American Revolution and French and Indian War Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, acts, and events from the French and Indian War and the American Revolution based on the lecture notes.

Martial Law

Rule imposed by military force.

Friedrich von Steuben

Prussian captain who made regular soldiers out of the minutemen.

Battle of Saratoga

Battle that is considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War.

Patriots

Colonists who supported independence.

Treaty of Paris

Treaty that ended the Revolutionary War.

Olive Branch Petition

Document sent to King George by colonies urging the return of "former harmony".

Profiteering

Selling scarce goods for a profit.

Committees of Correspondence

A way for the colonies to communicate during the revolution.

Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770 fight that broke out between colonists and British soldiers that left 5 people dead.

Valley Forge

American winter camp where conditions were harsh but the Americans were also formally trained.

Common Sense

50 page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that declared the time had come for colonists to proclaim an independent republic.

William Pitt

Self-confident politician who reinvigorated the British Army during the French and Indian War to win, which prompted the Iroquois to support the British.

General Cornwallis

Surrendering General of the British army.

French and Indian War

War between Great Britain and France over territory in North America.

Minutemen

Civilian soldiers.

Sugar Act

Act that put a tax on sugar and other imported items and imposed harsher enforcement of anti-smuggling cases.

Boston Tea Party

Event when angry Bostonians dumped 18,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor.

Thomas Paine

Author of Common Sense.

Yorktown

Site/battle of British surrender.

George Washington

Ambitious 22 year old officer for the British during the French-Indian War who would eventually lead the colonies in rebellion and become the 1st President of the US.

Thomas Jefferson

Author of Declaration of Independence.

Egalitarianism

A belief in the equality of all people.

King George III

King of England during Revolutionary War.

New France

French Colony in North America.

Loyalists

Colonists who opposed independence.

Battle of Trenton

Surprise battle on Dec 25, 1776 where the Americans won a much needed morale boost.

Declaration of Independence

Document that declared Americans independent from Great Britain.

Pontiac

Ottawa leader who fought the British after the French Indian War.

Samuel Adams

Leader of the Sons of Liberty.

Lafayette

French military leader who offered assistance to the American cause.

Intolerable Acts

Acts that declared martial law in Boston.

Stamp Act

Act that required colonists to put a special paper on every legal document, license, newspaper, pamphlet, etc.

Proclamation of 1763

Banned all settlement West of the Appalachians.

Mississippi River

New Western boundary of the United States following the Revolutionary War.

Townshend Acts

Indirect taxes on imported materials—lead, glass, paint, and paper—that imposed a 3 penny tax on tea.