American Revolution: Key Events, Figures, and Policies

Country Ideology

A British political tradition that emphasized individual liberty, suspicion of concentrated political power, and opposition to corruption.

John Locke

An English philosopher whose seventeenth-century political writings emphasized natural rights, government by consent, and the right to resist governments that violated those rights.

French and Indian War

The North American part of the larger Seven Years' War that lasted from 1754 to 1763.

Proclamation Line of 1763

A British boundary that restricted colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains after the French and Indian War.

George III

King of Great Britain from 1760 to 1820 and monarch during the American Revolution.

Stamp Act (1765)

Required colonists to pay a tax on printed materials such as newspapers, legal documents, and licenses.

No Taxation Without Representation

A colonial argument that Parliament should not tax Americans because the colonies had no elected representatives in Parliament.

Sam Adams & Sons of Liberty

Samuel Adams was a Massachusetts political leader who helped organize opposition to British policies.

Townshend Duties (1767)

Taxes placed on imported goods such as glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea in 1767.

Non-Importation Associations

Colonial organizations that encouraged people to stop purchasing British goods in protest of British taxation and trade policies.

Boston Massacre (1770)

Occurred on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers fired into a Boston crowd and killed five colonists.

HMS Gaspee Incident (1772)

Occurred in Rhode Island in 1772 when colonists attacked and burned a British customs ship enforcing trade laws.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial communication networks established to share information about British policies and organize resistance.

Tea Act (1773)

Allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the American colonies under favorable conditions.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Occurred in December 1773 when colonists dumped British East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive Acts (1774)

A series of British laws designed to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and strengthen British authority.

First Continental Congress

Met in Philadelphia in 1774 with delegates from twelve colonies to coordinate a response to British policies.

Continental Association

A boycott agreement created by the First Continental Congress in 1774 that prohibited colonial trade with Britain under certain conditions.

Battle of Lexington & Concord (1775)

Occurred in April 1775 when British troops attempted to seize colonial military supplies in Massachusetts.

Prohibitory Act (1775)

A British law declaring the American colonies to be outside the king's protection and restricting trade with them.

Common Sense (1776)

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that argued the colonies should become independent from Britain.

Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

Formally announced that the thirteen colonies considered themselves independent states rather than British colonies.

Police Action Strategy (1775-1777)

The British strategy to suppress the rebellion and restore royal authority rather than treating the conflict as a full-scale war.

General George Washington

The commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

A major American victory over British forces in New York in October 1777.

Classical Strategy (1776-1778)

The traditional eighteenth-century European style of warfare emphasizing capturing important cities and defeating the enemy's army.

Battle of Trenton (1776)

Occurred on December 26, 1776, when George Washington's forces defeated Hessian troops in New Jersey.

Valley Forge (1777-1778)

The Continental Army's winter encampment in Pennsylvania where training improved the army's discipline and effectiveness.

Southern Pacification Strategy (1778-1783)

The British strategy of shifting major military operations toward the American South beginning in 1778.

Battle of the Virginia Capes (1781)

A naval battle fought between British and French fleets off the Virginia coast in September 1781.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

The final major campaign of the American Revolution where Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781.

Peace of Paris (1783)

The agreement that formally ended the American Revolutionary War in 1783.