Key Figures
He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and presided over the convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution.
Who is George Washington?
The first military engagements of the war in April 1775, known for "the shot heard 'round the world."
What are the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
Enacted by Parliament in 1689 following the Glorious Revolution, this act decisively limited the power of the monarchy by forbidding the levying of taxes or the maintenance of a standing army without Parliament's consent. Its protections, such as the prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishments," were later adopted almost verbatim into the U.S. Bill of Rights.
What is the English Bill of Rights?
This was the colonists' core complaint, arguing that Parliament could not tax them without their own elected representatives.
What is "taxation without representation"?
This was the name for colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the war.
Who are Loyalists
The primary author of the Declaration of Independence, he later became the third President of the United States.
Who is Thomas Jefferson?
This decisive American victory in 1777 is considered the turning point of the war, as it convinced France to officially join the fight.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
This influential pamphlet, written by Thomas Paine, used plain language to persuade colonists to support independence.
What is Common Sense?
1773 protest in which the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Native Americans, dumped a massive shipment of tea into a harbor.
What is the Boston Tea Party?
The nickname for colonial militia members who were said to be ready to fight at a minute's notice.
Who are the Minutemen?
This Founding Father was a crucial diplomat who helped secure French support for the American cause.
Who is Benjamin Franklin?
he final major battle of the war, where General Cornwallis surrendered to American and French forces in 1781.
What is the Battle of Yorktown?
This treaty, signed in 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War.
What is the Treaty of Paris?
This 1765 act imposed a direct tax on the colonies for the first time, requiring a stamp on all paper documents and printed materials.
What is the Stamp Act?
This seven-word phrase was Patrick Henry's famous and fiery call for American independence in a 1775 speech.
What is "Give me liberty, or give me death!"?
A young and wealthy French aristocrat, he became a trusted aide to George Washington and a major general in the Continental Army.
Who is the Marquis de Lafayette?
During the brutal winter of 1777-1778, this Pennsylvania encampment tested the Continental Army's will to survive amid starvation, disease, and freezing conditions, yet it emerged as a more disciplined fighting force.
What was the Winter at Valley Forge?
The first governing document of the United States, it was criticized for creating a weak central government.
What are the Articles of Confederation?
In this 1770 incident, British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists, killing five people and fueling anti-British sentiment.
What is the Boston Massacre?
This was the official, organized army created by the Second Continental Congress to fight the British, with George Washington as its commander.
What was the Continental Army ?
This Prussian military officer is credited with training the Continental Army into a disciplined fighting force at Valley Forge.
Who is Baron von Steuben?
The events of April 19, 1775, unfolded in three distinct phases: a brief, bloody skirmish on a town green at dawn; a more organized colonial stand at the North Bridge that turned back a British detachment; and finally, a grueling 16-mile fighting retreat by the British back to Boston, during which they were constantly attacked by colonial militia.
What were the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
Though originally a failed peace treaty to address feudal grievances against King John in 1215, this document's assertion that even a monarch was subject to the rule of law and that "free men" had a right to trial by jury established foundational principles that would later be cited by American colonists as a cornerstone of their inherited liberties.
What is the Magna Carta?
A series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party, they were also called the Coercive Acts.
What is Intolerable Acts
A common nickname for British soldiers, a reference to the vibrant color of their uniforms which made them stand out in battle.
Who were the Redcoats?