Chapter 5- The American Revolution

  1. 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.

    1. Articles of Confederation: 1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)
    2. Battle of Brandywine: Battle during which the Continental Army unsuccessfully     tried to stop the British from marching into Philadelphia (1777)
    3. Battle of Cowpens: An overwhelming victory by American Revolutionary forces     under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, in the Southern campaign of the American     Revolutionary War.
    4. Battle of Guilford Courthouse: March 15, 1781 battle between the forces of     Cornwallis and Greene near Guilford Courthouse (modern day Greensboro, N.C.)     The British won a thin victory in the battle, but the win sapped much of the British     strength.
    5. Battle of Kings Mountain: This battle was fought between 2 militias; the Loyalists versus the Patriots. The Patriots won.
    6. Battle of Long Island and White Plains: British cannonball hit unprepared     American troops; British, led by William Howe, could have captured retreating     Americans, but failed to pursue it
    7. Battle of Trenton: On Christmas day at night, Washington's soldiers began     crossing the Deleware River. The next morning, they suprise attacked the British     mercenaries which were Hessians.
    8. 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.
    9. Battles of Saratoga: a series of conflicts between British soldiers and the     Continental Army in 1777 that proved to be a turning point in the Revolutionary     War

  2. Benedict Arnold: American General who was labeled a traitor when he assisted the British in a failed attempt to take the American fort at West Point.

  3. Benjamin Franklin: American intellectual, inventor, and politician He helped     to negotiate French support for the American Revolution.

  4. Charles Cornwallis: Commanding general of the British forces that were defeated at Yorktown in 1781, ending the American Revolution.

  5. citizen-soldier: A soldier who returns home and resumes his life when the fighting is over

  6. Clark's Rangers: a small force of frontiersmen through the freezing waters     of the Illinois country to capture British-held Fort Sackville at Vincennes during     February 1779

  7. Daniel Morgan: Continental Colonel of regular army and some militia. Master     of guerilla warfare. Given credit for winning the Battle of Cowpens.

  8. Deborah Simpson: - passed as a man and served as a soldier for a year

  • became high ranking officer until her identity was discovered
  1. direct democracy: A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not     through representatives
  2. Francois-Joseph-Paul de Grasse: Admiral who commanded a French fleet     in American waters. He helped Washington and Rochambeau force Cornwallis to     surrendur at Yorktown. Eventually, a British fleet met and defeated his fleet in the     West Indies.
  3. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben: Former Prussian military officer who volunteered his services during Valley Forge to train Continental forces how to operate     as an army.
  4. George Washington: 1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief     of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799)
  5. Henry Clinton: Commander-in-Chief of the British army in American replacing     General Howe after the Battle of Saratoga.
  6. Henry Laurens: leader of the American Revolution and president of the Continental Congress (1724-1792)
  7. Hessians: German soldiers hired by George III to smash Colonial rebellion,     proved good in mechanical sense but they were more concerned about money     than duty.
  8. Horatio Gates: Burgoyne was forced to surrender his command to this American general on October 17,1777 at the battle of Saratoga.
  9. inoculations and smallpox: fervent during war time and caused the lives and     lost limbs of many
  10. John Adams: America's first Vice-President and second President. Sponsor     of the American Revolution in Massachusetts, and wrote the Massachusetts guarantee that freedom of press "ought not to be restrained.”
  11. John Burgoyne: British general in the American Revolution who captured Fort     Ticonderoga but lost the battle of Saratoga in 1777 (1722-1792)
  12. John Jay: United States diplomat and jurist who negotiated peace treaties with     Britain and served as the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court     (1745-1829)
  13. Joseph Brant: Mohawk chief who led many Iroquois to fight with Britain     against American revolutionaries
  14. Lafayette: French major general who aided the colonies during the Revolutionary War. He and Baron von Steuben (a Prussian general) were the two major     foreign military experts who helped train the colonial armies.
  15. Lord Dunmore: Royal governor of Virginia who issued a proclamation promising freedom for any enslaved black in Virginia who joined the British army
  16. Lord North: British Prime Minister during revolution. He had passed the Coercive Acts and supported the king greatly to the extent that Britain was ruled only     by the king.
  17. Loyalists: American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the     war for independence
  18. Nathanael Greene: American general of Rhode Island, helped to turn the tide     against Cornwallis and his British army, used geography of land
  19. Patrick Ferguson: leader of the American Loyalist at the Battle of King's     Mountain-Loser
  20. representative democracy: A system of government in which citizens elect     representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.
  21. republican ideology: Political belief in representative democracy in which     citizens govern themselves by electing representatives, or legislators, to make key     decisions on the citizens' behalf.
  22. Richard Montgomery: A formerly British General, he then led the colonists.     He led a successful attack into Montreal, then on to Quebec. Montgomery's attack     on Quebec failed and he was killed, thus, the whole invasion into Canada failed.
  23. state constitutions: During the war, most states had their own const. to spell     out the rights of citizens and set limits on the gvns. power.
  24. The American Crisis: An essay by Thomas Paine read by George Washington     to his troops shortly before crossing the Delaware River.
  25. Thomas Jefferson: Wrote the Declaration of Independence
  26. 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)
  27. Tories: Another name for Loyalists
  28. Treaty of Alliance: Treaty where France agreed to help the colonists win their     independence from England
  29. Treaty of Paris 1783: This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized     the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory     from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from     the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River
  30. Valley Forge: Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778,     a 4th of troops died here from disease and malnutriton, Steuben comes and trains     troops
  31. Virginian Statute of Religious Freedom: a statement about both freedom of     conscience and the principle of separation of church and state. Written by Thomas     Jefferson and passed by the Virginia General Assembly on January 16, 1786, it is     the forerunner of the first amendment protections for religious freedom.
  32. William Howe: during the summer of 1776, he led hundreds of British ships and 32,000 British soldiers to New York, and offered Congress the choice between surrender with royal pardon and a battle against the odds, and despite having far fewer troops, the Americans rejected the offer.