American Revolution

Causes of Revolution/Revolutionary War

Patriots

Colonists who rebelled against British control, advocating for independence and supporting the revolutionary cause.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to the British crown during the American Revolution, opposing the Patriots and their quest for independence.

Boston Tea Party

A protest by the Patriots against British taxation, where they disguised as Native Americans and dumped tea into Boston Harbor in 1773.

2nd Continental Congress

A convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met in 1775, managing the colonial war effort and moving incrementally towards independence.

Causes of the American Revolution

Proclamation of 1763, Intolerable Acts, Stamp Act, Mercantilism, Lack of Representation in Parliament, and British economic polocies following the French & Indian War.

Intolerable Acts

In response to Boston Tea Party, 4 acts passed in 1774, Port of Boston closed, reduced power of assemblies in colonies, permitted royal officers to be tried elsewhere, provided for the quartering of troops in barns and empty houses.

John Adams

A Massachusetts attorney & politician who was a strong believer in colonial independence. He argued against the Stamp Act and was involved in various patriot groups. As a delegate from Massachusetts, he urged the Second Continental Congress to declare independence. He helped draft and pass the Declaration of Independence. Later served as the second President of the United States.

Samuel Adams

Played a key role in the defense of colonial rights. He had been a leader of the Sons of Liberty. Was crucial in spreading the principle of colonial rights throughout New England and is credited with provoking the Boston Tea Party.

Benjamin Franklin

American patriot, writer, printer, and inventor. During the Revolutionary War he persuaded the French to help the colonists.

Crispus Attucks

The African-Native American man who was the first man to die in the Boston Massacre, also considered the first death in the Revolutionary War.

King George III

He was the king of England from 1760 to 1820. Colonists were torn between loyalty to the king and resistance to acts carried out in his name. He rejected the Olive Branch Petition, the colonists came to see him as a tyrant.

Thomas Jefferson

He was a delegate from Virginia at the Second Continental Congress and wrote the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the third President of the United States.

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army. He had led troops (rather unsuccessfully) during the French and Indian War, and had surrendered Fort Necessity to the French. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and was much more successful in this second command.

Lexington and Concord

A 1775 conflict between colonial minutemen & British. The first shots that were fired in the war.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

The battle which was the turning point of the Revolution because after the colonists won this major victory, the French decided to support us with money, troops, ships, etc.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was surrounded between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781.

Valley Forge

Washington and troops were low on supplies, food, and clothing. Because it was a harsh winter, 1/5 of soldiers died. t the British. One of the coldest winters in Pennsylvania history.

Treaty of Paris of 1783

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River.

propaganda

Material distributed by those in favor of a specific cause and reflecting their point of view, Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.

Second Continental Congress

They sent the Olive Branch Petition, organized the Continental Army, called on the colonies to send troops, selected George Washington to lead the army, and appointed the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence.

Olive Branch Petition

An offer of peace sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George lll. George didn't even open it.

Continental Army

Army formed in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress and led by General George Washington.

guerrilla warfare

Type of fighting in which soldiers use swift hit-and-run attacks against the enemy. (Think Benjamin Martin and sneak attacks!)

Sons of Liberty

Group of colonists who formed a secret society to oppose British policies at the time of the American Revolution.

ally

a country that agrees to help another country achieve a common goal, ie. American Revolution - French were allies.

Boston Massacre

British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were teasing and taunting them. Five colonists were killed. The colonists blamed the British and the Sons of Liberty and used this incident as an excuse to promote the Revolution.

Representation in Parliament

Colonists felt that the laws and taxes passed by the British were unfair because they had no____________________.

Strengths of the British Army

They had a strong, well-trained army and navy along with a strong central government. They were well supplied with food and ammunition. Had the support of colonial loyalists and Native Americans.

Declaration of Independence

The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence.

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.

Boycott

To refuse to buy items from a particular country. The colonists upheld a __________against British goods.

Minutemen

Member of a militia during the American Revolution who could be ready to fight in a minute.

Natural Rights

The idea is that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property.

Quartering Act

Required the colonials to provide food, lodging, and supplies for the British troops in the colonies.

France

Supported the colonist's war for independence; were allies of the colonists.

French and Indian War

Due to this costly war, the king began taxing the colonists which led to a lot of tension between Britain and the colonists.

Boston Tea Party

Colonists were angry over the tax on tea and protested by throwing the tea into the harbor.

Proclamation of 1763

The British king forbade the colonists from moving into lands west of the Appalachian mountains.

Stamp Act

A tax on all printed materials.

Baron von Steuben

Prussian soldier who helped train American forces at Valley Forge in the American Revolutionary War.

Battle of Quebec

Battle during the Revolutionary War, which led to the American army's first major defeat.

Weaknesses of the Continental Army

Small, untrained military, Shortages of resources

Strengths of the Continental Army

- fighting at home(knew the land), strong leadership (George Washington), - strong reason to fight (freedom and liberty!)

Tarring and Feathering

It was punishment that involved pouring hot tar and feathers on people. It was used to intimidate British tax collectors/Loyalists.

Battle of Long Island

Battle for the control of New York. British troops overwhelmed the colonial militias and retained control of the port/city for most of the war.