French and Indian War
a war in North America between France and Britain (both aided by indian tribes). The British won but caused them to be in substantial debt. For this reason they tried to abuse the colonies.
Navigation Acts
Laws that governed trade between England and its colonies. Colonists were required to ship certain products exclusively to England. These acts made colonists very angry because they were forbidden from trading with other countries.
King George III
King of England during the American Revolution
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.
Sugar Act
British Tax on foreign molasses entering the American Colonies
Currency Act
prohibited colonies from issuing paper money, destabilized colonial economy
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
Virginia Resolves
Patrick Henry- formal statements of the House of Burgesses protesting the stamp act in 1765
Patrick Henry
a leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies (1736-1799), "If this be treason make the most of it"; "Give me liberty of give me death"; antifederalist
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
Sons of Liberty
A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the l
Non-importation
the act of not importing or using certain goods (The British Goods)
Declatory Act
1766: , after parliament repealed the Stamp Act, the prime minister passed this act that confirmed parliamentary authority over the colonies "in all cases whatsoever", but the Americans paid little attention to this.
Quartering Act
March 24, 1765 - Required the colonials to provide food, lodging, and supplies for the British troops in the colonies.
Townshed Acts
was when britain but taxes on tea, paper , glass and coloring for paints
Boston Massacre
The first bloodshed of the Amercan Revolution, as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five americans
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
Committees of Correspondence
Organization founded by Samuel Adams consisting of a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies
Virtual vs. Actual Representation
The American belief that the colonies needed to be represent physically in Parliament
The Gaspe�
Gasp�e, a British revenue schooner that had been enforcing unpopular trade regulations, ran aground in shallow water on June 9, 1772, near what is now known as Gaspee Point in the city of Warwick, Rhode Island, while chasing the packet boat Hannah.[2] In
The Tea Act
An act passed by Parliament to help the British East India Company by allowing the company to sell tea directly to the colonies without using colonial merchants. Colonial merchants were angry because they felt cheated by the British government. Colonists
Daughters of Liberty
This orginization supported the boycott of British goods. They urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods that were previously available only from Britain. They believed that way, the American colonies would become economically indep
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
Intolerable Acts
A series of laws set up by Parliament to punish Massachusetts for its protests against the British
Quebec Act
After the French and Indian War, the English had claim the Quebec Region, a French speaking colony. Because of the cultural difference, English had a dilemma on what to do with the region. The Quebec Act, passed in 1774, allow the French Colonist to go ba
First Continental Congress
September 1774, delegates from twelve colonies except Georgia sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts
Minutemen
volunteer soldiers who were ready to fight in a moments notice
Lexington
The town is famous for being the site of the opening shots ("the shot heard 'round the world") of the Battle of Lexington, the first engagement of the American Revolution., The first battle in the war for independence of the U.S.A. Gen. Thomas Gage of Bri
Lexington and Concord
first "battles"; meant to get suppies from militia, but shots exchanged between minutemen and the british as the british continued to concord; Americans ambushed british, killing 300
Second Continental Congress
It met in 1776 and drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence, which justified the Revolutionary War and declared that the colonies should be independent of Britain.
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
Common Sense
a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that criticized monarchies and convinced many American colonists of the need to break away from Britain
Articles of Confederation
This document, the nation's first constitution, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1781 during the Revolution. The document was limited because states held most of the power, and Congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or control
Thomas Jefferson
Main author of the Declaration of Independence
George Washington
Commander of the Continental Army
Loyalists
American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence
Northwest Ordinance
Enacted in 1787, it is considered one of the most significant achievements of the Articles of Confederation. It established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could eventually join the Union on an equal footing with the
Shay's rebellion
this conflict in Massachusetts caused many to criticize the Articles of Confederation and admit the weak central government was not working; uprising led by Daniel Shays in an effort to prevent courts from foreclosing on the farms of those who could not p