American Revolutionary War & Early U.S. History Key Terms

French & Indian War

A conflict between Britain and France in North America (1754-1763) that led to British dominance in the region but increased colonial discontent due to war debts.

No taxation without representation

A slogan used by American colonists to protest against British taxes imposed without their consent, emphasizing the need for political representation.

Stamp Act

A 1765 British law that imposed a direct tax on the colonies, requiring them to use specially stamped paper for legal documents, newspapers, and other publications.

Tea Act

A 1773 act that granted the British East India Company the right to sell tea directly to the colonies, undermining local merchants and leading to the Boston Tea Party.

Navigation Acts

A series of laws that restricted colonial trade to England and its colonies, aimed at ensuring that only England benefited from colonial commerce.

Quartering Act

A law requiring American colonists to provide housing and supplies to British troops stationed in the colonies.

Intolerable Acts

A series of punitive laws passed in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party, aimed at suppressing colonial resistance.

Boston Massacre

A confrontation in 1770 where British soldiers killed five colonists, escalating tensions between Britain and the American colonies.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest by colonists against the Tea Act, where they dumped an entire shipment of tea into Boston Harbor.

Battles of Lexington & Concord

The first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War in April 1775, marking the outbreak of armed conflict between Britain and the colonies.

Battle of Bunker Hill

A significant early battle in the Revolutionary War (1775) that demonstrated the colonists' ability to stand up to British forces, despite ultimately losing the battle.

Valley Forge

The site of the Continental Army's winter encampment in 1777-1778, where troops faced severe hardships but emerged stronger under George Washington's leadership.

Declaration of Independence

The document adopted on July 4, 1776, declaring the American colonies' independence from Britain and outlining the principles of individual rights and government.

Loyalists/Tories

Colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War, often opposing the revolutionaries.

Hessians

German mercenaries hired by Britain to fight against the American revolutionaries during the Revolutionary War.