Unit 2 American Revolution

Albany Conference

when the colonies started to realize that in order to win the war, they needed to work together; started thinking of themselves as one country rather than separate colonies

Battle of Saratoga

A battle that took place in New York where the Continental Army defeated the British. It proved to be the turning point of the war because it convinced the French to help join the fight and help the colonies

Battle of Yorktown

A battle that took place in Virginia where the Continental Army and the French fleet cornered Lord Corwallis and his troops. The British surrendered and this battle marks the end of the Revolutionary War

Battle of Lexington and Concord

A battle that took place in Lexington and Concord, and marked the start of the Revolutionary War. There was no clear winner but the colonists forced the British to retreat.

Battle of New York

A battle that took place in New York, and while the Continental Army did not win, this battle taught George Washington to be more cautious with the army if he wanted to win the war.

Battles of Trenton and Princeton

Battles that took place in New Jersey, where Washington led the army on a surprise attack in the winter night. They were small victories that boosted the morale of the soldiers.

Battle of Bunker Hill

A battle that took place on Breed's Hill where the British won, but lost a significant amount of troops, which hindered them greatly.

Battle of Kings Mountain

A battle that took place in South Carolina, where the fighting was brought to the south. The continental Army won.

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.

Boston Massacre

British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five Americans on March 5, 1770. This event almost started the Revolution, but Great Britain repealed the Townshend Acts

Paul Revere

American silversmith remembered for his midnight ride to warn the colonists in Lexington and Concord that British troops were coming (1735-1818)

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest against British taxes in which Boston colonists disguised as Mohawks dumped valuable tea into Boston Harbor in retaliation to the Tea Act

Charles Cornwallis

Commanding general of the British forces that were defeated at Yorktown in 1781, ending the American Revolution.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

4 separate acts that were intended as a punishment to Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party. They closed the port of Boston, banned town meetings, required all sheriffs, council members, and judges to be appointed by the British governor, protected British soldiers from American juries by allowing them to have trials in Britain, and allowed the quartering of troops.

Committee of Correspondence

an organization that spread political ideas and information through the colonies

Common Sense

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that claimed the colonies had a right to be an independent nation and disrespected Britain, which angered the King

Thomas Paine

Author of Common Sense

Crossing the Delaware River

In December 1776 Washington secretly led his troops to launch a surprise attack on the Hessian troops guarding Trenton and took most of them prisoner.

Currency Act

prohibited colonies from issuing paper money, destabilized colonial economy

Declaration of Independence

Signed in 1776 by US revolutionaries; it declared the United States as a free state from Great Britain and the King

Thomas Jefferson

Wrote the Declaration of Independence

Emancipation

the fact or process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions; liberation, specifically slaves in this time period.

First Continental Congress

September 1774, delegates from twelve colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts

French and Indian War

A war between the French and the British (colonies) over the Ohio River Valley. Both sides were allied by native tribes, British + Iroquois, French + Algonquins. Britain won and got Canada, but became heavily in debt.

Gaspee Affair

the seizure and burning of a British customs ship in Rhode Island; suspects were taken to Great Britain for a trial, which violated due process

George Washington

1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution

guerrilla warfare

A hit-and-run technique used in fighting a war; fighting by small bands of warriors using tactics such as sudden ambushes

John Paul Jones

American naval commander in the American Revolution, said " I have not yet begun to fight."

John Trumbull + Charles Wilson Peale

American painters that were sparked by the American Revolution

Loyalists

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

Manumission

the freeing of individual enslaved persons

Minutemen

Member of a militia during the American Revolution who could be ready to fight in sixty seconds, were citizens

nonimportation agreements

Boycotts against British goods adopted in response to the Stamp Act and, later, the Townshend and Intolerable Acts. The agreements were the most effective form of protest against British policies in the colonies.

Patriots

American colonists who were determined to fight the British until American independence was won

Proclamation of 1763

Drew a line from north to south along the Appalachian Mountain and declared that colonists could not settle west of that line without the permission of the British government

Republic

A form of government in which citizens choose their leaders by voting

Sam Adams

A member of the Sons of Liberty who started the Committee of Correspondence to stir public support for American independence.

Second Continental Congress

They organized the continental Army, called on the colonies to send troops, selected George Washington to lead the army, and appointed the comittee to draft the Declaration of Independence

Stamp Act

taxed almost all printed materials like newspapers, pamphlets, posters, wills, mortgages, deeds, licenses, diplomas, and even playing cards.

Sugar Act

imposed new taxes on trade and required smugglers to prove their innocence and eliminated proper due process.

Townshend Acts

put new custom duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea imported by the colonies. Violators of the Revenue Act had to face trial in vice-admiralty courts, which did not have juries or follow the common law and legalized writs of assistance

writs of assistance

legal document that enabled officers to search homes and warehouses for goods that might be smuggled

Valley Forge

Continental Army's camp during the winter of 1777-1778

War in the West

battle after battle over control of the Mississippi River and the Deep south

Strengths of the Continental Army

• Army was patriotic and motivated to win independence

• Strong leadership—George Washington

• Help from foreign countries—France

Also fought on their home turf

Weaknesses of the Continental Army

lacked training, experience and supplies, and men, had no navy

Strengths of the British Army

Experienced soldiers and officers, superior equipment, well disciplined and funded.

Weaknesses of the British Army

Fighting in unfamiliar territory and used older tactics.

Political Effects of the Revolution

establishment of a republic, more people can vote, all 13 states passed their own constitutions

Economic Effects of the Revolution

decrease in slavery and many states encouraged manumission

Religious Effects of the Revolution

separation of church and state, no official religion, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was passed

Social Effects of the Revolution

women's education began to increase, more schools for girls, US began to head towards more equality, 100,000 loyalists fled the US after the war

Intellectual Effects of the Revolution

the ideas of the Enlightenment, states created government funded universities, Noah Webster published an Americanized English dictionary

Artistic Effects of the Revolution

revolution sparked creativity of American painters like John Trumbull and Charles Wilson Peale.