Empire of independence terms

Albany plan of union

a 1754 proposal for a unified government of the Thirteen Colonies, designed by Benjamin Franklin. Created to organize colonial defenses against the French and their Native American allies during the French and Indian War, the plan was ultimately rejected but served as an important precursor to later attempts at colonial unity.

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Proclamation of 1763

The Proclamation of 1763 was a royal decree issued by King George III on October 7, 1763, that prohibited Anglo-American colonists from settling on lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. This created a boundary line, known as the Proclamation Line, as a way to organize new territories gained from France after the Seven Years' War and to stabilize relations with Native American tribes

Salutary Neglect

the unofficial British policy during the 17th and 18th centuries of loosely enforcing laws and trade regulations in its North American colonies. This "hands-off" approach allowed the colonies to develop their own economies and systems of self-government with minimal interference

Stamp Act (1765)

The Stamp Act was a 1765 British law that imposed a direct tax on colonists for paper items like newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards, requiring them to purchase official stamps to show the tax was paid. The British government passed it to raise revenue for expenses, particularly to support the British Army in North America after the French and Indian War. The Act was met with immediate, widespread protest under the principle of "no taxation without representation," leading to the violent intimidation of tax collectors and a successful boycott of British goods, which resulted in the Stamp Act's repeal in 1766

Sons & Daughters of Liberty

The Sons and Daughters of Liberty were colonial American groups that opposed British taxation and policies leading up to the Revolutionary War. The Sons were known for direct-action tactics, while the Daughters used economic and domestic strategies to protest British rule.

Massachusetts Circular Letter

The Massachusetts Circular Letter was a statement drafted by Samuel Adams and James Otis Jr. and issued by the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1768. It was sent to the legislatures of the other colonies to protest the Townshend Acts, arguing for unified resistance and asserting that Parliament could not tax the colonies without their consent, as they had no representation in that body

Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was a deadly confrontation that took place on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers fired on a crowd of American colonists in Boston. The incident arose from months of escalating tension over British military occupation and taxation without representation, and it is considered a pivotal event that fueled anti-British sentiment leading to the American Revolution

Writs of assistance

The Writs of Assistance were broad, open-ended search warrants issued by British American courts that gave customs officials the authority to search any home, shop, or ship for smuggled goods without needing probable cause. Colonists viewed these writs as a profound violation of their privacy and personal property rights, and they became a major catalyst for the American Revolution.

Boston Tea Party

he Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, disguised as Native Americans, boarded British ships and destroyed 342 chests of tea by dumping them into Boston Harbor. The act was a defiant statement against "taxation without representation" and British rule, escalating the tensions that led to the American Revolution.

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts

The Coercive Acts of 1774 were a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the Massachusetts colony for the Boston Tea Party. Known by the American colonists as the "Intolerable Acts," these measures were meant to reassert British authority but instead united the colonies in protest and pushed them closer to revolution.

Continental Congress (1st & 2nd)

The Continental Congresses were two assemblies of delegates from the American colonies that met in Philadelphia during the initial stages of the American Revolution. While the First Congress aimed for a peaceful resolution with Great Britain, the Second Congress took on the role of a governing body, eventually declaring independence and managing the Revolutionary War

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was the founding document of the United States that formally announced the separation of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain. Adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, it served to justify the colonists' right to revolution to both domestic and international audiences. 

Common Sense

a powerful and influential argument for American independence published anonymously in January 1776. Written in plain and accessible language, it helped sway public opinion across the Thirteen Colonies away from British rule and toward the revolutionary cause. 

Molly Pitcher

Molly Pitcher was a legendary figure from the American Revolutionary War who represents the many women who assisted on the battlefield.

Judith Sargent Murray

(1751–1820) was a pioneering American essayist, playwright, and advocate for women's rights and education during the Revolutionary era. She is widely recognized as one of the first American feminists and is especially known for her 1790 essay, "On the Equality of the Sexes"