American History: Revolutionary War, Constitution, and Early Government

War where the British fought the French and Native Americans

French and Indian War

Policy where Britain let colonies govern themselves

Salutary Neglect

British Prime Minister who promoted the Sugar Act

George Grenville

Native American uprising in the Great Lakes region

Pontiac's Rebellion

British law that taxed newspapers and printed items

Stamp Act

Statement giving reasons for separating from Britain

Declaration of Independence

Foreign soldier hired to fight in a war

Mercenary

Agreement that ended the Revolutionary War

Treaty of Paris 1783

What the Sons of Liberty were responsible for

Boston Tea Party

Document that changed public opinion toward independence

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Importance of the Battle of Trenton

Boosted Patriot morale

Effect of the Battle of Saratoga

The French agreed to openly support the Americans

Reason Britain taxed the colonies

To pay off war debts

Why colonists protested the Stamp Act

No taxation without representation

Introduction to the Declaration of Independence

Preamble

Major problem Washington and his troops faced

Lack of food and clothing

Last major battle of the war

Battle of Yorktown

Boston Massacre was a response to

The stationing of British soldiers in Boston

British reaction to the Boston Tea Party

The Intolerable Acts

German mercenaries hired by the British

Hessians

Main author of the Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson

Led a war against the British before the Revolution

Chief Pontiac

Leader of the Sons of Liberty

Samuel Adams

Civilian soldiers

Militia

Prussian drillmaster who trained American troops

Friedrich von Steuben

Frenchman who led troops in Virginia and pushed France to join the war

Marquis de Lafayette

British commander defeated at Yorktown

Charles Cornwallis

Led a farmer rebellion against high taxes in Massachusetts

Daniel Shay

Father of the Constitution

James Madison

Believed in strong national government; wrote most Federalist Papers

Alexander Hamilton

The Olive Branch Petition

Last attempt by colonists to negotiate with the king

A loyalist may have...

Spoken in support of the English King

Weakness of the Articles of Confederation

No national court system

NOT a characteristic of the Articles of Confederation

The President didn't have veto power

Nationalists saw Shays' Rebellion as

Proof that only a strong government could prevent disorder

Issue resolved by the Great Compromise

Representation in the legislature

Three-Fifths Compromise resolved

How enslaved people were counted in the population

Why Antifederalists opposed the Constitution

They felt it made the national government too strong

Essays urging ratification of the Constitution

Federalist Papers