UNIT 3 (1754-1800)
Welcome to Unit 3 of APUSH! This unit covers the time period from 1754-1800! During this unit, we will be covering everything from the French and Indian War to the Election of Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. President. We will first be going over the Seven Years’ War and then moving on to the effects of it and how that relates to a desire for independence and the causes of the American Revolution. Afterwards, we will talk about the American Revolution itself, its effects on the creation of the United States, its effects on the world, before lastly talking about the first government of the United States. We will talk about how the Articles of Confederation failed and needed to be replaced by a new Constitution, and then ending with what life was like in the new country along with the presidencies of the first two presidents: George Washington and John Adams.
Key People, Terms, and Events
People
Terms
Events
Republican Motherhood: An idea after the American Revolution that said that now that America was its own democratic country, the role of women was now especially important because it was their duty to raise educated citizens to practice the principles of republicanism. It was now their civic duty to raise good children knowledgeable in politics and the ideals of democracy.
Articles of Confederation: The first governing document of the United States, ratified in 1781, provided for a very weak federal government and made it very difficult for things to happen because it was heavily influenced by state constitutions and so it failed and was replaced by the Constitution; this document provided for no executive branch (president) and also had a very weak Supreme Court
House of Representatives: Represented states by population, Representatives voted in by the people for two-year terms
Senate: Represented states equally, Senators elected by state legislators for six-year terms
President: Head of the newly-created executive branch, voted in through the electoral college, meaning they would be elected by the states where each state had electors based on their population that would vote for the president
Federalists: Urban and commercial people who supported a strong government, led by Alexander Hamilton
Anti-Federalists: Rural people and agriculturalists who supported state power, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, created to protect individual rights and protect states from abuse of federal power, adopted in 1792
Three Branches of Government: Legislative (responsible for making laws), Executive (responsible for enforcing laws), Judicial (responsible for interpreting laws)
Farewell Address: Washington’s address to the United States when his presidency ended, warned against the dangers of creating factions and political parties
Benjamin Franklin: Proposed the Albany Plan of Union at the Albany Congress in which the colonies would establish a Grand Council to unite them but this plan was rejected; during the American Revolution, he spent his time in France trying to convince them to ally with the colonies and succeeded in convincing them after the colonies won the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, wrote Poor Richard’s Almanack which became popular and widely read throughout the states (only being outsold by the Bible)
Pontiac: The Ottawa leader, led raids against the colonists in Detroit and other military forts in Virginia and Pennsylvania which led to the British Parliament establishing the Proclamation Line of 1763
George Grenville: British Prime Minister, implemented a three-part plan to end salutary neglect in the colonies: stricter enforcement of current laws, Quartering Act of 1765, a lot more taxes
Thomas Paine: Wrote Common Sense in 1776, a pamphlet in which Paine used common language to argue for independence from Britain and filled it with enlightenment ideas. He argued that it was common sense that such a large piece of land such as America should not be ruled by England, which was so far away. These ideas attracted many colonists and this pamphlet became very popular as a result. And this completely changed the minds of the colonists from loyalty to independence.
Richard Henry Lee: A delegate from Virginia in the Second Continental Congress, made the motion for independence
Toussaint L'Ouverture: Led the Haitian Revolution, in which Haiti won independence from France and became the first black-led independent nation in the Western Hemisphere
Daniel Shays: An angry farmer who gathered a militia of about a thousand people in Massachusetts and started Shays’ Rebellion, which showed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation due to its inability to provide a federal response to stop the rebellion
Alexander Hamilton: One of the three writers of the Federalist Papers, Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury, wrote a Financial Report with three key recommendations to fix America’s economic problems but Congress only accepted the idea of combining state debts into a national debt, caused the Whiskey Rebellion after he convinced Congress to pass a tax on whiskey
John Jay: One of the three writers of the Federalist Papers, 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, negotiated Jay’s Treaty with Britain
Eli Whitney: Invented the cotton gin in 1793, which allowed for the separation of cotton seeds from fiber, creating a large demand for slaves in the South because plantations could now produce much more cotton. Also started the technology of interchangeable parts
1763: The French and Indian War, and the Seven Years’ War, ends, leading to the signing of the Peace of Paris and the Proclamation Line of 1763, forbidding colonists from migrating west of the Appalachians
1770: The Boston Massacre occurs
1774: Delegates meet in the Continental Congress
1776: Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense in January and in July, the colonies declare independence from Britain, starting the American Revolution
1777: The Battle of Saratoga is won, convincing France to provide aid to the colonies in the revolution
1783: The Paris Peace Treaty is signed, ending the American Revolution
1786: Shays’ Rebellion starts
1787: The Constitutional Convention is held to write a new Constitution, leading to the Great Compromise and Three-Fifths Compromise
1789: George Washington becomes the 1st President of the United States and the French Revolution begins
1790s: The Second Great Awakening begins
Fast Summary
During the years 1763 to before Jefferson's presidency, the American colonies underwent significant changes that ultimately led to the American Revolution and the formation of the United States of America.
1763 marked the end of the French and Indian War, which resulted in Britain gaining control of much of North America. To help pay for the war and maintain control over the colonies, Britain implemented various taxes and regulations, such as the Quartering Act and the Sugar Act, which led to increased tensions between the colonies and Britain.
In 1765, the Stamp Act was passed, which imposed a direct tax on all printed materials in the colonies. This led to widespread protests and the formation of the Sons of Liberty, who organized the Stamp Act Congress in response.
In 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred, where British troops killed several colonists during a confrontation, leading to further tension. In 1773, the Tea Act was passed, which led to the Boston Tea Party, where American colonists dumped 342 chests of tea, valued at over £9,659, into the Atlantic Ocean to protest Britain's taxation policies.
These events culminated in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which declared the 13 American colonies independent from Britain. The American Revolution lasted from 1775 to 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the newly formed United States of America faced numerous challenges in its early years of governance. Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government was weak and lacked the power to tax and regulate commerce. This led to growing financial instability and threatened the unity of the nation.
In response to these challenges, the Constitutional Convention was held in 1787, resulting in the creation of the US Constitution, which established a stronger federal government with separate branches of government and a system of checks and balances. The Constitution was ratified in 1788, and George Washington was elected as the first President of the United States.
During the presidency of John Adams, the country faced increasing tensions with France, which led to the Quasi-War, a limited conflict between the US and France that lasted from 1798 to 1800, alongside the XYZ Affair and then Adams’ demise came when he passed the highly-controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, targeted towards negatively impacting Scots-Irish immigrants in the new United States.