road to democracy vocabulary and definitions.

John Hancock

Patriot leader and president of the Second Continental Congress; first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.

representatives

People who are chosen to speak and act for their fellow citizens in government

Philis Wheatley

1753-1784 poet that was a slave (female) she was brought to Boston at the age 8 never had no education she published a book of verses +subsequently wrote other polished poems that revealed the influence of Alexander pope

George Washington

1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799)

thomas jefferson

3rd President of the United States who wrote the declaration of independence

Parliament

A body of representatives that makes laws for a nation

militia

A group of civilians trained to fight in emergencies

Boycott

A group's refusal to have commercial dealings with some organization in protest against its policies

Sons of Liberty

A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.

Marques de Lafayette

A wealthy French man came to America in 1777 Brought a group of well-trained soldiers & volunteered to serve the continental army without pay

John Adams

America's first Vice-President and second President. Sponsor of the American Revolution in Massachusetts, and wrote the Massachusetts guarantee that freedom of press "ought not to be restrained."

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.

Thomas Paine

American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence and supported the French Revolution (1737-1809)

Samuel Adams

American Revolutionary leader and patriot, Founder of the Sons of Liberty and one of the most vocal patriots for independence; signed the Declaration of Independence

Benjamin Franklin

American intellectual, inventor, and politician He helped to negotiate French support for the American Revolution.

Betsy Ross

American seamstress said to have made the first American flag at the request of George Washington (1752-1836)

Battle of Saratoga

American victory over British troops in 1777 that was a turning point in the American Revolution.

Lexington and Concord

April 8, 1775: Gage leads 700 soldiers to confiscate colonial weapons and arrest Adam, and Hancock; April 19, 1775: 70 armed militia face British at Lexington (shot heard around the world); British retreat to Boston, suffer nearly 300 casualties along the way (concord)

Red Coats

British soldiers who fought against the colonists in the American Revolution

Loyalists

Colonists of the American rev. period who supports Britain

Chrispus Attucks

First black man killed for the war. He was a free slave living in Boston killed during the Boston Massacre

Battle of Bunker Hill

First major battle of the Revolutions. It showed that the Americans could hold their own, but the British were also not easy to defeat. Ultimately, the Americans were forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition, and Bunker Hill was in British hands. However, the British suffered more deaths.

King George III

King of England during the American Revolution

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 sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781.

Lord Charles Cornwallis

Reformer of the East India Company administration of India in the 1790s; reduced the power of local British administrators; checked widespread corruption.

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.

Revolution

a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.

rebel

a person who refuses to obey orders or the law

patriots

a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.

Treaty of Paris

the agreement signed by British and American leaders that stated the United States of America was a free and independent country

treason

the crime of betraying one's country