The War for Independence Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, legislation, and battles from the American War for Independence notes.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where governments gain power by restricting trade to export more goods than they import.

Navigation Acts

A series of laws restricting colonial trade, requiring goods to be shipped on British or colonial vessels with crews that were at least ¾ English or colonial.

Salutary Neglect

The British policy of loosening enforcement of colonial trade restrictions in exchange for the colonies' continued economic loyalty and raw material supply.

French and Indian War

A war between Britain and France (and their respective Native allies) over the Ohio River Valley, ending in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris.

Sugar Act

A 1764 law enacted by Prime Minister George Grenville that halved duties on foreign molasses, placed taxes on certain imports, and strengthened smuggling enforcement.

Stamp Act

A March 1765 law requiring colonists to purchase special stamped paper for legal documents, playing cards, pamphlets, and newspapers.

Sons of Liberty

A colonial resistance group founded by Samuel Adams that organized protests and harassed British stamp agents until many resigned.

Townshend Acts

Indirect taxes levied on imported materials brought to colonial ports—such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.

Boston Massacre

A March 1770 conflict between British soldiers and a mob of colonial laborers over shipyard jobs, resulting in the death of Crispus Attucks and four others.

Boston Tea Party

A December 16, 1773 protest against the Tea Act in which colonial rebels dumped 18,000 pounds of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.

Intolerable Acts

Punitive measures passed by King George III following the Boston Tea Party that closed Boston Harbor, imposed the Quartering Act, and placed Boston under martial law.

Quartering Act

A law under the Intolerable Acts authorizing British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings.

Martial Law

Rule imposed directly by military forces over a civilian population.

First Continental Congress

A meeting of 56 delegates in Philadelphia in 1774 that drafted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances and urged colonies to prepare militarily.

Minutemen

Civilian militia soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight at a minute's notice.

General Thomas Gage

The British General and governor of Massachusetts who ordered troops to march to Concord to destroy concealed colonial arms.

Lexington and Concord

The first military engagements of the Revolutionary War in April 1775, where British regulars clashed with minutemen on the Lexington green and along the road to Concord.

Second Continental Congress

The governing assembly of colonial delegates that convened in May 1775, established the Continental Army, authorized paper currency, and drafted the Declaration of Independence.

Battle of Bunker Hill

A June 17, 1775 battle on Breed's Hill where British forces defeated militiamen who ran out of ammunition, but suffered over 1,000 casualties in the attempt.

Olive Branch Petition

A document sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III proposing a return to former harmony, which the King rejected.

Common Sense

A widely read pamphlet written by Thomas Paine arguing that government is a necessary evil, attacking monarchies, and urging the colonies to declare independence.

Declaration of Independence

A document written by Thomas Jefferson asserting natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, declaring the American colonies free from Great Britain.

Loyalists

Colonists who opposed independence and remained committed to allegiance with the British Crown.

Patriots

Colonists who supported economic independence and national sovereignty from Great Britain.

Battle of Trenton

A surprise attack led by George Washington on Christmas night 1776, crossing the Delaware River to capture 918 Hessians and key supplies.

Battle of Saratoga

An October 17, 1777 battle in which General John Burgoyne surrendered to American forces, marking a major turning point that brought France into the war as an official American ally.

Valley Forge

The Continental Army's winter encampment site in 1777–1778 where more than 2,000 out of 10,000 soldiers died from severe cold, exposure, and disease.

Friedrich von Steuben

A Prussian military officer who trained Washington's troops at Valley Forge in field maneuvers, quick reloading, and bayonet tactics.

Marquis de Lafayette

A French aristocrat and officer who joined Washington at Valley Forge, lobbied France for military reinforcements, and held a major command in Virginia.

Battle of Cowpens

A 1781 battle in South Carolina where General Daniel Morgan led British forces into a chase and fought back, resulting in over 800 British casualties.

Battle of Yorktown

The final major battle of the war where American and French land and naval forces surrounded General Cornwallis, forcing his surrender on October 17, 1781.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The September 1783 treaty confirming U.S. independence and expanding borders from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Mississippi River, and from Canada south to Florida.