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Module 4 The American Revolution

Terms in this set (52)

Sugar Act-
A set of taxes on sugar and molasses imported in the colonies.
Samuel Adams
( 1722-1803) American revolutionary who led the agitation that led to the Boston Tea Party; he signed the Declaration of Independence.
"No Taxation without Representation"-
The slogan that came out of the James Otis and Samuel Adams Boston town meeting in May 1764.
Boycott-
to refuse to buy, use, or participate in something as a way of protesting. To stop using goods and services from a country.
Stamp Act
a law passed by Parliament that raised tax money by requiring colonists to pay for an official stamp whenever they bought paper items such as newspapers, licenses, and legal documents
Townshend Act
June 1767 Parliament passed this act placing a tax on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea.
Boston Massacre
-an incident in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists, killing five people
Crispus Attucks-
African American sailor killed in the Boston Massacre
The Boston Tea Party-
a protest against the Tea Act in which a group of colonists boarded British tea ships and dumped more than 340 chests of tea into Boston Harbor 1773
The Intolerable acts
laws passed by Parliament to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party and to tighten government control of the colonies 1774
Quartering Act
One of the Coercive or Intolerable Acts that helped fan the flames of revolution in the English colonies. It required each colonist to provide a place in their home, or quarter, for British soldiers.
First continental Congress-
a meeting of colonial delegates in Philadelphia to decide how to respond to the closing of Boston Harbor, increased taxes, and abuses of authority by the British government; delegates petitioned King George III, listing the freedoms they believed colonists should enjoy 1774
What colony was not in attendance?
Georgia
Patriots-
American colonists who fought for independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War
Minutemen
American colonial militia members ready to fight at a minute's notice
Battle of Lexington and Concord-
The first battle of the Revolutionary War, fought in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. British troops had moved from Boston toward Lexington and Concord to seize the colonists' military supplies and arrest revolutionaries.
Shot heard around the world-
phrase for the first shot of the American Revolution at Battle of Lexington/Concord.
Redcoats-
British soldiers who fought against the colonists in the American Revolution; so called because of their bright red uniforms
2nd Continental Congress-
a meeting of colonial delegates in Philadelphia to decide how to react to fighting at Lexington and Concord 1775
George Washington
Revolutionary War hero and Patriot leader, he served as a representative to the Continental Congresses, commanded the Continental Army, and was unanimously elected to two terms as president of the United States.
Battle of Bunker Hill
1775 a Revolutionary War battle in Boston that demonstrated that the colonists could fight well against the British army
Dorchester Heights
In March of 1776, American forces captured Dorchester Heights, which overlooked Boston harbor. They proceeded to enhance their position with artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga. Outflanked, the British were forced to evacuate Boston and set sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Thomas Paine
American political philosopher and author, he urged an immediate declaration of independence from England in his anonymously and simply written pamphlet, Common Sense.
Common Sense
a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that criticized monarchies and convinced many American colonists of the need to break away from Britain
Tyranny-
Oppressive power exerted by a government or ruler
Declaration of Independence
the document written to declare the colonies free from British rule
Thomas Jefferson
American statesman, member of two Continental Congresses, chairman of the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration's main author and one of its signers, and the third president of the United States. 1743-1826
King George III-
1738-1760 King of England, 1760-1820, during the American Revolution. King against whom American colonists claimed to be rebelling.
Loyalists
colonists who sided with Britain in the American Revolution
Georgia Signers of the declaration of Independence
Button Gwinnett Lyman Hall George Walton
What did the British promise slaves if they joined the British Army?
Freedom
Molly Pitcher- Mary Ludwig Hays-
1744-1832, American Revolutionary heroine whose real name was Mary Ludwig Hays or Heis, b. near Trenton, N.J. As the wife of John Hays or Heis, she carried water for her husband and other soldiers in the battle of Monmouth (1778) and earned her nickname. ... "Pitcher, Molly."
Battle of Trenton-
1776 a Revolutionary War battle in New Jersey in which Patriot forces captured more than 900 Hessian troops
What river did Washington Cross on Christmas Night?
Delaware River
Battle of Saratoga
a Revolutionary War battle in New York that resulted in a major defeat of British troops; marked the Patriots' greatest victory up to that point in the war
What two European Countries joined the Americans against the British?
France and Spain
Marquis de Lafayette
French statesman and officer who viewed the American Revolution as important to the world, he helped finance the Revolution and served as major general. 1757-1834
Benjamin Franklin
Early American politician and inventor, he took a central role in helping form the government of the new United States, and acted as a foreign diplomat on behalf of the new nation.
Baron Friedrich von Steuben
1730-1794 Prussian soldier who helped train American forces at Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War.
Winter at Valley Forge -
A valley in eastern Pennsylvania that served as quarters for the American army in one winter (1777-1778) of the Revolutionary War. George Washington, who was commanding the army, had been forced to leave Philadelphia, and his troops suffered from the cold and from lack of supplies.
John Paul Jones
1747-1792 American naval officer famed for bravery, his most famous victory was the defeat of the British warship Serapis, during which he declared, "I have not yet begun to fight!"
Guerrilla Warfare-
is a form of irregular warfare in which a small group of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military
Francis Marion
1732-1795 Revolutionary War commander of Marion's Brigade, a group of guerrilla soldiers in South Carolina that used surprise raids against British communications and supply lines Swamp Fox
Battle of Yorktown
1781 the last major battle of the Revolutionary War; site of British general Charles Cornwallis's surrender to the Patriots in Virginia
Charles Cornwallis-
British General who surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown.
Treaty of Paris of 1783
a peace agreement that officially ended the Revolutionary War and established British recognition of the independence of the United States and its borders.
Causes of the American Revolution part 1
• The American people were strongly independent. They wanted to do things for themselves. Great Britain was a long way away. The American people didn't want people an ocean away telling them how to live their lives.
• The British government decided to make the American colonies pay a large share of the war debt from the French and Indian War.
• Through the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and other taxes, the British tried to collect taxes that the American people considered harsh.
Causes of the American Revolution part 2
• The American people also thought that they should be able to send their own people to Britain's Parliament or at least vote for Britain's lawmakers.
• The combination of the harsh taxes and the lack of an American voice in Parliament gave rise to the famous phrase "taxation without representation."
Causes of the American Revolution part 3
quartering Acts intolerable acts
Causes of the American Revolution part 4
Americans started stockpiling guns and ammunition in violation of British laws. Their defense of such a stockpile led to the shots fired at Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Causes of the American Revolution part 5
Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and others called for an independent America, colonies free from British rule and interference.
Causes of the American Revolution part 6
Colonist thought that King George III was ruling as a tyrant.
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