Albany Plan
Benjamin Franklin submitted the Albany Plan during the Fr. and Ind. War on 1754 gathering of colonial delegates in Albany, New York. The plan called for the colonies to unify in the face of French and Native American threats. The delegates approved the pl
Edward Braddock
a British commander during the French and Indian War. He attempted to capture Fort Duquesne in 1755. He was defeated by the French and the Indians. At this battle, Braddock was mortally wounded.
George Wolfe
Daunting general who took the French and Indian War into Quebec. 500 soldiers climbed cliff to enter city and surprise Montcalm. Died in battle.
William Pitt
The Prime Minister of England during the French and Indian War. He increased the British troops and military supplies in the colonies, and this is why England won the war.
Iroquois Confederacy
Also known as the "League of Peace and Power", the "Five Nations"; the "Six Nations"; or the "People of the Longhouse" this is a group that originally consisted of five nations: the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca. A sixth tri
Treaty of Paris 1763
Ended French and Indian War, France lost Canada, land east of the Mississippi, to British, New Orleans and west of Mississippi to Spain
Pontiac's Rebellion
a 1763 conflict between Native Americans and the British over settlement of Indian lands in the Great Lakes area
Proclamation of 1763
A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalacian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east.
Paxton Boys
They were a group of Scots-Irish men living in the Appalachian hills that wanted protection from Indian attacks. They made an armed march on Philadelphia in 1764. They protested the lenient way that the Quakers treated the Indians. Their ideas started the
Sugar Act
(1764) British deeply in debt partl to French & Indian War. English Parliament placed a tariff on sugar, coffee, wines, and molasses. colonists avoided the tax by smuggling and by bribing tax collectors.
Stamp Act
an act passed by the British parliment in 1756 that raised revenue from the American colonies by a duty in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents
Stamp Act Congress
A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament, and it showed signs of colonial unity an
Samuel Adams
Massachusetts Revolutionary leader and propagandist who organized opposition to British policies after 1764; radical member of Sons of Liberty, worried that violence of group would discredit it; proposed united plea for repeal of Townshend Duties and anot
writs of assistance
It was part of the Townshend Acts. It said that the customs officers could inspect a ship's cargo without giving a reason. Colonists protested that the Writs violated their rights as British citizens.
Townshend Acts
An indirect customs duty payable at American port imposed on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea (1767)
Quartering Acts
colonists were required to provide housing and food to British soldiers
virtual representation
British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members
George Grenville
Became prime minister of Britain in 1763 he persuaded the Parliament to pass a law allowing smugglers to be sent to vice-admiralty courts which were run by British officers and had no jury. He did this to end smuggling.
no taxation without representation
claimed taxes were unjust, insisted only they or their elected reps had the right to pass taxes, parliament had no right ot tax them since they didnt elect reps, and they were willing to pay taxes only if their colonial legislatures passed them.
Boston Tea Party
demonstration (1773) by citizens of Boston who (disguised as Indians) raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor
Committees of Correspondence
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 Parli
Gaspee Incident
The Gasp�e Affair was a significant event in the American Revolution. HMS Gasp�e, a British revenue schooner that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations, ran aground in shallow water, on June 9, 1772 near what is now known as Gaspee Poi
Coercive Acts
This series of laws were very harsh laws that intended to make Massachusetts pay for its resistance. It also closed down the Boston Harbor until the Massachusetts colonists paid for the ruined tea. Also forced Bostonians to shelter soilders in their own h
Quebec Act
designed to facilitate the incorporation of French Canadians into British America; Colonists feared a precedent had been established in the nonrepresentative government in Quebec; they resented the expansion of Quebec's territory, which they had been deni
Lord North
Prime Minister of England from 1770 to 1782. Although he repealed the Townshend Acts, he generally went along with King George III's repressive policies towards the colonies even though he personally considered them wrong. He hoped for an early peace duri
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774, to protest the Intolerable Acts. The congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, voted for a boycott of British imports, and sent a petition to King George III, conceding to Parliament the power of
Lexington and Concord
April 8, 1775: Gage leads 700 soldiers to confiscate colonial weapons and arrest Adam, and Hancock; April 19, 1775: 70 armed militia face British at Lexington (shot heard around the world); British retreat to Boston, suffer nearly 300 casualties along the
Thomas Paine
Revolutionary leader who wrote the pamphlet Common Sense (1776) arguing for American independence from Britain. In England he published The Rights of Man
Battle of Bunker Hill
First major battle of the Revolutions. It showed that the Americans could hold their own, but the British were also not easy to defeat. Ultimately, the Americans were forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition, and Bunker Hill was in British hands
Patrick Henry
a leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies (1736-1799)
"Give me liberty of give me death!
Second Continental Congress
They organized the continental Army, called on the colonies to send troops, selected George Washington to lead the army, and appointed the comittee to draft the Declaration of Independence
1776
Olive Branch Petition
On July 8, 1775, the colonies made a final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). It was rejected by Parl
American Prohibitory Act
Royal navy sent to capture the US navy- declared as enemies of England
Lee's Resolutions
Act of 2nd Continental Congress declaring colonies free form England. Proposed on June 7, 1776 by Richard Henry Lee
John Dickinson
Drafted a declaration of colonial rights and grievances, and also wrote the series of "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" in 1767 to protest the Townshend Acts. Although an outspoken critic of British policies towards the colonies, Dickinson opposed t
Fort Ticonderoga
American revolutionary troops captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British in May 1775, With the capture of this fort, the Americans gained plenty of "ammo.", Ethen allen and Benedict Arnold joined forces to capture the fort, Green Mountain Boys
Nathanial Greene
general appointed by Washington to control Southern campaign - was conciliatory towards loyalists and neutrals
Treaty of Alliance 1778
An alliance between the US and France after the American Revolution. It was annulled after the death of the King during the French Revolution.
Loyalists
American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence
Patriots
American colonists who were determined to fight the British until American independence was won
Nathan Hale
a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a spy by the British
"I only regret that I had but one life to lose for my country.
continentals
Paper bills issued by the Continental Congress to finance the revolution; supposed to be exchanged for silver but the overprinting of bills made them basically worthless.
Charles Cornwallis
Commanding general of the British forces that were defeated at Yorktown in 1781, ending the American Revolution.
John Paul Jones
The commander of one of America's ships; daring, hard-fighting young Scotsman; helped to destroy British merchant ships in 1777; brought war into the water of the British seas.
"I have not yet begun to fight.
George Rogers Clark
Leader of a small Patriot force that captured British-controlled Fort Vincennes in the Ohio Valley in 1779., secured the Northwest Territory for America
Battles of Trenton and Princeton
Washington crossed Delaware, surprised Hessians at Trenton, went on to win at Princeton...gave new hope to Americans after defeats in New York, Vindicated Washington as general-in-chief after his defeats in New York; Improved American morale and patriotis
Valley Forge
Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778, a 4th of troops died here from disease and malnutriton, Steuben comes and trains troops
Battle of Saratoga
Turning point of the American Revolution. It was very important because it convinced the French to give the U.S. military support. It lifted American spirits, ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River, and, most importa
Hessians
German soldiers hired by George III to smash Colonial rebellion, proved good in mechanical sense but they were more concerned about money than duty.
Baron Friedrich von Steuben
This Prussian Baron is credited with training and making the Continental Army into a legitimate fighting force at Valley Forge. Some say he was the third most important leader of the Revolutionary War.
militia
the entire body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service
Charles Lee
sent to horass clinton's rear gaurd and is later court martialed for fleeing a battle
graft
the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain an illicit advantage
black market
an illegal market in which goods or currencies are bought and sold in violation of rationing or controls
Benedict Arnold
He had been a Colonel in the Connecticut militia at the outbreak of the Revolution and soon became a General in the Continental Army. He won key victories for the colonies in the battles in upstate New York in 1777, and was instrumental in General Gates v
Francis Marion
South Carolina militia leader nicknamed the "Swamp Fox" for his hit-and-run attacks on the British during the American Revolution.
Yorktown
The last major battle of the war in which Charles Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington. The French helped us. The was over, and colonists had won!, in 1781 during the American Revolution the British under Cornwallis surrendered after a siege of thr
Thomas Hutchinson
Lieutenant Governor (and later Governor) of Massachusetts. Advocated limiting the English liberties for American colonists. British sympathist prior to the American Revolution.
, believed the tea tax was unjust, but disagreed that the colonists had a righ
John Hancock
Patriot leader and president of the Second Continental Congress; first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Treaty of Paris 1783
1783 Februrary 3; American delegates Franklin, Adams, John Jays; they were instructed to follow the lead of France; John Jay makes side treaty with England; Independence of the US End of Loyalist persecution; colonies still had to repay its debt to Englan
Salutary neglect
idea that the colonies benefited by being left alone, without too much British interference