AMERICAN REVOLUTION: ACTS AND OTHER THINGS

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Proclamation of 1763 Passed after Britain gained French territory; forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. Stamp Act (1765) Required colonists to purchase and use specially stamped paper for newspapers, licenses, legal documents, and more. Declaratory Act (1766) Asserted Parliament’s full authority to make laws binding the colonies “in all cases whatsoever,” even after repealing the Stamp Act. Townshend Acts (1767) Placed duties on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea; revenue used to pay royal officials. Tea Act (1773) Gave the British East India Company exclusive rights to sell tea in America, triggering the Boston Tea Party. Intolerable Acts (1774) British law that closed Boston Harbor and revoked Massachusetts' self-government in response to the Boston Tea Party. Common Sense (1776) Written by Thomas Paine, this pamphlet urged American colonists to break away from monarchy and establish an independent republic. Olive Branch Petition (1775) A petition sent by the Second Continental Congress as a final attempt to avoid war with Britain. Declaration of Independence (1776) Asserted the colonies’ independence from Britain and outlined Enlightenment ideals of liberty and government by consent. Articles of Confederation (1781) First governing document of the United States; created a loose alliance of sovereign states with a weak central government. Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) A foundational American document asserting individual rights, which heavily influenced later documents like the U.S. Bill of Rights. Constitution of the United States (1787) Replaced the Articles of Confederation with a stronger federal government structure including separation of powers and checks and balances. Bill of Rights (1791) The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing civil liberties such as freedom of speech and religion. Treaty of Paris (1783) Treaty that officially ended the American Revolution and recognized U.S. independence from Britain. Northwest Ordinance (1787) Governing plan that set up rules for admitting new states from the western territories and banned slavery in the Northwest Territory. Treaty of Alliance (1778) Agreement that established formal military alliance and mutual defense between France and the U.S. during the war. Federalist Papers (1787–88) Series of essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay to promote ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Shay’s Rebellion (1786–87) An uprising of poor farmers in Massachusetts that exposed weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and prompted calls for a stronger central government. 3/5 Compromise (1787) Agreement during the Constitutional Convention that counted enslaved persons as part of a state’s population for representation and taxation. Great Compromise (1787) Resolved disputes at the Constitutional Convention by creating a bicameral legislature — equal representation in Senate, proportional in House.