Terms : Hide Images
| 220424941 | Sons of Liberty | The Sons of Liberty were a political group intent on upholding nonimportation agreements. They cried out "Liberty, Property, and No Stamps." Any colonials not following the nonimportation agreement risked being tarred and feathered. Unpopular officials often were abused or robbed. | |
| 220424942 | Townshend Acts | The Townshend Acts, passed in 1767 at the urging of "Champagne Charley" Townshend, included a light duty on imported glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. The Townshend Acts differed from the Stamp Acts in that the tax was an indirect customs duty that could be paid at American ports but the colonials saw little distinction. The money from the acts was to be used to pay the salaries of royal governors and judges in the colonies. | |
| 220424943 | Boston Tea Party | On December 16, 1773, a group of white townsfolk disguished as Indians, jumped aboard three tea ships anchored in Boston harbor. The disguised colonials then proceeded to open 342 chests of tea and dump them into the water. This was a radical move and some thought this destruction of property went too far however the extremists were inspired into future action. | |
| 220424944 | Coercive (Repressive) Acts | In response to the Boston Tea Party, British Parliament passed the "Repressive Acts" in 1774. Directed at Massachusetts and Boston in particular, Boston's harbor was closed until the colonials could repay the lost damages. | |
| 220424945 | Loyalists/Tories | The Loyalists were also known as Tories and they represented about 20% of the American people. Loyalists felt it necessary to remain loyal to the English king as this fidelity to the crown had been practiced for generations. Conservative Americans, older Americans, the king's officers, and the Anglican clergy were all members of the Loyalist party. New York City, Charleston, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey were all highly populated with Tories while New England generally did not support this party. After the Declaration of Independence was developed, a clearer split between parties formed and the Loyalists were often abused, imprisoned, or killed. One defining mistake of the British was not using the Loyalists to their full advantage. | |
| 220424946 | Patriots/Whigs | The Patriots, or Whigs, were a sect of American people who wished for independence from Britain. Patriots were most numerous in New England but gained support in the wake of the British. As soon as the British marched on, the Patriots would enter towns and educate the citizens on the political issues they were fighting for. They were extremely successful in promoting Revolutionary ideas. The Patriots were harsh to their opponents, the Loyalists, and imprisoned them, killed, or else took their property. The Patriots were the force behind the Revolution. | |
| 220424947 | First Continental Congress | In 1774, the First Continental Congress met in response to the recently passed "Intolerable Acts." Representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies traveled to Philadelphia for the meeting and the group consisted of 55 respected men including John Adams, George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Samuel Adams. At the congress, the men created The Association which called for the boycott of all British goods until their demands to repeal the oppressive legislation and taxes were appeased. This congress helped establish unity within the colonies and when its demands were not met, serious action was taken by the colonies. | |
| 220424948 | Yorktown | In September and October of 1781, the last major battle of the Revolutionary War took place in Yorktown, Virginia. A combined French and American force took over the British and forced British General Lord Charles Cornwallis to surrender more than 8,000 troops. Although the battle did not end the war, it resulted in the resignation of Britain's prime minister and peace talks began with the new leadership. | |
| 220424949 | Second Continental Congress | On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. All 13 colonies were represented but there was still a conservative population and no real desire for independence just a desire for the king to recognize the colonists' grievances. At the Congress, George Washington was selected to head the army besieging Boston. Also on July 4, 1776, the congress approved the Declaration of Independence. The Congress established unity and an independent spirit of American character. | |
| 220424950 | Social Contract | The Social Contract written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau called for a form of democracy or representative government. Rousseau argued that citizens have natural rights that they must claim. The text was significant in representing the ideas of the American Revolutionaries and put forth the ideas of Democracy. | |
| 220424951 | George Washington | George Washington was a distinguished Virginian who was an excellent leader and held many important qualities including patience, courage, and discipline. Although he was not a particularly strong military general, he was a symbol of the revolutionary cause and a rallying point. Washington was capable of inspiring others to act in the Revolution's favor. | |
| 220424952 | Patrick Henry | Patrick Henry was an orator, lawyer, and statesmen who is famous for declaring "Give me liberty or give me death!" His powerful speeches moved people to action and he became a leader of the Revolutionary cause. | |
| 220424953 | Lexington-Concord | In April 1775, British troops moved to Lexington and Concord to take colonial gunpowder and arrest the rebels Samuel Adams and John Hancock. While in Lexington, the colonials known as "Minute Men" did not back off and gunfire broke out. Eight Americans were killed and several more injured. However when the British arrived in Concord, the Americans were stationed and ready to fight causing the British to retreat but not without the loss of 70 soldiers and the injury of 300. With the battles of Lexington and Concord, the war for independence had begun. | |
| 220424954 | Sugar Act | The Sugar Act of 1764 was the first act passed by British parliament to raise taxes in the colonies for the British crown. Through this act the duty on imported sugar from the West Indies was increased which sparked protests from the colonials. In response to the protests, the duties were lowered and peace was for the most part restored. | |
| 220424955 | Boston Massacre | The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770 when over 60 colonials attacked 10 stationed British soldiers. Eleven colonials were killed or wounded in the dispute including Crispus Attucks. John Adams served as the defense attorney for the British soldiers during the trial held after the incident and only 2 soldiers were found guilty. | |
| 220424956 | Intolerable Acts | The "Intolerable Acts" passed in 1774, took away many of the colonists' most cherished rights. These included imposing restrictions on town meetings and sending officials who had killed colonists to England for trial. In the colonists' eye, the Quebec Act of 1774 was also "intolerable" as it took the trans-Allegheny area from them and created a large Catholic region. The passing of these intolerable acts, sparked outrage and the creation of the Continental Congress. | |
| 220424957 | Continental Army | The Continental army was the official army of the colonies. It was created during the second continental congress and led by George Washington. | |
| 220424958 | Salutary Neglect | Salutary Neglect was the policy taken by the British in regard to their American colonies. In this policy the British saw the colonies as a source of raw materical rather than a part of their empire and as so ignored the colonies until they could be ignored no longer. It was in part because of this policy that Britian didn't realize the outrage of the colonists and the nation they were developing. | |
| 220424959 | Committees of Correspondence | The first committee of correspondence was established by Samuel Adams in 1772. They were designed to spread propaganda and share information, maintaining British opposition. The committees were successful in promoting British resistance. | |
| 220424960 | Thomas Paine | Thomas Paine was a radical who wrote the pamphlet Common Sense. He argued that the small island of England should not be governing the huge expanse of America, that the king was nothing but "the royal Brute of Great Britain" and that action must be taken. | |
| 220424961 | Thomas Jefferson | Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence. He spoke of "natural rights" in addition to British rights. He acted as the prosecuting attorney and thus his approach was one-sided. Perhaps most significant was his statement "all mean are created equal." Jefferson's work had international consequences as it spoke of democracy, equality, and a new nation. | |
| 220424962 | Benedict Arnold | Benedict Arnold was a greedy traitor who plotted with the British to sell West Point on the Hudson River. However the Americans luckily detected the plot. Arnold was forced to flee to the British. This was significant as it called into question whom could be trusted. | |
| 220424963 | John Jay | John Jay was the first chief justice of the United States under the U.S. constitution. He was known for being fair and just even in the face of unpopular issues. | |
| 220424964 | Crispus Atticus | Crispus Attucks was a runaway "mulatto" and the supposed leader of the mob that attacked the British soldiers during the Boston Massacre. Attucks died in the dispute. | |
| 220424965 | Stamp Act | In 1765, Prime Minister George Grenville created the Stamp Act. This tax was designed to raise the funds necessary to support the new military force. The act required all papers to be stamped showing the payment of tax. These papers included commercial and legal documents, newspapers, and marriage licenses. Although the English had held a stamp tax much heavier than the one imposed in the colonies, the colonists were outraged at the Stamp Act they saw to be stealing their funds and liberties. The Stamp Act was at last repealed in 1766. | |
| 220424966 | Declaratory Act | The Declaratory Act passed in 1766, declared that the British Parliament could bind the colonies "in all cases whatsoever." This came however, after the colonies had bent Parliament to concede to its wishes with the repealing of the Stamp Act and it proved a feeble victory. | |
| 220424967 | Tea Act | The Tea Act was a law passed by the British parliament allowing the British East India Company to sell its tea directly to the colonies which devastated colonial tea merchants leading to the Boston Tea Party. | |
| 220424968 | Common Sense | Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that argued that the small island of England should not be ruling the vast colonies. Within a few months, the pamphlet had sold 120,000 copies. It was significant in creating revolutionary spirit and calling for independence. | |
| 220424969 | Natural Rights | Natural rights were considered the rights to life, liberty, and property. These were established in the Declaration of Independence in conjugtion with the rights Englishmen had held for centuries. Thus the American colonies achieved a greater level of freedom than any nation had experienced. | |
| 220424970 | Mercenaries | Mercenaries were hired soldiers used during the Revolutionary War. The English promised American slaves their independence in return for British service which made the African Americans British mercenaries. | |
| 220424971 | Marquis de Lafayette | Marquis de Lafayette was a French nobleman who became a general in the colonial army. He was a prominent player as he was able to procure aid from France later in the war. | |
| 220424972 | John Adams | John Adams was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and an advocate for American freedom. He was a powerful orator who was able to sway people to his thought which proved imperative during the Revolution. | |
| 220424973 | John Locke | John Locke was an English philosopher who argued that all human beings are entitled to the natural rights of life, liberty, and the ownership of property. Locke's writings were influential in creating the Declaration of Independence. | |
| 220424974 | Samuel Adams | Samuel Adams was the cousin of John Adams. He was a successful propagandist and rebel who believed in the common people whom he called his "trained mob." Adams was known as the "penman of the Revolution." He was responsible for setting up the first local committee of correspondence in Massachusetts. |
