American Revolution Test

Terms of 3.1-3.3

Iroquois

AKA the Haudenosaunee, a confederacy of American Indian nations in Upstate NY including the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. Allied with Britain during the French and Indian War.

George Washington

(1732–1799) Led forces at Fort Duquesne; later served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

French & Indian War

War (1754–1763) in which Britain and its colonies defeated France and its Native American allies, gaining control of eastern North America.

Edward Braddock

(1695–1755) British general in North America during the early years of the French and Indian War. In 1754, he came to Virginia to lead the British forces on the continent. During an attempted assault on Fort Duquesne, his forces were defeated, and the general was killed.

Pontiac’s Rebellion

1763 uprising by Native Americans in the Great Lakes region against British military expansion.

Proclamation of 1763

Declaration by the British Crown forbidding colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Benjamin Franklin

Patriot leader who proposed the Albany Plan of Union, helped secure the French alliance, and negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

Salutary Neglect

British policy in the early 1700s allowing the colonies virtual self-rule as long as Great Britain profited economically.

Stamp Act

1765 law passed by Parliament requiring colonists to pay taxes on printed materials.

John Adams

(1735–1826) Massachusetts lawyer who spoke out against British tax laws and served as a delegate to the Continental Congress.

Patrick Henry

(1736–1799) Virginia patriot famous for stating "Give me liberty, or give me death!" in opposition to British taxation. He served in the Virginia committee of correspondence and served as a Virginia delegate to the First Continental Congress. He fought during the Revolutionary War and went on to serve Virginia as state governor and state legislator.

Sons of Liberty

Organization of colonists formed to oppose the Stamp Act and other British policies through protests and direct action.

Boston Massacre

Incident on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers fired into a crowd, killing 5 colonists.

Boston Tea Party

December 16, 1773 protest where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act.

Intolerable Acts

Colonial name for the Coercive Acts passed by Parliament in 1774 to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

First Continental Congress

1774 meeting in Philadelphia of delegates from 12 colonies (excluding Georgia) to coordinate resistance to the Intolerable Acts.

Paul Revere

(1735–1818) Boston silversmith who rode through the countryside to Lexington and Concord warning that British troops were approaching.

Militia

A military force made up of trained ordinary citizens called upon during an emergency.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to Great Britain during the Revolutionary War.

Continental Army

The official army created by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 to fight Britain, commanded by George Washington.

Thomas Paine

(1737–1809) Author of "Common Sense," a 1776 pamphlet that persuaded many colonists to support independence from Britain.

Republic

A form of government in which citizens elect representatives to govern and make laws.

Declaration of Independence

Document approved on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress formally severing ties with Great Britain.

Thomas Jefferson

Virginia delegate who drafted and revised the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Natural Rights

Universal rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness) inherent to all humans rather than granted by governments.

Second Continental Congress

Assembly of delegates from all 13 colonies that met in Philadelphia starting in 1775 to manage the war effort and adopt the Declaration of Independence.

William Howe

(1729–1814) Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North America from 1776 to 1778. Failed to defeat General Washington's forces at Valley Forge.

Mercenary

A professional soldier hired to fight in a foreign military force (e.g., German Hessians used by Britain).

Battle of Trenton

December 1776 surprise battle in New Jersey won by Washington’s Continental Army after crossing the icy Delaware River.

Charles Cornwallis

Sent to combat the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He won key victories in New Jersey and South Carolina, but he was trapped with his forces at Yorktown in 1781, where he surrendered to General Washington.

Marquis de Lafayette

(1757–1834) French aristocrat who joined Washington’s army and helped convince France to send troops and supplies to the Patriots.In 1781, he helped trap the British under General Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Valley Forge

Pennsylvania encampment where Washington’s army endured a harsh, severe winter in 1777–1778 while training.

Kings Mountain

1780 battle in South Carolina in which Patriot militia defeated a Loyalist force, boosting Southern Patriot morale.

Yorktown

Virginia peninsula where British forces surrendered in 1781 after being trapped by Washington’s army and the French navy.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Peace treaty that ended the Revolutionary War, formally recognizing the independence of the United States.

Manumission

The legal act of a slaveholder voluntarily freeing enslaved people.