Topic 3: The American Revolution (3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4) Study Guide

Tea Act

A law that taxed all imported tea and other goods, imposed by Britain on the American colonists.

Stamp Act

A law passed by Parliament in 1765 that required colonists to pay taxes on printed materials.

Quartering Act

Colonial law requiring colonists to provide housing, food, and support to British soldiers.

Massachusetts Government Act

An act that regulated the Massachusetts government, giving more power to royally-appointed officials.

Guerilla warfare

Military strategy that helped the Americans win the Revolutionary War

Why was the Treaty of Paris significant?

It ended the Revolutionary War and recognized American independence, allowing the new nation to grow.

Iroquois

A group of American Indian peoples from upstate New York, including several nations such as the Mohawk and Seneca.

George Washington

The commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and the first president of the USA.

French & Indian War

A war from 1754 to 1763 in which Britain and its colonies defeated France and its allies, gaining control of eastern North America. Also the reason England was in debt.

General Edward Braddock

A British commander during the French and Indian War; he was defeated and killed at Fort Duquesne.

Pontiac's Rebellion

An uprising in 1763 by American Indians in the Great Lakes region against British expansion.

Proclamation of 1763?

A declaration ordering colonists to remain east of the Appalachian Mountains.

Albany Plan of Union

A proposal by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 to create a unified government for the colonies.

Benjamin Franklin

An influential American statesman, inventor, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Salutary neglect

A British policy that allowed the colonies self-rule as long as Britain benefited economically.

Intolerable Acts

A series of punitive laws passed by Parliament in 1774 to control the colonies.

Boston Tea Party

A protest where colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor in response to British taxes.

First Continental Congress

A meeting of delegates from all colonies except Georgia in 1774 to discuss colonial grievances.

Paul Revere

An American silversmith known for his midnight ride to warn colonists of British troops.

militia

A group of trained citizens who serve as soldiers during emergencies.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to Britain during the Revolutionary War.

Continental Army

The army formed by the colonies to fight against British rule during the Revolutionary War.

Thomas Paine

An influential author of the pamphlet 'Common Sense,' promoting support for American independence.

Declaration of Independence

The document approved in 1776 announcing American independence and outlining the reasons for it.

Thomas Jefferson

The primary author of the Declaration of Independence and a key figure in early American politics.

natural rights

Universal rights, such as life and liberty, believed to derive from nature.

General William Howe

The British commander-in-chief during part of the Revolutionary War.

mercenary

A professional soldier paid to fight for a foreign army.

Battle of Trenton

A 1776 Revolutionary War battle won by the Continental Army in New Jersey.

Charles Cornwallis

A British general who surrendered to General Washington at the Battle of Yorktown.

Treaty of Paris

The 1783 treaty that ended the Revolutionary War and confirmed American independence.

manumission

The act of freeing someone from slavery.

John Adams

An American lawyer, writer, and key patriot leader who opposed British tax laws and served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress

Patrick Henry

An American patriot and lawyer known for his assertive declaration, 'Give me liberty or give me death!' He served in the Virginia Committee of Correspondence, the First Continental Congress, and fought in the Revolutionary War.

Sons of Liberty

organization of colonists formed in opposition to the Stamp Act and other British laws and taxes

Boston Massacre

incident on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers killed five colonists in Boston

Republic

form of government in which officials are elected by the people

Valley Forge

location in Pennsylvania where General Washington's army spent a difficult winter in 1777–1778

Kings Mountain

a 1780 Revolutionary War battle in South Carolina in which Patriots defeated a Loyalist militia

Yorktown

site in Virginia where, in 1781, General Cornwallis's British forces surrendered to General Washington

Marquis de Lafayette

A French aristocrat who supported the American cause in 1777, fought under Washington, and returned to lead forces in Virginia.