Ch. 6 Test Review
The Spirit of Independence
Biographical Glossary
Rebellion & Revolution (Unit 3)
He was a Harvard lawyer who defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre. He
John Adams
served as a delegate to both Continental Congresses and was on the committee to write the
Declaration of Independence.
A beloved and respected patriot from Massachusetts. He was elected town messenger for the
regional Committee of Safety, one of the many groups established in Colonial America to
Wentworth Cheswell
monitor events pertaining to public welfare. He delivered messages for the Committee as a
rider in the New England colonies. As soldier, he served in the Battles of Saratoga
In 1765 he was elected to the Massachusetts Assembly. He was a member of the First
Continental Congress and an outspoken patriot who was well known for his oratory skills and
Samuel Adams
as a passionate advocate of independence from Britain. Adams was a member of the Sons of
Liberty and secretly helped organize the Boston Tea Party. Cousin to John Adams, he helped
organize the committees of correspondence to help bring unity to the colonies.
An American patriot. She was a writer who authored plays, poems and essays supporting the
idea of independence. Her writings convinced many in Massachusetts to become Patriots.
Sister to James Otis and wife of patriot James Warren, co-founder of the Boston committee of
Mercy Otis Warren
correspondence, Mercy was a very outspoken woman for her time. She was also a close
friend of Abigail Adams. Her writings have helped historians in the study of the American
Revolution and she is often considered the first historian of the American Revolution
An inventor, writer, printer, diplomat, scientist, humorist, and statesman. He was born in
Boston in 1706. In 1733 he started publishing Poor Richard’s Almanack. What distinguished
Franklin’s almanac were his witty sayings and lively writing. During the French and Indian
Benjamin Franklin
War, Franklin advocated colonial unity with his Albany Plan which encouraged the colonists
to “Join or Die.” He was a delegate to the both Continental Congresses and a member of the
committee to write the Declaration of Independence.
In 1770, Crispus Attucks, an African American former slave was the first of five unarmed
American civilians to be shot and killed by British soldiers in a riot known as the Boston
Crispus Attucks
Massacre. Attucks was credited as the leader and instigator of the heroic upheaval against the
British army.
King George III
King of England from 1760-1810. During his reign, there were many conflicts
involving his kingdom. After the French and Indian War, the British Parliament
with the King’s approval angered the American colonists by taxing them to pay
for military protection. In 1776 the American colonists declared their
independence and listed their grievances against the king.
He was a Virginia planter and a delegate to the House of Burgesses.
Washington fought during the French and Indian War and was a delegate to the
George Washington
Continental Congress. He was chosen Commander of the Continental Army
during the American Revolution .
A symbol of America’s struggle for liberty and self-government, he was a
lawyer, patriot, orator, and willing participant in virtually every aspect of the
founding of America. He served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of
Patrick Henry
Virginia from 1776 to 1779. He was a member of the Virginia House of
Burgesses. During the American Revolution, he famously said “Give me
liberty or give me death.” He was a delegate to the First Continental Congress
from Virginia.
As a Virginia planter, he was also a delegate to the House of Burgesses and to
the First and Second Continental Congress. He was selected to draft the
Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence and is thus considered the author of the
Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Paine
He authored the pamphlet Common Sense which encouraged the colonies to
break with England and become independent.
Document Glossary
Stamp Act
Intolerable Acts
Declaration of
Independence
Common Sense
Passed so that the American colonists should bear a heavier tax load, to raise revenue due
to the debt from the F & I War. The act required Americans to buy special watermarked
paper for newspapers and all legal documents. To many colonists, the Stamp Act
represented all of the problems between England and the colonies, especially “Taxation
without Representation.” It affected every one of the thirteen colonies equally, and every
rank in society.
The name given to a series of acts passed in response to the Boston Tea Party. The
British called their responsive measures the Coercive Acts. Boston Harbor was closed to
trade until the owners of the tea were compensated. Town meetings were banned, and the
authority of the royal governor was increased. All of these were eventually addressed in
the U.S. Constitution in some form. General Gage, the British commander of North
American forces, was appointed governor of Massachusetts. British troops and officials
would now be tried outside Massachusetts for their crimes. Greater freedom was granted
to British officers who wished to house their soldiers in private dwellings.
The Declaration of Independence is a document adopted by the Second Continental
Congress on July 4, 1776. It established the 13 colonies as independent states, free from
rule by Great Britain. The committee appointed to write the Declaration of Independence
included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and
Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson wrote the most of it. The Preamble stated it was necessary to
list the reasons why the colonies sought their own government. In three sections,
Jefferson outlined the reasons: people have the right to control their own government; the
British government and King used their power unjustly to control the colonies; and the
colonies had tried to avoid separating from Britain, but Britain refused to cooperate.
Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and
the royal monarchy. The plain language that Thomas Paine used spoke to the common
people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great
Britain. The widespread success of Common Sense in the colonies lead to a greater
acceptance of the idea of the need for a complete break from England among the
American colonists.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut 1639
the first constitution in the American colonies;
extended voting rights to non-church members
and limited the powers of the governor, expanded
ideas of representative government
Magna Carta 1215
granted rights to noblemen
and freemen. Limited power
of the king
House of Burgesses 1619
The First Representative Body in
the colonies; Virginia
Mayflower Compact 1620
first system of selfgovernment in America.
English Bill of Rights 1689
supported a limited
monarchy, gov’t based of laws
made by parliament provided a
system of shared power; rights
given to ALL Englishmen
Founding
Documents
Revolution Events
ec. of Ind.
exington & Concord
Jamestown -1st perm. English settlement
Mayflower Compact – 1st system of selfgov’t
Declaration of Independence – Freedom
from English Rule
Middle
Colonies
subsistence farming,
good soil,
warm climate
NH
MA
NY
CT RI
PA
NJ
MD DE
VA
New England
Long winters,
rocky soil,
timber,
fishing,
shipbuilding,
whaling
NC
SC
Southern
Colonies
Hot climate, fertile soil, cash crops, plantation system
GA
Appalachian Mtns
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
13. These acts following the French &
Indian War ticked off the Colonies and
eventually led to the Revolution!
Sugar
Stamp
1765
Tea
1764 Townshend
1773
1767
Declaratory
1766
Intolerable (Coercive)
1774
Quartering Act
1765
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
14. King George III of England: He offended the
colonies with his taxes and abuses of our rights as
Englishmen.
King George III – Statue being pulled down
Super
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Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
15. The Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea
Party to protest the Tea Act. In response, England
passed the Intolerable Acts as punishment.
Civil Disobedience – non-violent resistance to a government
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
16. Important American Revolution minorities:
Wentworth Cheswell – 1st African American elected to public office and assisted
Paul Revere in alerting the colonists of British troop movements
Crispus Attucks – African American killed at the Boston massacre who was the 1st
colonist to die for American independence
Mercy Otis Warren – woman who wrote plays such as The Group and The
Blockheads which were critical of the British government’s actions
Committee that
drafted the Declaration
Benjamin
Franklin
John Adams
Robert Livingston
Thomas Jefferson
John
RogerAdams
Sherman
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
18. Sam Adams, a member of the Sons
Sons of
ofLiberty
Liberty and
leader of the Boston Tea Party, stirred public support
for American independence.
Die, you defenseless American
rebels! We massacre you for no
reason! (according to Paul Revere)
“If ye love wealth better
than liberty...
Crouch down and lick the
hands which feed you.”
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
19. The first battle of the American Revolution
was at Lexington
Lexington and
and Concord
Concord in April 1775.
Hey Ralph! I bet they hear
this shot ‘round the world!
That’s good
stuff!
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
20. Common Sense - a pamphlet by Thomas
Paine that convinced many colonists to support
independence from Great Britain.
It is “Paine-ful” to not
use Common Sense.
Get it?
Ha ha!
Washington read Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis” to his men to inspire them to
continue fighting in the face of defeat.
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
Patrick Henry
Henry
21. The fiery orator, patriot Patrick
called for American independence
“Give me
liberty or give
me death!”
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
22. George Washington was the leader of the
Continental Army who later became the first
President of the United States .
Super
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Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
23. A patriot is
someone who
supported
American
independence
during the
Revolution.
Super
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Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
24. A loyalist is
someone who
supported
maintaining
British rule
over the
colonies
during the
Revolution.
Why don’t
you hold the
end of this
electrified
string, you
dirty loyalist!
I sure do
like
England,
Dad.
Super
STAAR 130
Greatest American History Facts: Colonization thru Reconstruction
25. The Declaration of Independence - a list of
grievances against King George III - was written by
Thomas Jefferson-July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia. It
declared the colonies independent from England.