Trouble in the Colonies
This famous Paul Revere engraving was used as propaganda to provoke resentment toward the British government after a 1770 shooting.
The Boston Massacre
"When in the Course of human events..." is the opening line of this historic 1776 document.
The Declaration of Independence
This was the first "basic law" of the United States, described as a "firm league of friendship" between states.
The Articles of Confederation
This major event was the "turning point" of the war because it convinced France to join as an American ally.
The Battle of Saratoga
In his Farewell Address, George Washington warned that this "formal and permanent despotism" would allow partisan leaders to become tyrants.
Political parties (or factions/partisanship)
Colonists used an image of a skull and crossbones to protest this specific 1765 act that taxed paper goods and legal documents.
The Stamp Act
According to the Declaration of Independence, all people are entitled to these three inalienable rights.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
This term describes the sharing of power between the federal and state governments.
Federalism
This 1783 agreement officially recognized the former colonies as "free sovereign and Independent States"."
The Treaty of Paris
These 1798 laws were seen by critics as a violation of free speech and the First Amendment.
The Alien and Sedition Acts
Protesters targeted this specific shipment in 1773 because it was being taxed without the colonists having a say in the matter.
Tea
Thomas Paine wrote this pamphlet to argue that American trade was based on the "necessaries of life" and did not require British protection.
Common Sense
The Preamble of the Constitution mentions six purposes of government. Name two.
(Any two) Form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for common defense, promote general welfare, secure liberty.
King George III responded to this final 1775 attempt at peace by declaring the colonists rebels and ordering troops to crush them.
The Olive Branch Petition
Washington's primary advice regarding foreign policy was to avoid this.
Political entanglements or alliances with foreign countries.
Members of this 1765 "Congress" cited the "rights of Englishmen" to argue they should not be taxed without representation.
The Stamp Act Congress
This delegate famously claimed the war had "actually begun" in 1775 to motivate his listeners to seek independence immediately.
Patrick Henry
This is the system that allows the three branches of government to limit each other’s powers, such as a presidential veto.
Checks and balances
Name one of the "grievances" mentioned in the Declaration of Independence that referred to British military or trade laws.
Quartering of troops, "mock trials," or cutting off trade (Intolerable Acts).
This group refused to ratify the Constitution unless a Bill of Rights was added to protect individual liberties.
Anti-Federalists
This 1766 law was passed immediately after the repeal of the Stamp Act; it asserted that the British Parliament had the absolute authority to legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”
The Declaratory Act
The Declaration of Independence’s concept of “inalienable rights” was inspired by this seventeenth-century philosopher, who famously identified “Life, Liberty and Estate” as the basic rights of all people in society.
John Locke
This 1787 law was one of the few major successes of the Confederation Congress; it established a system for admitting new states to the Union and set a historic precedent by banning slavery in the new territory.
The Northwest Ordinance
During the final major battle of the war at Yorktown, this critical naval maneuver by the French fleet trapped General Cornwallis by sea and prevented the British from rescuing or resupplying their army.
The blockade of the York River
Negotiated by Washington’s envoy in 1794, this highly controversial agreement with Great Britain affirmed trade relations but was seen by Democratic-Republicans as a betrayal of the United States’ relationship with France.
The Jay Treaty