Building a Democracy
This British king ruled the thirteen colonies as tensions with Britain grew.
George III
This European movement encouraged people to question traditional authority and monarchs’ divine right to rule
The Enlightenment
In this year, Georgia became the thirteenth British colony
1733
Thomas Paine wrote this influential pamphlet that helped move colonists toward revolution
Common Sense
This poet, who was formerly enslaved, wrote about the natural rights of African Americans
Phillis Wheatley
This war ended in 1763, leaving Britain in control of the land east of the Mississippi River
The French and Indian War
This philosophy holds that people can use reason to arrive at truth
Rationalism
In this year, colonists rebelled against the Stamp Act
1765
About this many pamphlets were published between 1763 and 1783
2,000
This woman urged her husband to include women’s rights in the nation’s founding documents
Abigail Adams
Britain tried to recover the costs of the war by doing this to the colonists
Taxing them
This religious movement called on colonists to rededicate themselves to Puritan ideals
The Great Awakening
In this year, the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
1776
Thomas Jefferson wrote this document, which articulated natural law and the colonies’ independence
The Declaration of Independence
Abigail Adams wrote letters to this future second president of the United States
John Adams
After the French and Indian War, this British policy helped spark colonial rebellion
Taxation
This preacher was associated with the Great Awakening
Jonathan Edwards
In this year, the American Revolution ended
1783
Adopted in 1788, this document created a lasting framework for the independent U.S. government.
The U.S. Constitution
Wheatley highlighted the contradiction between colonists’ calls for freedom and this reality
Enslavement
Before Britain sent reinforcements, colonial forces under this commander had failed to drive the French from the Ohio River valley
George Washington
Name two colonial writers who adapted Enlightenment ideals to American circumstances
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, or Thomas Jefferson
In this year, the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling the nation’s size
1803
This idea holds that people are born with rights and freedoms and that government should protect them
Natural law
Wheatley and Adams used their writing to call attention to the rights of these two groups
African Americans and women