American Revolution Vocabulary

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First Continental Congress 1774

This is a meeting of delegates from all the colonies except Georgia. The congress came up with five major decisions, one of which was ceasing trade with Great Britain
Patrick Henry

He was a radical leader of the Revolution; he represented Virginia in the First Continental Congress. Henry favored strong state governments and weak federal government.
John Adams

He was one of the leaders of the revolution; he was constantly active in the meeting of the Continental Congress and nominated Washington to be commander-in-chief. He was a strong supporter of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence
John Jay

He did not fully support of American Independence, but despite this he fully supported the new nation; absent in the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Joseph Galloway

He was a prominent loyalist that proposed a plan for colonial union under British authority in the First Continental Congress; he was a delegate from Pennsylvania.
Suffolk Resolves

These were passed in the First Continental Congress in response to the Intolerable Acts in Massachusetts; it recommended colonists to prepare for an attack in Boston by British troops.
Economic Sanctions

This is a halt on trade with a certain country (Great Britain) for political reasons.
Declaration of Rights & Grievances

This is a declaration of the colonies rights and the grievances the colonies suffered that was adopted in the First Continental Congress.
Paul Revere

He was a patriot that warned the towns of Lexington and Concord of British advancement.
William Dawes

He is another patriot that also rode with Paul Revere warning Lexington and Concord about the British advancement.
Minutemen

This is a small elite group of men that were able to assemble together in force in a minute’s notice.
Lexington

This is a town in which British troops were ambushed by minutemen; it is where the War began.Concord- This is another town in which the British were ambushed by minutemen; this and Lexington were the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Battle of Bunker Hill

This is a battle near Boston in which the British suffered great losses; after this battle the siege on Boston tightened. The battle was actually fought on Breed Hill.
Olive Branch Petition

This was the last conciliatory document that was approved by the Second Continental Congress and sent to Britain.
Second Continental Congress 1775

This is another meeting of colonial delegates; in the meeting the approved the Olive Branch Petition and made a Continental army in control of Washington.
Patriots

The supporters of American Independence.
Prohibitory Act 1775

This is an act passed by Parliament that closed the colonies to overseas trade and made no concessions to the demands of the colonies.
Thomas Paine

He is the author of Common Sense and a strong advocate for Colonial Independence.
Declaration of Independence

This document formally created the United States. It was written by Jefferson and signed on July 4th.
Loyalists (Tories)

These are the people who remained loyal to the crown.
Thomas Jefferson

He was the writer of the Declaration of Independence and a supporter of strong state governments.
Trenton 1776

This is a battle in which Washington battled Hessians (German Mercenaries) on Christmas night.
Saratoga 1777

This is a battle in which the British troops were defeated by the American forces that were commanded by Benedict Arnold and Horatio Gates.
Valley Forge

The area chosen to house the Continental Army during the winter of 1777, during the winter about 2,000 men died of disease and Where von Stuben trained the men. In the end the army was stronger than they were before the winter.
Continentals

I think this is a reference made to the Americans during and after the war.
Horatio Gates

He is one of the leaders of the American troops; he was a Major General.
Benedict Arnold

A military officer of the Continental Army who was put in charge of Philadelphia in 1778 after being badly wounded. He later betrayed the colonies by offering to aid the British for a fee. He thought his accomplishments were overlooked.
Gen. John Burgoyne

He was a military commander for the British forces. He was the British commander at Saratoga.
George Rogers Clark

He was another general during the American Revolution; he focused on the old Northwest where British and natives were working together.
Battle of Yorktown

This is the last major battle of the revolutionary war where the American forces under George Washington and French forces defeated the British under Cornwallis’ command.
Republic

This is a type of representative government (democracy) where the people choose their own representatives.
Treaty of Paris 1783

This is the treaty that ended the Revolutionary War; it gave the United States all of the lands Great Britain had except for Canada.
Articles of Confederation

This is the first form of a constitution in the U.S. that gave strong powers to the state government but made a weak federal government.
Unicameral Legislature

This is a form of government in which legislature powers are held by one body, not two like the U.S. (Congress and House of Representatives).
Land Ordinance of 1785

This set forth on how the United States would reorganize and divide the lands given to them from the British after the Revolutionary War.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787

This was a declaration to the world that the lands in the northwest of the U.S. like Ohio would be settled and become part of the U.S.
Shay’s Rebellion

The first rebellion of the new republic where Shay headed an army of 1,00 who were angry at many injustices such as high taxation and farm foreclosures.
Molly Pitcher

The spouse of a soldier (John Casper Hays) who aided the soldiers in many battles by bringing them water and manning cannon. She was complimented by George Washington on her actions.
Deborah Sampson

She was a woman who dressed up as a man in order to serve in the military during the Revolutionary War. She was discharged when her gender was discovered but was later awarded from her services.
Abigail Adams

The wife of John Adams, she was a strong supporter of Women’s rights as seen through her letters to her husband.

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Rea

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American Revolution Vocabulary

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Vocabulary Words

Updated

2010-10-17T16:50:43Z

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