Key Terms:
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Second Continental Congress
- Delegates from all thirteen colonies gathered and drafted the Declaration of Independence and managed colonial war effort.
Bunker Hill, Battle of
- Battle fought on the outskirts of Boston on Breed's Hill ending when the colonial militia retreated.
Olive Branch Petition
- Continental Congress issued this professing American loyalty and wanted to end hostilities but King George rejected it and said the colonies were in rebellion.
Hessians
- German troops that were hired by George III to put down the colonial insurrections.
Common Sense
- A pamphlet by Thomas Paine that urged colonies to declare independence from Britain and to establish a republic government. It convinced colonists to support the Revolution.
Declaration of Independence
- Formal announcement of independence that was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and allowed Americans to appeal foreign aid.
Declaration of the Rights of Man
- Declaration of rights written during the French Revolution.
Loyalists
- Americans that didn't like the Revolution and were loyal to the King; Tories.
Patriots
- Colonists who supported the revolution; Whigs.
Long Island, Battle of
- Battle over the control of New York, British troops maintaining control of the city most the war.
Trenton, Battle of
- George Washington crossed the Delaware and captured sleeping German Hessians, which set the stage for his victory at Princeton.
Saratoga, Battle of
- A colonial victory in upstate New York that gained the support of the French in the war.
Model Treaty
- A sample treaty by the Continental Congress for American diplomats.
Armed Neutrality
- Loose alliance of nonbelligerent naval powers to protect rights for trading during the war.
Fort Stanwix, Treaty of
- Treaty granting Americans the Ohio country. Signed by the U.S. and pro-British Iroquois.
privateers
- Private ships that Congress allowed to prey on enemy that were shipping during the war, inflicting heavy damage on British traders.
Yorktown, Battle of
- Washington and the French army cornered Cornwallis and the French naval fleet was preventing British backup from coming on shore; Cornwallis finally surrendered.
Paris, Treaty of
- Treaty signed by the U.S. and Britain that ended the Revolutionary War, and Britain now formally recognized America's independence.