Big Ideas & Famous Slogans
The core colonial protest slogan arguing that Parliament had no right to tax colonists who had no voice in government.
What is "No taxation without representation"?
The 1765 British law that placed a direct tax on printed materials such as newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards.
What is the Stamp Act?
The Virginian appointed by the Second Continental Congress to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.
Who is George Washington?
The Virginian statesman who served as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Who is Thomas Jefferson?
America’s first national constitution, which intentionally created a weak central government with no president and no power to tax.
What are the Articles of Confederation?
Basic human entitlements described in the Declaration of Independence that cannot be taken away, including life and liberty.
What are Natural rights?
The December 1773 protest where the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves and dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor.
What is the Boston Tea Party?
The 1777 battle in upstate New York considered the major turning point of the war because it convinced France to join as an ally.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
The King of Great Britain who reigned throughout the American Revolution.
Who is King George III?
The 1786 armed uprising of debt-ridden farmers in Massachusetts that convinced leaders the Articles of Confederation were failing.
What is Shays’ Rebellion?
Thomas Paine’s best-selling 1776 pamphlet written in plain language that convinced thousands of ordinary colonists to support independence.
What is Common Sense?
The 1770 street brawl where British soldiers fired into an angry colonial crowd, killing five colonists.
What is the Boston Massacre?
The harsh winter camp in Pennsylvania where over 2,000 Continental soldiers died from disease, frostbite, and starvation in 1777–1778.
What is Valley Forge?
The President of the Continental Congress famous for writing his signature so large on the Declaration that the King could read it without spectacles.
Who is John Hancock?
The legislative agreement that created a two-house Congress: the House based on population and the Senate with two votes per state.
What is the Great Compromise?
The foundational self-evident truth stated in the preamble of the Declaration: "All men are created..."
What is Equal?
The royal decree in 1763 that banned American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.
What is the Proclamation of 1763?
The European superpower that signed a treaty of alliance in 1778 to send soldiers, ships, and money to support the Americans.
What is France?
The Virginian recognized as the "Father of the Constitution" for drafting the Virginia Plan and the Bill of Rights.
Who is James Madison?
The political group that opposed the Constitution, fearing a strong national government would strip individual liberties and states' rights.
Who are the Anti-Federalists?
The 18th-century European intellectual movement that emphasized science, reason, and human rights over tradition.
What is the Enlightenment?
The harsh laws passed by Parliament to punish Boston for the Tea Party, which closed the harbor and suspended local government.
What are the Coercive Acts (or the Intolerable Acts)?
The final major siege in 1781 where British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to combined American and French forces.
What is the Battle of Yorktown?
Washington’s brilliant wartime aide-de-camp who became the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury.
Who is Alexander Hamilton?
The first ten amendments added to the Constitution in 1791 to protect freedoms like speech, press, and religion.
What is the Bill of Rights?
The British imperial trade system where American colonies existed primarily to enrich Great Britain with raw goods.
What is Mercantilism?
The Virginian orator who electrified the revolutionary movement with his declaration, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
Who is Patrick Henry?
The 1783 treaty signed in Europe that officially recognized the independence of the United States.
What is the Treaty of Paris?
A sailor of African and Native American descent who became the first person killed during the Boston Massacre.
Who is Crispus Attucks?
The collection of 85 essays written to persuade citizens to support and ratify the Constitution.
What are the Federalist Papers?