Unit 2 Vocabulary

American Revolution

French and Indian War

• A war between France and England over land in North America (Ohio River Valley)

• Increases tensions between colonists and Great Britain over Proclamation of 1763 and taxes to pay war debt

• Proclamation of 1763 – British told colonists they could not move west of Appalachian mountains

Treaty of Paris - 1763

• Treaty ending the French and Indian War.

• France was forced to surrender all land east of the Mississippi River to England

• This means that England becomes the dominant imperial power in North America

Stamp Act

• 1765 law in which England forced a tax on paper goods on the American colonies.

• Colonists reacted by forming the Stamp Act Congress first time colonies acted as a unified group

Intolerable Acts

• A series of laws enacted by Parliament in 1774 that were meant to punish Boston for the Tea Party.

• Shut down Boston Harbor, enacted the Quartering Act, and shut down Massachusetts legislature

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

• A group of radical colonists that would use violence to oppose British oppression and taxation.

• They would use methods like threats or violence against tax collectors to stop the taxes from getting paid.

Committees of Correspondence

• A communication network of letters between the colonies to share information about protests and resisting British actions

• This information was critical for leaders of the revolution and united colonies

Townshend Acts

• A series of laws enacted by England in 1767 that taxed all goods that were imported from England to America.

• There was no way for the colonists to avoid paying these taxes.

Boston Massacre

• A clash between British soldiers and a mob of angry colonists in Boston in 1770.– British soldiers fired on the crowd and 5

colonists were killed

• Leaders like Paul Revere used this event to unite the colonies against England.

Boston Tea Party

• In 1773, a group of angry colonists disguised themselves as Indians and dumped 18,000 pounds of tea off of a British ship into Boston Harbor.

• Led to the British punishing Boston with the Intolerable Acts

Lexington and Concord

• The British are sent to Concord to destroy a stockpile of weapons

• The minutemen (militia) meet them at Lexington where the first shots of the war are fired

Minutemen

• Unprofessional groups of local soldiers trained to be ready in minutes to oppose any English soldiers that showed up in their area.

• These soldiers were also known as “militia.”

1st and 2nd Continental Congress

• First Continental Congress: delegates from colonies meet (except GA) and decide to warn colonists to prepare for war

• Second Continental Congress: delegates meet and name the militia the Continental Army and appoint George Washington as commander

Common Sense

• Document written by Thomas Paine listing the reasons America should be independent from Great Britain

• Important because it was written for the common people and convinced more people to join the side of the revolutionaries

Declaration of Independence

• Document written by Thomas Jefferson to the King of England explaining why Americans wanted to be independent from Great Britain

• Influenced by John Locke’s idea of natural rights – life, liberty and property

French Alliance

• America needed foreign assistance to fight the war against England and France agreed to give America money and send troops and ships to help fight the war

• Benjamin Franklin went to France to convince them to help us fight the British

• Marquis de Lafayette was the French representative in America

Crossing of the Delaware

• Washington plans a surprise attack on Hessian mercenaries

• Victory is important because it boosts American morale and gives them a desire to keep fighting

Valley Forge

• This is where the American army camps for the winter 1777

• The soldiers were freezing and starving

• The army receives foreign help and training from Baron von Steuben and after Valley Forge the Continental Army is more professional and better trained

Yorktown

• The Americans and the French trap the British at the Battle of Yorktown

• The geography of the land (peninsula) and the help from the French navy make this victory possible

• Lord Cornwallis (the British commander) surrenders and the Americans win

George Washington as a military leader

• Slowly formed the untrained continental soldiers into a professional army

• Was a strong enough leader to keep his army together in the face of defeats and extremely tough times like the winter at Valley Forge.

• Willing to take risks in order to achieve victory (as seen in the Crossing of the Delaware River).

Treaty of Paris 1783

• Officially ends the American Revolution and formally establishes American independence from Great Britain

• Also, sets the boundaries for the new nation