accused George III of tyranny.
A. REASONS COLONISTS SUPPORTED THE WAR
1. The colonists believed that George III was a tyrant.
2. They believed that Parliament wanted to control the internal affairs of the colonies without the consent of the colonists.
3. They were convinced that British ministers and other government officials had a corrupting influence on the colonists.
4. They wanted greater political participation in policies affecting the colonies.
5. They resented the quartering of British troops in colonial homes.
6. They wanted to preserve their local autonomy and way of life from British interference.
B. THE FRENCH-AMERICAN ALLIANCE AND THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA, 1777
1. The Battle of Saratoga was important because it convinced the French government to declare war on Great Britain and openly aid the American cause.
2. French military and financial assistance played a key role in enabling America to win the Revolutionary War.
3. French leaders were not motivated by a commitment to republican ideals. Their primary motivation was to weaken the British Empire.
4. The French-American Alliance influenced the British to offer generous peace terms in the Treaty of Paris.
TEST TIP
APUSH test writers rarely ask questions about battles, but the Battle of Saratoga is an exception. Although you are not expected to know the military tactics or commanders, you are expected to know the consequences of this pivotal battle.
C. THE TREATY OF PARIS, 1783
1. The treaty established America's new boundaries. The United States stretched west to the Mississippi, north to the Great Lakes, and south to Spanish Florida.
2. America agreed that Loyalists would not be further persecuted.
• FROM THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION TO THE CONSTITUTION
A. THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
1. The writers of the Articles of Confederation were cautious about giving the new government powers they had just denied Parliament.
2. Weaknesses in the Articles included the following:
• A lack of authority to tax
• A lack of authority to exercise authority directly over the states
3. The most important accomplishment was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. That ordinance did the following:
• Provided for the orderly creation of territorial governments and new states (Ohio was the first state admitted to the Union from the Northwest Territory.)
• Excluded slavery north of the Ohio River
• Supported public education
B. SHAYS' REBELLION, 1786
1. The rebellion was sparked by the economic frustrations of Massachusetts farmers who were losing their farms because they could not pay debts in hard currency.
2. The leaders of Shays' Rebellion sought these changes:
• An end to farm foreclosures
• An end to imprisonment for debt
• Relief from oppressively high taxation
• Increased circulation of paper money
3. The leaders of Shays' Rebellion did not attempt to overthrow the government of Massachusetts.
4. Shays' Rebellion helped convince key leaders that the Articles of Confederation were too weak and that the United States needed a stronger central government.
C. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
1. The Constitution was the result of a series of compromises that created a government acceptable to large and small states, as well as to free and slave states.
2. The following provisions were in the Constitution, as submitted to the states in 1787:
• The separation of powers, which organizes the national government into three branches
• The authority of Congress to declare war
• A guarantee of the legality of slavery
CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW
• The creation of an Electoral College to safeguard the presidency from direct popular election
• Provision for impeachment of the President
• Provision for the presidential State of the Union message
• Provision for ratifying the Constitution
• Federalism
• A bicameral legislature, as created by the Great Compromise
• Enumeration of the powers of Congress
• The Three-Fifths Compromise (Slaves counted as three- fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation.)
3. The following provisions were not in the Constitution, as submitted to the states in 1787:
• A two-term limit for presidents
• Universal manhood suffrage
• A presidential cabinet
• The direct election of senators
• Guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press (added in the Bill of Rights)
• The right to a speedy and public trial (added in the Bill of Rights)
• The idea of political parties (The framers opposed political parties. They believed that political parties promoted selfish interests, caused divisions, and thus threatened the existence of republican government.)
TEST TIP
APUSH test writers often qualify their questions on the Constitution with the phrase, "as ratified in 1788." Remember, the Bill of Rights was not part of the Constitution, as ratified in 1788. As a result, guarantees of freedom of speech and press were not part of the Constitution when it was ratified. Always read each question carefully, paying special attention to qualifying phrases.
D. THE FEDERALIST PAPERS, 1787
1. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison wrote the Federalist Papers (sometimes known as The Federalist) to support ratification of the Constitution of 1787.
2. The prevailing conventional wisdom was challenged when Madison and Hamilton asserted that a large republic offered the best protection of minority rights. "In an expanding Republic," wrote Madison, "so many different groups and viewpoints would be included in the Congress that tyranny by the majority would be impossible."
E. ANTI-FEDERALISTS
1. Those opposed to federalism feared that a strong central government would become tyrannical.
2. Opponents of federalism did the following:
• Drew support primarily from rural areas
• Argued that the President would have too much power
• Feared that Congress would levy heavy taxes
• Feared that the government would raise a standing army
• Believed that the new national government would overwhelm the states
• Argued that individual rights needed to be protected