04 The American Revolution, 1754-1783 Flashcards
Albany Plan of Union
a 1754 proposal for the colonies to unite to form a federal government; developed by a committee led by Benjamin Franklin; rejected by the colonies
French and Indian War
the war between France and Britain in America beginning in 1754
Treaty of Paris
the treaty that ended the French and Indian War in 1763
customs duty
a tax on imports and exports
inflation
a decline in the value of money
Quartering Act
law that forced the colonists to pay more for their own defense
nonimportation agreement
an agreement by New York merchants not to buy any British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act
writs of assistance
general search warrants
Pontiac
chief of the Ottawa people; attacked British forts along the frontier in 1763
Royal Proclamation of 1763
drew a line from north to south along the Appalachian Mountains and declared that colonists could not settle west of the line with out the British governments permission
Revenue Act of 1764 (Sugar Act)
changed tax rates on sugar and molasses imported from foreign colonies; placed new taxes on silk, wine, coffee, pimento, and indigo; specified that alleged smugglers were presumed guilty until proven innocent and that goods could be seized without due process
Currency Act of 1764
banned the use of paper money in the colonies, because it tended to lose its value very quickly
Stamp Act of 1765
required a stamp (tax) to be placed on most printed materials
Declaratory Act of 1766
asserted that Parliament had the power to make laws for the colonies
Boston Massacre
killings of Crispus Attucks and several other people by British troops
committee of correspondence
committees designed to communicate with other colonies about British activities
Boston Tea Party
a raid by colonists on British tea ships in which they dumped British tea into the Boston Harbor
Intolerable Acts
a group of laws that led the colonists to believe that the British were trying to seize control of the colonial governments
minutemen
a special unit of the militia trained to fight at a minute’s notice
Loyalist
Americans who backed Britain
Patriot
Americans who believed the British had become tyrants
Battle of Bunker Hill
battle between the colonial militia and the British troops that gave the colonists confidence that they could stand up to one of the world’s most feared armies
Declaration of Independence
document that stated the American colonies were free of British rule and were now the United States of America
William Howe
general and commander of the British troops
guerrilla warfare
a different kind of fighting, in which participants hide and ambush their opponents
Nathan Hale
American spy on the British who was caught and hanged
Valley Forge
the location of the winter quarters of the Continental Army in 1777
Marquis de Lafayette
French military officer who helped train American troops
Saratoga
the site of an American victory and a turning point in the war
letters of marque
licenses authorizing private ship owners to attack British merchant ships
John Paul Jones
naval commander in one of the most famous naval battles of the War for Independence
Charles Cornwallis
British general who led troops in the Southern campaign
Battle of Kings Mountain
a turning point in the South for Americans
republic
a form of government in which power resides with a body of citizens who could vote
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
a law that declared that Virginia no longer had an official church
Molly Pitcher
woman who took part in battle during the Revolutionary War
emancipation
freedom from enslavement
manumission
the voluntary freeing of enslaved persons
John Trumbull
American painter best known for his paintings of battles and important events in the Revolution
Charles Willson Peale
American painter best known for his portraits of Washington and other Patriot leaders
Paul Revere
along with William Dawes warned the people of Lexington that British troops were coming through on their way to Concord
George Washington
appointed as general and commander-in-chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress
Thomas Paine
wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense arguing for separation from Britain
Coercive Acts
laws with which the British intended to punish Massachusetts from the Boston Tea Party and end colonial challenges to British authority
John Adams
warned that a true democracy would lead to a tyranny of the majority
list of rights
attached to many state constitutions
North
Slaves in the _____ were gradually freed over several decades following the Revolutionary War.
Canada
where many Loyalists fled after the Revolutionary War
University of North Carolina
first state university in the United States
Delaware River
On December 25, 1776, George Washington led approximately 2400 men across the icy _____ in a surprise attack.
Benedict Arnold
American general that defected to the British army
Francis Marion
led the most famous small militia unit in the South in the Revolutionary War
