Abigail Adams: Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

Articles of Confederation: 1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

Battle of Brandywine: Battle during which the Continental Army unsuccessfully tried to stop the British from marching into Philadelphia (1777)

Battle of Cowpens: An overwhelming victory by American Revolutionary forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War.

Battle of Guilford Courthouse: March 15, 1781 battle between the forces of Cornwallis and Greene near Guilford Courthouse (modern day Greensboro, N.C.) The British won a thin victory in the battle, but the win sapped much of the British strength.

Battle of Kings Mountain: This battle was fought between 2 militias; the Loyalists versus the Patriots. The Patriots won.

Battle of Long Island and White Plains: British cannonball hit unprepared American troops; British, led by William Howe, could have captured retreating Americans, but failed to pursue it

Battle of Trenton: On Christmas day at night, Washington's soldiers began crossing the Deleware River. The next morning, they suprise attacked the British mercenaries which were Hessians.

Battle of Yorktown: Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781.

Battles of Saratoga: a series of conflicts between British soldiers and the Continental Army in 1777 that proved to be a turning point in the Revolutionary War

Benedict Arnold: American General who was labeled a traitor when he assisted the British in a failed attempt to take the American fort at West Point.

Benjamin Franklin: American intellectual, inventor, and politician He helped to negotiate French support for the American Revolution.

Charles Cornwallis: Commanding general of the British forces that were defeated at Yorktown in 1781, ending the American Revolution.

citizen-soldier: A soldier who returns home and resumes his life when the fighting is over

Clark's Rangers: a small force of frontiersmen through the freezing waters of the Illinois country to capture British-held Fort Sackville at Vincennes during February 1779

Daniel Morgan: Continental Colonel of regular army and some militia. Master of guerilla warfare. Given credit for winning the Battle of Cowpens.

Deborah Simpson: - passed as a man and served as a soldier for a year

direct democracy: A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Francois-Joseph-Paul de Grasse: Admiral who commanded a French fleet in American waters. He helped Washington and Rochambeau force Cornwallis to surrendur at Yorktown. Eventually, a British fleet met and defeated his fleet in the West Indies.

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben: Former Prussian military officer who volunteered his services during Valley Forge to train Continental forces how to operate as an army.

George Washington: 1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799)

Henry Clinton: Commander-in-Chief of the British army in American replacing General Howe after the Battle of Saratoga.

Henry Laurens: leader of the American Revolution and president of the Continental Congress (1724-1792)

Hessians: German soldiers hired by George III to smash Colonial rebellion, proved good in mechanical sense but they were more concerned about money than duty.

Horatio Gates: Burgoyne was forced to surrender his command to this American general on October 17,1777 at the battle of Saratoga.

inoculations and smallpox: fervent during war time and caused the lives and lost limbs of many

John Adams: America's first Vice-President and second President. Sponsor of the American Revolution in Massachusetts, and wrote the Massachusetts guarantee that freedom of press "ought not to be restrained.”

John Burgoyne: British general in the American Revolution who captured Fort Ticonderoga but lost the battle of Saratoga in 1777 (1722-1792)

John Jay: United States diplomat and jurist who negotiated peace treaties with Britain and served as the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1745-1829)

Joseph Brant: Mohawk chief who led many Iroquois to fight with Britain against American revolutionaries

Lafayette: French major general who aided the colonies during the Revolutionary War. He and Baron von Steuben (a Prussian general) were the two major foreign military experts who helped train the colonial armies.

Lord Dunmore: Royal governor of Virginia who issued a proclamation promising freedom for any enslaved black in Virginia who joined the British army

Lord North: British Prime Minister during revolution. He had passed the Coercive Acts and supported the king greatly to the extent that Britain was ruled only by the king.

Loyalists: American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

Nathanael Greene: American general of Rhode Island, helped to turn the tide against Cornwallis and his British army, used geography of land

Patrick Ferguson: leader of the American Loyalist at the Battle of King's Mountain-Loser

representative democracy: A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.

republican ideology: Political belief in representative democracy in which citizens govern themselves by electing representatives, or legislators, to make key decisions on the citizens' behalf.

Richard Montgomery: A formerly British General, he then led the colonists. He led a successful attack into Montreal, then on to Quebec. Montgomery's attack on Quebec failed and he was killed, thus, the whole invasion into Canada failed.

state constitutions: During the war, most states had their own const. to spell out the rights of citizens and set limits on the gvns. power.

The American Crisis: An essay by Thomas Paine read by George Washington to his troops shortly before crossing the Delaware River.

Thomas Jefferson: Wrote the Declaration of Independence

Thomas Paine: American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence and supported the French Revolution (1737-1809)

Tories: Another name for Loyalists

Treaty of Alliance: Treaty where France agreed to help the colonists win their independence from England

Treaty of Paris 1783: This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River

Valley Forge: Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778, a 4th of troops died here from disease and malnutriton, Steuben comes and trains troops

Virginian Statute of Religious Freedom: a statement about both freedom of conscience and the principle of separation of church and state. Written by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Virginia General Assembly on January 16, 1786, it is the forerunner of the first amendment protections for religious freedom.

William Howe: during the summer of 1776, he led hundreds of British ships and 32,000 British soldiers to New York, and offered Congress the choice between surrender with royal pardon and a battle against the odds, and despite having far fewer troops, the Americans rejected the offer.