front 1 Second Continental Congress | back 1 A convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the spring of 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It succeeded the First Continental Congress and managed the colonial war effort, moving incrementally towards independence, adopting the Declaration of Independence in 1776. |
front 2 Battle of Oriskany | back 2 A significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign during the American Revolutionary War, fought on August 6, 1777. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the war and a pivotal battle in the Northern theater. |
front 3 Battle of Bunker Hill | back 3 Fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost. |
front 4 Battle of Saratoga | back 4 Comprised of two significant battles in September and October of 1777, this American victory was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. It resulted in a major boost to American morale and convinced France to enter the war as an ally to the United States. |
front 5 Dunmore’s Proclamation | back 5 A historical document signed on November 7, 1775, by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, royal governor of the British Colony of Virginia. It declared martial law and promised freedom for slaves of American revolutionaries who left their owners and joined the royal forces. |
front 6 Valley Forge | back 6 The military camp in Pennsylvania where the American Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War. Under extremely harsh conditions, the army emerged as a more effective and unified fighting force. |
front 7 Common Sense | back 7 A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–76 that advocated independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. |
front 8 Articles of Confederation | back 8 The original constitution of the US, ratified in 1781, which was replaced by the US Constitution in 1789. It established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. |
front 9 Declaration of Independence | back 9 The pronouncement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. The Declaration announced that the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain would regard themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule. |
front 10 Battle of Yorktown | back 10 The last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought from September 28 to October 19, 1781, in Yorktown, Virginia. The American victory led by George Washington effectively ended the war and secured American independence. |
front 11 Loyalist | back 11 American colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War, often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, who supported the revolution. |
front 12 Treaty (Peace) of Paris | back 12 The agreement signed on September 3, 1783, that ended the American Revolutionary War. It recognized the independence of the United States and established borders for the new nation. |