Taxes & Acts
This 1765 law taxed ALL printed materials in the colonies — newspapers, legal documents, even playing cards.
The Stamp Act
He was the monarch of England during the Revolutionary era and led Britain through the Revolutionary War.
King George III
In 1773, colonists dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act.
The Boston Tea Party
After the Intolerable Acts, delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia in 1774 at this gathering.
The First Continental Congress
The Declaration of Independence was officially adopted by Congress on this date.
July 4, 1776
When the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, their band played a song with this fittingly dramatic title.
The World Turned Upside Down
Under the Articles, Congress could ASK states for money but had no power to do this.
Collect taxes
This law forced colonists to house British soldiers in their homes and provide them with food and supplies.
The Quartering Act
He co-founded the Sons of Liberty, organized the Boston Tea Party, and signed the Declaration of Independence.
Samuel Adams
He was a formerly enslaved man and the first person killed at the Boston Massacre in 1770.
Crispus Attucks
The first shot fired at Lexington, starting the Revolutionary War, became known by this poetic nickname.
The Shot Heard 'Round the World
The Declaration states that all people are endowed with these three unalienable rights.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
This Prussian officer arrived at Valley Forge, drilled soldiers in three languages, and transformed the Continental Army — he barely spoke English.
Baron von Steuben
This was the first national frame of government for the United States, adopted in 1777.
Articles of Confederation
Britain passed these 5 harsh laws to punish colonists after the Boston Tea Party. Colonists called them "Intolerable."
The Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts)
The Second Continental Congress assigned this man to lead the new Continental Army as Commander-in-Chief.
George Washington
This colonial secret society, co-founded by Samuel Adams and John Hancock, organized protests against British taxes.
The Sons of Liberty
This second gathering of colonial delegates met in May 1775 to create a Continental Army and prepare for war.
The Second Continental Congress
He was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson
This 19-year-old French nobleman secretly sailed to America to help fight the Revolution and became like a son to Washington.
Marquis de Lafayette
Under the Articles, each state received this many votes in Congress — regardless of its size or population.
One Vote
This 1763 law banned colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains — colonists were furious and moved anyway.
The Proclamation of 1763
Samuel Adams was the cousin of this other famous Founding Father who also became President.
John Adams
In 1770, British soldiers panicked and fired into a crowd, killing 5 colonists in what became known as this.
The Boston Massacre
Colonists who opposed British rule were called Patriots. Colonists who stayed loyal to the King were called these.
Loyalists
The famous second sentence of the Declaration begins "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are..."
Created equal
Two U.S. Presidents both died on July 4, 1826 — exactly 50 years after the Declaration was adopted. Name them both for full credit.
John Adams AND Thomas Jefferson
This armed rebellion by indebted farmers and war veterans in western Massachusetts showed how powerless the national government really was.
Shays' Rebellion
The colonists' famous complaint about British taxes was summed up in this phrase — they had no seat in Parliament.
Taxation without representation
Benjamin Franklin created the famous "Join, or Die" cartoon — originally to unite the colonies during this earlier war, not the Revolution.
The French and Indian War (Seven Years' War)
During the Boston Tea Party, Sons of Liberty members disguised themselves as these people before dumping the tea.
Mohawk Indians
The battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 marked the beginning of this.
The Revolutionary War
This governing body — made up of delegates from the 13 colonies — officially adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The Continental Congress
The last state to ratify the Articles of Confederation in 1781.
Maryland
The Articles' most significant legislative achievement was passing a series of these, which provided a process for adding new states to the nation.
Land Ordinances (Land Ordinance of 1784, Land Ordinance of 1785, and Northwest Ordinance of 1787)