American revolution/7 yr war

Natural Law

The idea that people have basic rights that exist naturally and are not simply given to them by a government.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that government's power and authority come from the people.

Republican Mothers

The idea that women had an important role in the republic by educating and raising children to become responsible, virtuous citizens.

John Burgoyne

British general who led an army south from Canada in 1777 and was defeated at Saratoga.

General William Howe

British general whose forces captured Philadelphia instead of joining Burgoyne's campaign in New York.

Benjamin Franklin

American diplomat who worked in France to gain French support and an alliance for the American Revolution.

General Charles Cornwallis

British general who commanded British forces in the South and surrendered at Yorktown in 1781.

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams who managed her family's household, farm, finances, and other responsibilities during the war.

Hessians

German soldiers hired by Britain to fight against the American colonists during the Revolution.

Loyalists

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolution.

Trenton

Site of Washington's successful surprise attack against Hessian troops in December 1776, which improved American morale.

Saratoga, New York

Location of a major American victory in 1777 that helped convince France to support the United States.

Valley Forge

Pennsylvania winter camp of Washington's army in 1777–1778, where soldiers faced severe shortages, disease, and difficult conditions.

Yorktown

Site of the major 1781 British surrender to combined American and French forces.

Dunmore's Proclamation of 1775

British proclamation promising freedom to enslaved people owned by rebels who escaped and joined the British cause.

Treaty of Paris

The 1783 agreement that officially ended the American Revolution and recognized American independence.

Republicanism

The belief that government should serve the public good and that citizens must guard against corruption and abuse of power.

Tyranny

Cruel, oppressive, or unfair use of government power.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, education, individual rights, and questioning traditional authority.

The Great Awakening

A major religious revival that encouraged people to develop a personal relationship with God and question traditional religious authority.

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher who argued that people learn through experience and should use reason to think for themselves.

Tabula rasa

Latin for 'blank slate'; Locke's idea that people gain knowledge through their experiences rather than being born with it.

Aristocracy

A wealthy and privileged upper class that traditionally held significant social and political power.

Rev. George Whitefield

Traveling preacher whose emotional sermons helped spread the Great Awakening throughout the colonies.

Conversion

A personal religious experience in which a person accepts or strengthens their faith.

King George III

British king who came to the throne in 1760 and ruled during the growing conflict with the American colonies.

Royal Proclamation of 1763

British order that prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Sugar Act

1764 law that strengthened enforcement of taxes on goods such as molasses and targeted smuggling.

Currency Act

1764 law restricting the colonies from producing their own paper money.

Stamp Act

1765 law that placed a direct tax on many printed materials, including newspapers and legal documents.

Stamp Act Congress

1765 meeting where representatives from nine colonies coordinated opposition to the Stamp Act.

Declaratory Act

1766 law declaring that Parliament had the authority to make laws for the colonies in all cases.

Townshend Acts

1767 laws that placed new duties on imported items such as glass, lead, paint, and tea.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial communication networks that shared information about British actions and organized resistance among the colonies.

Boston Massacre

1770 confrontation in Boston in which British soldiers fired into a crowd, killing five colonists.

Crispus Attucks

Formerly enslaved man and dockworker who was among those killed in the Boston Massacre.

John Adams

Colonial lawyer who defended the British soldiers accused after the Boston Massacre and later became a major Patriot leader.

Paul Revere

Patriot who produced and circulated a famous engraving portraying the Boston Massacre as an example of British brutality.

East India Company

British trading company that Parliament attempted to help by allowing it to sell tea more directly to the colonies.

Regulating Act

1773 law that increased British government control over the struggling East India Company.

Tea Act

1773 law allowing the East India Company to sell tea more directly and cheaply in the colonies while keeping the tea tax.

Samuel Adams

Patriot leader and member of the Sons of Liberty who helped organize resistance to British policies.

John Hancock

Wealthy Patriot leader who opposed British taxation and helped lead resistance in Massachusetts.

Coercive Acts

British laws passed in 1774 to punish Massachusetts following the Boston Tea Party.

Intolerable Acts

The colonists' name for the Coercive Acts because they considered the laws an unacceptable attack on their rights.

First Continental Congress

1774 meeting of delegates from twelve colonies to coordinate their response to British actions.

Lexington and Concord

April 1775 battles between colonial militia and British troops that marked the beginning of open warfare.

Battle of Bunker Hill

June 1775 battle near Boston in which Britain captured the colonial position but suffered heavy losses.

Continental Army

Unified colonial army created by the Continental Congress in 1775 to fight British forces.

George Washington

Virginia delegate selected to serve as commander in chief of the Continental Army.

Olive Branch Petition

Final attempt by the Continental Congress to make peace with King George III and restore harmony with Britain.

Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition

King George III's 1775 declaration stating that the colonies were in rebellion and that Britain would act to stop the resistance.

Thomas Paine

Writer and political thinker whose pamphlet Common Sense strongly encouraged American independence.

Common Sense

Thomas Paine's influential 1776 pamphlet attacking monarchy and arguing for American independence.

Declaration of Independence

Document adopted in 1776 declaring that the thirteen colonies were independent from Great Britain.