Pre-Revolution & American Revolutionary War

American Revolution

The American Revolution was a colonial revolt against British rule from 1775 to 1783, leading to the establishment of the United States of America as an independent nation.

The Battle Of Saratoga

A major turning point of the Revolutionary War in Fall 1777 that prevented the British from dividing New England from the other colonies and convinced France's king to sign an alliance with America. This battle is often considered the turning point in the war, as it significantly boosted American morale and demonstrated that the colonial forces could defeat the British.

Battles Of Lexington And Concord

The first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War, fought on April 19, 1775, in Massachusetts, described as the 'shot heard round the world'.

The first military engagements of the American Revolution in April 1775, which marked the outbreak of open conflict between Britain and the colonies. These battles were notable for the colonists' determination to resist British authorities and ignited the revolutionary spirit among the American populace.

Siege Of Yorktown

The final major battle of the American Revolution, fought in 1781, where American and French forces led by General Washington besieged British General Cornwallis, leading to his surrender and effectively ending the war.

A bombardment and assault by combined French and American land and naval forces in September-October 1781 that resulted in the surrender of over 7,000 British soldiers.

The Battle Of Trenton (valley forge)

A significant American victory on December 26, 1776, in which General George Washington led 2,400 men across the Delaware River to surprise a garrison of Hessian soldiers. This battle revitalized the American cause and boosted morale following previous setbacks.

Treaty Of Paris (1783)

The agreement that officially ended the American Revolutionary War in 1783, acknowledging American independence and establishing borders for the newly formed United States.

Boston Masscre

A deadly confrontation on March 5, 1770, where British soldiers shot and killed five colonists during a protest, fueling anti-British sentiment and contributing to the revolutionary fervor.

Patriots

Colonists who wanted independence from Britain, also referred to as Continentals or Minutemen, or colonists. Colonial rebels who supported independence from Britain during the American Revolution, often fighting against British forces and advocating for colonial rights.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution, often opposing the Patriots and supporting British rule. (other names include tories, british, and redcoats)

Colonists who remained loyal to the King and wanted to stay part of Britain, also known as Tories.

Hessians (Mercenaries)

Approximately 30,000 experienced, trained mercenary soldiers hired by the British from what is now Germany.

German soldiers hired by the British Crown to fight against the American revolutionaries during the Revolutionary War. They were known for their military discipline and were influential in several battles.

Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson

Friends who went to France and worked to secure support for the American Revolution, negotiating treaties and aid from the French government. (Flirting with wealthy french women and attending tons of parties)

Baron von Steuben

A Prussian officer who trained and professionalized the Patriot army.

A Prussian military officer who contributed to the training and discipline of American troops during the Revolutionary War. His efforts were instrumental in transforming the Continental Army into a more effective fighting force.

Revolution Thomas Paine

Author of "Common Sense," which inspired American colonists to seek independence from Britain and advocated for revolutionary ideas.

Proclamation of 1763

A measure that prevented American colonists from moving westward beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Organizations that helped colonists organize resistance to British policies.

Committees of Correspondence

Groups formed in the colonies that helped organize resistance against British policies.

Common Sense

A 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine and published in January 1776 that urged colonists to claim independence from Britain. A publication by Thomas Paine that presented arguments supporting independence in language accessible to ordinary colonists.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

A document that explained the colonists' justification for separating from Britain, highlighting grievances regarding mistreatment and taxation without representation.

Stamp Act of 1765

A direct tax on the American colonies enacted by Britain to raise money to pay off war debts.

Quartering Act (1765)

A requirement for British soldiers to live in or take over the homes of colonists.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Taxes levied by Britain on tea, paper, lead, glass, and paint to generate more money from the colonies.

Boston Massacre (1770)

An event in 1770 where British troops killed 5 colonist civilians.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

An act of protest in 1773 where colonists threw British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose British taxes.

Intolerable Acts (1774)

Acts passed prior to the Revolutionary War after which local Colonial militias were raised and trained for possible hostilities.

Measures that closed Boston Harbor as punishment for the Boston Tea Party until the damages were paid for by the colonists.

First Continental Congress (1774)

A meeting in Philadelphia where delegates attempted to compromise with Britain, leading colonies to begin training armies after the King refused.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The official treaty in 1783 that ended the American Revolutionary War.

John Locke

A British philosopher whose ideas about natural rights and the social contract influenced the Declaration of Independence. An Enlightenment philosopher whose ideas about human rights, the consent of the governed, and natural rights deeply influenced American history.

Marquis de Lafayette

A French leader who provided money and military leadership to the American Patriots.

A French general who played a crucial role in securing French support for the American cause during the Revolutionary War. He served under George Washington and became a prominent figure in the struggle for American independence.

John Adams

An American diplomat who secured financial funding from the Dutch during the Revolutionary War. (Not well liked, grumpy, crotchety)

The significance of The Battles Of Lexington And Concord in The Revolutionary War

First battles of the Revolution; started open fighting between the colonies and Britain.

North Bridge

The location in Concord where about 400 minutemen engaged 100 British troops, forcing the outnumbered British to retreat toward Boston.

The significance of The Battle Of Trenton in The Revolutionary War

Washington’s surprise victory boosted American morale after a series of defeats.

Hessian soldiers

A force of 1,500 hired troops stationed in Trenton, nearly two-thirds of whom were captured by Washington's army on December 26, 1776.

General John Burgoyne

British General who led nearly 8,000 men south from Canada to capture Albany, New York, but was forced to surrender his entire army at Saratoga on October 17, 1777.

The significance of The Battle Of Saratoga in The Revolutionary War

Major American victory that convinced France to ally with the Americans, providing crucial support.

Marquis de Lafayette and Rochambeau

French generals who landed in Rhode Island in 1780 to provide skilled leadership alongside American forces.

Lord Cornwallis

The British General who waited in Virginia for supplies and reinforcements, but was surrounded and forced to surrender at Yorktown on October 17, 1781.

The significance of Siege Of Yorktown in The Revolutionary War

Major American/French victory that led Britain to begin peace negotiations, effectively ending the war.

Alexander Hamilton

The American leader who led troops in taking one of the British earthen forts during the Yorktown assault on October 14, 1781.

Role of blacks in the revolution

Blacks played a crucial role in the American Revolution by serving as soldiers, laborers, and spies, contributing significantly to both the British and American sides in the struggle for independence.

Role of women in the revolution

Women supported the American Revolution by managing households, boycotting British goods, and some even served as soldiers or spies, playing an integral role in the war effort.

Declaration of Independence

A document signed by 56 white men on July 4, 1776, at a meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Why were local governments created?

It took 2-3 months for a ship to get from England to the Colonies.

The Colonies had to figure out how to solve problems for themselves. 

Colonists had to create local governments for day-to-day issues.

**Britain could overrule everything, though.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement signed by 41 colonists on board the ship The Mayflower heading to America that established decision-making by majority rule (voting) for the good of the colony. Established voting, majority rule (different from a King handing down decisions), and the idea that decisions should benefit the community, not an individual.

House of Burgesses

A representative body in Virginia where landowners elected representatives to make local laws and taxes, establishing the colonial desire for representative government. Established that the colonials wanted a voice in their government, and that they wanted to elect representatives

New England Town Meetings

Rocky soil, long winters = no big plantations

Most people lived in towns, or near towns

Eligible male voters made decisions about local issues

Established expectations about voting, local control

Local gatherings in New England where eligible male voters made decisions regarding local issues.

What do all of these local governments have in common?

People (mostly white men) working together to govern themselves and have a voice in how/why they are taxed.

Conflicts with Indigenous Peoples: Land and Western Expansion

Repeated conflicts over land and western expansion helped create colonial resentment toward British policies, especially after the Proclamation of 1763.

Conflicts with Indigenous Peoples: 1600s

Early colonial period had lots of skirmishes, battles, and wars in all colonial regions. Showed colonists how vulnerable they were.

British government negotiated treaties and military offered protection. Colonists expected Britain to protect them.

Conflicts with Indigenous Peoples: French & Indian War

Britain spends a lot of $$$ defending their colonies; raises taxes to pay for it. Colonists want the new land in the Ohio River Valley; Britain tells them they can’t cross the Proclamation Line and raises taxes to fund it.

The Great Awakening

A period of religious changes in the colonies during the 1730s-1740s driven by frustration with strict Puritan rules and a focus on the individual's relationship with God.

How does the Great Awakening have to do with the American Revolution

The Great Awakening was all about challenging religious authority. Colonists became willing to question traditional religious authorities and, by extension, other forms of established authority, like the British government.

Colonial unity: Big outdoor church services called Revivals were exciting events. People traveled to attend them, sometimes even going to another colony, giving people in different colonies a shared religious experience. The Great Awakening was one of the first times when people began to think of themselves as Americans instead of Georgians or Pennsylvanians.

Revivals attracted people from all social classes. Wealthy and poor, men and women, enslaved and free people all worshipped at revivals.

Revivals

Large outdoor church services held during the Great Awakening that brought together people from all social classes and different colonies.

George Whitefield

A preacher during the Great Awakening known for delivering emotional, charismatic sermons at revivals.

The Enlightenment

Philosophical movement in Europe and the Colonies

Started in the 1600s

Influenced how people thought about power, justice, and human rights

Key Enlightenment ideas from Locke that influenced US History

Consent of the governed

• Power comes from people, not a king. Government has to operate with the people’s permission. Without that, it has no authority.

Natural rights

• All people have rights. Rights aren’t special privileges given by a government. Everyone has them, because we are all human.

Consent of the Governed

The Enlightenment concept that government power comes from the people and requires their permission to have authority.

Natural Rights

The Enlightenment idea that rights belong inherently to all humans because they are human, rather than being special privileges granted by a government.

Economic Self Interest: New England

New England’s economy based on shipping – importing and exporting with England. Taxes after the French and Indian War had the biggest impact in Boston because the city’s economy was based on bringing in goods from England.

New England had higher literacy rates than other regions, because of fewer farms and more people living in cities. Ideas about revolution and independence spread through self-published pamphlets and newspapers. 

Public, theatrical, sometimes violent protests got a lot of attention in Boston. (Boston Tea Party, Tarring and Feathering, burning effigies, etc.)

Economic Self Interest: Southern Colonies

Southern colonies based their economy on forced labor (slavery). As protests against England grew in 1775, Lord Dunmore, the British governor of Virginia, was forced by a mob to flee.

He boarded a ship and tried desperately to regain control, but didn’t have enough soldiers.

Issued “Dunmore’s Proclamation” – promised freedom to any enslaved person “owned” by American patriots who would join him and fight to maintain British rule.

This TERRIFIED Southern enslavers. Their economy would crumble. Also, they feared armed slaves would seek vengeance on them for how they had been treated.

Economic Self Interest: The end of the revolution

By the end of the American Revolution, at least 20,000 people escaped slavery on plantations to join the British and fight their enslavers.

At the end of the Revolution, more than 3,000 formerly enslaved people were sent by the British to live in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Dunmore's Proclamation

A decree issued in November 1775 by Lord Dunmore promising freedom to any enslaved person owned by American patriots who joined him to fight for British rule.

Dunmore’s Proclamation was hugely influential. Between 800-2000 enslaved people escaped to join him.

Issued in November 1775. Declaration of Independence was signed in July 1776.

56 men signed the Declaration of Independence

41 of them owned slaves.

48 of them profited from slavery (through slave trade, shipping, etc.)

Lord Dunmore

The British governor of Virginia who fled to a ship in 1775 and issued a proclamation offering freedom to enslaved people who fought to maintain British rule.

Thomas Paine

An English-born writer, came to the colonies in 1770s, and friend of Benjamin Franklin who wrote the influential pamphlet Common Sense. The author who published Common Sense in January 1776.

Common Sense huge influence on America

• BEFORE Common Sense : Most colonists wanted to find a solution through Parliament, sending letters via Committees of Correspondence, negotiations, etc.

• AFTER Common Sense : More colonists called for cutting ties with Britain completely

Common Sense > Declaration Of Independence

Common Sense was published in January, 1776.

The Declaration of Independence was signed in July, 1776.

Without Common Sense, there was not the support to claim independence from Britain.