American Colonies and American Revolution Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core terms, historical figures, acts, and events from the American colonial period through the American Revolutionary War based on the lecture notes.

Magna Carta

A 1215 English document that limited the power of the king and established that the ruler was not above the law.

English Bill of Rights

A 1689 English document that limited the monarch's power and protected certain rights of citizens.

Salutary Neglect

England's policy of loosely enforcing its laws on the colonies.

Mercantilism

An economic system in which a country tries to increase its wealth and power by exporting more goods than it imports and accumulating valuable resources.

Custom Duty

A tax placed on goods that are imported.

Navigation Acts

British laws designed to control colonial trade.

Triangular Trade

A three-part trading system connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Great Awakening

A religious revival movement in the American colonies during the 1700s.

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher whose ideas strongly influenced American political leaders, asserting that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

Albany Plan of Union

Benjamin Franklin's 1754 proposal for the 13 colonies to work together under a unified government.

Guerrilla Warfare

Fighting using surprise attacks, ambushes, and small groups instead of traditional large battles.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Treaty that ended the French and Indian War, giving Britain French territory east of the Mississippi River.

Pontiac's Rebellion

A Native American uprising against British control after the French and Indian War.

Proclamation of 1763

British law that prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Sugar Act (1764)

A 1764 British law that taxed and regulated sugar, molasses, wine, and other imported goods.

Quartering Act (1765)

Required colonists to provide British soldiers with housing, food, and supplies.

Stamp Act (1765)

Required a tax on many printed materials, including newspapers, legal documents, licenses, and paper products.

Sons of Liberty

A colonial resistance group that organized protests against British taxation.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of colonial representatives that protested the Stamp Act and defended colonial rights.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Taxes on imported goods such as glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea.

Daughters of Liberty

Women who supported resistance to British taxes by making homemade goods and boycotting British products.

Boston Massacre (1770)

A confrontation in Boston in which British soldiers fired on colonists, killing several people.

Committees of Correspondence

A communication network that allowed colonial leaders to share information and coordinate resistance.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

A protest in which colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor opposing British taxation and the Tea Act.

Intolerable Acts (1774)

Punitive British laws passed in response to the Boston Tea Party that closed Boston Harbor and increased British control over Massachusetts.

First Continental Congress

A meeting of colonial representatives in 1774 to discuss grievances, defend colonial rights, coordinate resistance, and agree to boycott British goods.

Minutemen

Colonial militia members who were prepared to fight quickly when needed.

Olive Branch Petition

A final attempt by the colonies to make peace with Britain that asked King George III to restore peace.

Common Sense

A famous pamphlet written by Thomas Paine arguing that the colonies should become independent from Britain.

Declaration of Independence

Document that officially announced that the colonies were independent from Britain.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to Britain and supported the king.

Patriots

Colonists who wanted independence from Britain.

Battle of Saratoga

A major American victory and turning point in the Revolution that convinced France to openly support the American cause.

Valley Forge

Washington's winter camp where the Continental Army endured harsh conditions, cold weather, hunger, and disease while continuing to train.

Friedrich von Steuben

A Prussian military officer who trained Washington's Continental Army in discipline, marching, drilling, and tactics.

General Cornwallis

A British general who commanded British forces in the Southern campaign and surrendered at Yorktown.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

The last major battle of the American Revolution, where American and French forces surrounded General Cornwallis, leading to his surrender.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Treaty that officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized the United States as an independent country.

Egalitarianism

The belief that people are fundamentally equal.