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War for Independence

Terms in this set (42)

George Washington
General of the continetal army; represented Virginia in the First and Second Continental Congress; 1st U.S. President
Samuel Adams
Founder of the Sons of Liberty. Organized resistance to the Stamp Act.
Militiamen
Armed American civilians who were active in the Revolutionary War and in the period just preceding the war. They were named Minutemen because they were ready to fight alongside regular soldiers at a moment's notice.
Redcoats
British soldiers who fought against the colonists in the American Revolution; so called because of their bright red uniforms
Patriots
An American colonist who sided with the rebels in the American Revolution
Marquis de LAfayette
He helped the patriots and spied on Charles Cornwallis (British captain) and found out their plans with the help of a Yorktown spy, James Armistead. Later James Lafayette
General Cornwallis
British commander in the South, penetrated Camden, South Carolina, met and crushed a Patriot force under Horatio Gates on August 16, 1780.
Thomas Jefferson
principal writer of the Declaration of Independence; made a deal with France called the Louisiana Purchase--doubled the size of the United States
Minutemen
A member of the colonial militia who trained to respond at a minutes warning
Loyalists
The group of American colonist that remain loyal to the king during and after the American Revolution. When the British lost the war many left the United States.
Frederich von Steuben
Prussian soldier who helped train American forces at Valley Forge in the American Revolutionary War.
King George III
ruled Great Britain before, during, and after the American Revolution; declared the colonists in rebellion
Proclamation of 1763
issued of October 7, 1763 and was created to alleviate relations with natives after the French and Indian War and started that Americans were not permitted to passed the Appalachian Mountains.
Quartering Act
Was an act enforced by the British on their North American colonies. It required colonist to provide adequate housing and basic necessities like food to the troops.
Townshend Acts
Taxes levied on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. Tea was the most popular drink in the colonies.
Declaration of Independence
The document, written in 1776, in which the colonies declared Independence from Britain
Boston Massacre
British troops fire on colonists after Crispus Attucks and several dockhands heckle and attack them. 5 colonists are killed by British. Samuel Adams labels this the Boston Massacre.
Battle of Saratoga
Turning point of the American Revolution that determined the British fate. The Americans defeated the British. The French began an open alliance with the Americans.
Lexington and Concord
British soldiers line up to march back to Boston and are massacred by colonists fighting from behind walls and trees. Between 3,000-4,000 British troops slain that day. Eight minutemen killed by redcoats.
Boston Tea Party
Sons of Liberty protested against Tea Act; dresses as Indians, they throw 18,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor; result: Intolerable Acts (incl. Boston Port Act)
Sugar Act
A tax imposted by the British Parliament, which was enforced indirectly. It was used to raised money so that colonist could help pay off the debt of the French and Indian War.
Stamp Act
Many paper goods needed to have a tax stamp. It was imposed by the British on the colonies. The revenue went to pay for the troops station in the colonies.
Tea Act
A tax on tea by the British Parliament on the colonies passed in 1773 because the British East India company was facing bankruptcy.
Bunker Hill
Americans lost to British, but British suffered heavy 1000 casualties in this first true battle of the war (June 17, 1775
Common Sense
persuasive argument that Americans should become independent and it was written in a style that the common person could read. 50 page pamphlet that Thomas Paine wrote.
Battle of Yorktown
(1781) Last battle of the Revolutionary War; support from French helped a lot, Washington army forced surrender upon a large British army
French Involvement
Lafayette provides supplies and Steuben provides training for his military while Washington led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war
Valley Forge
Washington's troops spent a harsh winter here after losing Philadelphia to the British (1777-1778)
Savannah
A group of Indians who formed an alliance with the Carolinas, but later ended that alliance in hopes of better treatment further north.
The Treaty of Paris
Treaty which stated that:
1. Britain would recognize the existence of the US
2. The Mississippi River would be the western border of the US
3. Americans would have fishing rights off the coast of Canada
4. Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants and honor Loyalist claims for property confiscated during the war
Intolerable Acts
a series of laws that included SHUTTING down Boston Harbor and quartering British soldiers in private homes.
Second Continental Congress
Involved all 13 colonies and was a response to Lexington and Concord and wrote the Olive Branch Petition, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation.
Profeiteering
selling scarce goods for a profit
Charles Town
busiest seaport in the South; located in Carolinas; sons of English aristocrats came for money, French and Protestants came for religious toleration
Committees of Correspondence
organized by patriot leader Samuel Adams, was a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies. They provided the organization necessary to unite the colonies in opposition to Parliament. The committees sent delegates to the First Continental Congress
Boston Tea Party
Was a reaction by the colonists of the British. The colonist disguised as Indians boarded a British ship and threw tea into the harbor on December 16, 1773.
Inflation
persistent increase in the general level of prices as measured by a price index. Prices rised
Eglitarianism
Of, relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities
Compare the Stamp Act with the Intolerable Acts. Consider what each called for, Britains reasons for passing each, and how the colonists responded to each.
The Stamp Act:
required colonists to buy special stamped paper when purchasing certain printed items
to gain revenue from the colonies
finance debts from the French and Indian War
Response:
organized the Sons of Liberty
harassed customs workers and stamp agents
passed anti-Stamp Act resolutions
held the Stamp Act Congress
wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances
began boycotting British goods
The Intolerable Acts
shut down Boston Harbor
authorized British commanders to house soldiers in private homes
In response
pulled together to support the protests in Massachusetts
held the First Continental Congress
stepped up military preparations for war
Explain the roles played by the following documents during the struggle for American Independence: the Olive Branch Petition, Common Sense, and the Declaration of Independence.
The Olive Branch Petition
last, desperate attempt by the colonists to reconcile with Britain
King George's rejection of the Olive Branch Petition undoubtedly helped to convince many colonists that efforts to reconcile were hopeless
the king was bent on punishing the colonists.
Common Sense
helped to convince many colonists that King George was a tyrant
it was time for independence
independence would improve the lives of the colonists
The Declaration of Independence
formally declared the colonists' reasons for declaring independence
helping to justify-to themselves and to the world-the drastic actions they were taking
Discuss the struggles faced by American Soldiers, civilians, and the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War
Soldiers struggled
to stay alive
to stay clothed, housed, fed, warm, and healthy
to keep their spirits up despite facing a better-prepared, better-armed, more numerous enemy.
Civilians struggled
to manage the farms, businesses, families, and households left behind by the soldiers
to cope with rapidly rising prices and a scarcity of goods
to care for the soldiers in the field
The Continental Congress struggled
to finance the war
battle inflation
equip the army
negotiate with France
What are some of the ideals that Americans fought for during the Revolutionary War? In what ways did American society reflect these ideals after the war, and in what ways did it fail to live up to them?
Americans fought to defend various individual freedoms and their natural rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
After the war, the blurring of class distinctions stirred a rise in egalitarianism and a new idea
ability, effort, and virtue
not wealth or family--defines one's worth
this idea of egalitarianism, however, applied only to white males
African Americans, whether enslaved or free, faced oppression
white women had few political rights
American settlers continued to move onto Native American lands
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