(Ch. 11-22) From Colonies to Country, 1735-1791

Stamp Act

(1765) Imposed a tax on all printed paper (e.g. newspaper, legal documents, deeds of sale, playing cards)

Quartering Act

(1765) law passed by English parliament that said American citizens had to provide housing for British soldiers; create a lot of resentment between colonists and soldiers in Boston.

Boston Massacre

(1770) Five colonists killed when a conflict between a mob and British soldiers gets out of control; evidence of growing tension.

Boston Tea Party

(1773) 342 barrels of tea were thrown into the Boston Harbor in protest of tea tax

First Continental Congress

(1774) Met in Philadelphia with delegates from all colonies except Georgia; passed 10 resolutions listing rights of colonists ("life, liberty, and property"); advised colonists to form militias and stop buying goods from England.

John Dickenson

(of Pennsylvania) wouldn't sign the Declaration he wanted the colonists to work with the British to gain rights

William "Billy" Dawes, Dr. Samuel Prescott, and Paul Revere

All three rode out to warn that the British were headed to Lexington and Concord.

The Declaration of Independence

Approved on July 4, 1776 by the 2nd Continental Congress; was a declaration of America's freedom from Britain and stated their beliefs about good government, tell the king what he had done wrong and announce that the colonies were free and independent states, written by Thomas Jefferson

Fort Ticonderoga

British fort taken by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold; no one was killed; important victory for Americans.

Lexington & Concord

British march from Boston to try to seize arms stored at ____________. Revere, Dawes, & Prescott warn of their arrival. Twice as many British killed as Americans in skirmishes; warning to British that Americans were willing to fight for liberty.

Loyalists

Did not want to go to war with England; supported England throughout the Revolution.

How Englishmen Thought of Colonists

England didn't like their free will and independence; thought they were "a mongrel breed"; didn't see them as equals.

Charles Townshend

English government official nicknamed "Champagne Charlie" because he liked to drink; agreed with King George III; Made the colonists angry by passing unfair bills to raise money to pay for England's foreign wars.

William Pitt's thoughts on the American Revolution

Former foreign secretary to the British government during the French and Indian War, he became Ill and retired. Believed that there was nothing to do about the colonists' spirit.

Why Washington was a good choice for commander of the Continental Army?

He was from Virginia (in the middle of all the colonies), not Massachusetts, which would unite the colonies; he was modest, willing to work without pay because he thought the cause was important.

John Adams

Honest, serious citizen; lawyer and farmer; defended the British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre. Helped lead revolution.

"People's War"

It was a war for the revolutionary idea that people could rule themselves; men, women and children were all involved in the war.

Ethan Allen

Leader of the Green Mountain Boys, a group of people from what is now Vermont who wanted to protect their land from being taken by "Yorkers"; Helped lead the attack on Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.

Breed's and Bunker Hill

Location of battle in which British troops attacked entrenched Americans head-on; British technically won the battle but suffered heavy losses (1000 men, more than twice the American losses); origin of "wait until you see the whites of their eyes."

2nd Continental Congress

Names Washington general and "produces" the Declaration of Independence

Patriots

People who wanted to go to war to fight for independence (or some kind of change)

England's response to Boston Tea Party

Put a blockade on Boston Harbor (closed it, no ships could come or go); Half of Boston was put out of work.

Other colonies response to English blockade of Boston

Sent supplies and showed support; South Carolina (rice), New York (sheep), Virginia (prayers)

Paul Revere

Silversmith who made an engraving of the Boston Massacre (modeled after a drawing by Henry Pelham), an important piece of propaganda printed in newspaper; one of several to ride to warn the colonists at Lexington & Concord.

Thomas Jefferson

Tall, loved to read, run, ride horses and play the violin, talented writer, wrote the Declaration of Independence, thought that all men are created equal with equal rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness which should be the reason of governments

Olive Branch Petition

The 2nd Continental Congress tried one more time to end the conflict with England peacefully; sent a petition to negotiate peacefully, but King George III didn't even read it.

Battle of Sullivan's Island

The British were sent to SC to scare the colonists and attempted to destroy Sullivan's Island in Charleston Harbor. Their ships got stuck in the sandbanks and the colonists fired at them. The British left in damaged and destroyed ships, humiliated.

"our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor."

The last phrase of the declaration and that which the signers were sacrificing for the cause.

Firebrands

Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, Sam Adams

Why did the English tax the colonists?

To help pay for debts from French and Indian War; and to show the colonists "who was boss"

Fort Sullivan

Unfinished fort on Sullivan's Island in Charleston Harbor, defended by Colonel William Moultrie and was attempted to be taken over by the British in the battle of Sullivan's Island

Patrick Henry

Virginian "firebrand" and gifted speaker; When the port of Boston was closed, he gave his most famous speech in which he said "Give me Liberty or give me death!"

Women and Children of the War

Women and children acted as spies for the soldiers and did a lot of their fathers/husbands work while they were fighting in the army

Thomas Paine

Wrote Common Sense, argued that monarchy was a failing form of government and called for independence.

Sam Adams

a "firebrand", busy-body, and propagandist; started activist group "Sons of Liberty"; organizer of Boston Tea Party; started "Committees of correspondence" between colonies

monarchy

a form of government headed by a king or queen

George Washington

appointed general of the Continental Army

Benedict Arnold

colonel in Continental Army; led attack on Fort Ticonderoga with Ethan Allen; would eventually become a traitor by spying for the British.

King George III

in August 1775 declares the colonies in rebellion; by July 1776, their rebellion was a serious problem.

"the shot heard round the world"

last line of Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem about the skirmish at Lexington

Townshend Act

taxed lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea; made colonists so angry that they boycotted (refused to buy) all English goods.