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John Locke
John Locke was an English philosopher whose ideas were used by the Founding Fathers in writing the US Constitution. Locke advocated for the individual rights and the separation of the executive, legislative and judicial powers. -
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Charles Montesquieu
Charles Montesquieu was a French judge and political thinker. His ideas were an inspiration for writing of the US Constitution. He advocated for the separation of powers in a democratic government. -
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Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was an American politician and one of the 39 people who signed the US Constitution. He is considered to be the main instigator of the Boston Tea Party. He was a gifted public speaker and a passionate revolutionary. -
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Martha Washington
Martha Washington was the wife of George Washington and the very Fist Lady of the US. She was an educated woman, she supported and helped her husband throughout his political career and she freed all 123 slaves her husband owned after his death. -
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George Washington
George Washington was a general in the Revolutionary War, one of the Founding Fathers and the very first President of the US.He is considered one of the most influential American historical figures and a brilliant tactician and leader. -
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John Adams
John Adams was a brilliant lawyer, a passionate advocate for the American Independence, one of the signers of the Treaty of Paris , first US ambassador to Great Britain, first US vice-president and the second President of the US. -
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Paul Revere
Paul Revere is one of the folk heroes of the American Revolution. Trained as a silversmith, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the Revolution. He participated in the Boston Tea Party and famously rode from Boston to Lexington ( and later Concord) to warn the revolutionary troops that the British Army was coming. -
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John Hancock
John Hancock was an American politician, the president of the Second Continental Congress and the owner of the biggest and most eye catching signature on the Declaration of Independence. -
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Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold was a general during the Revolutionary War until 1779 when he defected to the British Army. His name remains a symbol for treason and treachery. -
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is one of the Founding Fathers, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the US. He was a brilliant politician who purchased the Louisiana territory during his years as a President. While a strong supporter of individual liberty, his legacy will always be shadowed by the fact that he was a slave owner. -
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Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of the second President of the US, John Adams and the mother of the 6th President of the US, Quincy Adams. She was a forward thinking woman, an early advocate for women's rights. She opposed slavery and she was a vocal supporter of women's education. -
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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War took place between 1754 and 1763 on the American territory. The battles were fought between the colonies of the British America and the colonies of the New France with military and monetary support from Great Britain and France. The Native Americans were allies of France for the most part.The war was a financial disaster for both countries and the consequences led to the start of the American Revolutionary War. -
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Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers and the brilliant mind behind the american financial system. He founded the Treasury Department and organized the First Bank of the US. He lead a very colorful life, highlighted by his death in a duel with a fellow politician -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was given by King George the 3rd at the end of the French and Indian War in North America. The intention of the Proclamation was to protect the Native American lands from encroachment by white settlers. It is one of the bases for the Native American law in USA and Canada. -
Sugar act
The Sugar Act ( also called Plantation Act or Revenue Act) was a piece of British legislation introduced in 1764, aimed at stopping the smuggling of low priced sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch colonies of West Indies. The coffers of the British Empire were depleted after the French and Indian War and this legislation would have brought new revenues by protecting the price of the British sugar. -
Currency act
The Currency Act 1764 was one of the reasons of the Revolutionary War. The Act was an attempt by British Parliament to limit the colonies´ ability to create their own currency. It was an attempt by the British Empire to control the colonies and to solve the ongoing inflattion. -
Stamp act
The Stamp Act was the first attempt of the British Parlament to increase their revenue by direct taxation of all colonial commercial and legal papers, newspapers, pamphlets, etc, This was a common revenue device in England but the colonists reacted with protests, riots and a massive refusal to use the stamps. -
Quartering act
Quartering Act was a requirement by the British Parliament, forcing the colonies to provide food, shelters, fuel, and transportation to the British army stationed in different colonial towns and villages. The huge unpopularity of this provision is reflected in the Third Ammendment to the US Constitution which forbids the act in peacetime. -
Declaration act
Declaratory Act of the 1766: the British Parliament finally repeals the Stamp Act (after massive protests, riots and backlash in the american colonies ) butdeclares that the British Crown has the right to tax the colonies as part of the British Empire. -
Townsend Review act
The Townsend Review Act was a group of 4 legislation acts proposed by British Chancellor Charles Townsend and passed by the Parliament to try and assert authority over the restless American colonies. -
Boston Massacare
Boston Massacre happened in March 1770 when the British soldiers stationed on Boston opened fire on an unharmed crowd killing 5 people and accelarating the growing anti-British feelings of the colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party was an incident in December 16, 1773 when 342 chests of tea belonging to a British Company were thrown from the ships into the Boston Harbor by the american revolutionary. The protest was against the tax on tea and the monopoly of the British Companies. -
Boston Port act
The Boston Port Act was passed by the British Parliament in direct reprisal to Boston Tea Party. It closed down the port of Boston to any ships and supplies until the East India Company would be reimbursed for their losses. -
Administrative of justice act
Administrative of justice act ( or the Murder Act) was trying to protect the British officials who were charged with capital offenses while suppressing the protests in Massachusetts Bay Colony. -
Massachusetts government act
The Massachusetts Government Act declared that the government of the Massachusetts Bay colony established in 1691 as a charter is not following the British rule and it had too much democratic representation which was a threat to an absolutist rule. -
Quebec act
The Quebeq act of 1774 was an attempt of the British parliament to make the French colony of Canada a province of the British Empire in North America. -
Minutemen
The Minutemen were militiaman who agreed to be ready for military combat at a minute´s warning -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a gathering of the representatives of all colonies ( minus Georgia) in 1774 in Philadelphia. It was a show of unity for Boston against the Brituish Empire. -
Lexington and Concord
The battles at Lexington and Concord were the first official military confrontations of the Revolutionary War. The American army won both battles sending a strong message to the British Empire. -
Bunker Hill
Bunker Hill was a battle fought in 1775 , during the siege of Boston. It was one of the first battles of the Independence War and it was won by the Britush Army. -
"Give me liberty or give me death" Speech
One of the most famous quotations from the Revolutionary war belongs to the brilliant orator Patrick Henry during a speech delivered at the Virginia Convention. The powerful words convinced Virginia leadership to provide troops for the War effort. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1775. The representants of the thirtheen colonies were present. The second Congress dealt mainly with the war effort and strategy. -
Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence is a statement voted during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1776. It declares that the Thirteens colonies are independent sovereign states no longer under British empire rule. -
Saratoga
The battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary War, mostly because the colonists' victory convinced the French government to officially recognize the right of the colonisys claim to independence and to declare France an ally. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederations was the first Constitution adopted by the 13 colonies in 1777. It was replaced by the actual Constitution of the USA 12 years later. -
French alliance
The French government signed an alliance with the 13 colonies on February 6th, 1778. The agreement provided the american revolutionary with military and monetary support. It represented a major turning point in the war, tipping the victory chances towards the insurgent colonies. -
Yorktown
The battle of Yorktown was the last major battle in the Revolutionary War after 6 long and bloody years.The American Army was under George Washington leadership. Their victory forced the British government to start negotiating an end to the war. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris in 1783 by the delegations of Great Britain and United States, France and Spain. It officially ended the 6 years long Revolutionary War and it recognized the independence pf the United States. -
US Constitution signing
The signing of the US Constitution took place on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia.All colonies were represented minus Rhode Island. 38 people signed the Constitution, including a very frail 81 years old Benjamin Franklin.