The American Revolution

Mercenaries

Hired soldiers.

Recruit

Enlist someone to join.

Blockade

Military tactic to prevent entry or exit.

Privateer

Privately-owned ship authorized to attack enemy vessels.

Siege

Surrounding and isolating a fortified place to capture it.

Ratify

Formal approval or confirmation of a decision or agreement.

Hessian

German paid soldier.

Indentured servant

Someone who works off a debt from the government.

Nathan Hale

Spied on the British, caught and hung.

Paul Revere

Warned the patriots that the British were coming.

Yankee Doodle

Song used by the British to mock American colonists.

Battle of Long Island

George Washington's escape plan using burning campfires.

Southern strategy

British plan to station soldiers in the south to reach loyalists.

Cornwallis

Blocked the port of Yorktown, surrendered there.

Saratoga

Turning point of the war, led to French and Spanish support.

Thomas Jefferson

Given credit for writing the Declaration of Independence.

Alexander Hamilton

Set up the national bank, the first financial system of the USA.

Treaty of Paris

Ended the American Revolution.

John Adams

2nd president of the United States.

After the war

It faced debts, economic problems, and had no president.