| A | B |
|---|
| Battle of Saratoga | the decisive American victory in 1777 that was a major turning point in the revolution, prompting France and Spain to enter the war against Britain |
| Battle of Yorktown | the American victory in 1781 that ended the revolution |
| Boston Tea Party | the dumping of tea in Boston harbor in 1773 to protest the Tea Act |
| boycott | a peaceful protest in which people refuse to buy or use certain goods |
| committees of correspondence | groups of letter writers who spread news about British actions throughout the colonies |
| Common Sense | a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 making an influential argument for independence |
| Declaration of Independence | the document approved in 1776 by the Second Continental Congress declaring that the 13 former colonies were free and independent states |
| guerrilla warfare | hit-and-run attacks by small, mobile groups of soldiers |
| Intolerable Acts | laws passed by Parliament in 1774 to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party by closing Boston harbor, shutting shown civilian courts, forcing colonists to house British troops, and placing the colony under the rule of an appointed governor |
| mercenaries | a professional soldier for hire |
| militias | groups of citizens who volunteer to be soldiers during emergencies |
| Stamp Act | an act passed by Parliament in 1765 requiring colonists to pay a stamp tax on newspapers and documents; the first direct tax imposed on the colonies, prompting protests of "no taxation without representation" |
| tyranny | the unjust use of government power |
