Iroquois
A member of a former confederacy of North American Indian peoples originally comprising the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca peoples (known as the Five Nations), and later including also the Tuscarora (thus forming the Six Nations).
Ohio River Valley
Was claimed by both the British colonies and France. The reason the war broke out between the French and British.
George Washington
(1732-1799). Worked early on as a surveyor of the Virginia colony. He became interested in the Ohio Country and invested in the Ohio Company. In 1752, he accepted an appointment in the military as an officer. Two years later he led a company to drive out
French and Indian War
A series of military engagements between Britain and France in North America between 1754 and 1763. The American phase of the Seven Years' War, which was then underway in Europe.
Seven Years War
A war fought in the middle of the eighteenth century between the German kingdom of Prussia, supported by Britain, and an alliance that included Austria, France, and Russia. Prussia and Britain won, and their victory greatly increased their power. The larg
Edward Braddock
British commander in North America during the early French and Indian War. He led the colonial and British forces to capture Fort Duquesne but was defeated and he himself was killed.
Pontiac's Rebellion
American Indians affected included the Mississauga, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwa, Wyandot, Miami, Kickapoo, Mascouten, Delaware, Shawnee, and Seneca. During the spring of 1763, members of these groups surprised and captured most of the British forts in the
Proclamation of 1763
Declaration by King George III that banned settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains and ordered them to stay in the existing Thirteen Colonies in order to avoid conflict with natives.
Albany Plan of Union
A plan to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, suggested by Benjamin Franklin in 1754.
Benjamin Franklin
Printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; he helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists
Salutary Neglect
The seventeenth- and eighteenth-century British Crown policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws meant to keep American colonies obedient to England. This allowed for local self-rule until Britain tried to reassert dominance in the 1760's
Sugar Act
1764 law that attempted to curb the smuggling of sugar and molasses in the colonies by reducing the previous tax rate and strongly enforcing the collection of duties.
Quartering Act
This act passed in 1765 required the colonies to provide housing and supplies for the British troops stationed there after the French and Indian War.
Stamp Act
1765 act that required colonists to pay a tax on almost all printed materials, including newspapers, books, court documents, contracts, and land deeds. This was the first time that Parliament had imposed a direct tax within the colonies. It led to riots a
Townshend Acts
1767 taxes that levied new import duties on everyday items such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea in order to replace the Stamp Act.
John Adams
American colonial writer and lawyer who spoke out against the British taxes. He would serve as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress. One of three that helped craft the Declaration of Independence. Later would become ambassador to France
Patrick Henry
American attorney, planter, and orator well known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty, or give me death!
Sons of Liberty
Formed to protect the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. They played a major role in most colonies in battling the Stamp Act in 1765
Non-importation Agreements
Colonial consumer boycotts of consumer goods in response to taxes passed by Parliament.
Boston Massacre
Incident on March 5, 1770 in which British regulars were harassed by a Patriot mob and killed five colonists in the chaos.
Committees of Correspondence
Governments organized by the Patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of the American Revolution. These served an important role in the Revolution, by disseminating the colonial interpretation of British actions between the colonies and to fore
Tea Act
Granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies in order to rescue the company
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
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
A series of four laws passed by Parliament in 1774 to punish Boston and Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.
First Continental Congress
Delegates from each of the 13 colonies except for Georgia (which was fighting a Native-American uprising and was dependent on the British for military supplies) met in Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress to organize colonial resistance to Parli
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)
Lexington and Concord
The first battle of the Revolutionary War, fought in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775
Militia
Trained citizens that served as soldiers during a crisis.
Minutemen
American militiamen who volunteered to be ready for service at a minute's notice.
Loyalists
Colonists who remained loyal to Britain
Second Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from the 13 colonies that formed in Philadelphia in May 1775, soon after the launch of the American Revolutionary War with the purpose of how to best carry out the revolution.
Olive Branch Petition
Was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775 in a final attempt to avoid a full-on war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in America. It was rejected by George III.
Continental Army
Army that represented the 13 colonies during the Revolution.
Thomas Paine
Was an English American writer and pamphleteer whose "Common Sense" and other writings influenced the American Revolution, and helped pave the way for the Declaration of Independence.
Common Sense
A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775-76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to
Republic
Form of government where officials are elected to represent them in government.
Declaration of Independence
The formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain.
Thomas Jefferson
A political leader of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; one of the Founding Fathers; the leader of the Democratic-Republican party. He was a principal author of the Declaration of Independence and served as president from 1801 to 1809, b
Natural Rights
Universal rights that belong to all people. The right to life, liberty, and property. These rights cannot be taken away from the free citizen.
Bunker Hill
The first great battle of the Revolutionary War; it was fought near Boston in June 1775. The British drove the Americans from their fort at Breed's Hill to Bunker Hill, but only after the Americans had run out of gunpowder. The Americans inflicted heavy c
William Howe
Commander of the British army in America from 1776-1778.
Ethan Allen
Vermont native who fought in the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. He and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Benedict Arnold, were instrumental in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, which contained a stockpile of British weapons.
Mercenaries
Soldiers who fought for hire or money
Battle of Trenton
Forced to retreat across New Jersey, Washington saved his army and the Revolution by counterattacking on December 26. Crossing the Delaware River in the middle of Christmas night, he surprised a garrison of more than 1,000 German mercenaries
Hessians
German mercenaries hired by the British
Charles Cornwallis
Led several successful early campaigns during the American Revolution, securing British victories at New York, Brandywine and Camden. In 1781, as second in command to Gen. Henry Clinton, he moved his forces to Virginia, where he was defeated at the Battle
Henry Clinton
Commander of British forces from 1778-1783
Battle of Princeton
On December 29, Washington led his army back into Trenton. On the night of January 2, 1777, Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek. That night, he evacuated his position, circled around General Lord Cornwallis' army, and
Saratoga
A major battle of the Revolutionary War, fought in 1777 in northern New York state. Benedict Arnold, who had not yet turned traitor, was a leader of the American offensive, which forced the surrender of British troops under General John Burgoyne. It effec
Marquis de Lafayette
French aristocrat that joined the American cause in 1777. He served under General Washington and was instrumental in bringing more French forces to America.
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
Monmouth
Fought at Monmouth, New Jersey on June 28th, 1778. It was here that the Americans intercepted the British forces who were trekking from Philadelphia.
Kings Mountain
October 7, 1780, a turning point in America's War for Independence. The victory of rebelling American Patriots over British Loyalist troops completely destroyed the left wing of Cornwallis' army in the South.
Yorktown
The last battle of the Revolutionary War, fought in 1781 near the seacoast of Virginia. There the British general Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to General George Washington.
Treaty of Paris
Negotiated between the United States and Great Britain, ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence. The Continental Congress named a five-member commission to negotiate a treaty-John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jeffers
Manumission
The act of voluntarily freeing slaves from bondage and making them free.
Port Act
Closed the port of Boston until reparations were paid for the lost tea
Massachusetts Government Act
Revoked mass charter and put them under direct control of the Crown.
Administration of Justice Act
Any crimes involving British citizens would take place in Britain.