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| 498416607 | General George Washington | He was appointed by the Second Continental Congress as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in 1775. His ability to learn under duress and refusal to accept defeat kept an American army in the field. At the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 with French troop and naval support, he was able to entrap the British troops and force surrender. At the end of the war in 1783, he was the most famous man in America. | |
| 498416608 | General Nathaneal Greene | American General in the South; a Quaker; Never won a battle, but inflicted heavy losses to the British with minimal loss to his own men. | |
| 498416609 | Continentals | Paper bills issued by the Continental Congress to finance the Revolution; Supposed to be exchanged for silver but the overprinting of bills made them basically worthless. | |
| 498416610 | Continental Congress | The legislative assembly composed of delegates from the rebel colonies who met during and after the American Revolution. | |
| 498416611 | 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. | |
| 498416612 | Mercy Otis Warren | This prominent elite Boston woman was a printer and writer who supported the Revolutionary cause. She published work supporting the Revolution and supporting the Bills of Rights. | |
| 498416613 | Tories | Another name for Loyalists. | |
| 498416614 | Patriots | American colonists who fought for independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War. | |
| 498416615 | 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. | |
| 498416616 | General Henry Clinton | He replaced General William Howe as Commander-in-Chief of British forces in the American Revolution. He shifted the focus of the war to the southern colonies, hoping to capitalize on strong Tory support. | |
| 498416617 | Sir William Howe | British commander whose mistakes cost Britain the war; Abandoned his battle plan, allowing Washington to regroup; Didn't attack Valley Forge; Some believed he sympathized with colonists and didn't want to win the war. | |
| 498416618 | Admiral Richard Howe | William Howe's brother; aided in capture of New York. | |
| 498416619 | Benjamin Franklin | American public official, writer, scientist, and printer. After the success of his Poor Richard's Almanac (1732-1757), he entered politics and played a major part in the American Revolution. Franklin negotiated French support for the colonists, signed the Treaty of Paris (1783), and helped draft the Constitution (1787-1789). His numerous scientific and practical innovations include the lightning rod, bifocal spectacles, and a stove. | |
| 498416620 | John Adams | A Massachusetts attorney and politician who was a strong believer in colonial independence. He argued against the Stamp Act and was involved in various patriot groups. As a delegate from Massachusetts, he urged the Second Continental Congress to declare independence. He helped draft and pass the Declaration of Independence. Adams later served as the second President of the United States. | |
| 498416621 | General Charles Cornwallis | 1783 - 1805: British military and political leader. Member of Parliament, opposed the tax measures that led to the American Revolution. Led British forces during the American Revolution. The British defeat culminated with Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown in 1781. | |
| 498416622 | Trenton | On Christmas night 1776, Washington led 2,400 men across the Delaware River to attack the drunken Hessians who were sleeping. The Americans killed 30 of the enemy and took 918 captives and 6 Hessian cannons. | |
| 498416623 | General John Burgoyne | British general in the American Revolution; Captured Fort Ticonderoga, but lost the battle of Saratoga in 1777. | |
| 498416624 | Fort Ticonderoga | Fort on Lake Champlain in northeastern New York; Site of major battles in the American Revolution; Captured by Americans in 1775. | |
| 498416625 | General Horatio Gates | Commander of the American army who led the defeat of Burgoyne at Fort Ticonderoga; Led the American troops in the Battle of Saratoga (1777) and the Battle of Camden (1780). | |
| 498416626 | Valley Forge | Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778. | |
| 498416627 | Lord Rockingham | Replaced Greenville as Prime Minister; Opposed Stamp Act and proposed repeal; Believed colonists were inferior to British; Britain was able to tax Americans. | |
| 498416628 | General William Pitt | Led the British offense against France in the colonies; One of few that treated the colonies as allies instead of possessions; Invaluable, crucial in success of Britain dominating North America. | |
| 498416629 | Lord North | Prime Minister of England (1770 to 1782); Repealed Townshend Acts; Generally went along with King George III's repressive policies towards the colonies even though he personally considered them wrong; Hoped for an early peace during the Revolutionary War and resigned after Cornwallis' surrender in 1781. | |
| 498416630 | Hessians | German mercenaries hired by the British for squashing rebellion of the colonies; Showed colonists that the British had only military action in mind as a solution to the current problems. | |
| 498416631 | Battle of Long Island | 1776 battle in New York in which more than 1,400 Americans were killed, wounded, or captured. | |
| 498416632 | Father Junipero Serra | Franciscan friar who established 21 missions along the coast of California. | |
| 498416633 | John Paul Jones | American naval commander in the American Revolution (1747-1792); "I have not yet begun to fight."; His ship was sinking, but was able to defeat the British. | |
| 498416634 | Bonhomme Richard | John Paul Jones' ship that defeated to Serapis, named after Ben Franklin's POOR RICHARD ALMANAC. | |
| 498416635 | Iroquois Confederation | Group of First Nations/Native Americans that originally consisted of five nations: the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca. | |
| 498416636 | Joseph Brant | Mohawk leader who supported the British during the American Revolution. | |
| 498416637 | Battle of Camden | 1780 battle during the American Revolution in which the British forces, led by Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis, soundly defeated the Continental armed forces led by General Horatio Gates. | |
| 498416638 | Battle of Cowpens | An overwhelming victory by American Revolutionary forces (1781) under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War. | |
| 498416639 | Battle of Yorktown | Last major battle of the Revolutionary War; Cornwallis and his troops trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by French fleet; Sandwiched between the French navy and the American army; Surrendered October 19, 1781. | |
| 498416640 | Articles of Confederation | This document, the nation's first constitution, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1781 during the Revolution. The document was limited because states held most of the power, and Congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or control coinage. | |
| 498416641 | Ratification | Making something valid by formally ratifying or confirming it. | |
| 498416642 | Western Claims | By the 1780s, seven of the thirteen original states had enunciated claims to areas in the West. These so-called "landed" states had a great potential advantage over the six "landless" states. It was assumed that the future sale of western lands would enrich the landed states and possibly allow them to operate without any form of taxation. The landless states feared that they would lose residents and dwindle into insignificance. | |
| 498416643 | Robert Morris | American merchant; Signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution; Played an important role in personally financing the American side in the Revolutionary War from 1781 to 1784; Known as the 'Financier of the Revolution'. | |
| 498416644 | 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. | |
| 498416645 | Land Ordinance of 1785 | Major success of the Articles of Confederation; Provided for the orderly surveying and distribution of land belonging to the U.S. | |
| 498416646 | Northwest Ordinance of 1787 | Created the Northwest Territory (area north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania); Established conditions for self-government and statehood, included a Bill of Rights, and permanently prohibited slavery. | |
| 498416647 | State Constitutions | During American Revolution, most states had their own constitution to spell out the rights of citizens and set limits on the government's power. | |
| 498416648 | Gouverneur Morris | United States statesman who led the committee that produced the final draft of the United States Constitution. | |
| 498416649 | George Mason | Opposed the Constitution because it didn't protect individual rights; Opposition led to the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. | |
| 498416650 | Primogeniture | Right of inheritance belongs exclusively to the eldest son. | |
| 498416651 | Phyllis Wheatley | A former slave born in Senegal; First African-American woman to publish writings; First published African-American poet; Purchased by the Wheatley family in Boston who taught her to read, write and encouraged poetry. | |
| 498416652 | Paper Currency | Currency issued by a government or central bank; Consists of printed paper that can circulate as a substitute for specie. | |
| 498416653 | Shays' Rebellion | (1786-1787) This conflict in Massachusetts caused many to criticize the Articles of Confederation and admit the weak central government was not working; Uprising led by Daniel Shays in an effort to prevent courts from foreclosing on the farms of those who could not pay taxes. | |
| 498416654 | Checks and Balances | A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power. | |
| 498416655 | Legislature Supremacy | System of government in which legislative branch has ultimate power. | |
| 498416656 | Veto | The right of a branch of government to reject a proposed law that has been passed by another branch in an effort to delay or prevent its enactment. |
