Key vocabulary
Colonists who supported independence from Great Britain
Patriots
The way a society organizes and distributes power, makes decisions, and governs its people
Political System
Tax on sugar and other goods; first act to raise revenue from colonies
Sugar Act (1764)
British monarch during American Revolution who refused colonial demands
King George III
Conflict between Britain and France over North American territory
French and Indian War (1754-1763)
The power of a nation to govern itself independently
Sovereignty
Actions and policies that benefit the entire community rather than just individuals
Common Good
Required colonists to pay tax on printed materials
Stamp Act (1765):
Commander of Continental Army; first U.S. President
George Washington
Colonial protest where tea was dumped into Boston Harbor
Boston Tea Party (1773)
British policy of imposing taxes on colonies without allowing them representation in Parliament
Taxation without representation
The idea that government's power comes from the agreement of the people being governed
Consent of the Governed
Required colonists to house and supply British soldiers
Quartering Act (1765)
Primary author of Declaration of Independence; third U.S. President
Thomas Jefferson
Colonial meeting to address British actions
First Continental Congress (1774)
Representative body formed by colonies to coordinate their resistance to British rule
Continental Congress
A system where power is concentrated in the hands of a few leaders who control without citizen input
Authoritarian Government
Taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea
Townshend Acts (1767)
Diplomat, inventor, and negotiator of French alliance
Benjamin Franklin
First military engagements of Revolutionary War
Lexington and Concord (1775)
Economic policy where colonies exist to benefit the mother country through trade restrictions and resource extraction
Mercantilism
British policy of loose enforcement of colonial rules before 1763
Salutary Neglect
Gave British East India Company monopoly on tea sales
Tea Act (1773)
Leading revolutionary who organized colonial resistance
Samuel Adams
Ended Revolutionary War; Britain recognized American independence
Treaty of Paris (1783)