American Revolution Vocabulary

Townshend Acts, passed in 1767, put taxes on many household items, such as paint, glass, and tea. Colonists didn’t want to pay taxes on items sold by the British. They decided to ​ (a)   them, or refuse to buy them. It worked and the Townshend Acts were ​ (b)   , or canceled, in 1773.

• boycott
• repealed
• petition

​ (a)   , or those loyal to England, wanted the soldiers to be freed after the Boston Massacre. ​ (b)   , or those who supported the colonists, wanted the soldiers found guilty.

• Loyalists
• Patriots
• assembly
• tyrannical

Samuel Adams was a Boston businessman and an outspoken critic of the British government. He organized a group of citizens to form the ​ (a)   . This group’s purpose was to protest the actions of Parliament

• Sons of Liberty
• traitors
• Daughters of Liberty
• Patriots

The Sugar Act imposed new ​ (a)   on American imports such as sugar, molasses, textiles, coffee and indigo. The colonists had to pay more money for these items.

• taxes
• fortify
• conflict

a complaint resulting from being treated unfairly; a reason for complaining about a situation

• grievance

• tyrannical

• rebel

• conflict

King George III was ​ (a)   and didn't care if the colonists liked the taxes. He just wanted to make money.

• tyrannical
• loyalist
• grievance
• liberty

Since there was not an official army in the colonies, they created a ​ (a)   which was regular people trained to fight when needed. These people were ​ (b)   who fought against the government.

• militia
• rebels

During war, one side would ​ (a)   when the lost a battle. They would move away from the danger and go to a safe place for defense that they ​ (b)   .

• retreat
• fortified
• revolutionary

After the Boston Tea Party, the British closed Boston Harbor and colonists could not get ​ (a)   sent in to them from other countries. They also could not send ​ (b)   or goods out to other countries.

• imports
• exports

The colonists sent the ​ (a)   of Independence to King George the III because they wanted ​ (b)   so they could be free from England.

• Declaration
• liberty
• taxes
• petition