American Revolution and Early Republic Vocabulary

Vocabulary study set focusing on the major events, documents, and political concepts of the American Revolutionary War and Constitutional era.

Battle of Long Island

A 1776 military engagement in which British forces under General Howe defeated George Washington's troops, forcing the Continental Army to retreat and giving the British control of New York.

Battle of Saratoga

A major 1777 American victory over British troops in New York that served as a turning point in the Revolutionary War by securing a formal alliance with France.

Valley Forge

The military encampment in Pennsylvania where George Washington's army endured extreme cold, hunger, and disease during the winter of 1777–1778 while undergoing rigorous military training.

Philipsburg Proclamation

A 1779 British declaration issued by Sir Henry Clinton promising freedom, protection, and land to any enslaved person who deserted an American master to support the British cause.

Battle of Yorktown

The final major siege of the American Revolutionary War in 1781 where combined American and French forces trapped Lord Cornwallis, forcing a British surrender.

Currency tax

A hidden tax on army vendors and soldiers resulting from the rapid depreciation of Continental paper money, which lost purchasing power over time during the Revolutionary War.

Treaty of Paris of 1783

The formal peace agreement that ended the American Revolutionary War, in which Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States and granted generous territorial boundaries.

Pennsylvania constitution of 1776

A highly democratic state constitution that abolished property requirements for voting, established a unicameral legislature, and eliminated the office of governor.

Mixed government

John Adams's political theory proposing a balance of power among an executive officer, an upper house of elites, and a popular lower house to maintain stability and prevent tyranny.

Articles of Confederation

The first national constitution of the United States, ratified in 1781, which established a weak central government with limited authority and strong state sovereignty.

Northwest Ordinance of 1781

Territorial legislation establishing a process for organizing western lands into territories, admitting new states on equal footing, and prohibiting slavery in the region.

Shays's Rebellion

An armed 1786–1787 uprising of distressed western Massachusetts farmers led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays against high state taxes and aggressive debt collection.

Virginia Plan

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 drafted by James Madison advocating a strong national government with a bicameral legislature apportioned by population.

New Jersey Plan

A counterproposal at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 presented by William Paterson favoring a unicameral legislature in which each state received one vote.

Federalists

Supporters of the proposed U.S. Constitution in 1787–1788 who favored a strong central government and a system of shared national power.

Anti-federalists

Opponents of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution who feared centralized power, championed states' rights, and demanded a national Bill of Rights.

Federalist No. 10

An essay written by James Madison arguing that a large, extended republic with diverse political and economic interests would best protect individual liberty against the tyranny of factions.