Boston Tea Party

1607

Jamestown founded

1776

On July 4 of this year, fifty-six representatives from the thirteen colonies unanimously approved the Declaration of Independence.

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

Battle of Saratoga

Turning point of the American Revolution. It was very important because it convinced the French to give the U.S. military support. It lifted American spirits, ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River, and, most importantly, showed the French that the Americans had the potential to beat their enemy, Great Britain.

Battle of Yorktown

Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781.

Lexington and Concord

The battles of Lexington and Concord initiated the Revolutionary War between the American colonists and the British. British governor Thomas Gage sent troops to Concord to stop the colonists who were loading arms. The next day, on April 19, 1775, the first shots were fired in Lexington, starting the war. The battles resulted in a British retreat to Boston

Boston Massacre

British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were teasing and taunting them. Five colonists were killed. The colonists blamed the British and the Sons of Liberty and used this incident as an excuse to promote the Revolution.

Boston Tea Party

Boston patriots organized the Boston Tea Party to protest the 1773 Tea Act. In December 1773, Samuel Adams warned Boston residents of the consequences of the Tea Act. Boston was boycotting the tea in protest of the Tea Act and would not let the ships bring the tea ashore. Finally, on the night of December 16, 1773, colonials disguised as Indians boarded the ships and threw the tea overboard. They did so because they were afraid that Governor Hutchinson would secretly unload the tea because he owned a share in the cargo.

Boycott

a group's refusal to have commercial dealings with some organization in protest against its policies

Common Sense

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

Declaration of Independence

A statement that included, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" were rights

Declaratory Act

Act passed in 1766 just after the repeal of the Stamp Act. Stated that Parliament could legislate for the colonies in all cases.

French and Indian War

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

George Washington

First President of the United States. Birth: 1733 Death: 1799

Intolerable Acts

Also known as Coercive Acts - in response to Boston Tea Party, 4 acts passed in 1774, Port of Boston closed, reduced power of assemblies in colonies, permitted royal officers to be tried elsewhere, provided for quartering of troop's in barns and empty houses

John Adams

2nd President of the United States (1735-1826)

King George III

Was the King of England who disbanded the colonial legislatures, taxed the colonies, and refused the Olive Branch Petition leading to the final break with the colonies

Loyalist

a person who is loyal to their allegiance (especially in times of revolt)

Minutemen

Member of a militia during the American Revolution who could be ready to fight in sixty seconds

Patrick Henry

a leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies (1736-1799)

Patriot

one who loves and defends his or her country

Paul Revere

American silversmith remembered for his midnight ride (celebrated in a poem by Longfellow) to warn the colonists in Lexington and Concord that British troops were coming (1735-1818)

Proclamation of 1763

A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalacian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east.

Quartering Act

an act passed by the British that allowed British troops to live in the homes of the colonists

Samuel Adams

American Revolutionary leader and patriot, member of Sons of Liberty

Stamp Act

an act passed by the British parliment in 1756 that raised revenue from the American colonies by a duty in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents

No taxation without representation

a protest againest that the right to tax the colonies belonged to the colonial assembilies not to the paraliment

Tea Act

Law passed by parliament allowing the British East India Company to sell its low-cost tea directly to the colonies - undermining colonial tea merchants; led to the Boston Tea Party

Thomas Jefferson

founding father; wrote the declaration; did not attend the convention

Thomas Paine

American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence and supported the French Revolution (1737-1809)

Townshend Acts

A tax that the British Parliament placed on leads, glass, paint and tea

Treaty of Paris

This treaty ended the Seven Years War