American Rev. Vocab
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AMERICAN REV. VOCAB
Photo by Jonathan Thorne CC
Apprentice
A person under a legal agreement to work for a specific time to learn a craft or skill from a master craftsman . Most apprentices were boys, 10-18 years of age.
Broadside
A large sheet of paper, printed on one side and used to publicly advertise, announce, or offer political opinions during the late colonial period
Photo by Boston Public Library
Gentlemen
A man born belonging to the upper class of polite society or a man of high social standing.
Photo by Joye~
Liberty
To be free of government interference. To the Patriots, liberty was freedom control by Great Britain.
Photo by stan.faryna
Liberty Pole or Tree
A centrally located pole or tree that the Patriots used to post announcements or rally to for protest.
Loyalist/Tory
An American that did not support revolution against Great Britain and was loyal to the King, George the Third. Approximately 1/3 of all American Colonists during the Revolution were Loyalists.
Mechanic
A tradesman or other
craftsman whose worked with his or her hands, such as a printer, bricklayer, or silversmith.
Photo by Gandalf's Gallery
Memorabilia
A collection of memorable or valued items from the past.
Merchant
A person whose business was trading with other countries such as Great Britain. Many loyalists were merchants.
Patriot
An American during the war who supported the cause of revolution. Only about 1/3 of the Americans were Patriots. Sometimes these people were called “Whigs”.
Smallpox
Deadly and very contagious measles-like disease that killed or permanently scarred many people of the eighteenth century. Many soldiers were inoculated against smallpox.
Photo by manoftaste.de
Tavern
An inn or meeting place that offered lodging and sold food and drink for both travelers and regular customers in the Colonial era. Many political discussions and plans were debated at taverns.
Photo by Peter E. Lee
Continental
A soldier of the American Army during the Revolution. It was also the useless paper money the Congress issued to help pay for the war (hence the phrase, “Not worth a Continental.”)
Photo by Marion Doss
Continental Congress
An assembly of representatives from the American colonies which operated as the legislative body during the Revolutionary period.
Photo by peterjr1961
Facsimile
A reproduction of a document, book, painting, or item.
Photo by Rob Ellis'
Militia
Citizen soldier who where called out for emergencies to defend homes and villages. Militias were first formed in New England to guard against Indian attacks. The Minutemen were militia.
Minutemen
Colonial militia who pledged to fight the British “at a minute’s notice.” They fought the British at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775 to begin the American Revolution.
Mob
An undisciplined group of protesters who often take the law into their own hands.
Parliament
The official governing body of Great Britain made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
Privateer
Small, privately owned merchant ships that were fitted out with weapons to capture British merchant shipping.
Photo by mikebaird
Rebel
British slang term for an American (or Patriot) not loyal to Britain during the war.
Redcoats
Slang term for British soldiers who wore scarlet red uniform jackets.
Sons of Liberty
Secret group of radicals formed by Sam Adams to protest against the Stamp Act. They used violence such as tarring and feathering to punish Loyalists and to protest British policies.
“The Shot Heard ‘Round the Word”
Famous phrase from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem about the first shot of the Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775.
Declaration of Independence
The formal statement that declared the United States free and independent of control by Great Britain. It was written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.
Photo by misterbisson
Delegate
A person authorized or sent as a representative of others, such as the delegates to the Second Continental Congress.
Diplomacy
The artful handling of international relations, a skill necessary to negotiate a successful treaty.
Indentured Servant
A person, who in exchange for free passage to the American Colonies, worked for a master for a period of from four to seven years.
Many Americans came to the British Colonies as indentured servants.
Traitor
A person who betrays his country such as Benedict Arnold during the Revolutionary War.
Tricorn
Three sided hat of both civilian and military fashion during the Colonial and Revolutionary Eras.
Tyranny
An oppressive and unjust government ruled by a tyrant, or absolute ruler. Americans believed that the British Government was a tyranny.
Yankee
Slang term used to describe a person from New England. Later this term was used to describe an inhabitant of the United States.
Bounty
A payment of $10 to $200 to recruits in return or enlisting in the army or militia during to American Revolution.
Campaign
A series of military maneuvers lasting a few weeks or months against an opposing army.
Fife
A high pitched flute that both armies used for military style music. Soldiers who played a fife were known as pipers.
Firecake
The sparse food item made of water and flour, cooked on a flat rock near a campfire.
Flintlock Musket
A muzzle loading musket or long firearm that uses a flint in a hammer to strike a spark and ignite the the black powder. Many flintlocks in the Revolutionary War were British “Brown Bess” muskets.
Fortnight
Old English term meaning 14 days, or two weeks at a time.
Hunting shirt
Linen fringed shirt or light jacket worn by most American soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Replacement for military wool jackets of regulations.
Strategy
The art of military command as to an overall plan to war. How to deploy troops and where where to deploy troops are parts of strategic planning.
Tomahawk
The light ax carried by Continental soldiers, partly because of the lack of bayonets for their muskets.
Treaty
A formal, binding agreement between two or more countries usually sealed by sidnatures of the representatives.
Victuals
Common eighteenth-century term for food, or rations.
Winter Quarters
The static winter camp of armies during the winter months. The most famous American winter quarters during the Revolution was at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the winter in 1777-1778.
Patriot Slogan (1754)
Join or Die!
Benjamin Franklin (1757)
There was never a good war or a bad peace.
Photo by cliff1066™
John Dickinson (1768)
Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, divided we fall.
Photo by Marion Doss
Patrick Henry (1775)
Give me liberty or give me death!
Photo by Anne Davis 773
Colonel William Prescott (1775)
Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes, then fire low!
Photo by mak506
Patriot leaders 1775
One if by land, two if by sea.
George Washington
When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.
Photo by patrickhashley
Paul Revere 1775
Turn out, turn out! The British are coming. The British are coming!
Photo by kestrana
Colonel John Parker 1775
Hold your fire men, but if they mean to have war, let it begin here!
Sam Adams 1775
What glorious morning for America!
Declaration of Independence 1776
We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal...
Photo by michaelrighi
