| Term | Definition |
|---|
| amend | to change |
| Antifederalist | the supporters of adding a bill of rights |
| Articles of Confederation | the first attempt by America at a constitution |
| Battle of Saratoga | this battle was a turning point in the war for the patriots; allies joined our cause after this victory |
| Battle of Yorktown | the last battle of the revolution |
| Benedict Arnold | traitor who offered to surrender West Point to the British |
| Benjamin Franklin | considered our American Enlightened spirit |
| Boston Tea Party | a protest against taxation without representation by the Sons of Liberty |
| boycott | refusal to buy certain goods & services |
| Bunker Hill | "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes" |
| Colonial Governor | the person who directed the colony's affairs, enforced the laws |
| Columbian Exchange | the global exchange of goods and ideas between the Eastern & Western hemispheres that sparked exploration |
| Concord | the first shot of the revolution |
| Congress | one of the 3 branches of government; house of representatives and senate |
| Daniel Boone | explore west of the Appalachians; Kentucky |
| Delaware | the river crossed by Washington to attack Trenton |
| depression | period when business activity slows, prices and wages fall, and unemployment rises |
| Ethan Allen | led the Green Mt. boys who took the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga |
| execute | to carry out |
| Executive Branch | president, vice president, cabinet |
| Federalists | supporters of our Constitution without a bill of rights |
| First Continental Congress | group of delegates who met in Philadelphia to debate the issue of independence |
| Founding Fathers | patriots who laid the groundwork for the US |
| Francis Marion | the swamp fox who used guerilla tactics against the British |
| General Cornwallis | the British general who defied an order and was trapped at Yorktown forcing his surrender; he called Washington an old fox |
| General de Grasse | the Frenchman whose ship trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown |
| George III | king on the throne of England during the revolution |
| George Rogers Clark | the patriot who seized British forts on the southwestern frontier |
| George Washington | "The volley fired by this young Virginian in the forests of America, has set the world in flames"; an old fox |
| Georgia delegates | Lyman Hall, George Walton, Button Gwinnett-the signers of the Declaration |
| habeas corpus | innocent until proven guilty |
| Hessians | German soldiers who fought for the British |
| House of Representatives | lower house of congress based on state population |
| Hurons | the tribe who allied with the French in the French and Indian War |
| Intolerable Acts | four laws imposed by the British to punish Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party |
| Iroquois | the tribe who allied with the British in the French and Indian War |
| James Madison | father of the constitution; leading federalist; author of the Bill of Rights |
| James Oglethorpe | the founder of the colony of Georgia |
| Jamestown | colony in Virginia |
| John Adams | attorney who helped the Patriot cause; first vice president |
| John Hancock | President of the Continental Congress; first to sign the declaration |
| John Jay | one of three who wrote "The Federalist Papers" |
| John Locke | an Enlightenment thinker who influenced our founding fathers |
| John Paul Jones | "I have not begun to fight"; fought at sea for the patriots |
| John Smith | he helped save Jamestown from starvation |
| Judicial Branch | the supreme court branch of the government |
| July 4, 1776 | the day the Declaration was signed in Philadelphia |
| lobsterbacks | British redcoat soldiers |
| Louis XVI | the French king who gave money and troops to help the patriots |
| loyalist | a colonist who supported the king |
| Marquis de Lafayette | friend of Washington; one of our French allies |
| Maryland | the first colony established for Catholics |
| Mason-Dixon Line | the imaginary boundary line between the southern and middle colonies |
| Mayflower Compact | first document in the America for self-government |
| mercantilism | an economic theory that believe the colonies should benefit the mother country |
| minutemen | volunteer soldiers who were ready to fight in a moments notice |
| Montesquieu | the Enlightenment writer who believed in separation of powers |
| Nathan Hale | hung as a spy; "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country: |
| New York | first capital of the US |
| Noah Webster | proposed a national language to unify the country |
| Northwest Ordinance | document that set up government in NW Territory and added 5 new states |
| Patrick Henry | "If this be treason make the most of it"; "Give me liberty of give me death"; antifederalist |
| patriots | colonists who favored change |
| Paul Revere | silversmith whose sketch of the Boston Massacre was propaganda for the patriots; "The British are coming" |
| Pocahontas | native American said to have saved John Smith from death by her father |
| Powhatan | powerful chief in the area of Jamestown who agreed to supply corn to the Jamestown colony |
| Puritans | a group of Anglicans in England who wanted to purify their church of Catholic ways |
| Quartering Acts | acts that forced colonists to house soldiers against their will |
| republic | government led by elected representatives |
| Sam Adams | one of the leaders of the Boston Tea Party who dressed as a Mohawk Indian |
| Senate | upper house of the legislature, each state elects two |
| Separatists | a sect of Puritans who totally separated and sailed to American; Pilgrims |
| Shays' Rebellion | a protest by farmers against the Articles of Confederation |
| Stamp Act | the tax on legal documents |
| The Lost Colony | Roanoke, the first English Colony in the Americas |
| Thomas Jefferson | Virginia delegate who wrote the Declaration of Independence |
| Thomas Paine | wrote "Common Sense"; "These are the times that try men's souls" |
| Townshend Acts | taxes on glass, paper, paint, tea |
| Treaty of Paris | the treaty that ended the revolution |
| unalienable | natural rights that belong to everyone and cannot be taken away |
| Valley Forge | Washington retreated to this place in Pennsylvania for the winter after the Battle of Trenton |
| Yankees | merchants from New England who sailed up and down the Atlantic coast |
Combine with other sets
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