Term
| American Revolution Era, 1775 - 1783 |
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Definition
• Taxation without Representation
• Boston Massacre
• Boston Tea Party
• Unalienable Rights
• Battles of Lexington and Concord, Saratoga, and Yorktown
• Declaration of Independence
• Articles of Confederation |
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Term
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Definition
Adoption of the Declaration of Independence
*Main Author: Thomas Jefferson
*Committee Included: Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Livingston
*“Common Sense”
Written by: Thomas Paine |
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Term
| Causes of the American Revolution |
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Definition
• Proclamation of 1763
• Stamp Act
• Intolerable Acts
• Mercantilism
• Lack of representation in Congress
• British economic policies following the French and Indian War |
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Term
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Definition
| *British Parliament law; colonists were forbidden to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains, *Britain wanted a buffer zone between the colonists and the Native Americans, but the colonists wanted to settle the fertile Ohio River Valley |
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Term
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Definition
• Required all legal documents and papers have an official stamp showing that a tax had been paid.
• British used this to generate revenue to help cover the cost of the French and Indian War;
• colonists reacted by rioting through groups such as the Sons of Liberty;
• Stamp Act Congress meets in October, 1765, to take action and ask Parliament to repeal the act |
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Term
| Coercive / Intolerable Acts, 1774 |
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Definition
British reaction to the Boston Tea Party
• Closed the port of Boston until tea was paid for
• Restructured Massachusetts government by taking away local control
• Troops were quartered in Boston and British officials accused of crimes were sent to England or Canada for trial
• Colonists reacted by boycotting British goods
• First Continental Congress is formed, September, 1774 |
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Term
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Definition
• A system by which a nation increases its wealth and power by obtaining from its colonies gold, silver, and other raw materials.
• It includes a favorable balance of trade.
• The colonies became a source of raw materials for the mother country (England.)
• The colonies are expected to be the purchasers of manufactured goods from the mother country.
Belief that a colony exists for the economic benefit of the mother country. |
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Term
| Taxation without Representation |
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Definition
• Since the formation of the colonies, the colonists had set up their own legislative assemblies.
• Colonists were unhappy about Britain’s insistence on the supremacy of Parliament (taxation).
• The debate turned into one regarding representation in Britain’s law-making body (Parliament).
• Britain argued that the colonies had “virtual representation |
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Term
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Definition
• Wife of John Adams
• Served as John Adams’ confidant and support while he served in the Continental Congress, when John and others were considering a declaration of independence.
• Abigail reminded him to “remember the ladies”; take care of the women who could not hold themselves bound by laws in which they had no voice.
• Advocate for women’s rights. |
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Term
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Definition
• Lawyer and politician
• Defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre
• A member of the Continental Congress (representing Massachusetts)
• Strong supporter of independence
• Member of the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence |
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Term
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Definition
• African American Patriot
• Like Paul Revere, he made an all-night ride back from Boston to warn his community tof the impending British invasion
• Served in the Continental Army
• Fought at the Battle of Saratoga |
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Term
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Definition
• American Patriot
• Played a role in many of the events which contributed to the Revolution
• Including: Sons of Liberty, organized opposition to the Stamp Act and the Boston Massacre
• Member of the Continental Congress (representing Massachusetts)
• Cousin to John Adams |
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Definition
• Wife of a Massachusetts Patriot
• Anonymously wrote several propaganda pieces supporting the Patriot cause. |
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Definition
Slave in Virginia
*Marquis de Lafayette recruited him as a spy for the Continental Army.
*Posed as a double agent, forger and servant at British headquarters.
*He moved freely between the lines with vital information on British troop movements for Lafayette
*Contributed to the American victory at Yorktown. |
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Term
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Definition
A member of the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence.
*Spent most of the time during the American Revolution in France.
*He represented the colonies as the American envoy starting in 1776 and returned in 1785.
*He negotiated the alliance with France for support after the victory at Saratoga.
*Member of the committee that negotiated the terms for the Treaty of Paris in 1783 that ended the war. |
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Definition
*Spanish nobleman
*Became governor of the Spanish province of Louisiana (January 1777)
*protected American ships in the port of New Orleans
*helped transport war supplies
*took up arms to fight the British and protect Louisiana |
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Term
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Definition
• African American male
• Unemployed dockworker in Boston, MA
• Became the first casualty (first to die) of the American Revolution
• Shot and killed in what became known as the Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770 |
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Term
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Definition
King of England during the Revolutionary Era
*Feared the loss of one group of colonies would lead to the loss of others and the eventual decline of the empire.
*To prevent this, the Crown maintained an aggressive policy against colonial resistance.
George III struggled to enforce royal authority throughout his reign. |
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Term
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Definition
• Polish-born Jewish immigrant to America
• Played an important role in financing the American Revolution
• Arrested by the British as a spy
• Used by the British as an interpreter with their German troops
• Helped British prisoners escape and encouraged German soldiers to desert the British Army
• Became a broker to the French consul and paymaster to French troops in the American Revolution |
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Definition
• Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses
• Spoke against the Stamp Act
• Famous quote, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
• During the American Revolution he served in the Continental Army |
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Term
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Definition
• Virginian
• Early leader in the American Revolution
• Delegate to the Constinental Congress in Philadelphia in 1776
• Member of the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence
• Chief author of the Declaration of Independence |
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Definition
French aristocrat who joined Washington and his troops at Valley Forge, PA
*Played a leading role in both the American and French Revolutions
*Respected the concepts of liberty and freedom and a constitutional government
*Commanded forces under George Washington as a major-general in the Continental Army |
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Term
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Definition
• Propagandist
• Journalist
• In January, 1776, published a pamphlet, “Common Sense”
• Persuaded many Americans to join the Patriot cause. |
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Term
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Definition
*Virginian
*surveyor, planter
*a soldier in the French and Indian War
*a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses
*commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution |
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Term
| Issues Surrounding Important Events of the American Revolution |
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Definition
• Declaring Independence
• Writing the Articles of Confederation
• Battles of Lexington and Concord
• Battle of Saratoga
• Battle of Yorktown
• Enduring the winter at Valley Forge
• Signing the Treaty of Paris 1783 |
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Term
| Declaration of Independence |
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Definition
• Reaction to King George III’s refusal to acknowledge the colonial requests/demands, “dissolve the political bands” with Britain, provided philosophy for the establishment of the new nation
• “…all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”
• Listed grievances against the King of England
• Written by Thomas Jefferson
• July 4, 1776
• Second Continental Congress; Philadelphia |
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Term
| Writing of the Articles of Confederation |
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Definition
o Occurred at the Second Continental Congress
o Created a new form of government for the independent colonies
o Included one branch – a Congress
o Each state had one vote
o Created a very weak government with no executive |
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Term
| Major Battles of the American Revolution |
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Definition
o Lexington and Concord: Shot ‘heard round the world; first battles of the American Revolution; April 19, 1775
o Saratoga: turning point of the war; France joined the colonists after this victory, tipping the scales in their favor
o Yorktown: surrender of Cornwallis to the British |
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Term
| Enduring the Winter at Valley Forge |
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Definition
Winter, 1777
• After suffering several defeats, Washington took his army to Valley Forge for the winter of 1777
• Outbreak of small pox
• Martha Washington came to help care for the men
• The men were trained by Frederick von Steuben to become a more professional army rather than militias
• Thomas Paine wrote “American Crisis” to encourage the men to stay the course and follow through with the revolution to the end |
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Term
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Definition
1783
• Peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized American independence
• Great Britain gave up almost all of its land claims in North America
• Boundaries extended to Canada in the north, the Mississippi River in the west, and Florida in the South |
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Term
| Colonial Grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and how those grievances were addressed in the U.S. Constitution |
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Definition
Taxation without representation All states have representation in Congress, which sets taxes
King has absolute power Congress has the power to override Presidential veto
Colonists not allowed to speak out against the King 1st Amendment – Freedom of Speech
Quartering Act forced colonists to house troops 3rd Amendment – No quartering of Troops
allowed homes to be searched without warrants 4th Amendment – No unwarranted search & seizure
No trial by jury of peers 6th amendment—Speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury
7th amendment—Right of trial by jury |
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Term
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Definition
| In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson said these are the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” |
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Term
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Definition
The concept of refusing to follow laws within a community or ignoring the policies and government of a state or a nation when a person considers the laws unjust.
*Refusing to follow laws considered to be unlawful and/or unconstitutional.
*Examples include boycotts, protests, refusal to pay taxes
*Boston Tea Party is an example of civil disobedience. |
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Term
| Different Points of View of Interest Groups During the American Revolution |
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Definition
| Loyalists – these were colonists who remained loyal to the British monarchy and did not feel taxation was a reason to declare independence or break away from the mother country. |
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Term
| Different Points of View of Interest Groups During the American Revolution |
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Definition
| Patriots were colonists who favored breaking away from Great Britain and becoming an independent country |
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Term
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Definition
Founder of the United States Navy
Led raids on British vessels during the American Revolution
During a fight with a British vessel he was told to surrender. Instead, Jones said, “I have not yet begun to fight” and was able to defeat the attacking British ship. |
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Term
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Definition
• Engraving of the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere
• March 5, 1770
• Event in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of unarmed citizens of Boston
• Killed five
• This engraving was used as propaganda to encourage patriotic sympathies and support for American Independence
• Paul Rever, a silversmith and engraver, was also a member of the Boston Sons of Liberty |
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Term
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Definition
Song sung by British military to mock the unorganized colonial “Yankees” who served in the French and Indian War with British soldiers.
*The meaning of the song implies that the Americans are so “simple” they think simply sticking a feather in a cap would make them fashion leaders. |
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Term
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Definition
Fighting between the British and the French for control of North America.
*Allies of the French were the Native Americans, or Indians.
*Broke out in the Ohio River Valley in 1756. Throughout the world it was known as the Seven Years’ War
*Ben Franklin suggested that the colonies join together to fight against the French in the Albany Plan of Union.
*This was the first attempt to unify the colonies
*French and Indians were defeated.
* British became in debt because of the war and taxed the colonists as a result. |
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