Key Events and Figures in Colonial American Revolution

Albany Plan

A plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin for a colonial federation with a president general and a grand council to manage relations with Native Americans, which was ultimately rejected by the colonies. This plan is significant because it was the first major proposal to create a unified government among the American colonies.

Benjamin Franklin

A colonial agent from Pennsylvania who proposed the Albany Plan for intercolonial unity and argued in London against British taxation policies like the Stamp Act. His early advocacy for colonial cooperation and his diplomatic efforts made him a central figure in the lead-up to the revolution.

Boston Massacre

A March 1770 conflict where British soldiers fired into a harassing crowd of colonists, killing five people. The event was transformed by colonial propaganda into a powerful symbol of British oppression and brutality that galvanized anti-British sentiment.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 revolt against 'taxation without representation' in which Bostonians, disguised as Indians, boarded British ships and threw chests of tea into the harbor. This act of resistance was a pivotal event that caused Britain to retaliate with the punitive Coercive Acts, pushing the colonies closer to war.

Charles Townshend

The British chancellor of the exchequer who implemented the Townshend Duties, a series of taxes on goods imported to the colonies from England. His policies, which he incorrectly believed colonists would accept as 'external' taxes, reignited colonial boycotts and resistance to British rule.

Coercive Acts

A series of punitive laws passed by the British government in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party, which the colonists referred to as the 'Intolerable Acts'. These acts were a direct threat to colonial liberties and were critical in unifying the colonies, leading directly to the convening of the First Continental Congress.

Committees of Correspondence

A network of political organizations, first created by Samuel Adams in Boston, that allowed colonies to publicize grievances against England and coordinate resistance. These committees were a crucial innovation that created a structure for continuous, unified political action among the different colonies.

Creoles

White immigrants of French descent who owned large estates and enslaved black people, establishing a plantation economy along the lower Mississippi River. Their presence demonstrates the establishment of a settled, European-style agricultural society by the French deep within the North American continent.

Currency Act

A 1764 British law that required colonial assemblies to stop issuing paper money and retire all currency in circulation to the benefit of British merchants. This act was resented as an intrusion into their economic affairs and contributed to a postwar economic depression in the colonies.

Daughters of Liberty

An informal organization of colonial women who participated in anti-British protests and resistance activities. They were significant because they mobilized large segments of the population and led popular boycotts against British goods, most notably tea.

First Continental Congress

A 1774 meeting of delegates from twelve colonies, convened in Philadelphia in response to the Coercive Acts. The Congress organized unified resistance against Britain by endorsing grievances, approving military preparations, and creating a 'Continental Association' to enforce boycotts.

George Grenville

The British prime minister appointed in 1763 who was the architect of a new system of colonial control, including the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act. His policies represented a major shift in British administration by seeking to raise revenue directly from the colonies, thereby triggering the 'stirrings of revolt'.

Impressment

The British practice of forcibly enlisting or drafting American colonists into military service, which was a major source of friction during the French and Indian War. This deeply resented policy caused riots and reinforced the colonists' belief that British authority was illegitimate and oppressive.

Iroquois Confederacy

A powerful defensive alliance of five Native American nations in the Northeast that maintained its power by strategically avoiding a close relationship with either the French or the English.

Iroquois

A group of Native American tribes in the northeastern United States known for their skilled diplomacy and ability to maintain autonomy.

Lord North

The British prime minister who repealed most of the Townshend Duties in 1770 but retained the controversial tax on tea.

Mutiny Act

A 1765 law that required colonists to provide quarters and supplies for British troops stationed in America.

Patrick Henry

A member of the Virginia House of Burgesses famous for his fiery oratory and early defiance of British authority.

Proclamation of 1763

A British declaration that forbade settlers from advancing beyond a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains.

Quebec Act

A 1774 law that provided a new civil government for the French-speaking, Catholic inhabitants of Canada.

Samuel Adams

A leading radical from Boston who viewed England as corrupt and helped organize popular resistance.

Sons of Liberty

A radical political organization, organized in part by Samuel Adams, whose members often met in taverns to plan protests.

Stamp Act

A 1765 law that imposed a tax on most printed documents in the colonies.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegates from nine colonies in New York in October 1765 to formulate a unified response to the new stamp tax.

Sugar Act

A 1764 law designed to stop illegal sugar trade by strengthening enforcement and creating new vice-admiralty courts.

Tea Act

A 1773 law passed by the British Parliament concerning the tea trade in the American colonies.

Townshend Duties

A series of taxes imposed in 1767 on goods imported to the colonies from England.

Virginia Resolves

A set of resolutions introduced by Patrick Henry declaring that Virginians had the rights of Englishmen.

William Pitt

The English secretary of state who took full control of the British war effort in the French and Indian War in 1757.