American Revolution Vocabulary

First Continental Congress: was a gathering of colonial leaders who were deeply troubled about the relationship between Great Britain and its colonies in America

Patriots: colonists who chose to fight for America’s independence from Great Britain First picture is a sign up for the army

Loyalists: colonists who sided with Great Britain during the American Revolution (also called Tories)

Mercenaries: foreign soldiers who fought not out of loyalty but for pay

Common Sense: a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that criticized monarchies and convinced many American colonists of the need to break away from Great Britain Please tell students he did this anonymously- he would have been hanged- no author on this page

Second Continental Congress: a meeting of colonial delegates who met in Philadelphia to decide how to react to fighting at Lexington and Concord ( shot heard ‘round the world) Remind students this is when an army was ordered and George Washington was asked to lead them

Reaction: response Though this picture shows a “reaction” it really was a piece of “propaganda” for the Patriots cause…

Strategy: a plan for fighting a battle or war

Continental Army: the army created by the Second Continental Congress in 1175 to defend the American colonies against Great Britain

Declaration of Independence: the document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 to declare the colonies free from Great Britain’s rule Ben Franklin and John Adams checking over Thomas Jefferson’s work