Key Vocabulary for the Revolutionary Era (Lecture Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, events, acts, and documents leading up to and during the American Revolution.

Boston Massacre

March 1770 incident where British sentries fired on an abusive crowd in Boston; 5 soldiers charged; used to illustrate tensions between colonists and British soldiers.

East India Company

Wealthy British trading company with significant political clout; central to the Tea Crisis; bailed out by Parliament and given near-monopoly power in tea.

Tea Act of 1773

Law allowing the East India Company to sell tea in colonies with reduced or tax-free status, undercutting local merchants and provoking colonial resistance.

Boston Tea Party

December 16, 1773: colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped 342 chests of tea from East India Company ships into Boston Harbour as protest.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

Parliamentary measures in 1774 to punish Massachusetts: closed port, restructured government, and expanded royal control.

Boston Port Act

Act that closed Boston Harbor until the East India Company tea damage was paid, crippling trade.

Massachusetts Government Act

Act that replaced locally elected sheriffs with royal appointees and restricted colonial meetings.

Quebec Act

Expanded Quebec territory to French Canadians and allowed Catholic oaths of loyalty, upsetting many colonists.

First Continental Congress

1774 meeting of 12 colonies (55 delegates) to coordinate a colonial response to the Intolerable Acts; endorsed boycott and militia measures.

Suffolk Resolves

Declaration urging across the colonies a boycott of British goods, bypassing royal authorities, and raising militias until acts were repealed.

Continental Association

Enforcement body created by the First Continental Congress to ensure compliance with the boycott; used penalties like tar-and-feathering for noncompliance.

Declaration of American Rights

Statement arguing that colonies lacked representation in Parliament and asserting sovereignty and rights within the empire.

Declaratory Act

Parliament asserted it had authority to legislate for the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever,' reinforcing parliamentary supremacy.

Second Continental Congress

Met in 1775 with representatives from all 13 colonies; created the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as commander.

Continental Army

Unified colonial military force formed by the Second Continental Congress to fight Britain in the American Revolution.

George Washington

Appointed commander of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress.

Minutemen

Colonial militia units capable of rapid assembly; played key roles around Lexington and Concord.

Battle of Lexington

First clash of the Revolutionary War; 'shot heard around the world'; colonial forces retreated as British units advanced.

Battle of Concord (North Bridge)

Colonial militia halted British advance at North Bridge and slowed their retreat; boost to colonial morale.

Battle of Bunker Hill (Breeds Hill)

Early pivotal battle near Boston; costly for the British but boosted colonial confidence and demonstrated serious resistance.

Paul Revere and Dawes (riders)

Riders who warned colonial militia of British movements toward Boston, aiding in the organization of defense.

Olive Branch Petition

July 1775 appeal to King George III to intervene and end hostilities; rejected by the Crown as insincere.

Declaration of Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

Document justifying armed resistance while still affirming loyalty to the king; asserted colonial grievance and readiness to defend rights.

Prohibitory Act

British law closing colonial ports to trade in response to rebellion, aiming to strangle colonial economy.