U.S. History: American Revolution Key Concepts & Events

Proclamation Line of 1763

Set westward boundary beyond which British settlers were not to go.

Specie

Gold and Silver coins.

Currency Act

Banned the colonies from printing their own money and insisted that the colonists pay their debt and taxes with hard currency or specie.

Sugar Act

Set a tax on imported sugar to stop colonists from smuggling sugar from outside of the British Empire.

Stamp Act

Set a tax on paper, legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, etc., and established the precedent of taxation without representation.

Declaratory Act

Ended the Stamp Act and reaffirmed parliament's rights to tax the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever.'

Townshend Acts

Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea.

Quartering Act

Demanded that colonists house British troops in public buildings and even in their homes.

Boston Massacre

Incident where 5 people were killed, including Crispus Attucks, after young boys threw snowballs at British troops.

Boston Tea Party

340+ chests of tea were dumped into Boston harbor.

Salutary Neglect

An unofficial British policy of loosely enforcing parliamentary laws in the American colonies from the late 17th - 18th century.

Deborah Sampson

Played the role as a spy for both sides and disguised herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army.

Camp Followers

Women who followed the Continental and British armies to provide support such as cooking, laundry, and caring for children.

Deputy Husband

Women took up the men's responsibilities, like running the farm or store.

Expatriate Communities

People who left after the war, including African Americans moving to parts of the British empire after the war.

Depreciation

Means to decline; paper money became increasingly worthless, leading to the use of specie.

Battle of Yorktown

Last battle where the British surrendered.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

The first battle of the revolution, marking the beginning of physical conflict.

Revenue

Form of taxes or money collected by the government.

Coercive/Intolerable Acts

Passed in response to the Boston Tea Party, moving trials to England and closing the port of Boston.