Causes of the American Revolution (Video Review)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions related to the causes and foundational events of the American Revolution.

Age of Enlightenment

An era when thinkers questioned traditional authority and discussed systematic change in politics, society, and government.

Salutary neglect

An unofficial policy where Britain laxly enforced trade laws, allowing the colonies to govern themselves with little royal interference.

Massachusetts Charter of 1691

Charter that granted the colonies a degree of self-government and autonomy from direct Crown control.

Autonomy of colonial legislatures

Colonial assemblies were empowered to govern provinces on behalf of the Crown during salutary neglect.

Taxation without representation

Grievance that Parliament taxed colonies without colonists having elected representatives or consent.

Stamp Act

1765 direct tax requiring stamps on paper goods; first direct tax on the colonies.

Declaratory Act

1766 act that ended salutary neglect and asserted Parliament’s authority over the colonies.

Townshend Acts

1767 acts imposing duties on imported goods, fueling colonial taxation grievances.

Tea Act

1773 law allowing the East India Company to sell tea cheaply in the colonies, seen as a monopoly and tax practice.

Navigation Acts (1651)

Laws restricting colonial trade to English ships and directing exports to England to benefit Britain.

Smuggling

Undermining of duties through illicit import/export, prompted by strict Navigation Acts and taxes.

Writs of Assistance

General search warrants allowing British officers to search private property without probable cause.

James Otis

Massachusetts lawyer who argued against Writs of Assistance and energized colonial resistance.

Common Sense

1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine advocating independence and criticizing the monarchy.

Thomas Paine

Author of Common Sense and former editor of Pennsylvania Magazine, a key independence advocate.

Boston Massacre

1770 incident in which British troops killed five colonists, used to inflame revolutionary sentiment.

Christopher Seider

11-year-old boy killed during tax protest era tensions, fueling anti-British outrage.

Destruction of the Tea / Boston Tea Party

December 16, 1773 event where 100–150 colonists dumped 340 chests of tea to protest taxes and monopoly.

East India Company

Company whose tea faced boycott and sparked the Boston Tea Party controversy.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

1774 punitive laws aimed at Boston after the Tea Party, heightening colonial unity against Britain.

Sons of Liberty

Colonial group opposing British policies, organizing protests and promoting independence.

French & Indian War / Seven Years’ War

1754–1763 global conflict; in North America, led to heavy debt and increased imperial taxation.

Treaty of Paris 1763

End of the French & Indian War; Britain gained territory and faced war debt, fueling taxation.

Lexington and Concord

April 1775 first armed clashes of the Revolution, signaling the start of the war.

Magna Carta (1215)

Historic charter cited to argue that taxation requires consent and protection of rights.

Yorktown

1781 decisive victory for American-French forces effectively ending major fighting of the war.