American Revolution & Early Exploration Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, events, people, and battles outlined in the Revolutionary War and Early America study guide notes.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where a mother country controls the trade and resources of its colonies to accumulate wealth and maintain a favorable balance of trade.

Intolerable Acts

A series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 to punish Massachusetts colonists for the Boston Tea Party, sparking widespread colonial protest and unity.

Sons of Liberty

A secret patriotic organization in the American colonies formed to oppose British taxation, founded by Samuel Adams.

Boston Massacre

A 1770 confrontation in Boston where British soldiers fired into an angry mob of colonists, killing five people.

Original 13 Colonies

The British colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

French Alliance in the American Revolution

France aided the American cause by providing military forces, naval support, leadership, and financial loans following the Battle of Saratoga.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

Fought on April 19, 1775, these were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War, caused by British efforts to seize colonial weapon caches.

Battle of Trenton

A pivotal Revolutionary War battle on December 26, 1776, where George Washington led a surprise Christmas night attack against Hessian forces in New Jersey.

Common Sense

A widely read pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that advocated for complete American independence from Great Britain.

Battle of New York

A series of battles in 1776 in which British forces under General Howe defeated the Continental Army and gained control of New York City.

Battle of Saratoga

A major American victory in 1777 that served as the turning point of the Revolutionary War, convincing France to enter the war as an American ally.

Valley Forge

The 1777-1778 winter encampment of the Continental Army in Pennsylvania, where troops suffered harsh conditions but received vital military training.

Howe's Capture of Philadelphia

General Howe's capture of the American capital in 1777 forced the Continental Congress to flee and prevented Howe from supporting Burgoyne's northern campaign.

French and Indian War

A conflict (1754-1763) between Britain and France with Native allies over control of the Ohio River Valley; Britain won, gaining French territory but incurring massive debt.

Paul Revere

A Boston silversmith and Patriot who famously alerted the colonial militia of approaching British forces prior to the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

Stamp Act

A 1765 British parliamentary act that imposed a direct tax on printed materials in the American colonies, prompting widespread protests of tax without representation.

Tea Act

A 1773 British law granting the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies, triggering colonial protests.

Crispus Attucks

A dockworker of African and Native American descent who is widely considered the first casualty of the Boston Massacre and the Revolutionary War era.

Sugar Act

A revenue-raising law passed by Parliament in 1764 that placed duties on foreign sugar and molasses imported into the colonies.

Friedrich von Steuben

A Prussian military officer who trained and reorganized the Continental Army at Valley Forge, improving their discipline and drill tactics.

Marquis de Lafayette

A French aristocrat and officer who volunteered his service to the Continental Army and played a crucial role in securing French aid.

Hessians

German mercenaries hired by Great Britain to fight against American forces in the Revolutionary War.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The official peace agreement signed in 1783 that formally ended the Revolutionary War and recognized the independence of the United States.

Battle of Yorktown

The final major land battle of the Revolutionary War in 1781, where combined American and French forces trapped General Cornwallis and forced his surrender.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 political protest by the Sons of Liberty in which 342 chests of British tea were dumped into Boston Harbor.

Thomas Jefferson

The primary author of the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776.

Discovery of the Americas

Christopher Columbus led a Spanish expedition that reached the Americas in 1492, initiating sustained European exploration and colonization.

Treaty of Tordesillas

A 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing newly discovered lands outside Europe along a meridian line.

Olive Branch Petition

A 1775 document sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III as a final attempt to avoid full-scale war by pledging colonial loyalty.

Boycott

A collective organized refusal to purchase goods or services as a form of political or economic protest.

Patriot

An American colonist who supported the cause of independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War.

Loyalist

An American colonist who remained loyal to Great Britain and the British Crown during the American Revolution.

Inflation

A general rise in prices and fall in the purchasing value of currency, experienced significantly in the colonies due to overprinting paper money.

Profiteering

The unethical practice of selling scarce goods at excessively high prices during times of war or crisis.

George Washington

The Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Battle of Bunker Hill

An early 1775 battle in Boston where colonial forces lost the hill to the British, but inflicted severe casualties, demonstrating colonial fighting capability.