Chapter 4: The War for Independence - Key Terms (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, and events from Chapter 4: The War for Independence.

Stamp Act

A 1765 Parliament law that required colonists to purchase stamped paper for legal documents, licenses, newspapers, etc., and imposed stamp duties.

Samuel Adams

Colonial leader and founder of the Sons of Liberty; a powerful activist who organized resistance to British policies.

Townshend Acts

1767 revenue laws imposing indirect taxes on imported goods (glass, lead, paint, paper) and a tax on tea.

Boston Massacre

Incident on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers killed five colonists; later used as anti-British propaganda.

Committees of Correspondence

Networks established to communicate information about threats to colonial liberties across colonies.

Boston Tea Party

December 16, 1773 protest where colonists dumped 18,000 pounds of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.

King George III

King of Great Britain whose policies angered the American colonies and helped ignite the revolution.

Intolerable Acts

1774 punitive measures closing Boston Harbor, authorizing the Quartering Act, and placing Massachusetts under martial law.

Martial law

Rule imposed by military authorities rather than civilian government.

Minutemen

Colonial militia members who could be ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Sons of Liberty

Secret colonial organization that protested British taxes and policies; key leader was Samuel Adams.

Tea Act

1773 law granting the East India Company a monopoly and letting tea be sold free of colonial taxes, undercutting merchants.

Redcoats

Nickname for British soldiers, named for their red jackets.

Lexington and Concord

1775 battles marking the start of the American Revolution; famous warning cry, “The Regulars are coming.”

Paul Revere

Patriot silversmith and engraver who helped organize riders to warn of British troop movements and created engravings of the Boston Massacre.

Crispus Attucks

A sailor of African and Native American ancestry; among the first to die in the Boston Massacre and a symbol of American resistance.

Quartering Act

1765 law requiring colonists to house British troops in their homes and buildings.

Declaratory Act

1766 assertion by Parliament that it had the right to legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”

Mercy Otis Warren

Massachusetts writer who urged women to boycott British goods and supported colonial resistance.