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
Battle of Lexington
April 19th 1775. first battle outside of Concord, british attempted to capture weapons and patriot leaders Adams and Hancock, start of revolutionary war
Battle of Concord
April 19, 1775 - The British leave Lexington and head to Concord to take the weapons and gunpowder from the colonists. The British were burning the town when the colonists began firing on soldiers. The British were chased out of town turning the road into
Battle of Bunker hill
Actual Fight was on Breeds Hill. General Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen who had dug in o breeds hill. On June 17,1775, Gage sent out nearly 2400 British Troops. They marched up the hill in their heavy gear. Colonists held fire until last minu
Olive Branch Petition
An offer of peace sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George lll
Treaty of Paris
Treaty signed in 1783 that officially ended the American Revolution. Great Britain recognized the United States as an independent country.
Boston Tea Party
a raid on three British ships in Boston Harbor (December 16, 1773) in which Boston colonists, disguised as Indians, threw the contents of several hundred chests of tea into the harbor as a protest against British taxes on tea and against the monopoly gran
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
Townshend Acts
An indirect customs duty payable at American port imposed on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea
Intolerable Acts
in response to Boston Tea Party, 4 acts passed in 1774, Port of Boston closed, reduced power of assemblies in colonies, permitted royal officers to be tried elsewhere, provided for quartering of troop's in barns and empty houses.
Quartering Acts
colonists were required to provide housing and food to British soldiers
Sons of Liberty
A radical political organization formed after the passage of the Stamp Act to protest various British acts; organization used poth peaceful and violent means of protest
Common Sense
a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that criticized monarchies and convinced many American colonists of the need to break away from Britain
Committees of Correspondence
Organization founded by Samuel Adams consisting of a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies. (Mainly Virginia)
Valley Forge
Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778, a 4th of troops died here from disease and malnutrition, Steuben comes and trains troops
Saratoga
A battle that took place in New York where the Continental Army defeated the British. It proved to be the turning point of the war. This battle ultimately had France to openly support the colonies with military forces in addition to the supplies and money
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!
Battle of Trenton
On Christmas day at night, Washington's soldiers began crossing the Delaware River. The next morning, they surprise attacked the British mercenaries which were Hessians.
Battle of New York
british had 32,000 plus soldiers, continental army showed inexperience because they didn't hold their lines and turned to run back to the east river, in long island, one of the most embarrassing loses in american history
Declaration of Independence
This document was
adopted on July 4, 1776. It
established the 13 American colonies as independent states, free from rule by Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson wrote the
majority of this document.
Egalitarianism
the belief that all people should have equal political, economic, social, and civil rights
Thomas Gage
British general who controlled Boston following the Boston Tea Party.
John Locke
English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; also said people have natural rights to life, liberty and property.
Sam Adams
member Sons of Liberty, started the Committee of Correspondence to stir up public support for American Independence.
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
Crispus Attucks
The African-Native American man who was the first man to die in the Boston Massacre, also considered the first death in the Revolutionary War
George Washington
Virginian, patriot, general, and president. Lived at Mount Vernon. Led the Revolutionary Army in the fight for independence. First President of the United States.
King George III
king of England during the Revolutionary War
Ben Franklin
Diplomat who convinced France to aid the colonists during the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence and delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
Thomas Jefferson
He was a delegate from Virginia at the Second Continental Congress and wrote the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the third President of the United States. Many ideas based off John Locke
General Cornwallis
1783 - 1805, British military and political leader. Was a member of Parliament and even opposed the tax measures that led to the American Revolution. Led British forces during the American Revolution. The British defeat culminated with Cornwallis's surren
Marquis de Lafayette
He was very rich and noble when he arrived in America at the age of 19 years old. He believed in the liberty that the Americans were fighting for and asked to help. He became a general on Washington's staff and fought hard. He was known as "the soldier's
Friedrich Von Steuben
He was a Prussian captain that came to assist Washington in Valley forge. Here he trained the country bumpkins into regular soldiers.
General Charles O'hara
British military officer who personally surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown.
General Greene
Major general of the continental army in the American Rev; was George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer; fought in the South based in Charlotte
General Morgan
worked with General Greene by splitting up their troops and harassing Cornwallis and his men. This led to the battle at Cowpens, South Carolina in January 1781m where the cont. army forced the british to surrender.
Paul Revere
American silversmith remembered for his midnight ride (celebrated in a poem by Longfellow) to warn the colonists in Lexington and Concord that British troops were coming (1735-1818)
Samuel Prescott
The patriot, along with William Dawes and Paul Revere, warned the colonists that the British were coming before Lexington and Concord.
William Dawes
A leader of the Sons of Liberty who rode with Paul Revere to Lexington to warn them that the British where coming
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
created by delegates from nine colonies, set forth view of British power in colonies. Parliament didn't have right to tax colonists without their legislative consent and demanded repeal of Stamp and Sugar Acts
First Continental Congress
September 1774, delegates from twelve colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts
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