American Colonial and Revolutionary War Key Events & Concepts

French and Indian War (1754-1763)

North American conflict between Britain and France, with Native American allies on both sides; British victory greatly increased Britain's debt and contributed to new colonial taxes.

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin to unite the colonies for defense during the French and Indian War; rejected by both the colonies and Britain.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Ended the French and Indian War; France gave Britain most of its North American territory east of the Mississippi River, greatly expanding British control.

Pontiac's Rebellion (1763)

Native American uprising against British expansion into western lands after the French and Indian War.

Proclamation of 1763

British law forbidding colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains; angered colonists who wanted access to western lands.

Salutary neglect

British policy of loosely enforcing colonial regulations, allowing colonies significant self-government before the 1760s.

Sugar Act (1764)

British tax on sugar and molasses designed to raise revenue and reduce smuggling; increased colonial opposition to taxation.

Stamp Act (1765)

Tax requiring printed materials in the colonies to carry an official stamp; sparked widespread protests because it directly taxed colonists.

Stamp Act Congress (1765)

Meeting of colonial representatives that petitioned Britain against the Stamp Act and argued that colonists could only be taxed by their own representatives.

Sons of Liberty

Colonial protest group that opposed British taxation and used demonstrations, intimidation, and boycotts to resist British policies.

Daughters of Liberty

Women who supported resistance to British taxation through boycotts, producing homemade goods, and encouraging colonial self-sufficiency.

Virtual representation

British argument that Parliament represented all British subjects, including colonists, even though colonists did not elect representatives to Parliament.

Declaratory Act (1766)

British law repealing the Stamp Act while declaring that Parliament had the authority to make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

Townshend Acts (1767)

Taxes on imported goods such as glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea; provoked colonial boycotts and increased tensions with Britain.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial communication networks that shared information about British policies and organized resistance among the colonies.

Tea Act (1773)

Law allowing the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, threatening colonial merchants and reinforcing Parliament's taxation authority.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Colonial protest in which participants dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act and taxation without representation.

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774)

British laws punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, including closing Boston Harbor and restricting colonial self-government.

First Continental Congress (1774)

Meeting of delegates from twelve colonies that coordinated resistance to the Coercive Acts and called for a boycott of British goods.

Enlightenment

European intellectual movement emphasizing reason, natural rights, individual liberty, and government based on rational principles.

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher who argued that people possess natural rights and that governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed.

Social contract

Idea that government exists through an agreement between the people and their government; people accept government authority in exchange for protection of their rights.

Republicanism

Political ideology emphasizing government by elected representatives and civic virtue rather than rule by a monarch.

Common Sense (1776)

Thomas Paine's influential pamphlet arguing that American colonists should reject monarchy and seek independence from Britain.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Document declaring the colonies independent from Britain and explaining that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed and must protect natural rights.

Lexington and Concord (1775)

First major military clashes of the American Revolution; British troops attempted to seize colonial weapons but were confronted by colonial militia.

Second Continental Congress

Colonial assembly that managed the Revolutionary War effort, created the Continental Army, and eventually declared independence.

Olive Branch Petition (1775)

Final attempt by the Second Continental Congress to reconcile with Britain; King George III rejected it.

Patriots

Colonists who supported independence from Britain and the American Revolution.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolution.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

Major American victory that convinced France that the Americans could defeat Britain and helped lead to the Franco-American Alliance.

Franco-American Alliance (1778)

Alliance between the United States and France in which France provided military and financial assistance against Britain.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

American and French victory that trapped Cornwallis's British army and effectively ended major fighting in the American Revolution.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Treaty officially ending the American Revolution; Britain recognized American independence and granted the United States territory extending west to the Mississippi River.

Republican motherhood

Idea that women should raise virtuous, educated children who would become responsible citizens of the new republic.

Abigail Adams

Prominent revolutionary-era woman who advocated for women's interests and famously urged John Adams to "remember the ladies" when creating the new government.

Gradual emancipation

Process by which some northern states began ending slavery gradually after the Revolution, reflecting growing debates about liberty and equality.

State constitutions

Written frameworks of government created by individual states after independence; generally emphasized republican government and limited governmental power.

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)

Law written by Thomas Jefferson that established religious freedom in Virginia and rejected government support for a specific religion.

French Revolution

Revolution beginning in 1789 inspired partly by Enlightenment and American revolutionary ideals; overthrew the French monarchy and transformed French politics.

Haitian Revolution

Revolution beginning in 1791 in the French colony of Saint-Domingue that led to the creation of Haiti, the first independent Black republic.

Articles of Confederation

First national government of the United States; created a weak central government that lacked the power to tax directly or effectively regulate commerce.

Land Ordinance of 1785

Law establishing a system for surveying and selling western lands in an organized grid of townships and sections.

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Law establishing a process for western territories to become states and banning slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787)

Uprising of Massachusetts farmers facing debt and economic hardship; exposed weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and increased calls for a stronger national government.