Term | Definition |
Patriots | name given to Americans who supported independence |
Philadelphia | the American capital |
Valley Forge | where the Patriot forces endured a winter of terrible suffering |
Saratoga | American victory that was the turning point of the war and convinced the French to support the United States |
Benjamin Franklin | one of the men selected to represent the United States at the peace talks in Paris |
John Jay | one of the men selected to represent the United States at the peace talks in Paris |
John Adams | one of the men selected to represent the United States at the peace talks in Paris |
Loyalists | supported Britain and was strongest in the South and weakest in New England |
South Carolina | the only state that would not allow African Americans to enlist in the war |
Marquis de Lafayette | French nobleman who became Washington's trusted aide |
John Paul Jones | Patriot whose famous words were "I have not yet begun to fight" |
Hessians | mercenaries hired by Britain to fight against the Patriots |
George Washington | leader of the Continental Army and noble example to his troops that began his military career as a young commander in the French and Indian War |
France | country that supports the United States in war by sending troops, ships, and money |
Treaty of Paris | document that ends the war and formally has Great Britain recognizing the United States as an independent nation as well as establishing the western boundary of the US as the Mississippi River. It also gives Florida back to Spain. |
Yorktown | the battle that ended the Revolutionary War with a victory by the Patriots |
British Advantages | highly trained troops, best navy in the world, and support of many colonists |
British Disadvantages | armies 3,000 miles away from home, long time to receive supplies, no control of the countryside |
Patriot Advantages | were familiar with the countryside, commanded by George Washington, determined to defend their homes and land |
Patriot Disadvantages | forces poorly organized and trained, had few supplies, few colonists enlisted in the Continental Army |
Causes of the Revolutionary War | unfair taxation, British control over judges, limitations on colonial trade |