Unit 4: Revolution!

revolution

a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.

Loyalists/Tories

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

Patriots

American colonists who fought for independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War

Battle of Lexington & Concord

The first military engagement of the Revolutionary War. It occurred on April 19, 1775, when British soldiers fired into a much smaller body of minutemen on Lexington green. "The shot heard round the world"

Valley Forge

Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778, a 4th of troops died here from disease and malnutrition.

Battle of Yorktown

last major battle of the American Revolution and a victory for the United States.

Redcoats

British soldiers

Continental Army

the American army during the American Revolution

Benedict Arnold

American General who was labeled a traitor when he assisted the British in a failed attempt to take the American fort at West Point.

King George III

King of England during the American Revolution

Hessians

German soldiers hired by George III to smash Colonial rebellion, proved good in mechanical sense but they were more concerned about money than duty.

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army

smallpox

a disease that causes a high fever and often death and killed many soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Pamphlet that encouraged the Colonists to fight the British, helped establish the Declaration of Independence

Allies

An alliance of nations joining together to fight a common enemy

Paul Revere

A patriot who helped warn colonists about British movements

militia

A group of civilians trained to fight in emergencies

Treaty of Paris 1783

agreement signed by British and American leaders that stated the United States of America was a free and independent country. It ended the Revolutionary war.

traitor

A person who betrays his or her country

minutemen

citizen soldiers who could be ready to fight at a minute's notice

Declaration of Independence

Signed in 1776 by US revolutionaries; it declared the United States as a free and independent country.

Thomas Jefferson

Wrote the Declaration of Independence

Sons of Liberty

A group of colonists who formed a secret society to oppose British policies at the time of the American Revolution

Continental Congress

A body of representatives from the British North American colonies who met to respond to England's Intolerable Acts. They declared independence in July 1776 and later drafted the Articles of Confederation.