American Revolution Vocabulary

Question 1

King George III

Answer 1

King of England during the American Revolution, who wanted to enforce the Proclamation of 1763 and also keep peace with Native American allies.

Question 2

Patrick Henry

Answer 2

a leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies,”Give me liberty or give me death.”

Question 3

Sons of Liberty

Answer 3

A group of colonists who formed a secret society to oppose British policies at the time of the American Revolution.

Question 4

Writs of Assistance

Answer 4

A blank warrant that allowed British officers to enter colonial homes or business to search for smuggled goods.

Question 5

Minutemen

Answer 5

A member of the colonial militia who was trained to respond,” at a minute’s warning.”

Question 6

Paul Revere

Answer 6

He was a member of the Sons of Liberty and was charged with spreading the news about British troop movement.

Question 7

Loyalists

Answer 7

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

Question 8

Patriots

Answer 8

American colonists who were determined to fight the British until American independence was won

Question 9

Mercy Otis Warren

Answer 9

She wrote a series of pamphlets against the British. Her writings convinced many people to take up the patriot cause.

Question 10

Samuel Adams

Answer 10

American Revolutionary leader and patriot, Founder of the Sons of Liberty and one of the most vocal patriots for independence; signed the Declaration of Independence

Question 11

Common Sense

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Grievance

Answer 12

a real or imagined wrong or other cause for complaint or protest, especially unfair treatment.

Question 13

Deceleration of Independence

Answer 13

A U.S. document adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, during the Revolutionary War, to announce the separation of the American colonies from Britain. Written predominately by Thomas Jefferson, it asserted “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Question 14

Mercenary

Answer 14

a professional soldier hired by a foreign army

Question 15

Ally

Answer 15

A nation that joins another nation in some common effort, such as winning a war.

Question 16

Bayonet

Answer 16

a long steel knife attached to the end of a gun

Question 17

Desert

Answer 17

to leave military duty without intending to return

Question 18

Guerillas

Answer 18

Fighters who used hit and run attacks.

Question 19

Free Enterprise

Answer 19

Economic system in which individuals and businesses are allowed to compete for profit with a minimum of government interference

Question 20

Benedict Arnold

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Lord Cornwallis

Answer 21

British general who surrendered at Yorktown ending the Revolutionary War

Question 22

General Burgoyne

Answer 22

a British general, who lost at the Battle of Saratoga

Question 23

John Paul Jones

Answer 23

American naval commander in the American Revolution said “ I have not yet begun to fight.”

Question 24

Baron Von Steuben

Answer 24

German who helped to whip the Amerian fighters into shape for fighting the British.

Question 25

Marquis De Larayette

Answer 25

19 year old major general, against the British, in the Revolutionary army

Question 26

Wentworth Cheswell

Answer 26

First African American elected to public office in America. Served as a messenger during the Revolution

Question 27

James Armistead

Answer 27

was a slave who served as a spy for the Americans during the Revolution by posing as a runaway slave.