Colonial America
A person worked for someone else, often for free, in exchange for food and shelter
Servent
The right to be told why you are being arrested, and not jailed without reason
Habeas Corpus
Tax on paper items like newspapers and playing cards
Stamp Act
Colonists who wanted freedom from Britain
Patriots
Major American victory that convinced France to help
Battle of Saratoga
Trip that brought enslaved Africans to America across the Atlantic Ocean
Middle Passage
England let the colonies rule themselves with little control
Salutary Neglect
Violent event where British soldiers shot and killed several colonists in 1770
Boston Massacre
Pamphlet by Thomas Paine that encouraged independence from Britain
Common Sense
Valley Forge
A trade route between Africa, Europe, and the Americas
Triangular Trade
Mercantilism
Colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to protest British taxes
Boston Tea Party
Document that announced America's break from Britain in 1776
Declaration of Independence
First plan for the US government after the Revolution
Articles of Confederation
A 1215 document tht limited the king's power in England
Magna Carta
Laws that said colonies could only trade with England
Navigation Acts
Local citizen soldiers who fought in emergencies
Militia
British general who surrendered at Yorktown
General Charles Cornwallis
Law that set up rules for new states in Northwest Territory
Northwest Ordinance
A 1689 English law that gave more power to Parliament and protected citizens' rights
English Bill of Rights
Plan that gave each branch of government its own job
Separation of Powers
Colonists who stayed loyal to the British king
Loyalists
The suprise American victory after crossing the Deleware River in 1776
Battle of Trenton
Shays' Rebellion