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US History Unit 3: Period 3: 1754–1800

British efforts to control and tax the colonies after 1763 led to revolution, and Americans then built and debated a new government.

Covers: French and Indian War, British taxes and colonial resistance, the American Revolution, Articles of Confederation, the Constitution and ratification, Washington and Adams, first political parties

Study guide

The French and Indian War (1754–1763) gave Britain control of North America east of the Mississippi but left it deeply in debt. To pay for the war and defend the colonies, Britain ended salutary neglect. The Proclamation of 1763 barred settlement west of the Appalachians, and Parliament passed taxes like the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act (1765) and the Townshend Acts. Colonists protested "no taxation without representation," organized boycotts, the Sons of Liberty and the Stamp Act Congress. Tensions led to the Boston Massacre (1770), the Boston Tea Party (1773) and the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts (1774).

Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in 1775. Thomas Paine's Common Sense argued for independence, and the Declaration of Independence (1776), written mainly by Thomas Jefferson, drew on Enlightenment ideas of natural rights and government by consent. The Continental Army under George Washington survived early losses; the victory at Saratoga (1777) brought a French alliance, and the British surrender at Yorktown (1781) led to the Treaty of Paris (1783). The Revolution raised questions about slavery and women's roles ("republican motherhood") that it did not resolve.

The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government with no power to tax or regulate trade. Shays' Rebellion (1786–1787) convinced leaders to write the Constitution in 1787. Compromises included the Great Compromise (a House based on population and a Senate with equal votes) and the Three-Fifths Compromise. Federalists, who wrote The Federalist Papers, supported ratification, while Anti-Federalists feared a strong central government; the Bill of Rights (1791) answered their concerns. Under Washington, Alexander Hamilton's financial plan and disputes over foreign policy created the first parties: Hamilton's Federalists and Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans. Washington's Farewell Address warned against parties and foreign alliances, and Adams faced the XYZ Affair and the Alien and Sedition Acts.

With their French allies gone, Great Lakes Native nations resisted British control in Pontiac's Rebellion (1763). The rebellion helped prompt the Proclamation of 1763, which angered colonists who wanted western land. Not all colonists backed independence. Loyalists, perhaps a fifth of the population, stayed with Britain. Many Native nations sided with Britain to protect their lands, and some enslaved people gained freedom by joining the British after Lord Dunmore's 1775 offer.

The Articles' greatest success was organizing the West. The Land Ordinance of 1785 surveyed the land into townships, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set a process for territories to become equal states and banned slavery north of the Ohio River. The Constitution created federalism, which divides power between the national and state governments. It also separated power among three branches with checks and balances so that, as Madison argued, each branch's ambition would counter the others'.

Washington showed the federal government's strength by putting down the Whiskey Rebellion (1794) against Hamilton's excise tax. He declared neutrality in the war between Britain and revolutionary France, and Jay's Treaty with Britain angered Democratic-Republicans who favored France. Settlers moving into the Ohio Valley fought a Native confederacy that defeated US armies in 1791. After the US victory at Fallen Timbers (1794), the Treaty of Greenville (1795) forced the Native nations to cede most of present-day Ohio.

Key ideas

• Britain's war debt led to new taxes and tighter control after 1763.
• Colonists objected to taxation without representation.
• Enlightenment ideas shaped the Declaration of Independence.
• The weak Articles of Confederation led to the Constitution.
• Debates over Hamilton's plans created the first political parties.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Thinking colonists opposed all taxes; they opposed taxes passed without their representation.
• Confusing the Federalist Party (Hamilton) with the Federalists who supported ratification (they overlapped but aren't identical).

Words to know

French and Indian War

1754–1763 war between Britain and France for North America; left Britain in debt.

Proclamation of 1763

British ban on colonial settlement west of the Appalachians.

Stamp Act

A 1765 tax on printed materials that sparked widespread protest.

No taxation without representation

The colonial argument that only their own assemblies could tax them.

Sons of Liberty

A colonial resistance group that organized protests against British taxes.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor.

Intolerable Acts

Britain's 1774 punishments of Massachusetts after the Tea Party.

Common Sense

Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet arguing for independence.

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 statement of natural rights and reasons for breaking with Britain.

Battle of Saratoga

The 1777 American victory that brought a French alliance.

Articles of Confederation

The first US government, with a weak Congress unable to tax.

Shays' Rebellion

A 1786–1787 farmers' uprising that exposed the Articles' weakness.

Great Compromise

Created a House based on population and a Senate with equal representation.

Federalist Papers

Essays by Hamilton, Madison and Jay supporting ratification.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the Constitution who demanded a Bill of Rights.

Hamilton's financial plan

Federal assumption of state debts, a national bank and tariffs.

Sample practice questions

5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.