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