Lesson 6
What is Parliament?
The legislative, or law-making body, of British Government
What were some of the taxes that the colonists were upset about?
Name at least 2
Sugar Act
Stamp Act
Tea Act
When was the Declaration of Independence passed and who was the main author?
July 4th, 1776
Thomas Jefferson
Which state was the first state to outlaw slavery in their bill of rights?
Vermont
Name a weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
100 points for every correct weakness
No power to collect taxes = no money
No power to regulate trade between states, No power to regulate foreign trade
No national army, No power to enforce national laws
No national court system or central leader
What are unwritten laws in Britain based on tradition, customs, and judicial actions?
Common Law
What were the names of one of the three groups organized to resist British authority?
Daughters of Liberty
Sons of Liberty
Committees of Correspondence
What was the Shot Heard 'Round the World?
Name 2 of the rights guaranteed by the Virginia Declaration of Rights.
Trial by jury, Freedom of the press, Freedom of religion, No cruel and unusual punishment
Freedom of speech and press, No taxation without representation, right to an attorney, no illegal search and seizure.
What were the Articles of Confederation? How were they organized?
It was our first form of a national constitution from 1781-1787. It created a weak national government and gave more power to the state governments. It only had a legislative branch of government (congress). There was no executive branch or judicial branch. Each state had one vote in congress
What is the English document that limited the King's power in England. Explained that the government is based on a contract between the ruler and the ruled - both sides must obey the rule of law
Magna Carta (1215)
What were the Writs of Assistance?
Double points possible if you could name the famous story I told in class about the Writs of Assistance.
Documents that allowed colonial ships to be searched and seized by British authority. No search warrants were necessary to search the ship.
What were the two main ideals or beliefs written in the Declaration of Independence
"All men are created equal"
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"
When was the Massachusetts Constitution adopted and who was the main author?
1780, John Adams
What is the Northwest Ordinance and how did it work?
It was a law passed in 1787 that prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory. It set up a system of statehood for the new region of the Northwest United States.
The system included having a minimum population of 60,000, a system of public education, and slavery being outlawed.
What is the "rule of law?"
Explain what happened at either the Boston Massacre or Boston Tea Party. Explain in the most detail possible for full credit
BM: British soldiers killed 5 Boston protesters on March 5th, 1770. They were protesting the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, and the presence of British soldiers. Crispus Attucks was the first African American killed in the American Revolution
BTP: The colonists dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor to protest British policy. They destroyed over $2 million in tea.
Briefly explain one of the two main battles of the Revolutionary War
Battle of Saratoga: Americans defeated the British in New York. It was considered a turning point in the war because the Americans gained the French as allies.
Battle of Trenton and Princeton: George Washington defeated British and Hessian allies using sneak attacks in New Jersey. This boosted colonial spirits during the war.
How was the Massachusetts Constitution different from the other state constitutions?
They divided power more evenly among the 3 branches. The executive branch, or the governor, had more power than the legislature.
Explain what happened during Shays Rebellion.
A Massachusetts farmer named Daniel Shays and 2,000 others rebelled against high state taxes and farm foreclosures by attempting to capture the Springfield Armory and take over the courts. The rebellion failed.
Explain briefly how the Feudal system works
It is a system of social, economic, and political organization based on the control of the land.
The royalty (king or queen) gives the nobility (upper-class noblemen) the power to control the land that the royalty owns. The nobility allows the common people to work on the land.
Explain the difference between the First and Second Continental Congress
Both congresses met in Philadelphia. The First Continental Congress responded to the British by boycotting British trade and action. The Second Continental Congress organized the Continental Army with George Washington
What was the importance of the Treaty of Paris? What did we gain from the treaty?
The Treaty of Paris is important because it ended the war between Great Britain and the colonists. It gave the United States its freedom and independence The United States gained new land east to the Mississippi River, north to British Canada, and south the Spanish Florida
Define Legislative Supremacy.
A type of government where the legislative branch (the lawmakers) has the most power.
What was the importance of Shays Rebellion to American History? What was the outcome of the rebellion?