American Revolution

What was the purpose of having colonies?

To make the mother country, England, wealthy.

What were the Navigation Acts?

British laws requiring the colonies to trade only with England.

What was salutary neglect?

A period when England did not strictly enforce the Navigation Acts.

How did salutary neglect contribute to independence?

Colonists traded with other nations and developed a sense of independence.

What was the Enlightenment?

A movement that challenged traditional ideas using reason and science, especially ideas about government.

Who was John Locke?

An English Enlightenment thinker who influenced American founders like Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson.

What was the Great Awakening?

A religious revival emphasizing a personal relationship with God.

How did the Great Awakening challenge authority?

It encouraged colonists to question the authority of the Church of England.

When was the French and Indian War?

1754 to 1763.

Who fought in the French and Indian War?

The French and Native American allies against the British and American colonists.

What caused the French and Indian War?

Competition for control of land in North America, especially the Ohio River Valley.

Who won the French and Indian War?

The British and American colonists.

What did Britain do after the French and Indian War?

Britain began taxing colonists to raise money and restricted where they could settle.

What was the Proclamation of 1763?

A British policy restricting colonial settlement west of the proclamation line shown along the Appalachian region.

Why did the French and Indian War contribute to the American Revolution?

New British taxes and settlement restrictions increased colonial resentment.

What was the Stamp Act of 1765?

A direct tax on legal documents and paper.

What period ended when Britain began strictly enforcing taxes?

Salutary neglect.

Why were colonists upset about British taxes?

They were taxed without having representatives in Parliament.

What did No taxation without representation mean?

Colonists believed Parliament should not tax them without colonial representation.

Who were the Sons of Liberty?

A colonial protest group that organized resistance and boycotts against British policies.

How did colonists respond to the Stamp Act?

The Sons of Liberty protested and boycotted British goods.

What happened to the Stamp Act?

It was repealed, but Parliament maintained that it had the power to impose new taxes.

What was the Boston Massacre?

A confrontation between colonists and British soldiers in Boston in which five colonists died.

Why was the Boston Massacre important?

It increased colonial anger toward Britain and fueled the revolutionary movement.

What was the Tea Act of 1773?

A law that allowed the British East India Company to establish a monopoly in the colonial tea trade.

What was the Boston Tea Party?

A protest in which the Sons of Liberty dumped British tea into Boston Harbor.

What were the Intolerable Acts of 1774?

British laws intended to punish and control Boston after the Boston Tea Party.

What were three measures in the Intolerable Acts according to the slides?

Closing Boston Harbor, putting Boston under military control, and quartering troops.

What was the first armed conflict of the Revolutionary War?

Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, in 1775.

Who were the Minutemen?

Massachusetts colonial militia members who fought British troops.

What happened at Lexington and Concord?

Massachusetts militia fought the British and forced them to retreat toward Boston.

When was the Battle of Bunker Hill?

June 1775.

Where was the Battle of Bunker Hill?

In the Boston area, Massachusetts.

Who won the Battle of Bunker Hill?

The British, but they suffered heavy casualties.

Why was Bunker Hill important?

It showed that colonial militia could fight effectively against British troops.

What was the Second Continental Congress?

A meeting of delegates from the colonies in Philadelphia to make decisions during the conflict with Britain.

Who was appointed commander of the Continental Army?

George Washington.

What was the Olive Branch Petition?

A peace offering sent to King George III that was rejected.

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson.

Who influenced the Declaration of Independence?

John Locke and Thomas Paine.

What was Common Sense?

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine criticizing the king and supporting the revolutionary cause.

When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

July 4, 1776.

What was Part I of the Declaration of Independence?

An explanation of the purpose of government, influenced by Enlightenment ideas.

What was Part II of the Declaration of Independence?

The 27 grievances, or complaints, against the king.

What was Part III of the Declaration of Independence?

The conclusion that officially declared separation from England.

Who were Patriots?

Colonists who supported independence from Britain.

Who were Loyalists?

Colonists who supported England.

Who were Neutrals?

People who were undecided or did not choose a side.

Why was the Revolution difficult for colonists?

People faced pressure to choose between supporting Britain and supporting independence.

What were George Washington's leadership strengths?

He established structure and discipline, listened to officers, and kept the army fighting.

Which major cities did the British capture early in the war?

New York City and Philadelphia.

Why was Continental Army morale low early in the war?

The army suffered losses and setbacks.

Which victories boosted American morale?

Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey.

What happened at the Battle of Saratoga?

American General Horatio Gates achieved a major victory over the British.

Why was Saratoga a turning point?

The victory helped Benjamin Franklin secure French aid.

What happened at Valley Forge?

The Continental Army endured a brutal winter and received military training.

Who was Baron von Steuben?

A Prussian military officer who helped train the Continental Army at Valley Forge.

What new strategy did Britain adopt later in the war?

The British shifted their attacks to the South.

What major Southern city did the British capture?

Charleston, South Carolina.

Which American general initially failed in the South?

Horatio Gates.

Who did Washington send to save the South?

General Nathanael Greene.

How did Nathanael Greene wear down the British?

He forced General Cornwallis to chase American forces around the Southern backwoods.

Who was General Cornwallis?

A British general who led British forces in the South and eventually surrendered at Yorktown.

Who won the Battle of Cowpens?

American officer Daniel Morgan and his men.

Why was the Battle of Cowpens important?

It was a crucial American victory and turning point in the South.

Where did Cornwallis move after leaving the Carolinas?

Yorktown, Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay.

What was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War?

The Battle of Yorktown.

How did the Americans win at Yorktown?

The French fleet defeated the British navy, while American and French land forces surrounded Cornwallis, forcing his surrender.

What were the four main reasons for American victory?

Washington's leadership, home-field advantage and unconventional tactics, French aid, and British war fatigue.

What was British war fatigue?

Growing exhaustion and declining willingness in Britain to continue the costly war.

What officially ended the Revolutionary War?

The Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Who were the three American negotiators named in the Treaty of Paris slides?

Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay.

What did the Treaty of Paris of 1783 establish?

British recognition of an independent United States with territory extending west to the Mississippi River.