The unit on one page

Three chapters, thirteen College Board topics. Keep this map in your head the whole way through.

The whole unit in one chain

Memorize this storyline before anything else. Every link causes the next one, and almost every essay prompt in this unit is really asking you to explain one of these arrows. The border style tells you which chapter each link lives in.

Master timeline, 1754 to 1801

Two halves, one story. Drag sideways to move through time and scroll or pinch to zoom. In the first half, watch the “Britain acts” and “Colonists respond” lanes answer each other like a conversation that keeps getting louder; in the second, watch the new nation build (and rebuild) its government while the wars wind down.

Part 1: from empire to independence, 1754 to 1776

Part 2: winning the war and building a nation, 1776 to 1801

Learning objectives

By the end of this guide you will be able to:

• Explain how the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) changed the relationship between Britain and its colonies, and why it ended salutary neglect.
• Trace the escalation from 1763 to 1774: every major British act, what it did, and exactly how colonists resisted it.
• Explain how Enlightenment ideas (Locke’s natural rights, the social contract, republicanism) and Common Sense turned tax protests into a movement for independence.
• Narrate the Revolutionary War from Lexington to Yorktown, explain why the Americans won, and state the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1783).
• Evaluate how revolutionary ideals changed life (and failed to change it) for women, enslaved and free African Americans, and Native Americans.
• Describe the Articles of Confederation: its structure, real accomplishments (the Land and Northwest Ordinances), and the weaknesses exposed by Shays’ Rebellion.
• Explain the compromises of the Constitutional Convention, the principles of the Constitution, the ratification fight, and why the Bill of Rights exists.
• Analyze Washington’s and Adams’s presidencies: Hamilton’s financial plan, the first political parties, neutrality, the Whiskey Rebellion, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the Election of 1800.
• Build continuity and change arguments for the whole period: the Revolution transformed politics far more than it transformed society.

TL;DR

Britain won the Seven Years’ War (1754-1763) and took France’s North American empire in the Treaty of Paris (1763), but its debt nearly doubled, so it ended salutary neglect and made the colonists pay: the Proclamation of 1763 (after Pontiac’s Rebellion), the Sugar Act, Quartering Act, and the Stamp Act (the first direct tax). Colonists answered with the Stamp Act Congress, the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, and boycotts, won a repeal, and then got the Declaratory Act (Parliament can legislate “in all cases whatsoever”). The Townshend Acts brought Dickinson’s Letters, the Circular Letter, and more boycotts; the Boston Massacre (1770) and Tea Party (1773) led to the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774), which united the colonies instead of isolating Massachusetts. Enlightenment ideas (Locke: natural rights, consent, the right of revolution) and Paine’s Common Sense turned protest into independence (July 4, 1776). After early losses, Saratoga (1777) won the French alliance, and Yorktown (1781) won the war; the Treaty of Paris (1783) set the border at the Mississippi. The Articles of Confederation won the war and passed the Northwest Ordinance but could not tax or regulate trade, and Shays’ Rebellion (1786-87) proved it. The Constitution (1787) fixed that through compromises (Great, Three-Fifths, Commerce) and federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances; Federalists beat Anti-Federalists by promising the Bill of Rights (1791). Washington set precedents, Hamilton’s financial plan split the nation into the first political parties (Federalists vs Democratic-Republicans), and foreign wars tested neutrality. Adams survived the XYZ Affair but passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, provoking the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, and the Election of 1800 handed power peacefully to Jefferson: the “Revolution of 1800.”

Glossary

Every one of these can appear on your test. Hover each card now, then drill the flashcards at the end until they are automatic.

Seven Years' War / French and Indian War (1754-1763) The last of four wars between Britain and France for empire. It started in the Ohio River Valley, spread worldwide, and ended with Britain in control of eastern North America. Albany Plan of Union (1754) Benjamin Franklin’s plan for an intercolonial government to raise troops and taxes for the war. Every colony rejected it to protect its own taxing power, but it set a precedent for the revolutionary congresses. Treaty of Paris (1763) Ended the French and Indian War. Britain gained French Canada and Spanish Florida; France gave Louisiana to Spain. French power on the continent was finished. Salutary neglect Britain’s pre-1763 habit of loosely enforcing its trade laws and letting colonies govern themselves. Its end after 1763 is the starting gun of the Revolution. Pontiac's Rebellion (1763) An Ohio Valley alliance of Native nations, led by the Ottawa chief Pontiac, that destroyed British forts and settlements after the war. Britain used regular troops, not colonists, to crush it. Proclamation of 1763 Banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to prevent more frontier wars. Colonists who had fought for that land were furious and crossed the line anyway. Direct vs indirect tax An indirect (external) tax is a duty on imports paid by merchants and folded into prices. A direct (internal) tax is paid by ordinary people on things they use. The Stamp Act was the first direct tax Parliament ever laid on the colonies. Virtual representation Parliament’s claim that every member represents every British subject, so colonists were “virtually” represented even though they elected no one. Colonists insisted only their own elected assemblies could tax them. Stamp Act Congress (1765) Delegates from nine colonies met in New York, pledged loyalty to the king, and resolved that only their own elected representatives could tax them. Sons and Daughters of Liberty Protest groups formed against the Stamp Act. The Sons intimidated tax collectors (tar and feathers); the Daughters powered the boycotts by spinning homespun cloth to replace British goods. Declaratory Act (1766) Passed alongside the Stamp Act’s repeal. It asserted Parliament’s right to tax and legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” Colonists celebrated the repeal and missed the warning. Townshend Acts (1767) Import duties on tea, glass, paper, lead, and paint. The revenue paid royal officials (freeing them from colonial assemblies), and writs of assistance allowed searches of private homes. Writs of assistance General search warrants letting customs officials search any building for smuggled goods, instead of a judge’s warrant naming one specific place. Remember them when you reach the 4th Amendment. Committees of Correspondence (1772) Samuel Adams’s letter-writing network that spread news of British actions town to town, then colony to colony (1773). The wiring of intercolonial unity. Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774) Parliament’s punishment for the Boston Tea Party: closed Boston’s port, gutted the Massachusetts legislature, moved trials of royal officials to Britain, and expanded quartering. With the Quebec Act, colonists called them the Intolerable Acts. Natural rights and the social contract John Locke’s theory: people are born with rights to life, liberty, and property, and create governments by consent to protect them. A government that violates those rights can be altered or overthrown. Republicanism The belief in government by elected representatives of the people, sustained by civic virtue and hostile to monarchy, aristocracy, and concentrated power. Common Sense (1776) Thomas Paine’s pamphlet attacking monarchy itself and arguing in plain, emotional language for immediate independence. It pushed thousands of undecided colonists toward a break. Olive Branch Petition (1775) The Second Continental Congress’s last appeal to George III, pledging loyalty and asking for peace. The king refused to read it and declared the colonies in rebellion. Loyalists (Tories) Colonists who stayed loyal to the king, roughly 20 to 30 percent of the population, strongest in New York, New Jersey, and Georgia. About 80,000 left the country after the war. Battle of Saratoga (1777) The American victory in upstate New York that convinced France to openly ally with the United States in 1778. The turning point of the war. Republican Motherhood The post-Revolution ideal that women served the republic by raising virtuous, educated citizens. It raised the value of women’s education without granting women political rights. Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) The first national constitution: a one-house Congress, one vote per state, no executive, no national courts, and no power to tax or regulate trade. Deliberately weak. Northwest Ordinance (1787) The Articles’ greatest achievement: a process for turning the territory between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes into equal new states, with slavery prohibited there. Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787) Massachusetts farmers, crushed by debt and state taxes, shut down courts and attacked the Springfield armory. The national government could do nothing, which convinced leaders the Articles had to go. Great (Connecticut) Compromise Roger Sherman’s solution to the big-state vs small-state fight: a House of Representatives by population and a Senate with two members per state. Three-Fifths Compromise Counted each enslaved person as three-fifths of a person for representation and direct taxes, boosting slave states’ power in the House while denying enslaved people any rights. Federalists vs Anti-Federalists Supporters of ratifying the Constitution and a strong national government (Hamilton, Madison, Jay) vs opponents who feared central power and demanded a bill of rights (George Mason, Patrick Henry). Bill of Rights (1791) The first ten amendments, drafted mainly by Madison to win over Anti-Federalists: speech, religion, press, arms, no quartering, no unreasonable searches, due process, jury trials, and reserved powers. Hamilton's financial plan Pay the national debt at face value and assume the states’ debts, protect infant industries with tariffs, fund it with excise taxes (whiskey), and charter a Bank of the United States. Loose vs strict construction Loose (Hamilton): the “necessary and proper” clause lets Congress use implied powers, like chartering a bank. Strict (Jefferson): Congress may do only what the Constitution explicitly lists. Whiskey Rebellion (1794) Western Pennsylvania farmers resisted the federal whiskey tax; Washington sent about 15,000 militiamen and the revolt collapsed. Proof the new government could enforce its laws. Jay's Treaty and Pinckney's Treaty (1794-1795) Jay’s got Britain to leave its western forts but said nothing about impressment (unpopular, but it kept the peace). Pinckney’s got Spain to open the Mississippi and New Orleans to American trade (hugely popular). XYZ Affair (1797-1798) French agents demanded bribes before they would even negotiate with American diplomats. Public fury led to the undeclared Quasi-War with France, but Adams avoided a full war. Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) Federalist laws that lengthened the wait for citizenship from 5 to 14 years, let the president deport “dangerous” aliens, and made criticizing the government a crime. Aimed at Democratic-Republicans. Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (1798) Secretly written by Jefferson (Kentucky) and Madison (Virginia), they argued states could declare unconstitutional federal laws void. The root of later nullification arguments. Revolution of 1800 Jefferson’s name for the first peaceful transfer of power between rival parties, after the House broke the Jefferson-Burr electoral tie.

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Section 1 · The War That Won an Empire

1.1 Where Period 2 left us

For a century Britain ran its colonies with a light hand (salutary neglect). Colonists got used to elected assemblies that taxed them, paid their governors’ salaries, and ignored trade laws when convenient. Meanwhile Britain and France fought over land and trade, and Native nations played the two empires against each other to protect their own land. The period from 1754 to 1800 is defined by three big developments:

1.2 Four wars, one rivalry

The French and Indian War was not a one-off. It was the fourth round of a fight that ran from 1689 to 1763. The first three were fought mostly in Europe; the fourth started in the American woods and decided the continent.

1.3 The map before the war

This is North America around 1750. Click each marker. Notice the shape of the problem: a thin strip of British colonies (red) with over a million people, boxed in by a huge arc of French claims (blue) held by only about 70,000 colonists, plus their Native allies.

1.4 How the war unfolded

Click through the war in six moves. The pattern to notice: British disasters while they leaned on colonial militias, British victory once London poured in its own money and regulars.

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1.5 Join, or Die

Franklin printed this cartoon in his Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754, to sell the Albany Plan. It is one of the most tested images in all of APUSH. Click each piece of the snake.

1.6 Who won what: the map after 1763

The same continent after the peace. Study the legend for a moment, then test yourself: the quiz names a region, and you click the dot that marks it.

1.7 The bill, and two opposite lessons

The war also taught Britain and the colonists opposite lessons about each other. Compare the two views, then read what real participants said.

The Americans are in general the dirtiest, most contemptible, cowardly dogs that you can conceive.

He had too much self-confidence, too high an opinion of the validity of regular troops, and too mean a one of both Americans and Indians.

Section 1 self-quiz

Q

The Seven Years' War

0 of 6 answered

Reset

1. 01

   The French and Indian War began mainly over control of

   A the fishing banks off the coast of Newfoundland B the sugar islands of the eastern Caribbean Sea C the Ohio River Valley west of the Appalachians D the trading port of New Orleans on the Gulf Coast
   Why: France built forts like Fort Duquesne in the Ohio Valley to block British westward expansion. Virginia sent Washington to stop them in 1754.
2. 02

   The Albany Plan of Union (1754) failed primarily because

   A each colony was unwilling to give up its own power to tax B Parliament immediately outlawed any meeting of the colonies C Benjamin Franklin withdrew it once the fighting had started D the Iroquois nations threatened war if the colonies united
   Why: The colonies were too jealous of their own taxing powers to accept an intercolonial government. It still set a precedent for the Stamp Act Congress and the Continental Congresses.
3. 03

   The British victory in the Seven Years' War was secured mainly by

   A colonial militias that captured Fort Duquesne at the very start of the war B an alliance with Spain that opened a second front against France in Florida C a naval blockade of France that starved its population into an early surrender D William Pitt's decision to commit British money and regulars to conquering Canada
   Why: Early British and colonial efforts failed (Braddock, 1755). Pitt's all-in strategy took Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), and Montreal (1760).
4. 04

   Under the Treaty of Paris of 1763,

   A France kept Canada but gave up its Caribbean sugar islands B Britain gained Canada and Florida, and France ceded Louisiana to Spain C Spain gained Florida in return for giving Louisiana to Britain D the thirteen colonies were promised all land west to the Mississippi
   Why: Britain took French Canada and Spanish Florida; France compensated its ally Spain with Louisiana. French power on the mainland ended.
5. 05

   Which statement best describes the BRITISH view of the colonists after the war?

   A They had proven themselves the equal of any professional army in Europe B They deserved seats in Parliament as a reward for their wartime service C They were unwilling or unable to defend the frontier and should help pay for it D They could now be trusted to govern the new western lands without supervision
   Why: British leaders held colonial militias in contempt and noted that some colonies refused to contribute. The colonists came away with the opposite view: proud and confident.
6. 06

   The most important long-term effect of the French and Indian War on the colonies was that it

   A led Britain to end salutary neglect and demand colonial revenue B convinced the colonies to adopt the Albany Plan of Union C gave the colonies permanent control of the Ohio Valley lands D ended the colonies' need to trade with the British Empire
   Why: War debt plus the cost of guarding a bigger empire pushed Britain to enforce trade laws and tax the colonies. That policy shift is the fuse for everything that follows.

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Section 2 · The Empire Tightens Its Grip

2.1 Salutary neglect ends

2.2 The frontier explodes

The first test of the new policy came from the west, not from Boston. Native nations in the Ohio Valley watched settlers pour onto their land, and the British, unlike the French, refused to keep up the diplomatic gift-giving that had held alliances together.

2.3 Two arguments behind every fight

Before the acts, learn the two ideas the colonists and Parliament argued about. Every act in the ladder below is a new round of these two debates.

2.4 The escalation ladder, 1763 to 1774

Scroll the ladder. Each rung is one British action (the card title) and what it did (subtitle); open the card to see how colonists answered. Notice how each answer provokes the next act.

2.5 Did the boycotts actually work?

Yes, and you can see it in the trade data. The line below is the value of English goods shipped to the thirteen colonies each year. Every dip is a boycott; every repeal follows a dip.

English exports to the thirteen colonies, 1763 to 1775 (£ millions per year, rounded; Historical Statistics of the United States)

2.6 The Boston Massacre, as propaganda

Paul Revere’s famous engraving of March 5, 1770 is a primary source about the event and, more importantly, about how Patriots sold it. Zoom in and click each red marker to see what Revere chose to show.

Click a marker to see details.

2.7 From tea to the Intolerable Acts

The most important chain in Chapter 4. Watch it play out.

Tea Party to Intolerable Acts, 1773 to 1774

⏸ Pause ↺ Restart

May 1773: to rescue the struggling East India Company, Parliament passes the Tea Act. Company tea, even with the tax, is now CHEAPER than smuggled Dutch tea.

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2.8 The Intolerable Acts, one card each

2.9 Which act is it?

Stimulus questions describe an act without naming it. Answer yes or no and let the key name the law.

K

Identify the British act from what it did

Click to answer. Each answer narrows the identification.

Step 1 Start over

Section 2 self-quiz

Q

Taxation without representation

0 of 8 answered

Reset

1. 01

   The Proclamation of 1763 angered colonists mainly because it

   A placed a direct tax on land purchased on the frontier B blocked settlement on western land they had fought to win C required colonists to feed and house British soldiers D forced colonial merchants to trade only in British ships
   Why: Britain drew the line to prevent more wars like Pontiac's Rebellion. Colonists saw it as denying them the prize of the war, and thousands crossed it anyway.
2. 02

   The Stamp Act (1765) provoked more opposition than earlier acts because it was

   A the first direct tax paid by ordinary colonists on everyday items B a tax collected only from the largest plantation owners C the first law to put British soldiers in colonial cities D a ban on colonial newspapers that criticized Parliament
   Why: Earlier import duties were paid by merchants. The stamp tax hit anyone who bought a newspaper, signed a will, or filed a legal document.
3. 03

   The Stamp Act Congress (1765) is significant because delegates from nine colonies

   A voted to declare their independence from Great Britain B organized the first colonial army to resist the British C agreed that only their own elected assemblies could tax them D adopted the Albany Plan of Union as a national government
   Why: They pledged loyalty to the king while insisting on 'no taxation without representation.' It was peaceful, united, and very much NOT a declaration of independence.
4. 04

   Parliament passed the Declaratory Act (1766) in order to

   A grant the colonies seats in the House of Commons B repeal the Sugar Act along with the Stamp Act C declare Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion D assert its authority to legislate for the colonies in all cases
   Why: Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but saved face by declaring its power to make laws for the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever.'
5. 05

   John Dickinson's Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania argued that

   A the colonies should declare their independence from Britain without further delay B Parliament could regulate trade, but duties meant to raise revenue were taxation without consent C colonists should accept the Townshend duties because merchants, not consumers, paid them D virtual representation in Parliament fully protected the rights of the colonists
   Why: Dickinson drew the line between regulating trade (acceptable) and taxing for revenue (not acceptable without the consent of colonial assemblies).
6. 06

   The Committees of Correspondence were important because they

   A strengthened communication and unity among the colonies B negotiated a trade treaty directly with France in 1772 C collected the Townshend duties on behalf of the crown D drafted the first version of the Articles of Confederation
   Why: Samuel Adams's network passed news of British actions from town to town, then colony to colony. It was the wiring that made united resistance possible.
7. 07

   Colonists objected to the Tea Act of 1773 even though it lowered the price of tea because

   A the tea came from Dutch suppliers rather than from British merchants B the tax money collected was used to build new British forts in the West C buying the taxed tea would mean accepting Parliament's right to tax them D the act banned colonial merchants from importing or selling any coffee
   Why: The fight was about principle, not price. Cheap tea with a tax hidden inside was a trap, so Bostonians destroyed it.
8. 08

   The most important result of the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts was that they

   A isolated Massachusetts politically from the rest of the colonies B ended the colonial boycott of British goods for several years C persuaded most colonists to pay Britain for the destroyed tea D united the colonies and led to the First Continental Congress
   Why: Britain meant to make an example of Boston. Instead, other colonies sent aid and delegates, and resistance became continental.

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Section 3 · Ideas That Made a Revolution

3.1 The Enlightenment toolkit

The Enlightenment peaked in the mid-1700s, exactly when Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams were growing up. Many of them were Deists, who believed God created a universe run by natural laws that human reason could discover. Apply that thinking to government and you get the six tools below.

3.2 From Locke to Jefferson

Put Locke’s ideas next to the Declaration’s words and you can see the translation. Jefferson did not invent the theory; he turned it into a public argument.

3.3 Common Sense: the pamphlet that tipped the colonies

In January 1776, most colonists still wanted to fix their relationship with Britain, not end it. Then Thomas Paine, a recent English immigrant, published Common Sense. Instead of complaining about Parliament’s taxes, he attacked monarchy itself and argued for immediate independence, in language any farmer could follow.

There is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.

O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth!

It is spring 1776 and you are undecided. Which argument would move you most?

0 total votes · Reset my vote

3.4 Read the Declaration like a grader

The Declaration has three parts: a theory of government (the famous opening), a long list of grievances against George III, and the formal declaration that the colonies are free and independent states. The exam quotes the first part constantly. Hover each highlight.

The equality claim Natural rights Locke, edited Purpose of government Consent of the governed Right of revolution

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Section 3 self-quiz

Q

Ideas and independence

0 of 5 answered

Reset

1. 01

   John Locke's theory of the social contract holds that governments

   A are created by God and answer only to the monarch who leads them B are formed by the people's consent to protect their natural rights C should be run by the wealthiest property owners in each society D must control the economy to keep gold inside the national borders
   Why: People agree to form governments to protect life, liberty, and property. A government that violates those rights loses its legitimacy.
2. 02

   Thomas Paine's Common Sense was influential mainly because it

   A offered a detailed legal plan for a new national government B was written by a famous member of the Continental Congress C argued in plain language that monarchy itself should be rejected D promised the colonists that France would enter the war at once
   Why: Paine attacked the idea of kings, not just Parliament's taxes, and wrote for ordinary people. It pushed undecided colonists toward independence.
3. 03

   Jefferson's phrase 'the pursuit of Happiness' adapted which of Locke's natural rights?

   A Property B Religion C Speech D Assembly
   Why: Locke's trio was life, liberty, and property. Jefferson replaced property with the broader pursuit of happiness.
4. 04

   Which idea from the Declaration of Independence most directly justified breaking away from Britain?

   A Only elected assemblies may regulate trade with other empires B The colonies deserve seats in the British House of Commons C Kings rule by divine right and must be obeyed by their subjects D People may alter or abolish a government that destroys their rights
   Why: The right of revolution. The grievance list then argues George III had destroyed their rights, so the colonists had the right to replace his government.
5. 05

   Republicanism, as colonists understood it, emphasized

   A representative government, civic virtue, and opposition to concentrated power B a strong hereditary executive to hold the thirteen colonies together C loyalty to one established church supported by public taxes D direct rule of every decision by a majority vote of all residents
   Why: Elected representatives, virtuous citizens who put the common good first, and deep suspicion of monarchy and aristocracy.

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Section 4 · From Protest to War to Victory

4.1 The First Continental Congress, 1774

The Intolerable Acts drove every colony except Georgia to send delegates to Philadelphia in September 1774. Their goal was to resist the acts and restore their rights, not to leave the empire. The delegates spanned the whole political spectrum:

4.2 The road to July 4, 1776

Eight moves from the first shots to independence. Notice how long the colonists kept trying for peace even after the fighting started.

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4.3 Choosing sides

About 2.6 million people lived in the thirteen colonies. The Revolution was also a civil war: neighbors, even families, fought each other (Benjamin Franklin’s son William was the last royal governor of New Jersey and a Loyalist). Each square below is 1 percent of the population.

4.4 The war on the map

The war had two acts. From 1775 to 1778 the fighting stayed in the North; after 1778 Britain switched to a southern strategy, betting on the South’s many Loyalists. Red dots are American (or French) wins, black dots are British wins. Click any dot for the story.

4.5 Saratoga to Yorktown

The single most important causal chain of the war. Your notes put it simply: the French alliance saved the Patriots.

How the war was won, 1777 to 1781

⏸ Pause ↺ Restart

1775 to 1777: the war goes badly. Washington is routed at New York, the British take Philadelphia, and the army freezes at Valley Forge. Trade falls about 95 percent and Congress's paper 'continentals' become nearly worthless.

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4.6 Why did the underdog win?

A favorite causation question. Britain had the bigger army, the best navy, and far more money. It lost anyway.

4.7 The Treaty of Paris, 1783

Section 4 self-quiz

Q

The Revolution

0 of 7 answered

Reset

1. 01

   Most delegates to the First Continental Congress (1774) wanted to

   A declare independence and form a national army at once B restore colonial rights and relations to their pre-1763 state C accept the Intolerable Acts in exchange for seats in Parliament D negotiate a military alliance with France against Britain
   Why: Independence was still a radical idea in 1774. The Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, petitioned the king, and organized a boycott through the Continental Association.
2. 02

   The Olive Branch Petition (1775) is significant because it

   A declared the colonies free and independent states B created the Continental Army under George Washington C was a final attempt at reconciliation that the king rejected D offered France control of Canada in return for an alliance
   Why: Congress pledged loyalty and asked for peace; George III refused to read it and declared the colonies in rebellion. That rejection pushed moderates toward independence.
3. 03

   The Battle of Bunker Hill (1775) resulted in

   A a British capture of the hill at the cost of very heavy losses B the complete destruction of the colonial militia around Boston C the surrender of General Gage and the British army in Boston D the first official battle between American and French forces
   Why: The British took Breed's Hill but suffered over 1,000 casualties. A British tactical win that showed colonists could stand up to regulars.
4. 04

   Which group was MOST likely to be Loyalist during the Revolution?

   A Small farmers in the towns of rural New England B Virginia planters serving in the House of Burgesses C Frontier settlers living west of the Proclamation Line D Royal officials and Anglican clergy in New York
   Why: Loyalists tended to be wealthier and more conservative, including most royal officials and Anglican clergy, and were probably a majority in New York, New Jersey, and Georgia.
5. 05

   The Battle of Saratoga (1777) was the turning point of the war mainly because it

   A ended British control of every port along the Atlantic coast B persuaded France to openly ally with the United States C forced Parliament to repeal the Intolerable Acts at once D led Canada to join the United States as the fourteenth state
   Why: The diplomatic result mattered more than the military one: France saw the Americans could win and allied with them in 1778.
6. 06

   The French contribution was decisive at Yorktown mainly because

   A French diplomats convinced Cornwallis to surrender without a fight B French Loyalists in Virginia refused to supply the British army C the French fleet blocked the British from escaping or being rescued by sea D French troops captured New York City while Washington went south
   Why: Washington's and French armies trapped Cornwallis on land; the French navy won the Battle of the Capes and sealed the Chesapeake.
7. 07

   Under the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the United States

   A gained independence with a western boundary at the Mississippi River B received Canada and Florida as compensation for its war losses C agreed to rejoin the British Empire as a self-governing dominion D gave Britain control of all land west of the Appalachian Mountains
   Why: Independence, the Mississippi boundary, fishing rights off Canada, and promises about debts and Loyalist property.

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Section 5 · Revolutionary Ideals, Unevenly Applied

5.1 New state governments

While the war raged, the former colonies wrote constitutions; ten had done it by 1777. Conservatives wanted law and order, liberals wanted protection against tyranny, and almost every state ended up with the same four features:

5.2 Who gained what?

Each card shows what changed (red) and what stayed the same (black). Essays reward you for naming both.

5.3 “Remember the Ladies”

In March 1776, while John Adams sat in the Continental Congress, his wife Abigail wrote to him from Massachusetts. Read the exchange; it is a favorite stimulus.

I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands.

Depend upon it, We know better than to repeal our Masculine systems.

5.4 Slavery’s first retreats, and its limits

The Revolution’s language of liberty pushed several northern states to end slavery, almost always gradually (children born after a certain date would be freed as adults). Plot the dates, then notice what is missing: no southern state appears.

5.5 A revolution heard around the world

The American Revolution proved that Enlightenment ideas could overthrow an empire, and the world noticed.

Section 5 self-quiz

Q

Revolutionary ideals

0 of 5 answered

Reset

1. 01

   Most new state constitutions written during the Revolution

   A granted voting rights to all adult men regardless of property B included a bill of rights and separated government into branches C created a single all-powerful governor to manage the war effort D established the Anglican Church as the official state religion
   Why: A list of rights, separation of powers, voting for white male property owners, and higher property requirements for officeholders.
2. 02

   The idea of 'Republican Motherhood' held that women

   A should vote in state elections if they owned property B should serve in the militia whenever their husbands were away C should hold public office in the new state governments D served the nation by raising virtuous, educated citizens
   Why: A political role without political rights. It raised the value of women's education while keeping women in the domestic sphere.
3. 03

   Abigail Adams's request that her husband 'Remember the Ladies' is best used as evidence of

   A a demand that revolutionary ideals of liberty extend to women B widespread support in Congress for women's suffrage in 1776 C the Loyalist views of many women in the New England colonies D the Republican Motherhood ideal's rejection by educated women
   Why: She applied the Revolution's logic about unlimited power to husbands. John's joking dismissal shows how limited the change would be.
4. 04

   Which statement best describes slavery in the decades right after the Revolution?

   A It was abolished everywhere by the Treaty of Paris of 1783 B It declined in the North while remaining strong in the South C It grew fastest in New England, where merchants needed labor D It ended in the South but survived in New York and New Jersey
   Why: Northern states adopted gradual emancipation; in the South, slavery stayed central to the economy and soon expanded.
5. 05

   For most Native Americans, the outcome of the Revolution meant

   A full citizenship in the states where they lived B a permanent western boundary guaranteed by the treaty C greater pressure on their lands from American settlers D the return of land taken under the Proclamation of 1763
   Why: Many had sided with Britain, which had tried to limit settlement. The Treaty of Paris ignored them, and settlers surged west.

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Section 6 · The Articles of Confederation

6.1 The structure

John Dickinson drafted the Articles in 1776; Congress adopted them in 1777, but they were not ratified until 1781 because Maryland refused to sign until states like Virginia and New York gave up their claims to western land. Here is the whole national government:

6.2 What Congress could and could not do

6.3 Real accomplishments

Do not write “the Articles accomplished nothing.” That is an easy way to lose a point. The Articles government won the war, negotiated the Treaty of Paris, and passed two laws that shaped the whole West.

The Land Ordinance of 1785

Congress had millions of acres of western land and no taxing power, so it decided to survey the land in a grid and sell it. Watch the surveyors’ lines draw a township: 6 miles on each side, divided into 36 one-square-mile sections of 640 acres each. The law reserved section 16 of every township for public schools.

▶ Replay

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

The Articles’ greatest achievement. It turned the territory between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes into a ladder to statehood that every later territory would climb.

6.4 Three kinds of trouble

6.5 Shays’ Rebellion: you are the Confederation Congress

Play the crisis that ended the Articles, then read what actually happened.

Choose your path

New York City, autumn 1786

You are a member of the Confederation Congress. In western Massachusetts, Daniel Shays, a Revolutionary War veteran, leads hundreds of farmers who are drowning in debt and high state taxes and furious that debtors are being thrown in jail. They have shut down the courts that foreclose on farms. Nearby sits the federal arsenal at Springfield, full of muskets. Massachusetts is asking for help.

Outcome

▶ Try Again

Paths attempted: 0

I am mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds that have spread over the brightest morn that ever dawned upon any country.

I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.

Section 6 self-quiz

Q

The Articles of Confederation

0 of 6 answered

Reset

1. 01

   The Articles of Confederation created a national government that

   A had a strong president but a weak one-house legislature B consisted of a one-house Congress with no executive or national courts C divided power among three equal branches with checks and balances D gave each state representation in Congress based on its population
   Why: One house, one vote per state, 9 of 13 to pass major laws, unanimity to amend, and no president or national judiciary.
2. 02

   Ratification of the Articles was delayed until 1781 mainly by a dispute over

   A whether the national government could tax imported goods B the number of votes each state would receive in Congress C the location of the new national capital on the Potomac D state claims to western lands beyond the Appalachians
   Why: Maryland and other landless states refused to ratify until Virginia and New York ceded their western claims to the national government.
3. 03

   Which was the greatest weakness of the government under the Articles?

   A Congress had no power to collect taxes B Congress could not declare war or make peace C The president could veto any law passed by Congress D The national courts overruled the state legislatures
   Why: Without taxes, Congress could not pay debts, fund an army, or earn foreign respect. It could only ask the states for money.
4. 04

   The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 is significant because it

   A opened the Northwest Territory to slavery if settlers approved it by popular vote B sold the entire Ohio Valley to a single private land company from New England C created a process for territories to become equal states and banned slavery there D returned the Ohio Valley to Native nations under the protection of Britain
   Why: Limited self-government at 5,000 men, statehood on equal footing at 60,000 people, and no slavery north of the Ohio River.
5. 05

   The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for

   A surveying western land into townships and reserving a section for public schools B granting free western land to every veteran who served in the Continental Army C banning all settlement north of the Ohio River until the year 1800 D dividing the western lands evenly among the thirteen original states
   Why: Six-mile-square townships of 36 sections; section 16 in each township supported public education.
6. 06

   Shays' Rebellion convinced many American leaders that

   A Massachusetts should leave the Union and form its own nation B the national government needed to be stronger than the Articles allowed C farmers should be given seats in the Confederation Congress D the Revolution had gone too far and the monarchy should return
   Why: The national government could do nothing while armed farmers threatened a federal arsenal. The rebellion added urgency to calls for the Constitutional Convention.

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Section 7 · Building the Constitution

7.1 The road to Philadelphia

7.2 The big fight: representation

Should big states get more power than small ones? Three plans, one compromise. Then look at the chart: it shows exactly what the compromise did.

Seats per state in the first Congress: the House (by population, set in Article I until the first census) vs the Senate (equal)

7.3 The slavery compromises

Slavery could not be abolished at the convention: the Deep South would have walked out. So the delegates bargained over it instead.

7.4 Trade and the presidency

7.5 How the Constitution divides power

Six principles, then two diagrams. Know the principle names cold; the exam uses them as answer choices.

Checks and balances

Watch the checks draw themselves. Every red arrow is one branch’s power over another.

▶ Replay

Federalism: who does what

7.6 Ratification: closer than it looks

The framers knew the states might balk, so they required only nine of thirteen states to ratify, through special elected conventions rather than state legislatures. The chart shows the share of each convention that voted yes, in the order the states ratified. Everything under about 55 percent was a nail-biter.

Percent of each state’s ratifying convention voting YES, in order of ratification (December 1787 to May 1790)

Q See every state's vote count (the table view of the chart)

Delaware 30-0 (Dec 7, 1787) · Pennsylvania 46-23 · New Jersey 38-0 · Georgia 26-0 (Jan 2, 1788) · Connecticut 128-40 · Massachusetts 187-168 · Maryland 63-11 · South Carolina 149-73 · New Hampshire 57-47 (June 21, 1788, the ninth state) · Virginia 89-79 · New York 30-27 · North Carolina 194-77 (Nov 21, 1789) · Rhode Island 34-32 (May 29, 1790).

7.7 Federalists vs Anti-Federalists

The ratification fight created the first national political sides. Learn the comparison as a grid.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

Who authorized them to speak the language of, We, the people, instead of We, the states?

7.8 The Bill of Rights answers the Revolution

The first Congress, led by Madison, drafted the amendments in 1789, and the states ratified ten of them in 1791. Many of them are direct answers to grievances from 1763 to 1775. Drag each grievance onto the amendment that answered it.

M

Match each grievance to the amendment that answered it

Section 7 self-quiz

Q

The Constitution

0 of 8 answered

Reset

1. 01

   The Great (Connecticut) Compromise resolved the dispute between large and small states by

   A creating a one-house Congress in which every state had an equal vote B letting each state decide how many representatives it would send to Congress C creating a House based on population and a Senate with equal representation D giving the large states a veto over any law that the small states opposed
   Why: Roger Sherman's plan combined the Virginia Plan (population) and the New Jersey Plan (equality) into a two-house Congress.
2. 02

   The Three-Fifths Compromise concerned

   A how enslaved people would be counted for representation and taxes B the fraction of states needed to ratify the Constitution C the share of Congress needed to override a presidential veto D the portion of tariff revenue that would go to the states
   Why: Three of every five enslaved people were counted, boosting slave states' power in the House and the Electoral College.
3. 03

   Under the Commerce Compromise, Congress received the power to

   A tax exports of southern crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo B ban the importation of enslaved people immediately and permanently C set the prices of all goods traded from one state to another D regulate interstate and foreign trade and tax imports but not exports
   Why: The North got federal regulation of commerce; the South got a permanent ban on export taxes.
4. 04

   The framers created the Electoral College mainly because they

   A wanted the Senate alone to choose the president B feared that direct popular election could lead to mob rule C believed the states should have no role in choosing leaders D planned for the president to serve a single lifetime term
   Why: Many delegates distrusted pure democracy, so voters would choose electors, and electors would choose the president.
5. 05

   Which pair of principles most directly guards against any one branch becoming too powerful?

   A Popular sovereignty and republicanism B Federalism and limited government C Separation of powers and checks and balances D Judicial review and the Electoral College
   Why: Separation of powers gives each branch its own job; checks and balances let each branch limit the others.
6. 06

   Anti-Federalists' most effective argument against the Constitution was that it

   A lacked a bill of rights to protect individual liberties B gave too little power to the national government C failed to create any form of national court system D allowed the president to serve only a single term
   Why: The missing bill of rights was their strongest point, and the Federalists won ratification by promising to add one.
7. 07

   In Federalist No. 10, James Madison argued that

   A a republic can survive only in a small area like a single state or city B political factions should be banned outright by the new national government C a large republic would control factions by including many competing interests D the states should keep their full sovereignty under the new Constitution
   Why: So many factions compete in a large republic that no single one can easily form an oppressive majority.
8. 08

   The 3rd and 4th Amendments most directly responded to colonial experience with

   A the Stamp Act and the Declaratory Act B the Quartering Acts and writs of assistance C the Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party D the Proclamation of 1763 and Pontiac's Rebellion
   Why: No quartering of soldiers in homes (3rd) and no general search warrants (4th): lessons learned the hard way before 1776.

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Section 8 · Washington Builds a Government

8.1 Precedents: everything Washington did was a first

Washington was elected unanimously by the Electoral College and took the oath on April 30, 1789, in New York City, the temporary capital. He knew every choice would become a rule for the presidents after him.

The two red cards are the story of the 1790s: the two most brilliant members of the cabinet wanted opposite countries.

8.2 Hamilton’s financial plan

Hamilton inherited a bankrupt nation. His plan rested on three pillars, all aimed at making the United States creditworthy and tying wealthy Americans’ interests to the new national government.

8.3 Loose vs strict: the fight over the bank

Nothing in the Constitution says Congress may charter a bank. Jefferson said that settled it. Hamilton pointed to the last clause of Congress’s list of powers. Hover the highlights to see the two readings.

Enumerated power: taxing Enumerated power: borrowing Enumerated power: commerce The elastic clause The link that matters

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States... To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

8.4 Two visions of America

8.5 Whiskey vs Shays: the same test, two governments

Two rebellions of indebted western farmers, eight years apart. The difference in how each government responded is one of the best comparisons in the unit.

8.6 Caught between Britain and France

In 1793 revolutionary France went to war with Britain, and the question of whom to support split Americans for the next seven years. Watch Washington try to stay out.

Washington's foreign policy, 1793 to 1795

⏸ Pause ↺ Restart

1793: revolutionary France declares war on Britain. Jefferson's supporters cheer France (and the 1778 alliance); Hamilton's supporters are horrified by the executions and value trade with Britain.

‹ Prev Next ›

1 Scene 1 of 5

2 Scene 2 of 5

3 Scene 3 of 5

4 Scene 4 of 5

5 Scene 5 of 5

8.7 The West and Native nations

North of the Ohio River, a Western Confederacy of Native nations (Shawnee, Delaware, Miami, and others, led by the Miami war chief Little Turtle) defeated American forces twice around 1790 and 1791, with arms supplied by the British from their forts. Then:

8.8 Washington’s Farewell Address

In 1796, with help from Hamilton, Washington published a farewell message in the newspapers. It carried enormous weight because of who wrote it.

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.

Let me now… warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.

8.9 The first party system

Washington hoped the nation could avoid parties. Hamilton’s program and the French Revolution made that impossible. Follow the two columns down: the ratification fight of 1787-88 turned into the first parties of the 1790s. Watch for the starred name.

	Federalists	Democratic-Republicans
Leaders	Hamilton, John Adams	Jefferson, Madison
Constitution	Loose construction	Strict construction
Central government	Strong	Limited; states’ rights
Economy	Business, manufacturing, national bank, high tariffs	Agriculture; against the bank and high tariffs
Foreign policy	Pro-British	Pro-French
Military	Large peacetime army and navy	Small peacetime army and navy
Base	Northern merchants, business owners, large landowners	Small farmers, skilled workers, planters; the South and West

Section 8 self-quiz

Q

Washington's presidency

0 of 8 answered

Reset

1. 01

   Which of these was a precedent set by George Washington rather than a requirement of the Constitution?

   A The president's power to veto acts of Congress B The Senate's role in confirming appointments C Meeting regularly with a cabinet of department heads D The four-year length of each presidential term
   Why: The Constitution never mentions a cabinet. The veto, Senate confirmation, and four-year term are all written in the document.
2. 02

   Hamilton's plan to have the federal government assume state war debts was opposed most strongly by

   A southern states that had already paid off much of their debt B northern merchants who held large amounts of government bonds C British bankers who feared losing their American loans D Federalists in Congress who wanted lower federal spending
   Why: States like Virginia saw no reason to help pay other states' debts. The Compromise of 1790 traded assumption for a southern capital on the Potomac.
3. 03

   Hamilton argued that the Bank of the United States was constitutional because

   A the Constitution explicitly authorizes Congress to charter banks B the states had approved the bank in their ratifying conventions C the Supreme Court had already ruled in favor of a national bank D the necessary and proper clause gave Congress implied powers
   Why: Loose construction: a bank was a reasonable means of carrying out the listed powers to tax, borrow, and regulate commerce. Jefferson's strict reading said no.
4. 04

   Washington's response to the Whiskey Rebellion (1794) demonstrated that

   A the federal government could not collect taxes in the West B the new federal government could enforce its laws C western farmers controlled the Democratic-Republican Party D states could nullify federal taxes they considered unfair
   Why: About 15,000 militiamen made the rebellion collapse with almost no bloodshed. Compare Shays' Rebellion, when the Articles government could do nothing.
5. 05

   Washington issued the Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) mainly because he believed

   A the United States was too weak to risk involvement in a European war B the French alliance of 1778 required America to stay neutral C Britain would reward American neutrality with the western forts D the Senate had refused to approve a declaration of war on Britain
   Why: The young nation had no real army or navy to spare. Jefferson disagreed and later resigned from the cabinet.
6. 06

   Jay's Treaty (1794) was unpopular with many Americans mainly because it

   A gave Spain control of the port of New Orleans B required the United States to fight for Britain against France C did nothing to stop British impressment of American sailors D returned the Ohio Valley to Britain's Native allies
   Why: Britain agreed to leave its western forts, but the treaty ignored ship seizures and impressment. It angered France's friends but kept the peace.
7. 07

   Pinckney's Treaty (1795) was especially popular with western farmers because it

   A removed the British army from the western forts B opened the Mississippi River and New Orleans to American trade C ended the excise tax on whiskey distilled in the West D guaranteed them free land north of the Ohio River
   Why: Western crops floated down the Mississippi to market. The right of deposit at New Orleans let them ship without Spanish duties.
8. 08

   In his Farewell Address, Washington warned Americans against

   A trading with European nations of any kind B creating a national bank and a standing army C admitting new states from the western territories D permanent foreign alliances and political parties
   Why: He urged commerce with all nations but permanent alliances with none, and warned against the 'spirit of party' and sectionalism.

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Section 9 · Adams and the Revolution of 1800

9.1 The awkward election of 1796

Federalist John Adams beat Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson by just three electoral votes (71 to 68). Under the original Constitution, the runner-up became vice president, so the president and vice president came from rival parties. The 12th Amendment (1804) later had electors vote for president and vice president separately.

9.2 The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War

9.3 The Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798

War fever gave the Federalists big majorities in Congress in 1798, and they used them against their political opponents. Most immigrants voted Democratic-Republican, and Democratic-Republican newspapers attacked Adams daily.

9.4 The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

With no Supreme Court precedent yet for striking down laws (judicial review arrives in 1803), Jefferson and Madison turned to the states. They wrote resolutions secretly; Jefferson’s passed in Kentucky, Madison’s in Virginia.

Whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force.

9.5 You are John Adams

It is spring 1798. Play the crisis, then read what Adams actually did.

Choose your path

Philadelphia, spring 1798

You are President John Adams. The XYZ dispatches are public: French agents demanded a bribe for their foreign minister, Talleyrand, plus a large loan to France, before they would even talk to your diplomats. French ships are seizing American merchant vessels. Your own Federalist Party, with Alexander Hamilton pulling strings behind the scenes, is roaring for war. The Democratic-Republicans, friends of France, call you a warmonger and worse.

Outcome

▶ Try Again

Paths attempted: 0

9.6 The Election of 1800

Democratic-Republican electors each cast two votes, one for Jefferson and one for his running mate Aaron Burr, and nobody remembered to throw away a vote for Burr. The result was a tie.

Electoral votes in 1800, colored by party (each elector voted for two people)

We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.

Section 9 self-quiz

Q

Adams and 1800

0 of 6 answered

Reset

1. 01

   The XYZ Affair (1797-1798) involved

   A British seizure of American sailors off the coast of Virginia B French agents demanding bribes before they would negotiate C a secret Spanish plan to close the Mississippi River D a Federalist plot to cancel the election of 1800
   Why: The insult produced war fever, the slogan 'Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute,' and the undeclared Quasi-War.
2. 02

   President Adams responded to the crisis with France by

   A asking Congress for a formal declaration of war on France B paying France a large sum to stop seizing American ships C building the navy while avoiding a full war and pursuing peace D renewing the 1778 military alliance with the French government
   Why: An undeclared naval Quasi-War plus renewed diplomacy, over the objections of Hamilton's wing of his own party.
3. 03

   The Sedition Act of 1798 made it a crime to

   A publish false or malicious criticism of the government B immigrate to the United States without a passport C refuse to serve in the army during wartime D trade with France during the Quasi-War
   Why: Aimed at Democratic-Republican newspapers. Editors, and even a congressman, were jailed.
4. 04

   The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions argued that

   A the Supreme Court alone could decide whether laws were constitutional B Congress had the right to expel members who criticized the president C the president could deport any immigrant considered dangerous D states could declare unconstitutional federal laws void
   Why: The compact theory and nullification, written secretly by Jefferson (Kentucky) and Madison (Virginia). No other states agreed at the time.
5. 05

   The Election of 1800 was decided in the House of Representatives because

   A Adams and Jefferson each won exactly half of the states B Jefferson and Burr received the same number of electoral votes C the Senate refused to count the votes of the southern states D Hamilton ran as a third-party candidate and split the vote
   Why: Under the original rules each elector cast two votes, and the Democratic-Republicans tied themselves. The 12th Amendment (1804) fixed the system.
6. 06

   Jefferson called his election the 'Revolution of 1800' mainly because

   A power passed peacefully from one party to its rival B it required a new constitutional convention to settle C it was the first election in which women could vote D the Federalists had to be removed by the state militias
   Why: A peaceful transfer between bitter rivals, rare in 1800, proved the constitutional system could survive partisan conflict.

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Section 10 · An American Identity on the Move

10.1 A national culture

Americans still read British books and copied British fashions, but a distinctly national culture started to form around the Revolution’s heroes and ideals.

10.2 Moving west

The population grew fast, and settlers poured over the Appalachians. Three new states joined the Union in five years. Red dots are settlements and new states; black dots are conflicts.

10.3 The cotton gin: a machine that expanded slavery

In 1793, Eli Whitney built a simple machine, the cotton gin, that pulled the sticky seeds out of short-staple cotton, the kind that grows almost anywhere in the South. Before the gin, cleaning a single pound by hand took a day of labor. Follow the chain:

Enslaved people in the United States, by census (thousands)

10.4 Two regions, two directions

Section 10 self-quiz

Q

Identity and movement

0 of 5 answered

Reset

1. 01

   Charles Willson Peale and Gilbert Stuart are best known for

   A painting portraits of Washington and other Revolutionary leaders B designing the street plan for the new capital of Washington, D.C. C writing essays in favor of ratifying the new Constitution D inventing machines that transformed southern agriculture
   Why: Their portraits helped create a gallery of national heroes. Stuart's Washington is on the dollar bill.
2. 02

   Pierre Charles L'Enfant is associated with

   A the first dictionary of American English B the charter of the Bank of the United States C the plan for Washington, D.C. D the Treaty of Greenville with Native nations
   Why: His 1791 plan laid out grand avenues radiating from the Capitol and the President's House.
3. 03

   The Indian Intercourse Act of 1790 attempted to

   A remove every Native nation to lands west of the Mississippi River B regulate trade with Native nations and require federal approval of land sales C grant full citizenship to all Native Americans living in the states D open the entire Ohio country to settlement without any treaties
   Why: Land could be acquired only through federal treaties. In practice settlers kept pushing onto Native land anyway.
4. 04

   Which sequence correctly describes the effect of the cotton gin?

   A Cotton gin, then fewer enslaved workers needed, then gradual emancipation in the South B Cotton gin, then textile mills in Georgia, then a shift to free wage labor C Cotton gin, then less land needed for cotton, then smaller southern plantations D Cotton gin, then profitable cotton, then plantation expansion, then more slavery
   Why: Whitney's machine made short-staple cotton profitable, plantations spread west, and the enslaved population soared.
5. 05

   By 1800, regional attitudes toward slavery were best described as

   A identical across all of the states because of the Constitution's many compromises B hostile to slavery in the South while growing increasingly supportive in the North C shifting toward emancipation in the North while slavery grew entrenched in the South D unchanged since the colonial period in every single region of the new country
   Why: Northern gradual emancipation plus southern expansion created the sectional divide of the next century.

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Section 11 · The Big Picture: Continuity and Change

11.1 The thesis that wins essays

If you get one essay on this period, this argument works for almost any prompt: the American Revolution produced major political change but much more limited social change.

The bars are an illustration of the argument, not measured data.

11.2 What historians argue

AMSCO’s “Historical Perspectives” boxes give you ready-made historiography. Knowing that historians disagree, and why, is how you earn the complexity point.

11.3 The 15 cause-and-effect links to know cold

If you are short on time, master these. Each one is a ready-made piece of essay evidence.

Now test the links: match each cause to its effect.

Cause to effect 0 / 9 matched

Terms

Seven Years' War debtShays' RebellionBattle of SaratogaIntolerable ActsAlien and Sedition ActsHamilton's financial planCommon SenseAnti-Federalist oppositionThe cotton gin

Definitions

Parliament taxes the colonies directlyMany undecided colonists turn toward independenceFrance openly allies with the United StatesLeaders call for a stronger national governmentTwelve colonies meet in the First Continental CongressThe first ten amendments are addedThe Kentucky and Virginia ResolutionsJefferson and Madison organize an opposition partySlavery expands across the Deep South

11.4 Articles vs Constitution

The single most important comparison in the unit. Know every row.

	Articles of Confederation (1781-1789)	Constitution (1789 on)
Legislature	One house; one vote per state	Two houses: House by population, Senate equal
Executive	None	A president with a veto
National courts	None	Supreme Court and federal courts
Taxes	Could only ask states for money	Can lay and collect taxes
Trade	No power to regulate commerce	Regulates interstate and foreign commerce
Passing laws	9 of 13 states	Majorities in both houses plus the president (or a 2/3 override)
Amending	All 13 states	2/3 of Congress and 3/4 of the states
Where power sits	The states	Shared (federalism), with national law supreme

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The primary source reader

Flip through the eight documents your test is most likely to quote. Each page ends with why it gets tested.

Period 3 in eight documents

Skip to flat reading

Period 3 Sources

Eight documents your test loves

1 · Benjamin Franklin, Join, or Die, 1754

A snake cut into eight pieces labeled with colony initials, over the words 'JOIN, or DIE.'

Why it gets tested: the first famous call for colonial unity, made to promote the Albany Plan against the French. Reused during the Stamp Act crisis and in 1774 against Britain. Always check the date.

1

2 · Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress, 1765

'It is inseparably essential to the freedom of a People, and the undoubted Right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their own Consent, given personally, or by their representatives.'

Why it gets tested: 'no taxation without representation' in official form, framed as the rights of Englishmen, from delegates who still professed loyalty to the king.

2

3 · John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, 1767-68

'Those who are taxed without their own consent, expressed by themselves or their representatives, are slaves.'

Why it gets tested: the moderate case against the Townshend duties. Parliament may regulate trade, but taxing for revenue without consent violates English liberty.

3

4 · Thomas Paine, Common Sense, January 1776

'There is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.'

Why it gets tested: the shift from protesting Parliament to rejecting monarchy itself, in plain language for ordinary readers.

4

5 · Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

'Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.'

Why it gets tested: Locke's natural rights and social contract as the justification for revolution, and the equality claim that slavery contradicted.

5

6 · Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776

'Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands.'

Why it gets tested: revolutionary logic applied to women, and a clear example of the limits of the Revolution's social change.

6

7 · James Madison, Federalist No. 10, 1787

'Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.'

Why it gets tested: the Federalist answer to fears that a large republic would become tyrannical.

7

8 · George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796

'It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.'

Why it gets tested: the foundation of American foreign policy for over a century, plus warnings about parties and sectionalism that the 1790s were already ignoring.

8

Page 1 of 8

1 · Benjamin Franklin, Join, or Die, 1754

A snake cut into eight pieces labeled with colony initials, over the words 'JOIN, or DIE.'

Why it gets tested: the first famous call for colonial unity, made to promote the Albany Plan against the French. Reused during the Stamp Act crisis and in 1774 against Britain. Always check the date.

Page 2 of 8

2 · Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress, 1765

'It is inseparably essential to the freedom of a People, and the undoubted Right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their own Consent, given personally, or by their representatives.'

Why it gets tested: 'no taxation without representation' in official form, framed as the rights of Englishmen, from delegates who still professed loyalty to the king.

Page 3 of 8

3 · John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, 1767-68

'Those who are taxed without their own consent, expressed by themselves or their representatives, are slaves.'

Why it gets tested: the moderate case against the Townshend duties. Parliament may regulate trade, but taxing for revenue without consent violates English liberty.

Page 4 of 8

4 · Thomas Paine, Common Sense, January 1776

'There is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.'

Why it gets tested: the shift from protesting Parliament to rejecting monarchy itself, in plain language for ordinary readers.

Page 5 of 8

5 · Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

'Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.'

Why it gets tested: Locke's natural rights and social contract as the justification for revolution, and the equality claim that slavery contradicted.

Page 6 of 8

6 · Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776

'Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands.'

Why it gets tested: revolutionary logic applied to women, and a clear example of the limits of the Revolution's social change.

Page 7 of 8

7 · James Madison, Federalist No. 10, 1787

'Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.'

Why it gets tested: the Federalist answer to fears that a large republic would become tyrannical.

Page 8 of 8

8 · George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796

'It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.'

Why it gets tested: the foundation of American foreign policy for over a century, plus warnings about parties and sectionalism that the 1790s were already ignoring.

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Test-taking machine

Worked example: beating a stimulus question

Four steps, every time. Here they are on a real 1765 source that AMSCO uses.

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Practice: SAQ drills

Short answer questions have no thesis: answer A, B, and C in full sentences, do exactly what each verb asks, and back every claim with specific evidence. First decide whether the question tests causation, comparison, or continuity and change. Write your answer, then open the model.

Q Explain ONE way the British view of the colonies and ONE way the colonial view of Britain changed as a result of the Seven Years' War.

British view: Britain concluded that colonial militias were disorderly and that colonies were unwilling to pay or fight (some refused troops and money), so Britain decided to keep an army in America and make the colonists help pay for it through taxes like the Sugar and Stamp Acts. Colonial view: colonists grew proud and confident in their own military ability and unimpressed by British officers like Braddock, so they felt they no longer needed British protection once France was gone from the continent.

Q Explain ONE reason Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763, ONE reason colonists objected, and how effective it was.

Reason: after Pontiac’s Rebellion, Britain wanted to prevent costly frontier wars by keeping settlers east of the Appalachians. Objection: colonists had fought the French and Indian War partly to win western land, and felt robbed of its prize by a distant government. Effectiveness: it largely failed, because thousands of settlers crossed the line anyway and Britain could not enforce it.

Q Explain how Enlightenment ideas influenced the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson drew on John Locke: people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property (rephrased as ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’), governments exist by the consent of the governed to protect those rights, and when a government destroys them, the people have the right to alter or abolish it. The Declaration’s list of grievances against George III serves as evidence that he broke the social contract, justifying revolution.

Q Explain TWO reasons the Americans won the Revolutionary War.

French assistance: after the victory at Saratoga (1777), France allied with the United States (1778), providing money, troops, and a navy; at Yorktown (1781) the French fleet blocked Cornwallis’s escape by sea. British problems: Britain fought 3,000 miles from home with long supply lines, could capture cities but never control the vast countryside, and faced a growing world war and political opposition at home. (Washington’s leadership in keeping the army alive also works.)

Q Explain ONE way the Revolution changed and ONE way it did not change the status of women OR African Americans.

Women: changed, because Republican Motherhood gave women a civic role in raising virtuous citizens and increased support for women’s education; unchanged, because women still could not vote (except briefly in New Jersey) and Abigail Adams’s plea to ‘Remember the Ladies’ was dismissed. African Americans: changed, because northern states began gradual emancipation (Pennsylvania 1780) and about 5,000 fought as Patriots; unchanged, because slavery survived and expanded in the South and was protected in the Constitution by the Three-Fifths Compromise.

Q Explain ONE achievement and ONE weakness of the Articles of Confederation, and how Shays' Rebellion led to the Constitution.

Achievement: the Northwest Ordinance (1787) created a process for territories to become equal states and banned slavery north of the Ohio River (or the Land Ordinance of 1785, or winning the war). Weakness: Congress had no power to tax, so it could not pay debts or fund an army. Shays’ Rebellion (1786-87) showed the national government could not even protect a federal arsenal, which convinced leaders like Washington, Madison, and Hamilton to push for the 1787 Constitutional Convention.

Q Compare the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans of the 1790s on TWO issues.

The Constitution: Federalists like Hamilton favored loose construction and implied powers (the necessary and proper clause justified the national bank), while Democratic-Republicans like Jefferson favored strict construction. Foreign policy: Federalists leaned toward Britain, their main trading partner, while Democratic-Republicans sympathized with revolutionary France. (Also: the economy, where Federalists backed commerce, manufacturing, and tariffs and Democratic-Republicans backed agriculture.)

Q Compare Shays' Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion.

Similarity: both were revolts by indebted western farmers against taxes (state taxes in Massachusetts in 1786-87; the federal whiskey excise in Pennsylvania in 1794). Difference: under the Articles, the national government could do nothing about Shays’ Rebellion, which exposed its weakness; under the Constitution, Washington federalized about 15,000 militiamen and ended the Whiskey Rebellion almost without bloodshed, proving the new government could enforce federal law.

The whole unit in one map

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Terms

Daniel ShaysJohn JayAlexander HamiltonJames MadisonJohn AdamsAbigail AdamsEli WhitneyJohn LockeGeorge WashingtonThomas JeffersonThomas PaineBenjamin Franklin

Definitions

Albany Plan, Join or Die, diplomat who helped win French aidFather of the Constitution, Federalist Papers, Bill of RightsFederalist Papers co-author; 1794 treaty with BritainTreasury secretary; national bank; Federalist leaderInvented the cotton gin (1793)Natural rights and the social contractDeclaration of Independence; Democratic-Republican leaderFrench and Indian War officer, Continental Army commander, first presidentLed indebted Massachusetts farmers in 1786-87Second president; XYZ Affair; Alien and Sedition Acts'Remember the Ladies'Common Sense (1776)

Put the unit in order

Order the events from earliest to latest

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• Articles of Confederation ratified
• Whiskey Rebellion
• Stamp Act and the Stamp Act Congress
• Boston Massacre
• Constitution ratified
• Townshend Acts
• Albany Plan of Union proposed
• Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War
• Boston Tea Party
• Shays' Rebellion
• Battle of Saratoga
• Declaration of Independence
• Alien and Sedition Acts
• Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress

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Mock unit test

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Unit 3 mock test, 25 questions

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1. 01

   Which development most directly caused Britain to end salutary neglect after 1763?

   A The war debt and cost of defending territory won in the Seven Years' War B The colonies' refusal to adopt Franklin's Albany Plan of Union in 1754 C A sharp decline in the colonial population in the years after the war D French demands that Britain tax its colonies to pay war reparations
   Why: Debt nearly doubled, and Britain chose to garrison about 10,000 soldiers in America. London concluded the colonists should help pay.
2. 02

   The Proclamation of 1763 was issued primarily in response to

   A the Boston Tea Party B Pontiac's Rebellion C the Stamp Act Congress D Shays' Rebellion
   Why: Pontiac's alliance attacked forts and settlements in 1763; Britain drew the line at the Appalachians to prevent more wars.
3. 03

   Colonists objected to the Stamp Act more strongly than to earlier trade duties because it

   A was collected by colonial assemblies rather than royal officials B applied only to goods imported from the French West Indies C was a direct tax paid by ordinary colonists on everyday items D was proposed by colonial agents who lived in London
   Why: Earlier duties were paid by merchants at the docks. Stamps hit anyone who bought a newspaper or signed a legal document.
4. 04

   'It is inseparably essential to the freedom of a People... that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their own Consent, given personally, or by their representatives.' This 1765 resolution most directly challenged the British idea of

   A mercantilism B salutary neglect C divine right D virtual representation
   Why: Parliament claimed it virtually represented all British subjects. The Stamp Act Congress insisted only actually elected representatives could tax.
5. 05

   Which pair shows a British action followed by a colonial response to it?

   A Boston Tea Party, then the Tea Act B Declaration of Independence, then the Olive Branch Petition C Townshend Acts, then nonimportation agreements D First Continental Congress, then the Coercive Acts
   Why: The other three pairs are in the wrong order.
6. 06

   The Election of 1800 is significant mainly because it

   A was the first peaceful transfer of power between rival parties B was decided by the Supreme Court after a tie in the House C ended the political careers of both Jefferson and Burr D was won by the Federalist candidate, John Adams
   Why: Jefferson's 'Revolution of 1800': the Federalists gave up power without violence, proving the system could survive partisanship.
7. 07

   Paul Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre is best understood as

   A a neutral eyewitness record made for the soldiers' trial B propaganda designed to stir anti-British feeling C a British attempt to justify the soldiers' actions D a Loyalist warning against mob violence in Boston
   Why: The neat firing line, the 'Butcher's Hall' sign, and the passive crowd were all choices made to convict the soldiers in public opinion.
8. 08

   The Quebec Act (1774) alarmed many colonists because it

   A gave French Canadians their own seats in the British Parliament B banned the fur trade throughout the entire Great Lakes region C returned Canada to French rule shortly after the war ended D extended Quebec to the Ohio River without an elected assembly
   Why: It took land colonists claimed, recognized Catholicism, and set up a government with no representative assembly.
9. 09

   The phrase 'deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed' most directly reflects the ideas of

   A Thomas Hobbes B Adam Smith C John Locke D Jonathan Edwards
   Why: Locke's social contract: legitimate government rests on the consent of the people it governs.
10. 10

    Thomas Paine's Common Sense differed from earlier colonial protests because it

    A attacked monarchy itself and demanded independence B asked Parliament to give the colonies representation C defended the king against his corrupt ministers D called for a return to the Albany Plan of Union
    Why: Earlier protests blamed Parliament and professed loyalty to the king. Paine rejected kingship altogether.
11. 11

    The most important result of the Battle of Saratoga was

    A the immediate end of the Revolutionary War in the North B Washington's recapture of New York City from the British C Britain's decision to evacuate its troops from Canada D a formal alliance between France and the United States
    Why: The victory convinced France to ally openly with the Americans in 1778.
12. 12

    Eli Whitney's cotton gin (1793) contributed to

    A a steep decline in the number of enslaved people in the South B the expansion of cotton plantations and of slavery C the end of the Atlantic slave trade that same year D the rise of large textile factories in the Deep South
    Why: Profitable short-staple cotton spread plantations west, and the enslaved population grew rapidly.
13. 13

    Republican Motherhood encouraged

    A women's right to vote in state elections B women serving as soldiers in the Continental Army C the education of women to raise virtuous citizens D women holding seats in the state legislatures
    Why: A civic role without political rights: mothers would raise republican sons, so women needed education.
14. 14

    Which statement best describes the effect of the Revolution on slavery?

    A Northern states began gradual emancipation while slavery persisted in the South B Slavery was abolished nationwide under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 C The Articles of Confederation outlawed slavery in every one of the states D Slavery grew fastest in the New England states during the 1780s and 1790s
    Why: Pennsylvania (1780) led northern gradual emancipation; the South held on to slavery and soon expanded it.
15. 15

    The greatest achievement of the government under the Articles of Confederation was the

    A Commerce Compromise B Proclamation of Neutrality C Judiciary Act of 1789 D Northwest Ordinance of 1787
    Why: A process for new, equal states and a ban on slavery north of the Ohio River. The other three came under the Constitution.
16. 16

    Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787) is significant because it

    A led directly to Parliament's repeal of the much-hated Stamp Act B exposed the weakness of the national government under the Articles C was the first real battle to be fought in the Revolutionary War D convinced Massachusetts to withdraw from the Confederation entirely
    Why: Congress could not raise money or troops to protect even a federal arsenal, and calls for a new constitution grew louder.
17. 17

    The Great Compromise at the Constitutional Convention created

    A a one-house Congress in which each state received an equal vote B a president elected directly by a national popular vote C a two-house Congress: one house by population, one with equal votes D a Supreme Court whose justices were chosen by the state legislatures
    Why: House by population (large states), Senate with two per state (small states).
18. 18

    Anti-Federalists feared that the Constitution would

    A create a central government powerful enough to threaten liberty B leave the national government too weak to pay its debts C abolish slavery immediately in all of the southern states D give small states more power than large states in Congress
    Why: Having fought a distant, powerful government, they feared another one, especially without a bill of rights.
19. 19

    Madison's argument in Federalist No. 10 was that

    A only small republics could protect individual liberty B political parties should be banned by the Constitution C state governments should keep most political power D a large republic makes it harder for one faction to dominate
    Why: Many competing interests in a large republic make an oppressive majority less likely.
20. 20

    The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution mainly to

    A expand the powers of the new federal government B win over Anti-Federalists who feared federal tyranny C end the importation of enslaved people before 1808 D settle the dispute between the large and small states
    Why: Federalists promised amendments to secure ratification, and Madison drafted them in 1789; ten were ratified in 1791.
21. 21

    Alexander Hamilton's financial program included all of the following EXCEPT

    A federal assumption of the states' war debts B a national bank chartered by Congress C the elimination of all tariffs on imports D an excise tax on whiskey
    Why: Hamilton wanted tariffs, both for revenue and to protect infant industries.
22. 22

    The dispute between Hamilton and Jefferson over the national bank centered on

    A how strictly or loosely to interpret the Constitution B whether the United States should declare war on France C whether new states could join the Union as equals D how many justices should sit on the Supreme Court
    Why: Loose construction and implied powers (Hamilton) vs strict construction (Jefferson).
23. 23

    The Whiskey Rebellion (1794) differed from Shays' Rebellion in that

    A it was led mostly by veterans of the Revolutionary War B it began over taxes that struggling western farmers resented C it broke out in the western, frontier part of a state D the national government quickly put it down with militia
    Why: Both were western farmers' tax revolts. The difference was the response: the new federal government could act; the Articles government could not.
24. 24

    Washington's Farewell Address advised the United States to

    A join permanent alliances with other free republics B avoid permanent alliances and the spirit of party C build a large navy to protect American merchants D support revolutionary France in its war on Britain
    Why: Commerce with all, permanent alliances with none, and beware of parties and sectionalism.
25. 25

    The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (1798) introduced the argument that

    A the Supreme Court can strike down any act passed by Congress B Congress may limit the freedom of the press during wartime C states may nullify federal laws they judge unconstitutional D the president may deport immigrants without any hearing
    Why: Jefferson and Madison's compact theory, a response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, later used in the nullification crisis.

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Front

Seven Years' War / French and Indian War

Back

1754-1763. Fourth British-French war for empire; began in the Ohio Valley. Britain won, but its debt nearly doubled.

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Mnemonics

Common pitfalls

The British took the hill. It was a British tactical win at a terrible price (over 1,000 casualties). Americans called it “a victory of sorts” because they proved they could fight regulars. On the test, “British victory with heavy losses” is the right description.

Congress adopted the Articles in 1777, but they were not ratified until 1781, because Maryland held out until states with western land claims gave them up.

September 17, 1787 is when the convention signed it and sent it to the states. It was ratified when New Hampshire became the ninth state on June 21, 1788. The new government began in 1789, and Rhode Island did not ratify until May 1790.

The clause was already in Article I, Section 8, written by the convention in 1787. Hamilton interpreted it loosely to claim implied powers. The skill being tested is loose vs strict construction, not who wrote the clause.

The Tea Act of 1773 made East India Company tea cheaper. Colonists destroyed it because buying it meant accepting Parliament’s right to tax them. The protest was about principle, not price.

He urged trade with every nation and permanent political alliances with none. Isolationism is a later caricature of his point.

The opposite. It made cotton so profitable that plantations spread west and the enslaved population grew by about 70 percent between 1790 and 1810.

The Articles government won the war, negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783), and passed the Land Ordinance (1785) and the Northwest Ordinance (1787), which set the pattern for every new state. Weak, yes. Useless, no.

Roughly 40 percent were Patriots, 20 to 30 percent were Loyalists, and the rest tried to stay out of it. The Revolution was also a civil war.

Cheat sheet

The whole unit on two rails, three tables, and one recall drill.

Dates worth knowing

Year	Event	Why it matters
1754	French and Indian War begins; Albany Plan	The war that changes everything; first try at unity
1763	Treaty of Paris; Proclamation of 1763	Britain wins the continent, then blocks the West
1765	Stamp Act; Stamp Act Congress	First direct tax; united protest
1767	Townshend Acts	Indirect taxes, writs of assistance, new boycotts
1770	Boston Massacre	Five killed; a propaganda gift
1773	Tea Act; Boston Tea Party	Principle over price
1774	Intolerable Acts; First Continental Congress	Punishment unites the colonies
1775	Lexington and Concord; Bunker Hill; Olive Branch	War begins while Congress still asks for peace
1776	Common Sense; Declaration of Independence	Independence
1777	Saratoga	Turning point; French alliance in 1778
1781	Yorktown; Articles ratified	Victory; the first national government
1783	Treaty of Paris	Independence and the Mississippi border
1785	Land Ordinance	Township grid, section 16 for schools
1786-87	Shays’ Rebellion	Proof the Articles failed
1787	Constitutional Convention; Northwest Ordinance	New Constitution; path to statehood, no slavery in the NW
1788	Constitution ratified	New Hampshire is the ninth state
1789	Washington takes office; Judiciary Act	Precedents and federal courts
1791	Bill of Rights; Bank of the United States	Rights protected; loose construction wins
1793	Neutrality Proclamation; cotton gin	Stay out of Europe; slavery’s future expands
1794	Whiskey Rebellion; Fallen Timbers; Jay’s Treaty	Federal power; the Ohio country opened
1795	Pinckney’s Treaty; Treaty of Greenville	The Mississippi opened; Native land ceded
1796	Farewell Address	No permanent alliances, no parties
1798	XYZ fallout; Alien and Sedition Acts; KY + VA Resolutions	Free speech vs security; nullification
1800	Election of 1800	Peaceful transfer of power

Shays vs Whiskey

	Shays’ Rebellion	Whiskey Rebellion
When	1786-1787	1794
Where	Western Massachusetts	Western Pennsylvania
Against	High state taxes and debtors’ courts	The federal excise tax on whiskey
Government	Articles of Confederation	Constitution
Response	National government helpless; privately funded state militia	Washington sends about 15,000 militiamen
Lesson	The national government is too weak	The new federal government can enforce its laws

Federalists vs Democratic-Republicans, in one line each

Federalists (Hamilton, Adams): strong central government, loose construction, bank and tariffs, commerce, pro-British, northern merchants. Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson, Madison): states’ rights, strict construction, against the bank, agriculture, pro-French, farmers of the South and West.

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