1775-1783
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
Thomas Paine, December 1776
This chapter deals with the colonist fight for independence from the British.
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| 392759992 | George Washington | Head of Army in Boston. Member of Congress. From Virginia. | |
| 392759993 | Revolutionary War | War between the colonists and their British rulers for independence. Fought from April 1775-1776 | |
| 392759994 | Bunker Hill | June 1775, colonists seized Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill) in Boston. 3000 British soldiers attacked 1500 colonists in Bunker Hill. Arms supply ran out and colonists were forced to abandon the hill | |
| 392759995 | Olive Branch Petition | July 1775; Congress announced loyalty to the king and begged for the preventage of future hostilities. | |
| 392759996 | Hessians | German soldiers who were bought by the British to fight the rebelling colonists. Most worried more about money than their duty. | |
| 392759997 | Thomas Paine | Revolutionary leader who wrote the pamphlet "Common Sense" arguing for American independence from Britain | |
| 392759998 | "Common Sense" | a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that claimed the colonies had a right to be an independent nation | |
| 392759999 | Richard Henry Lee | Declared that "these united states are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states on June 7, 1776 | |
| 392760000 | Thomas Jefferson | Appointed by Congress to prepare a formal declaration of separation along with others in a committee | |
| 392760001 | Declaration of Independence | Written by a committee appointed by Congress and formally adopted on July 4, 1776. It declared separation from England and the U.S was to be a free country | |
| 392760002 | Loyalists | Colonist who were loyal to the king | |
| 392760003 | Patriots | Colonists who were not loyal to the king; Rebels | |
| 392760004 | Loyalist Exodus | Nearly 80,000 Loyalist were persecuted and driven out of America | |
| 392760005 | Battle of Long Island | George Washington and his army are badly beaten at this battle in 1776. Outnumbered and surrounded, the troops that survived retreated under cover of night across the East River to Manhattan. He then crossed the Hudson river to New Jersey. | |
| 392760006 | Battle of Yorktown | Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was caught between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781. | |
| 392760007 | Treaty of Paris | Treaty between Britian and the U.S where Britain agreed to formally recognize the U.S as and independent nation. | |
| 394831696 | Richard Montgomery | A former British army member who led a troop of American men towards Lake Champlain and then captured Montreal | |
| 394831697 | General Benedict Arnold | General for U.S army who met Montgomery at Quebec to fight with him. Arnold was wounded during the Battle of Quebec. | |
| 394831698 | Republicanism | The idea that the U.S should become a republic. The idea came from Thomas Paine. | |
| 394831699 | Republic | A government system where the power flowed from the people and all government officials are elected by the peoples popular consent. | |
| 394831700 | General William Howe | Commander of the British army that followed Washington during the Battle of Long Island. He followed Washington to the Delaware river, where he decided that he didn't like the idea of winter campaigning and decided to let Washington cross without chase. | |
| 394831701 | General Burgoyne | General of a British army that was sent to capture the Hudson River Valley. He didn't leave Montreal until 1777 and his progress was slow because of the heavy baggage and the wives of officers in his army. While just North of Albany, he was surronded by American militia men and had no choice but to surrender. | |
| 394831702 | "Model Treaty" | Sample treaty drafted by John Adams to give to American diplomats going to France. The three basic principles were 1. No political connection 2. No military connection 3. Only a commercial connection | |
| 394831703 | Benjamin Franklin | Diplomat who went to France to discuss the "Model Treaty". He was successful in getting a treaty with France, but it was not exactly like the "Model Treaty". | |
| 394831704 | Armed Neutrality | Organized by Catherine the Great of Russia. It lined up the reamaining neutral countries in Europe to a passive hostility towards Britain. |
