American Revolution - JHHS USH

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, events, figures, and concepts of the American Revolution based on the provided study notes.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where a country controls colonial trade to build its own wealth.

Navigation Acts

British laws that forced the American colonies to trade only with Britain.

Salutary Neglect

A British policy of ignoring trade laws, allowing the colonies to govern and enrich themselves.

George Washington

A military commander in the French and Indian War who became the first U.S. President.

Albany Plan

Benjamin Franklin's 1754 proposal to unite the American colonies under one central government.

French and Indian War

A conflict from 1754 to 1763 where Britain defeated France to gain control of eastern North America.

William Pitt

The British leader whose strategy and spending secured victory in the French and Indian War.

Pontiac's Rebellion

A 1763 Native American revolt against British settlers expanding into their lands.

Proclamation of 1763

A British decree banning colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Stamp Act

A 1765 law that taxed printed materials in the colonies, including legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards.

Sons/Daughters of Liberty

Colonial activist groups that organized public protests, boycotts, and resistance against British policies.

Boycotts

Organized refusals to buy British goods as a way to protest unfair laws and taxes.

Boston Massacre

A 1770 deadly clash between an angry colonial mob and British soldiers, resulting in five colonial deaths and rising anti-British sentiment.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 political protest in which colonists disguised as Native Americans dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor.

Intolerable (Coercive) Acts

Harsh 1774 laws passed to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party by closing Boston Harbor and shutting down its local government.

Grievances

The formal list of complaints colonists raised against unfair treatment by the British king and Parliament.

Minutemen

Colonial militia members who trained to be ready to fight British soldiers at a minute's notice.

Patriots

American colonists who rebelled against British rule and supported full independence.

Loyalists

American colonists who remained loyal to the British king during the Revolutionary War.

Lexington and Concord

The sites of the April 1775 military clashes in Massachusetts that marked the start of the American Revolutionary War.

Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason and natural rights that deeply influenced American revolutionary ideas.

First Continental Congress

A 1774 meeting of delegates from 12 colonies to organize a unified response to the Intolerable Acts.

Second Continental Congress

A 1775 meeting of colonial leaders that managed the war effort, established the Continental Army, and voted for independence.

Olive Branch Petition

A 1775 peace offer sent by the colonists to King George III in a final effort to avoid war, which the king rejected.

Common Sense

A 1776 pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that convinced many colonists to support breaking away from Great Britain.

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 document formally announcing that the thirteen colonies were free and independent states separate from Great Britain.

American Revolution

The war (1775-1783) in which the thirteen American colonies fought for and won independence from Great Britain.

Battle of Bunker Hill

An early 1775 battle near Boston where colonists proved they could stand up to trained British forces despite losing the position.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States, which created a weak national government with limited power.

Battle of Saratoga

A 1777 colonial victory that became the turning point of the war and convinced France to join as an ally.

Battle of Yorktown

The final major battle of the war in 1781, where American and French forces forced the main British army to surrender.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The 1783 peace agreement that officially ended the Revolutionary War and recognized the United States as an independent nation.

Other Revolutions

Global uprisings, such as the French and Haitian Revolutions, that were inspired by the success and democratic ideals of the American Revolution.