| A | B |
|---|
| town meeting | earliest form of self-government |
| Intolerable Acts | British laws passed after the Boston Tea Party |
| boycott | refusal to do business with a person, group, or country |
| militia | colonial volunteer who fought in times of emergency |
| Lexington, Massachusetts | first battle of the American Revolution took place here |
| Olive Branch Petition | stated the loyalty of the colonists to Great Britain |
| George Washington | commanded the Continental Army |
| traitor | person who turns against his or her country |
| Yorktown | last battle of the Revolution took place here |
| Cabinet | group of people who help the President |
| compromise | an agreement where each side gives up something |
| Bill of Rights | first 10 amendments to the Constitution |
| James Madison | Father of the Constitution |
| Shay's Rebellion | a rebellion that Massachusetts farmers took part in to protest taxes |
| Articles of Confederation | set up the country's first central government |
| John Peter Zenger | his trial established the right to freedom of speech |
| Declaration of Independence | accepted by American delegates on July 4, 1776 |
| Senate | part of the legislative brance of the US government |
| Paul Revere | warned the people of Lexington that the British were coming |
| Patrick Henry | inspired colonists to fight for freedom |
| Thomas Jefferson | wrote these famous words "We hold these truths to be self-evident |
| Charles Cornwallis | British general who surrendered at Yorktown |
| Benedict Arnold | became a traitor during the American Revolution |
| liberty | freedom |
| repeal | to cancel or take back |
| Committees of Correspondence | formed by the colonies to inform each other about important events |
| Sons of Liberty | organized protests against the British Government |
| treason | the betrayal of one's country by giving help to an enemy |
| Treaty of Paris | document that recognized the US's independence |
| Patriot | colonist who supported the fight for independence |
| mercenary | a soldier who is paid to fight for another country |
| Loyalist | a colonist who remained loyal to Great Britain |
| veto | to refuse to approve |
| executive branch | carries out the laws made by Congress |
| judicial branch | decides the meaning of the laws |
| checks and balances | a system in which one branch of government is balanced by another |
| federal system | a system in which the states and the federal government share power |
| ratify | to officially approve |
| amendment | an addition that is made to the Constitution |
| Abigail Adams | First Lady who wrote letters about the role of women in a new country |
| Samuel Adams | Patriot and leader who was a member of the Sons of Liberty |
| James Armistead | Patriot spy who helped defeat the British at Yorktown |
| John Burgoyne | British general who was defeated at the Battle of Saratoga |
| Henry Knox | helped drive the British from Boston/became the 1st Secretary of War |
| John Locke | influenced Thomas Jefferson in the writing of the Declaration of Independence |
| Nathan Hale | Patriot that was hanged for being a spy |
| Mary Ludwig Hays | known as "Molly Pitcher" |
| Alexander Hamilton | 1st Secretary of the Treasury |
| Thomas Paine | wrote Common Sense in 1776 |
| John Paul Jones | commanded the Bonhomme Richard |
| Mercy Otis Warren | urged women to give up tea and other taxable goods from Great Britain |
| Francis Marion | known as the "Swamp Fox" |
