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The Revolution's Ledger (Parts 1 - 3):

Stamp Act

A 1765 British law that imposed a direct tax on the American colonies, requiring that all paper goods be produced on stamped paper carrying a tax. 

Townshend Acts

A series of laws passed in 1767 that taxed common goods imported into the American colonies, such as glass, lead, paper, and tea. 

Tea Act

A 1773 law that granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. It led directly to the Boston Tea Party. 

Taxation Without Representation

The core political and financial grievance of the American colonists. It is the principle that a government does not have the right to tax a populace that is not represented in the government's legislative body.

Currency Acts

A series of laws passed by the British Parliament, most notably in 1764, that restricted the American colonies from issuing their own paper money, or bills of credit. 

Bills of Credit

A form of paper money issued by colonial governments to facilitate trade in an economy that lacked a sufficient supply of gold and silver coins.

Specie

Money in the form of coins, specifically gold and silver. There was a chronic shortage of specie in the American colonies. 

Monetary Sovereignty

The power of a state to control its own currency and money supply. The struggle over this was a key cause of the American Revolution.

Continental

The paper currency issued by the Continental Congress to fund the Revolutionary War. It was a fiat currency not backed by gold or silver.

Fiat Currency

Money that is not backed by a physical commodity and has value because a government decrees that it is legal tender.

Inflation

A general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. The over-issuance of Continentals led to hyperinflation. 

Foreign Loans

Money borrowed from other countries. Loans from France were essential to the American victory.

Robert Morris

A wealthy merchant appointed as the Superintendent of Finance during the Revolution. He is considered one of America's Founding Fathers for his crucial role in financing the war.

Sources for The Revolution's Ledger (Part 1): Taxation Without Representati

  • "The Radicalism of the American Revolution" by Gordon S. Wood
  • "The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution" by Bernard Bailyn
  • "A Financial History of the United States" by Jerry W. Markham
  • World History Encyclopedia, "Stamp Act" and "Townshend Acts"

Sources for The Revolution's Ledger (Part 2): The Fight for a Colonial Curr

  • "The Radicalism of the American Revolution" by Gordon S. Wood
  • "The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution" by Bernard Bailyn
  • "A Financial History of the United States" by Jerry W. Markham
  • World History Encyclopedia, "Currency Act"

Sources for The Revolution's Ledger (Part 3): Financing a Revolution

  • "The Radicalism of the American Revolution" by Gordon S. Wood
  • "A Financial History of the United States" by Jerry W. Markham
  • "The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution" by Barbara W. Tuchman
  • World History Encyclopedia, "Financing the American Revolution"

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