APUSH AMERICAN REVOLUTION VOCAB
Social Contract theory
A government is supposed to help its people
Patrick Henry
A leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies (1736-1799)
Stamp Act
A tax imposed on printed documents in the colonies
Stamp Act Congress
Arose in response to the Stamp Act; convened to find ways to protest it in a unified fashion, with all colonies participating
William Pitt
Became Prime Minister during the Seven Years' War; the one who decided that America was valuable for the resources it could give to the British economy
John Paul Jones
Brilliant naval commander of the American forces
Proclamation of 1763
British policy managing lands claimed from the French after the Seven Years' War
First Continental Congress
Convened in response to Intolerable Acts; here, colonies became aware of each others' grievances with England
Committees of Correspondence
Created by the states to allow them to communicate about affairs and grievances with England
Thomas Hutchinson
Governor of Boston (I think) who was one victim of the Stamp Act riots
George Rogers Clark
High ranking officer of the Continental Army; facilitated several major victories
Battle of Bunker Hill
Humongous fight of the war; pyrrhic victory for the Patriots, who won because they caused slightly more casualties although they lost the position
Townshend Duties
Imposed taxes on many items sold and bought within the colonies
Pontiac's Rebellion
Indian rebellion led by Pontiac; response to colonial westward expansion
General Thomas Gage
Led the British forces against the Patriots until the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he was replaced by William Howe
Quartering Act
Made it legal for British soldiers to stay in whatever house they wanted
Quebec Act
Making formerly French territories the Province of Quebec; allowed Catholicism in a largely Protestant area
Second Continental Congress
Managed the war, created Declaration of Independence
Ethan Allen
One founder of the state Vermont; captured Fort Ticonderoga early in the war
Crispus Atticus
One of the people killed in the Boston Massacre
Benedict Arnold
Originally fought for the Patriots but defected to the British
Intolerable Acts
Passed by England in response to Boston Tea Party; punished Boston and stuff
Gaspee incident
Patriots under Samuel Adams attacked the grounded British ship, the Gaspee, in retaliation for the numerous ships under the ownership of smuggler John Hancock
Fort Duquesne
Pre-revolution, was a French fort that was captured and turned into Fort Pitt
Benjamin Franklin
Printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics
Boston Tea Party
Response to Tea Act, forcing colonists to buy cheap tea in a monopoly
Treaty of Paris
Result of the war; Mississippi River set as border for the United States; recognized U.S. independence; all wartime debts had to be paid and Loyalists' claims to property must be acknowledged
Currency Act
Severely limited use of paper money in the colonies, forcing use of royal mint
Sons of Liberty
The Patriots in Boston, radicla group led by Samuel Adams
Battle of Yorktown
The final battle and victory for the Americans; British general Cornwallis vs. Washington and French
Lexington
The first battle of the war; British who had marched to secure colonists' weapons were ambushed
George Washington
The skilled primary General of the Continental Army; first president
Patriots
Those who wanted the colonies to be separated from England
Battle of Trenton
Took place after Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware river; vs. Hessian soldiers; humongous victory for the Patriots
Battle of Saratoga
Turning point of the war; the French joined the Americans after it
Declaratory Act
When Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, they passed this to justify passing lots of laws over the colonies
Thomas Jefferson
Wrote the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Paine
Wrote the pamphlet Common Sense, which used common vernacular to persuade colonists to fight for their freedom rather than seek reconciliation with Britain