C8 - APUSH

George Washington

Military commander of the American Revolution. He was the first elected president of the United States (1789 to 1799).

William Howe

British General who attacked New York with 35,000 men and attacked Philadelphia when he should have been going to help Burgoyne up the Hudson River during the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Nathanael Green

Quaker born member of Washington's General staff who lost the Battle of Washington Heights, but later led the American forces to victory in the South in 1781.

Benedict Arnold

American General who was labeled a traitor when he assisted the British in a failed attempt to take the American fort at West Point.

John Burgoyne

British general in the American Revolution who captured Fort Ticonderoga but lost the battle of Saratoga in 1777.

Charles Cornwallis

A British general, he lost to Nathaniel Green in one campaign. He was humiliated by his defeat in the colonies. He finally lost at the Battle of Yorktown, commonly known as the end of the war, in 1781.

Thomas Paine

American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence and supported the French Revolution (1737 to 1809), wrote "Common Sense"

George Rogers Clark

A soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war.

Richard Henry Lee

A member of the Philadelphia Congress during the late 1770's. On June 7, 1776 he declared, "These United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." This resolution was the start of the Declaration of Independence and end to British relations.

Horatio Gates

The famous general during the Saratoga campaign for the colonists. He was an ex British general who was one of the most controversial fighters when he almost took Washington's place.

John Paul Jones

American naval commander in the American Revolution (1747 to 1792) said " I have not yet begun to fight."

Thomas Jefferson

He was a delegate from Virginia at the Second Continental Congress and wrote the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the third President of the United States.

Marquis de Lafayette

Young French soldier who joined General Washington's staff and became a general in the Continental Army.

Patrick Henry

A leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies, "Give me liberty or give me death".

Comte de Rochambeau

Commanded a powerful French army of six thousand troops in the summer of 1780 and arrived in Newport, Rhode Island. They were planning a Franco American attack on New York.

John Jay

American delegate who signed Treaty of Paris; New York lawyer and diplomat who negotiated with Britain and Spain on behalf of the Confederation; he later became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court and negotiated the Jay Treaty

Ethan Allan

A Vermont blacksmith. Led the Green Mountain Boys in a surprise attack on Fort Ticonderoga. Won the Fort, and a valuable supply of cannons and gun powder, and control of a key route into Canada.

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the home front. Famous for urging her husband John to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

George III

English monarch at the time of the revolution. He was the main opposition for the colonies due to his stubborn attitude and unwillingness to hear out colonial requests/grievances.

Mercenaries

professional soldiers who fight for anyone who will pay them. Hessians (from Hesse, Germany) were most notable to fight for the British.

natural rights

the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property

privateering

a system in the colonial era by which privately owned and operated ships were used to raid enemy shipping

Second Continental Congress

Convened in May 1775, they opposed the drastic move toward complete independence from Britain. In an effort to reach a reconciliation, they offered peace under the conditions that there be a ceasefire in Boston, that the Coercive Acts be repealed, and that negotiations begin immediately. King George III rejected the petition.

Common Sense

1776: a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that claimed the colonies had a right to be an independent nation

Declaration of Independence

Drafted by the Committee of Five declaring America's separation from Great Britain (3 parts: New theory of government, reasons for separation, formal declaration of war and independence)

Loyalists (Tories)

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

Patriots (Whigs)

Colonists who openly supported the drive for independence.