Documents
Key Figures
Battles
Armies
Quotes
100

Thomas Paine wrote this pamphlet that challenged British authority and encouraged colonists to declare independence.

Common Sense?

100

The primary author of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson

100

Fought on April 19, 1775, this event is considered the very first battle of the American Revolutionary War.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

100

Colonists who chose to break away from Great Britain and support independence.

Patriots

100

Legend says this colonial commander ordered his men, "Don't fire until you see the ______ __ ____ ____! 

Whites of their eyes 

200

The official month, day, and year that the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

July 4, 1776

200

The military commander chosen to lead the Continental Army against the British.

Who is George Washington

200

Crucial victories for Washington that boosted morale and retained soldiers whose enlistments were about to end

Battles of Trenton and Princeton

200

Colonists who chose to side with and remain loyal to the British Crown

Loyalists

200

Patrick Henry closed his fiery 1775 speech to the Virginia Convention with the famous declaration: "Give me liberty, or..

"...give me death!"

300

The term used in the Declaration of Independence to describe rights that cannot be taken away, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Unalienable Rights

300

The British general whose strategic error of moving his army to a peninsula at Yorktown led to their entrapment and surrender.

Charles Cornwallis

300

Recognized as the turning point of the war because it convinced France to officially form an alliance with the Americans

Battle of Saratoga

300

The harsh winter encampment where the Continental Army suffered from lack of food, clothing, and shelter, but gained essential drilling and discipline.

Valley Forge

300

Captain John Paul Jones famously shouted this response when asked if he was ready to surrender his damaged ship: "I have not yet...

"...begun to fight!"

400

According to the Declaration of Independence, governments derive their power from this group.

Consent of the Governed or The People

400

The French military officer who provided strategic aid, troops, and leadership to the Continental Army.

Marquis de Lafayette

400

The last major battle of the Revolutionary War, ending in a British surrender after being surrounded by American and French forces

Battle of Yorktown

400

The 1783 agreement that officially ended the war, recognized U.S. independence, and established national borders

Treaty of Paris

400

The lantern signal scheme in the Old North Church tower used to alert Paul Revere's network was: "One if by land, and..

"...two if by sea"

500

The specific figure to whom the colonists directed their complaints in the "Grievances" section of the Declaration.

King George III

500

The Patriot leader who made a famous ride to warn colonial militias about British troop movements

Paul Revere

500

The city where British soldiers marched at dawn on April 19, 1775, to search for stockpiled colonial weapons

Concord

500

The primary reason FRANCE did not join the Continental army immediately

 France did not want to join a losing side against Great Britain and lose more global power

500

Patriot officer Nathan Hale's final words before being hanged as a spy by the British were: "I only regret that I have but one life to...

"...lose for my country"