Social Studies Flash Cards
Roanoke
• Queen Elizabeth I wanted a colony in the New
World to compete for national prestige.
• Sir Walter Raleigh started colony and it failed
due to the colonists not being able to adapt to
new climate.
• John White started the colony again and went
back to England to get supplies. When he
returned all of the settlers had disappeared.
Jamestown
• The Virginia Company started Jamestown to
make a profit.
• Colony struggled until John Smith became leader.
• Powhatan tribe trapped colonists in fort. Event
was known as “The Starving Time”.
• Colony became a success when John Rolfe
introduced tobacco cash crop.
• Started House of Burgesses as first form of
representative government that gave colonists
expectation to self govern
New England Colonies
• Plymoth/Plimoth Plantation- Founded by William
Bradford and Pilgrims for religious freedom.
Helped by Wampanog and Squanto.
• Massachusetts Bay Colony- Founded by John
Winthrop and Puritans for religious freedom
• Connecticut- Founded by Thomas Hooker after
being thrown out of Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Rhode Island- Founded by Anne Hutchinson and
Roger Williams
Middle Colonies
• New York- Proprietary colony founded by Duke
of York
• Pennsylvania- William Penn founded colony as
refuge for Quakers
• Delaware- Originally part of Pennsylvania
• Maryland- Lord Baltimore founded as a refuge
for Catholics leaving England.
Southern Colonies
• Virginia- Originally founded as Jamestown
raised profitable cash crops on plantations.
• North and South Carolina- Proprietary
Colonies given to the King’s friends
• Georgia- Founded as a refuge for English
debtors by James Oglethrope
• Cash crops grown on plantations- tobacco,
cotton, sugar.
Slavery and Indentured Servants
• The warm humid climate of the southern
colonies was ideal for growing cash crops on
plantations. Slaves were needed to grow and
harvest the crops.
• Triangular Trade brought slaves to the New
World on the Middle Passage.
• Indentured Servants were poor English people
who agreed to come to the new world to work
for 5-7 in exchange for passage to colonies.
French and Indian War
• England and France both claimed the Ohio
River Valley.
• French built Fort Duquesne and the English
built Fort Necessity.
• English, Iroquois and the Colonists fought
against the French and Native Americans.
• Treaty of Paris 1763 ended the war.
• English won and gained land, but were in debt
Proclamation Line of 1763
• Colonists began to take Native Americans land
and this led to conflicts. Metacomet (King Phillip)
led Native Americans in war against colonists.
Native Americans lost land in King Phillip’s War.
• After Pontiac’s Rebellion, King George III and
Parliament decided to give the Ohio River Valley
and all land west of Appalachian Mountains to
Native Americans.
• According to the Proclamation Line of 1763
colonists could not cross Appalachian Mountains.
Sugar/Revenue Act
• Taxed all imported molasses and sugar.
• Colonists smuggled the sugar and molasses in.
• Tax was not effective.
Stamp Act
• Taxed all printed materials.
• All tax collectors quit because of harassment
from Sons of Liberty.
Townshend Acts
• Placed a tax on imported household goods
such as glass, paint, lead, paper and tea.
• Daughters of Liberty boycotted (refused to
buy) the imported goods and tried to find
alternatives.
• England repealed the taxes, but left the Tea
Act to prove they could tax the colonists.
Quartering Act
• Colonists were required to house British
soldiers and pay for the cost of defending the
colonies in French and Indian War and the
Native American Wars.
Sons and Daughters of Liberty
• Sons of Liberty were organized by Samuel
Adams to protest taxes without
representation in Parliament.
• Daughters of Liberty organized boycotts of
British goods and found homemade
alternatives.
• Mercy Otis Warren wrote poetry to inspire
boycotts.
Boston Massacre
• King George III sent soldiers to Boston to stop the
Sons and Daughters of Liberty from protesting
the taxation.
• Boston citizens resented having British soldiers in
their city.
• Some children were throwing snowballs and
rocks at the British soldiers and an angry mob
advanced on the soldiers. 5 colonists were killed
including Crispus Attucks.
• Paul Revere made an engraving to publish in
colonial newspapers.
Boston Tea Party
• To protest the tax on tea, Samuel Adams and
Sons of Liberty organized a protest and
dressed as Mohawk Native Americans and
dumped the British East India Tea Company
tea into the harbor.
• Punishment was the Coercive Acts.
Intolerable/Coercive Acts
• Boston Port Act-Closed Boston Harbor until tea
was paid for
• Massachusetts Government Act- Massachusetts
governor was replaced with British General
Thomas Gage
• Quartering Act- Colonists had to house British
soldiers
• Administration of Justice Act- British officials who
committed a crime in the colonies could be tried
back in England
First Continental Congress
• Colonists met in Philadelphia to discuss their
rights.
• Created Committees of Correspondence to have
riders inform other colonies of British activity in
colonies.
• Patrick Henry: “I know not what course others
may take, but as for me: Give me liberty or give
me death!”
• Created a colonial militia (volunteer army) for
defense. Called the Minutemen.
Paul Revere’s Ride
• British found out about colonial militia’s
hidden weapons at Lexington and Concord.
• General Gage went to capture weapons and to
arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
• Paul Revere and William Dawes rode to warn
the colonists that “The redcoats are coming!”
Battle of Lexington and Concord
• Colonist militia (Minutemen) met the British
at Lexington.
• No one knows who fired the first shot, but it
became known as “the shot heard ‘round the
world”.
• Colonists won and killed several British
soldiers on the way back to Boston.
Second Continental Congress
• Colonial representatives met in Philadelphia again
to talk about their rights as colonists.
• Sent the Olive Branch petition to King George III
to try to avoid war. Was not successful.
• Thomas Paine published “Common Sense” to
persuade Loyalists to join the Patriot cause. Was
very successful.
• Signed Declaration of Independence on July 4th,
1776
• George Washington was elected the leader of the
Continental Army.
Declaration of Independence
• Committee of 5 appointed to write: Thomas
Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams,
Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston.
• Listed all of the reasons the colonists wanted
to break away from England.
• If the colonies lost the war then the men who
signed it would have been executed for
treason.
• Signed on July 4th, 1776
Battle of Trenton and Saratoga
• Battle of Trenton- Huge moral victory for
Continental Army. George Washington
surprised Hessian mercenaries on Christmas
and took prisoners and supplies.
• Battle of Saratoga- Colonial victory convinced
France to give aid to Patriot army.
Valley Forge
• Washington’s army spent the winter at Valley
Forge.
• Many men died due to disease, starvation,
poor clothing, and little shelter.
• Martha Washington nursed soldiers.
• Marquis de Lafayette and Freidrich von
Steuben helped Washington train soldiers.
Yorktown
• Nathaniel Greene and his army pushed
General Cornwallis’ army to Yorktown,
Virginia.
• The French navy attacked from the sea and
Washington attacked from the land.
• Cornwallis surrendered. Last major battle of
Revolutionary War.
• Treaty of Paris 1783 officially ended the war.
Articles of Confederation
• First plan of government provided for a strong
state government and weak national
government.
• No common currency, no executive or judicial
branch, each state had 1 vote in Congress,
Congress could not organize military or collect
taxes.
• Shays’ Rebellion showed the weaknesses of
the Articles of Confederation.
Constitutional Convention-People
• James Madison- Father of the Constitution
• John Adams- Helped write the Constitution
• Abigail Adams- Wrote to husband to
“remember the ladies” when talking about
rights.
• Gouverneur Morris- Wrote preamble
Constitution Plans
• The Virginia Plan- Provided for 3 branches of
government. Representation in Legislative Branch
was based on state’s population. Favored the
larger states.
• The New Jersey Plan- 3 branches of government.
Each state had two representatives. Favored the
smaller states.
• 3/5 Compromise- States with slavery could count
3 out of every 5 slaves for representation.
3 Branches of Government
• Legislative Branch- Makes laws. Can overrule
the president’s veto with a 2/3 vote.
• Executive Branch- Makes sure laws are carried
out. Appoints Supreme Court judges. Can veto
Congress’ laws.
• Judicial Branch- Judges laws to see if they are
fair.
Bill of Rights
• Antifederalists did not want to sign the
Constitution until their basic rights were added.
Federalists promised to add Bill of Rights.
– 1- Freedom of speech, press, religion, protest, and
assembly
– 2- Right to own guns
– 3- Cannot quarter (house) soldiers
– 4- Must have a search warrant
– 5- You do not have to testify against yourself in court
– 6-8- Right to a quick trial, jury at trial, lawyer, no
unusual punishment
– 9- You have more rights that aren’t in Constitution
– 10- You can add amendments to Constitution