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John Locke
An English Philosopher and theorist who believed in Natural Rights, Life, Liberty, and Property. -
Benjamin Franklin
"The greatest thinker of his time." He was a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor and diplomat. He served in the Second Continental Congress and helped draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He also negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War (1775-83). In 1787, in his final significant act of public service, he was a delegate to the convention that produced the U.S. Constitution. He was a Partiot. -
Mary Draper
Assisted the Continental Army by offering food, hospitality, and clothing. She was a patriot. -
Geroge Washington
Commander in chief of the Continental Army. Led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero. In 1787, he was elected president of the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution. Two years later, Washington became America’s first president. Involved in The Battle of Lexington, Trenton, Bunker HIll, German Town. He was a patriot. -
Thomas Jefferson
was born April 13,1743. Helped found the Viginia Commitee of Correspondence. Had strong views on independence. As a farmer in the "wilderness" in Virigina, he knew that people could govern themselves. Jefferson wrote opinions on the colonitsts struggles against Great Britain. Jefferson said that colonists were a free people claiming their rights. He was a patriot. He wanted independence. -
Sugar Act
1764 Act that put a three-cent tax on foreign refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo, and certain kinds of wine. It banned importation of rum and French wines. These taxes affected only a certain part of the population, but the affected merchants were very vocal. Besides, the taxes were enacted (or raised) without the consent of the colonists. This was one of the first instances in which colonists wanted a say in how much they were taxed. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. A squad of British soldiers, come to support a sentry who was being pressed by a heckling, snowballing crowd, let loose a volley of shots. Three persons were killed immediately and two died later of their wounds; among the victims was Crispus Attucks, a man of black or Indian parentage. The British officer in charge, Capt. Thomas Preston, was arrested for manslaughter, along with eight of his men. -
Boston Tea Party
This famed act of American colonial defiance served as a protest against taxation. Seeking to boost the troubled East India Company, British Parliament adjusted import duties with the passage of the Tea Act in 1773. Philadelphia rejected tea shipments, merchants in Boston refused to concede to Patriot pressure. On the night of December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard causing the Brittish to be furious. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War (1775-83). Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the -
Battle of Bunker Hill
On June 17, 1775, early in the Revolutionary War (1775-83), the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost. Although commonly referred to as the Battle of Bunker Hill, most of the fighting occurred on nearby Breed’s Hill. -
Declaration of Independence
The declaration of Indepence was a documant that was sent to England saying that the thirteen colonies should be an independent contry from England. Thomas Jefferson and a bunch of other founding fathers wrote and the Declaration. The most popular is John Hancockbecause his signature was the biggest. The declaration of Independence was written in Phildelphia, Pennslyvania. This document is important because it started the Revolutionary War and seperated America from England. -
Battle of Saratoga
Fought eighteen days apart in the fall of 1777, the two Battles of Saratoga were a turning point in the American Revolution. On September 19th, British General John Burgoyne achieved a small, but costly victory over American forces led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. Though his troop strength had been weakened, Burgoyne again attacked the Americans at Bemis Heights on October 7th, but this time was defeated and forced to retreat. American victory. -
Valley Forge
Valley Forge is a battle field a few miles away from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This battle was a six month battle between December 19, 1777, and June 19, 1777. This is important to the American Revolution because it was the turning point in the war which let America win. -
Battle of Trenton
General George Washington’s army crossed the icy Delaware on Christmas Day 1776 and, over the course of the next 10 days, defeated a formidable garrison of Hessian mercenaries before withdrawing. A week later he returned to Trenton to lure British forces south, then executed a daring night march to capture Princeton on January 3. The victories reasserted American control of much of New Jersey a -
Batle of Yorktown
The significance of the conflict was that Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington as French and American forces trapped the British at Yorktown. The British surrender at the Battle of Yorktown ended the American Revolutionary War.It took place in Virginia. Americans won. Allowed the 13 colonies to be free from representaion.
