Unit 2 Key Terms

Location where the Continental Army, under Washington, endured a harsh winter but famously emerged stronger and more disciplined

Valley Forge

This describes general warrants to search colonists' property for smuggled goods

Writs of Assistance

In this event, British soldiers killed five colonists in Massachusetts as a result of tension created by the Townshend Acts

Boston Massacre

Though it failed, this represented the first time the colonies considered joining together for common defense

Albany Plan of Union

Major leader of the British forces during the American Revolution who famously surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown

Charles Cornwallis

This direct tax on the colonists taxed most printed materials and led to numerous protests in the colonies

Stamp Act

This group formed to protest the Stamp Act, organizing protests and harassing tax collectors

Sons of Liberty

Leader of England during the American Revolution

King George III

The first armed conflict between colonial and British forces, considered the "shot heard around the world"

Lexington and Concord

First written plan of government for the United States which was weak and replaced

Articles of Confederation

Meeting in which delegates from the colonies met and asked King George III to restore colonial rights and spoke against the Intolerable Acts

First Continental Congress

Wrote "Common Sense," a pamphlet that argued for independence from Britain

Thomas Paine

Last major battle of the American Revolution and victory for America

Battle of Yorktown

A type of group formed in the colonies to communicate with other colonies about British activities

Committee of Correspondence

Plan for settling territory in the United States that included a prohibition of slavery

Northwest Ordinance

This colonial protest to the Tea Act led to Britain passing the Intolerable Acts

Boston Tea Party

This series of laws from Britain responded to the Boston Tea Party, including laws that shut down the Boston port, expanding the Quartering Act, and further limiting the colonists' rights

Boston Port Act

This conflict resulted in France losing its territory in America and led England to consider new ways to pay for their colonies in America

French and Indian War

Ended the American Revolution with England recognizing the United States as a new nation

Treaty of Paris of 1783

Last effort of the Second Continental Congress to reconcile with King George III, which he rejected

Olive Branch Petition

Author of the Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson

Major turning point in the American Revolution that convinced France to help America

Battle of Saratoga

This series of acts taxed items like tea, paper, and glass

Intolerable (Coercive) Acts

This document asserted that Britain had violated the natural rights of the colonists and concluded that the British government no longer had authority over the colonists

Declaration of Independence

Colonists who sided with the British during the American Revolution

Loyalists

Signed by colonists, this led to a boycott of British goods in protest of the Stamp Act

Nonimportation agreements

To save face after repealing the Stamp Act, this law asserted England's authority to make laws for the colonies

Declaratory Act

Action by Massachusetts farmers in response to what they saw as unfair taxes, exposed weakness in Articles of Confederation

Shays' Rebellion

This order from King George III told the colonists not to settle past the Appalachian Mountains

Proclamation of 1763

First law that separated church and government institutions

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Colonists who were opposed to the British during the American Revolution

Patriots

Major leader of American forces during the American revolution who famously won at the Battle of Yorktown

George Washington

Meeting which delegates from the colonies created the Continental Army and declared independence from Britain

Second Continental Congress

Form of government in which power resides with a body of citizens entitled to vote for elected officials who represent the voters and who must govern according to laws and a constitution

Republic