1. The Origins of the American Revolution
Matcher answers

2. The proclamation of 1763
“No American colonists shall settle to the west of the Appalachian Mountains by proclamation of England.” The Proclamation of forbid American settlers from entering into the Ohio River Valley, which they had worked so hard to wrest from the French.

3. Paul revere
“The redcoats are a- coming! The regulars are out! Prepare ye for battle!” He was not the only man to alert the minutemen and local militia that the British Army was on the march. In fact, he was captured by the British – along with William Dawes. He might also be well- known for his inaccurate depiction of the “Boston Massacre” of 1770, pictured to the right.

4. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of independence
He wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

5. Thomas paine
In 1775, he wrote: “Everything that is right begs for separation from Britain. The Americans who have been killed seem to say, “’Tis time to part.” England and America are located a great distance apart. That is itself strong and natural proof that God never expected one to rule over the other… Small islands not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.”

6. Soldier at valley forge, winter of 1778
“I am sick – discontented … Poor food – hard lodging – cold weather – fatigue – nasty clothes – nasty cookery…I can’t endure it – Why are we sent here to starve and freeze?” Under the leadership of Baron Friedrich Von Steuben, the Continental Army became a formidable force to oppose the British.
George Washington’s Army survived the bitter winter at Valley Forge, despite a lack of supplies.

7. Patrick henry
In the wake of the Stamp Act crisis, Virginians were outraged. The House of Burgesses passed resolutions condemning the Stamp Act. This Virginian exclaimed, “If this be treason, make the most of it!” He’s more famous for another quotation, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Although many of the most important events leading to the American Revolution took place in Massachusetts, the willingness of Virginians to go along with the War for Independence was essential to the positive outcome.

8. The boston tea party, Dec. 1773
This is a primary source from December of 1774: “It was now evening, and I immediately dressed myself in the costume of an Indian, equipped with a small hatchet, which I and my associates denominated the tomahawk, with which, and a club, after having painted my face and hands with coal dust in the shop of a blacksmith, I repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the ships lay that contained the tea. When I first appeared in the street after being thus disguised, I fell in with many who were dressed, equipped and painted as I was, and who fell in with me and marched in order to the place of our destination.”

9. Samuel adams
This man was the leader of the Sons of Liberty, an organization created in in order to oppose the Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty were created to organize protests and boycott certain products, in order to punish the English economically for their policies of taxation without representation. At the start of the Revolutionary War, the English viewed Adams as the principle agent of radicalism, and wanted to put him to death. Today, he is most frequently remembered as “Brewer, Patriot.”

10. The stamp act of 1765
“For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be ingrossed, written, or printed, any copy of any petition, bill, answer, claim, plea, replication, rejoinder, demurrer, or other pleading in any such court, a stamp duty of three pence.” Since it was the major cause of the rebellion, it’s ironic to note that this act never actually went into law. Parliament repealed the act.

11. Ben franklin’s political cartoon, resurrected
This political cartoon was originally created during the French and Indian War. It had a completely different meaning then than it would in the years before the American Revolution.

12. patriots
People who believed that the British had become tyrants and that they must be opposed – that the time had come to alter, abolish, and replace the English rulers – were called this.
Today, we can just refer to these men and women was “the good guys!” The Founding Fathers were all patriots, as were the men and women of the Continental Army.

13. loyalists
American colonists who supported the British side during the Revolutionary War period were known by this title. About one third of Americans were loyalists during the conflict.
During the war, Loyalists offered support for the English Crown or to the redcoats fighting the war.
After the Revolutionary War was won by the patriots, most Loyalists lost all of their property. Although Americans agreed to restore their wealth, it never happened.

14. Samuel prescott
During the famed “Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” Revere was captured by the British. So was William Dawes. (An apocryphal story suggests that Revere spread the news of the coming invasion by stopping at every tavern in New England – and eventually falling off his horse!) But this man was able to deliver the message to the minutemen of Massachusetts: “The Redcoats were a-coming!”

15. John dickenson
He was the author of the famous Olive Branch Petition – an attempt to reconcile between the Continental Congress and the Parliament. He was personally opposed to declaring independence.
Eventually, he would come along to supporting the movement for independence; however, he remained on poor terms with more energetic supporters of the Declaration of Independence like John Adams.

16. Crispus attucks
This African-American was one of the five men killed at the Boston Massacre, in March of 1770.
Since very few people immediately consider the diversity of American life during the 18th Century, the memory of Crispus Attucks has been preserved in history books. He was probably part African- American and part Wampanoag Indian; moreover, he was probably a runaway slave. There were advertisements in a nearby newspaper years before his death for a runaway named “Crispus.”

17. george grenville
This English prime minister was the mastermind behind the English tax policies of the early 1760s – including the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act.
Public outrage in the American colonies led to the repeal of the Stamp Act, but the basic policies remained in effect throughout the Revolutionary Period.

18. James otis
He coined the expression, No Taxation Without Represe ntation!

19. John adams
During the years preceding the American Revolution, he was a young lawyer in New England. He defended John Hancock when he was charged with smuggling and the English attempted to try him in vice admiralty courts. He also defended the soldiers who were accused for murder for their role in the Boston Massacre!

20. Nathan hale
When he was convicted of spying on the English and sentenced to death, this American patriot’s dying words were, “I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country!”
Hale was a schoolteacher, and he was discovered relatively early on the war.
Espionage was important for both the American Patriots and the English throughout the war.

21. John hancock
He was a smuggler of molasses and a variety of other products of the Caribbean into Boston. When his ship the Liberty was boarded by British customs agents, his “roughs” liberated the ship – in open defiance of the British government.

22. Charles townshend
The taxes charged on items like glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea – which were leveled on the colonists starting in were named after this man, the new Prime Minister of England.