Acts of Parliament
This Act, the first direct tax placed on the colonies by Parliament, required colonists to pay a tax on all printed paper goods such as newspapers, playing cards, and pamphlets.
What is the Stamp Act?
The final major battle of the Revolution, this was actually an extended siege in Virginia where Lord Cornwallis's British army surrendered to a combined French and United States army.
What is the Battle of Yorktown?
This young Virginian, famous for the skill of his writing, was given the job of writing the Declaration of Independence at the Second Continental Congress.
Who is Thomas Jefferson?
This English philosopher believed that even in a state of nature, humanity possess some inherent rights given to them by their creator.
Who is John Locke?
This faction in the Congress wished to push for that most extreme action for achieving the colonies' position in the conflict with Parliament, up to and excluding Independence once the Second Congress began meeting.
Who are the Radicals?
This series of Acts, designed to punish colonies such as Massachusetts which had failed to clamp down on anti-Parliament demonstrations and organizations, performed such actions as removing Massachusett's charter, closing Boston Harbor, and expanding the Quartering Act.
What were the Coercive Acts?
What is the Battle of Bunker Hill?
Famous first for acting as the defense attorney in the Boston Massacre, he later became perhaps the most famous leader of the radical faction of the Continental Congress in the lead up to Independence.
Who is John Adams?
This English philosopher argued that the state of nature was a state of absolute war, every man against every man, and that the only escape was for everyone to agree on the construction of a government via a social contract.
Who is Thomas Hobbes?
This document, written by the Moderate faction of the Congress, asked King George to restore the policy of Salutary Neglect, and offered colonial acceptance of Parliamentary control over indirect taxation in return.
What is the Declaration and Resolves?
This Act, which actually reduced the tariff on the affected commodity, angered some in the colonies due to its targeting of smugglers with Writs of Assistance and Admiralty Courts.
What is the Sugar Act?
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
His vital role in helping win the Battle of Saratoga being ignored and downplayed by others was a major factor of this military officer's betrayal and attempted turn over of the fort at West Point, NY during the war.
Who is Benedict Arnold?
A philosopher born in Geneva, he argued that the only legitimate government was one that heeded the popular will, and that when a government lost this, it was justified in being overthrown and replaced.
Who is Jean-Jaques Rousseau?
This colony was the only one not to send representatives to the First Continental Congress.
What is Georgia?
This Act, passed after the first major battle of the American War for Independence, declared the colonies in revolt and authorized military force to bring them back into complaince.
What is the Battle of Long Island?
A plantation owner from South Carolina, this patriot military officer gathered together various militia members to form a guerilla force that struck at the British and Loyalists from the swamps of the state, leading to his nickname, the "Swamp Fox."
Who is Francis Marion?
A French government official, judge, and philosopher, he examined which government types functioned best, and advocated for separation of powers in order to reduce the chances for corruption and tyranny in government.
Who is the Baron de Montesquieu?
This document was sent by the Second Continental Congress directly to King George, and is considered the last ditch attempt at peace. King George, angered by the Battle of Bunker Hill, refused to even read it.
What is the Olive Branch Petition?
These Acts, a series of tariffs on various imported goods such as glass, paper, and tea, were named after the Chancellor of the Exchequer who proposed them as a hopefully acceptable way to tax the colonies without them becoming upset.
What were the Townsend Acts?
This battle, fought by an army sent south led by Daniel Morgan against Banastre Tarleton's mostly Loyalist army, drove the British out of South Carolina and began the end phase of the American Revolution.
What is the Battle of Cowpens?
This moderate member of the Continental Congress wrote the Olive Branch Petition, opposed Independence, but when it passed Congress agreed to construct the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States.
Who is John Dickinson?
A political philosophy that advocated for government by voting, the broadest possible electorate, and argued that leaders should have virtue, defined as being able to put aside their own interests and instead act in the interest of the rest of the community.
What is Republicanism?
This Virginia moderate was the person who set forward the motion in the Second Continental Congress that Independence should be voted upon.
Who is Richard Henry Lee?