Founding Fathers
The leaders of the American Revolution who laid the groundwork for the creation of the United States.
French and Indian War
(1754-1763) A nine-year war between the British and the French in North America. It resulted in the expulsion of the French from the North American mainland and helped spark the Seven Years' War in Europe.
Proclamation Line of 1763
A boundary created by the British government that roughly followed along the Appalachian Mountains and separated Native American lands from the thirteen colonies with the goal of stopping colonial settlement west of that line.
Parliament
The British legislature, which consists of two houses: the House of Lords, which once represented the nobility, and the House of Commons, which formally represents the common people. Most members of the House of Lords are appointed for life by the governm
Sugar Act
(1764) British deeply in debt part 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
1765; law that taxed printed goods, including: playing cards, documents, newspapers, etc.
Boston Massacre
The first bloodshed of the American Revolution (1770), as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five Americans
Sons and Daughters of Liberty
Organizations that led protests, helped American soldiers, instated a boycott, and generally resisted the British.
Tea Act
1773 act which eliminated import tariffs on tea entering England and allowed the British East India Company to sell directly to consumers rather than through merchants. Led to the Boston Tea Party.
Boston Tea Party
A 1773 protest against British taxes in which Boston colonists disguised as Mohawks dumped valuable tea into Boston Harbor.
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
First Continental Congress
Delagates from all colonies except georgia met to discuss problems with britain and to promote independence
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution
American Revolution
This political revolution began with the Declaration of Independence in 1776 where American colonists sought to balance the power between government and the people and protect the rights of citizens in a democracy.
Minutemen
Member of a militia during the American Revolution who could be ready to fight in sixty seconds
The Federalist Papers
A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail.
Second Continental Congress
Political authority that directed the struggle for independence beginning in 1775.
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
The Constitution
A written plan of government
Common Sense
A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that claimed the colonies had a right to be an independent nation
Decaration of Independence
3 parts: 1) stresses the idea of natural rights 2) lists the wrongs that led the Americans to break away 3) announces that we are free, no longer colonies we are the United States of America. Written by Thomas Jefferson. Signed on Independence Day
The American Crisis
An essay by Thomas Paine read by George Washington to his troops shortly before crossing the Delaware River.
Continetal Army
America's Patriot army during the Revolutionary War
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
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord initiated the Revolutionary War between the American colonists and the British. British governor Thomas Gage sent troops to Concord to stop the colonists who were loading arms. The next day, on April 19, 1775, the firs
Battles of Trenton
General Washington's troops crossed the Delaware and surprised 1,400 Hessian troops stationed there
Battles of Saratoga
a series of conflicts between British soldiers and the Continental Army in 1777 that proved to be a turning point in the Revolutionary War
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 Yorktown
Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781.
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
Articals of confederation
This document, the nation's first constitution, was adoptd by the Second Continental Congress in 1781 during the Revolution. The document was limited because the states held most of the power, and the Congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or c
Shay's Rebellion
Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.
Constitutional Convention
A meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution
Federalists
supporters of the Constitution
Great Compromise
agreement providing a dual system of congressional representation
3/5 Compromise
-each slave would count for 3/5 of a person for taxation and representation purposes
Anti-Federalists
people who opposed the Constitution
Framers
Group of delegates who drafted the United States Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787