Topic 6: Independence Movements

French and Indian War

a war in North America between France and Britain (both aided by indian tribes)

Stamp Act

1765; law that taxed printed goods, including: playing cards, documents, newspapers, etc.

Townshend Acts

A tax that the British Parliament passed in 1767 that was placed on leads, glass, paint and tea

Boston Massacre

The first bloodshed of the American Revolution (1770), as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five Americans

Sons of Liberty

A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.

Committees of Correspondence

Organization founded by Samuel Adams consisting of a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest against British taxes in which Boston colonists disguised as Mohawks dumped valuable tea into Boston Harbor.

First Continental Congress

Delagates from all colonies except georgia met to discuss problems with britain and to promote independence

Intolerance Acts

a series of laws enacted by Parliament in 1774 to punish Massachusetts colonists for the Boston Tea Party

Second Continental Congress

Political authority that directed the struggle for independence beginning in 1775.

Common Sense

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

Battle of Yorktown

1781 American victory in Virginia that forced the British to surrender

Treaty of Paris

agreement signed by British and American leaders that stated the United States of America was a free and independent contry

Lexington and Concord

first battles of the Revolutionary War

Enlightenment

A movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions.