Key Players
Main author of the Declaration of Independence. He was a major voice for liberty and democracy.
Who is Thomas Jefferson?
The document declared on July 4th, 1776, that announced the colonies were "free and independent states."
What is The Declaration of Independence?
Washington and his troops crossed this river on Christmas for a surprise attack.
What is the Delaware River?
A significant event that causes a major and decisive change in the course of history.
What is a turning point?
The British promised freedom to any enslaved person who joined their army, which raised this major question for African Americans about the Declaration of Independence.
What is the winner free them from enslavement?
A British General whose surrender at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 convinced France to join the American side.
Who is General John Burgoyne?
Who was the major general of the American troops during the American Revolution?
George Washington
This is what the Hessians were that the American army surprised and captured at the Battle of Trenton.
What are German troops helping the British?
The new strategy General Washington adopted after the defeats in New York to tire the British out.
What is fighting a "defensive" war?
Who was the last famous British general to fight in the American Revolution?
General Charles Cornwallis
A famous writer, inventor, and diplomat. He was crucial in convincing France to ally with the Americans and send aid.
Who is Benjamin Franklin?
After failing at Fort Ticonderoga, the major city the British planned to capture next to defeat the rebellion.
What is New York City?
These two victories were so important because they saved the American cause and showed the war wouldn't be won easily.
What are Trenton and Princeton?
The American victory at the Battle of Saratoga convinced this country to officially become an American ally.
What is France?
The state where General Cornwallis was trapped and forced to surrender at the final major battle of Yorktown.
What is Virginia?
British Commander-in-Chief for much of the early war. He captured New York City and Philadelphia but failed to destroy Washington's army.
Who is General William Howe?
Why did the American troops lose to General Howe in Brooklyn?
What is being badly outnumbered and less experienced?
What group of people did Washington not want to join in his military to fight?
Who were African Americans?
This Prussian officer trained the disorganized American troops into a disciplined fighting force during the miserable winter camp at Valley Forge.
Who is Baron von Steuben?
One of the three main points of this 1783 agreement was Great Britain recognizing the United States as an independent nation.
What is the Treaty of Paris?
A wealthy French noble who served as a trusted major general in the Continental Army. He used his own money to help the troops.
Marquis de Lafayette
The name of the pamphlet, read by Washington to his troops, that helped inspire them before the Battle of Trenton.
What is The Crisis?
The type of unconventional fighting that uses ambushes and hit-and-run attacks.
What is guerilla warfare?
African American soldiers became a key component to the fighting of the war. Where was the first all Black regiment created?
What is Rhode Island?
A post-war impact of the Revolution: Black Americans used the language of the revolution to ask for an end to this.
What is slavery?