Before the War
This war between Britain and France left Britain with massive debt and led directly to new taxes on the colonies.
French and Indian War
Colonists used this phrase to argue that Britain had no right to tax them without elected representatives in Parliament.
No Taxation Without Representation!
This Founding Father wrote Common Sense — a pamphlet in plain language that convinced thousands of ordinary colonists to support independence.
Thomas Paine
The Second Continental Congress appointed this man as commander of the Continental Army to lead the fight against Britain.
George Washington
This Enlightenment idea — that all people are born with rights that no government can take away — is a central argument of the Declaration of Independence.
natural rights
After the French and Indian War, Britain began taxing the colonies to fix this problem.
Money problem
This tax on paper goods like newspapers and legal documents was one of the first direct taxes Britain imposed on the colonies — sparking widespread outrage.
This colonist was one of the first people killed in a confrontation with British soldiers — his death became a symbol of the colonial cause and the cost of the fight for freedom.
Crispus Attucks
This 1777 Patriot victory is considered the turning point of the American Revolution because it convinced France to formally ally with the colonies.
Battle of Saratoga
The Declaration of Independence listed these specific complaints against King George III — including forcing colonists to house British soldiers in their homes — to justify independence.
Grievances
This British economic system required colonies to trade primarily with Britain — preventing colonists from freely trading with most other foreign countries.
Mercantilism
Britain passed these harsh laws in 1774 to punish Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party — colonists gave them this nickname because of how oppressive they were.
Intolerable Acts
During the American Revolution, a colonist who said "Americans, as British citizens, must pay their taxes!" would most likely be described as this.
Loyalist
During this brutal winter, Washington wrote to Congress warning that his army might "starve, dissolve, or disperse" — testing his leadership and the soldiers' perseverance.
Valley Forge
This Enlightenment idea, included in the Declaration of Independence, holds that a government's power comes from the people it governs.
Consent of the governed
The sequence of British policies after the French and Indian War — new taxes, trade restrictions, and lack of representation — convinced many colonists to do this.
Revolt! Seek independence! Overthrow!
This 1774 gathering of colonial delegates responded to British oppression by sending a formal list of grievances to King George III and organizing a boycott of British goods.
First Continental Congress
This enslaved African American risked his life spying for the Continental Army under the Marquis de Lafayette — his intelligence was critical to the Patriot victory at Yorktown.
James Armistead
This final major battle of the Revolution ended with British General Cornwallis's surrender, effectively ending the war.
Battle of Yorktown
This grievance from the Declaration of Independence — that colonists were taxed without their agreement — was addressed in the U.S. Constitution by giving only this branch of government the power to pass tax laws.
Congress
France built THIS type of relationship with Indigenous peoples to profit from the fur trade — unlike Spain which used military conquest.
Cooperative trade relationships (or trade partnerships)
In protest of British tea taxes, colonists dumped an entire shipment of tea into Boston Harbor — this act of defiance was part of an escalating pattern of colonial resistance that eventually led to this.
Independence!
This colonial woman used her letters to John Adams to advocate for women's rights, famously urging leaders to "remember the ladies" — arguing that women should have a voice in the new government.
Abigail Adams
This 1783 treaty officially ended the American Revolution, recognized American independence, and gave the United States all land east of the Mississippi River.
Treaty of Paris
These two Enlightenment thinkers — one who argued for separation of powers and one who argued for natural rights and consent of the governed — both directly influenced the ideas in the Declaration of Independence.
Montesquieu and John Locke