The French and Indian War and the American Revolution

Vocabulary flashcards covering key historical figures, battles, legislative acts, and political concepts from the French and Indian War through the American Revolution.

George Washington

A Virginia officer who commanded the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Edward Braddock

A British general whose forces relied on European tactics and were defeated at Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War, where he was shot and wounded.

James Wolfe

The British commander who led the decisive victory at the Battle of Quebec in 1759.

William Pitt

The British leader who supported the war effort by directing British war strategies during the French and Indian War.

Baron Friedrich von Steuben

A military leader who helped the Continental Army by training and drilling soldiers at Valley Forge.

Nathanael Greene

The commander of Southern Patriot forces during the Revolutionary War who wore down the British army even though he did not win every battle.

John Paul Jones

An American naval commander who secured major victories at sea during the American Revolution.

George Rogers Clark

A Patriot commander who led frontier campaigns and attacked British-held posts in the Northwest Territory.

Charles Cornwallis

A British general who led forces in the South, moved to Virginia to disrupt Patriot operations and establish coastal defense, and surrendered at Yorktown in 1781.

Francis Marion

A Patriot leader celebrated for employing unconventional guerrilla warfare tactics, surprise attacks, and ambushes.

Marquis de Lafayette

A French aristocrat who served with the Continental Army and helped coordinate military campaigns.

Benedict Arnold

An American commander remembered as a traitor for secretly agreeing to turn over West Point to the British and subsequently joining their side.

Ohio River Valley

The central disputed territory that sparked the French and Indian War, coveted by Britain and France for its valuable land, trade routes, and access to the interior of North America.

Battle of Quebec (1759)

A decisive British victory led by James Wolfe that crippled French defenses and helped Britain defeat France.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

The agreement ending the French and Indian War that expanded British holdings by granting Britain Canada, territory west of the Mississippi River, and Florida from Spain.

Proclamation of 1763

A British royal order that restricted colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, which colonists resented as an infringement on westward expansion.

"No taxation without representation"

A colonial slogan reflecting the belief that taxes should only be imposed with the consent of the colonists' own elected representatives.

Stamp Act

A British measure that taxed printed materials, sparking colonial outrage because Parliament imposed the tax without colonial consent.

Declaratory Act

An act passed by Parliament asserting its authority to legislate for the American colonies in all cases.

Townshend Acts

Parliamentary duties that angered colonists and prompted them to organize widespread protests and boycotts.

Boston Massacre

A violent confrontation where British soldiers fired into an assembled crowd of colonists.

Boston Tea Party

A colonial protest against the Tea Act and Parliament's claim to tax the colonies, during which colonists targeted tea imported by the British East India Company.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

Four punitive measures targeting Massachusetts: closing Boston Harbor, altering Massachusetts government, changing trial arrangements for officials, and expanding quartering provisions.

Battles of Lexington and Concord

The initial military engagements of 1775, sparked by British attempts to seize colonial military supplies, which marked the beginning of the War of Independence.

Battle of Bunker Hill

A costly British victory where British forces took the hill but sustained heavy casualties, proving to Patriots that they had a chance against the British military.

Olive Branch Petition

A final colonial appeal sent to King George III requesting him to restore peace and resolve colonial grievances.

Proclamation of Rebellion

An official decree by King George III declaring that the American colonies were in open rebellion against the crown.

Common Sense

An influential pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that persuaded many colonists to support independence from Britain.

Lockean Social Contract Theory

John Locke's political philosophy that influenced the Declaration of Independence through principles of natural rights, government by consent, and the right to replace a government that violates those rights.

Right to Overthrow Government

The principle stated in the Declaration of Independence allowing people to alter or abolish their government when it becomes destructive of their rights through a long pattern of abuses.

Loyalists

Colonists who rejected independence and maintained allegiance to Britain because they valued imperial ties or viewed rebellion as dangerous and contrary to religious beliefs.

Battle of Trenton

A surprise offensive where Washington led his army across the Delaware River to defeat Hessian troops, resulting in a Continental Army victory.

Battle of Saratoga

A major turning point of the Revolution where American forces defeated Burgoyne's army, convincing France to enter a formal alliance and supply military assistance.

Battle of Yorktown

The climactic siege in which combined American and French forces trapped General Cornwallis, supported by French ships blocking British sea evacuation, forcing a British surrender.

Boston (Evacuation of 1776)

A major colonial city evacuated by British forces in 1776 that they failed to recapture during the remainder of the Revolutionary War.

Guerrilla Warfare

An unconventional military style based on surprise attacks, ambushes, raids, and disruptions of enemy supply lines.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The peace agreement ending the Revolutionary War that formally recognized American independence and established U.S. boundaries east of the Mississippi River, south of the Great Lakes, and north of Spanish Florida.