U.S. History: Beginnings to 1877 – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
First Continental Congress
answer
(1774) a meeting of colonial delegates in Philadelphia to decide how to respond to the Coercive Acts; delegates petitioned King George III, listing the freedoms they believed colonists should enjoy
question
Patriots
answer
American colonists who fought for independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War
question
minutemen
answer
American colonial militia members ready to fight at a moment's notice
question
Redcoats
answer
Nickname for British soldiers who fought against the colonists in the American Revolution; so called because of their bright colored uniforms
question
Second Continental Congress
answer
(1775) a meeting of colonial delegates in Philadelphia to decide how to react to fighting at Lexington and Concord
question
Continental Army
answer
the fighting force created by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 to defend the American colonies from Britain
question
George Washington
answer
He served as a representative to the Continental Congresses, commanded the Continental Army, and was unanimously elected to two terms as president of the United States.
question
Battle of Bunker Hill
answer
(1775) a Revolutionary War battle in Boston that demonstrated that the colonists could fight well against the British army; a "moral victory"
question
Common Sense
answer
(1776) a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that criticized monarchies and convinced many American colonists to break away from Britain
question
Thomas Paine
answer
An American political philosopher and author, he urged an immediate declaration of independence from England in his anonymously and simply written pamphlet
question
Thomas Jefferson
answer
A member of two Continental Congresses, chairman of the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration's main author, and the third president of the U.S.
question
Declaration of Independence
answer
(1776) the document written to announce the colonies' freedom from British rule
question
Loyalists
answer
colonists who sided with Britain in the American Revolution
question
mercenaries
answer
hired foreign soldiers
question
Battle of Trenton
answer
(1776) a Revolutionary War battle in New Jersey in which Patriot forces captured more than 900 Hessian troops
question
Battle of Saratoga
answer
(1777) a Revolutionary War battle in New York that resulted in a major defeat of British troops; marked the Patriots' greatest victory so far and became a turning point
question
Marquis de Lafayette
answer
(1757-1834) French statesman and officer who helped finance the Revolution and served as major general because he viewed the American Revolution as important to the world.
question
Baron Friedrich von Steuben
answer
(1730-1794) Prussian soldier who helped train American forces at Valley Forge in the American Revolutionary War
question
Bernardo de Galvez
answer
As governor of Spanish Louisiana, he captured key cities from the British, greatly aiding the American Patriot movement and enabling the Spanish acquisition of Florida.
question
John Paul Jones
answer
(1747-1792) As an American naval officer famed for bravery, his most famous victory was the defeat of the British warship Serapis, during which he declared, "I have not yet begun to fight!"
question
George Rogers Clark
answer
(1752-1818)As an American Revolutionary soldier and frontier leader, he captured the British trading village of Kaskaskia during the Revolution and encouraged Indian leaders to remain neutral
question
Francis Marion
answer
(1732?-1795) As as Revolutionary War commander, he formed a group of guerrilla soldiers in South Carolina that used surprise raids against British communication and supply lines.
question
Comte de Rochambeau
answer
He was a French soldier who commanded the French troops in the American Revolutionary War. He was with General George Washington at the Battle of Yorktown.
question
Battle of Yorktown
answer
(1781) This was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War and the site of the British surrender to the Patriots in Virginia.
question
Treaty of Paris of 1783
answer
This peace agreement officially ended the Revolutionary War and established British recognition of the independence of the United States
