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Vocabulary for Chapters 7 and 8 of The American Pageant, 13th Edition

John Hancock

(1737-93) U.S. merchant, politician, and Revolutionary leader. A wealthy Bostonian, he protested against British rule, served in the Continental Congress (1775-80) as its president, and was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Lord North

(1732-1792) Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Britain through the majority of the American War for Independence.

George Greenville

(1712-1770) British Whig Statesman who became Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1763. His best know policy is the Stamp Act.

Samuel Adams

(1722-1803) Statesmen, political philosopher, and Founding Father of the United Sates. He served in the Continental Congress and helped to draft the Articles of Confederation.

Charles Townshend

(1725-1767) British politician who gave birth to the Townshend Acts. He died suddenly after the act went into effect.

John Adams

(1735-1826) First vice-president and second president of the United States. He played a leading part in the American Revolution, shaping the Constitution and helping to draft the Declaration of Independence.

Marquis de Lafayette

(1757-1834) French soldier and politician. He served on George Washington's staff during the American Revolution. In France, he took part in the 1789 and 1830 revolutions. He designed the modern French flag.

King George III

(1738-1830) King of Great Britain and Ireland (1760-1820) and Hanover (1815-20). His attempts to interfere in government were instrumental in the loss of the American colonies.

Baron von Steuben

(1730-94) U.S. Revolution War soldier born in Prussia. After considerable European military action, he came to America to aid the rebelling colonists. His primary contribution included training the previously undisciplined American troops.

Thomas Hutchinson

(1711-1780) British royal governor of colonial Massachusetts from 1771 to 1774 and prominent Loyalist.

Benjamin Franklin

(1706- 96) U.S. Statesmen, philosopher, physicist, and journalist. Following the success of Poor Richards Almanac, he entered politics and played a major rule in the American Revolution. He is remembered for his work on the Constitution and the invention of the lightening rod.

Edmund Burke

(1729-97) British political writer and politician. He pleaded on behalf of the American colonists' appeal for independence and in the late 1780s led the campaign to reduce the influence of the crown.

Adam Smith

(1723-90) Scottish economist and moral philosopher. He came to prominence with his Theory of Moral Sediments (1759) but is known for his great work of political economy, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth in Nations (1776), which laid the foundations of the classical free market economy theory.

Nonimportation agreement

A series of commercial restrictions adopted by American colonists to protest British revenue prior to the American Revolution.

Sugar Act

A revenue raising act passed by Parliament on April 5, 1764.

Townshend Acts

A series of acts passed beginning in 1767 by the Parliament of Great Britain named for Charles Townshend, who proposed the program. The resistance of these acts led to the Boston Massacre.

Quartering Act

Act passed by Parliament requiring that the British redcoats be housed by the citizens of the colonists.

William Howe

(1729-1814) British Army officer who rose to commander-in- chief of British forces during the American Revolution.

Nathanael Green

(1742-1786) Major General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. When the war ended, he had a reputation as George Washington's most gifted officer.

Benedict Arnold

(1741-1801) Revolutionary soldier and traitor. He was appointed commander of West Point in 1780. He offered to surrender the fort to the British for 20,000 pounds. The British go-between was captured while carrying papers implicating him, and the plane was foiled.

John Burgoyne

(1722-1792) British officer. A major general in the American Revolution, he captured Fort Ticonderoga on July 6, 1777. His army was defeated by American forces at the Battle of Saratoga on October 17, 1777.

Charles Cornwallis

(1738-1805) British soldier and statesmen who commanded British forces in South Carolina during the American Revolution. His surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, marked the final British defeat.

John Paul Jones

(1747-92) U.S. navel hero, born in Scotland. In command of a French force, he raided the British coast in 1779, destroying two British warships. He later became a admiral in the Russian navy. He died in Paris.

Admiral de Grasse

(1722-1788) French admiral who is best known for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, which led directly to the British surrender at Yorktown.

Comte de Rochambeau

(1725-1807) French army officer. A veteran of several European wars, he came to America with 6,000 troops to help fight for American independence. In 1781, he helped to defeat the British at Yorktown, the last major battle of the revolution.

Ethan Allen

(1738-89) U.S. Revolutionary soldier. He commanded the Green Mountain Boys, who helped capture Fort Ticonderoga form the British in 1775.

Natural rights

Rights that are not contingent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of a society and that are morally universal.


Ships privately owned and manned but authorized by a government during wartime to attack enemy vessels.



Natural aristocracy

An aristocracy which arises out of work and competition rather than birth, education, or special privilege.

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