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Second Continental Congress (1775)

Representative body of delegates from all thirteen colonies. Drafted the Declaration of Independence and managed the colonial war effort.

Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill)

Battle fought on the outskirts of Boston, on Breed's Hill, the battle ended in the colonial militia's retreat (lack of ammo), though at a heavy cost to the blundering British

Olive Branch Petition

Conciliatory measure adopted by the Continental Congress, professing American loyalty and seeking an end to the hostilities. King George rejected the petition and proclaimed the colonies in rebellion

Hessians

German troops hired from their princes by George III to aid in putting down the colonial insurrection. This hardened the resolve of American colonists, who resented the use of paid foreign fighters.

Common Sense

Thomas Paine's pamphlet urging the colonies to declare independence and establish a republican government. The widely read pamphlet helped convince colonists to support the Revolution

Ethan Allen

(1738-1789) Revolutionary War officer who, along with Benedict Arnold, fought British and Indian forces in frontier New York and Vermont (Ticonderoga and Crown Point)

Benedict Arnold

Revolutionary War general turned traitor who valiantly held off a British invasion of upstate New York at Lake Champlain and invaded Canada with Richard Montgomery

Richard Montgomery

Irish-born British army veteran who served as a general in the Continental army during the Revolution. He joined Benedict Arnold in a failed attempt to seize Québec in 1775.

Thomas Paine

British-born pamphleteer and author of Common Sense, a fiery tract that laid out the case for American independence

Declaration of Independence

Formal pronouncement of independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson and approved by Congress. The Declaration allowed Americans to appeal for foreign aid and served as an inspiration for later revolutionary movements worldwide.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

Adopted during the French Revolution. Modeled after the American Declaration of Independence.

Loyalists

Colonists loyal to the king

Patriots

American colonists who were determined to fight the British until American Independence

Richard Henry Lee

Virginia planter and revolutionary who served as a member of the Continental Congress. He first introduced the motion asserting America's independence from Britain, which was later supplanted by Thomas Jefferson's more formal and rhetorically moving declaration. ____ went on to become the first U.S. senator from Virginia under the new constitution.

Benjamin Franklin

Leading revolutionary and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War, he served as commissioner to France, securing that nation's support for the American cause.

Abigail Adams

____ had her own opinions about the course of the American Revolution and urged her husband to take the needs and rights of women into consideration in the construction of the new government.

Battle of Long Island

Battle for the control of New York. British troops overwhelmed the colonial militias and retained control of the city for most of the war. Washington fled across to Manhattan thanks to a favorable wind and fog

General William Howe

British general who, despite victories on the battlefield, failed to deal a crushing blow to Washington's Continental army. By attacking Philadelphia instead of reinforcing General Burgoyne at Saratoga, He also inadvertently contributed to that crucial American victory.

Trenton

George Washington surprised and captured a garrison of sleeping German Hessians, raising the morale of his crestfallen army and setting the stage for his victory at Princeton a week later

General Burgoyne

British general who led an ill-fated invasion of upstate New York, suffering a crushing defeat and surrendered to the American general Horatio Gates at Saratoga.

Saratoga

Decisive colonial victory in upstate New York, which helped secure French support for the Revolutionary cause.

Model Treaty

Sample treaty drafted by the Continental Congress as a guide for American diplomats. Reflected the Americans' desire to foster commercial partnerships rather than political or military entanglements

General Rochambeau

General in command of French forces during the American Revolution, he fought alongside George Washington at Yorktown

Nathanael Greene

General in command of the Continental army in the Carolina campaign of 1781. The "Fighting Quaker" successfully cleared most of Georgia and South Carolina of British troops despite losing a string of minor battles

Joseph Brant

Mohawk chief and Anglican convert who sided with the British during the Revolutionary War, believing that only a British victory could halt American westward expansion

Treaty of Fort Stanwix

Treaty signed by the United States and the pro-British Iroquois granting Ohio Country to the Americans.

George Rogers Clark

American frontiersman who captured a series of vulnerable British forts along the Ohio River during the Revolutionary War.

privateers

Privately owned armed ships authorized by Congress to prey on enemy shipping during the Revolutionary War. More numerous than the tiny American navy, privateers inflicted heavy damages on British shippers. Essentially legalized pirates.

Yorktown

George Washington, with the aid of the French army, besieged Cornwallis at Yorktown, while the French naval fleet prevented British reinforcements from coming ashore. Cornwallis surrendered, dealing a heavy blow to the British war effort and paving the way for an eventual peace.

Admiral de Grasse

French admiral whose fleet blocked British reinforcements, allowing Washington and Rochambeau to trap Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Treaty of Paris of 1783

Peace treaty signed by Britain and the United States ending the Revolutionary War. The British formally recognized American independence and ceded territory east of the Mississippi while the Americans, in turn, promised to restore Loyalist property and repay debts to British creditors.

Articles of Confederation

First American constitution that established the United States a weak national Congress, which was not granted the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes. The Articles were replaced by a more efficient Constitution in 1789

Old Northwest

Territories acquired by the federal government from the states, encompassing land northwest of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes Land Ordinance of 1785 - Provided for the sale of land in the Old Northwest and earmarked the proceeds toward repaying the national debt

Northwest Ordinance

Created a policy for administering the Northwest Territories. It included a path to statehood and forbade the expansion of slavery into the territories

Shay's Rebellion

Armed uprising of western Massachusetts debtors seeking paper money, lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures. Though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of "mob rule" among leading Revolutionaries, precipitating calls for a stronger national government

Virginia Plan

"Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation.

New Jersey Plan

"Small-state plan" put forth at the Philadelphia convention, proposing equal representation by state, regardless of population, in a unicameral legislature. Small states feared that the more populous states would dominate the agenda under a proportional system

Great Compromise

Gave states proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate. The compromise broke the stalemate at the Constitutional convention and paved the way for subsequent compromises over slavery and the Electoral College

Common law

Laws that originate from court rulings and customs, as opposed to legislative statutes. The United States Constitution grew out of the Anglo-American common law tradition and thus provided only a general organizational framework for the new federal government

Civil law

Body of written law enacted through legislative statutes or constitutional provisions. In countries where civil law prevails, judges must apply the statutes precisely as written

Three-fifths compromise

Determined that each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning taxes and representation. The compromise granted disproportionate political power to southern slave states

Electoral College

Mechanism for electing presidents of the United States. Each state has a number of electors equal to its total number of senators and representatives

Antifederalists

Opponents of the 1787 Constitution, they cast the document as antidemocratic, objected to the subordination of the states to the central government, and feared encroachment on individuals' liberties in the absence of a bill of rights

Federalists

Proponents of the 1787 Constitution, they favored a strong national government, arguing that the checks and balances in the new Constitution would safeguard the people's liberties

The Federalist

Collection of essays written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton and published during the ratification debate in New York to lay out the federalists' arguments in favor of the new Constitution

Society of the Cincinnati

Exclusive, hereditary organization of former officers in the Continental Army. Many resented the pretentiousness of the order, viewing it as a vestige of pre-Revolutionary traditions

Disestablish

To separate an official state church from its connection with the government. Following the Revolution, all states disestablished the Anglican Church, though some New England states maintained established Congregational Churches

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Measure enacted by the Virginia legislature prohibiting state support for religious institutions and recognizing freedom of worship. Served as a model for the religion clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution

Civic virtue

Willingness on the part of citizens to sacrifice personal self-interest for the public good. Deemed a necessary component of a successful republic

Republican motherhood

Ideal of family organization and female behavior after the American Revolution that stressed the role of women in guiding family members toward republican virtue

Daniel Shays

(1747-1825) Revolutionary War veteran who led Shays' Rebellion

Patrick Henry

(1736-1799) American revolutionary and champion of states' rights, Henry became a prominent antifederalist during the ratification debate, opposing what he saw as tyrannical tendencies in the new national constitution