SOCIAL STUDIES GRADE 8 CHAPTER 6 VOCABULARY

 

Thomas Paine: Author who criticized the idea of being ruled by kings. He said Americans  

                            would be better off if they ruled themselves.

           

Richard Henry Lee: Virginia delegate who introduced a resolution to the Continental Congress

                                    that proclaimed that “these United States United Colonies are, and of right

                                    ought to be, free and independent states.”

           

Resolution: Formal statement of opinion   

  

Preamble: Introduction     

    

Grievances: Formal complaints

 

Nathan Hale: Connecticut officer who spied on the British. He was caught and hanged.

 

Mercenary: Soldier who serves another country for money.

 

Alliance: A formal agreement between two powers to work together towards a common goal.

 

Marquis de Lafayette: French noble who became a high-ranking officer in Washington’s army.

 

Friedrich von Steuben: German baron who had served in the Prussian army and helped train

                                          the Continental army.

 

Enlist: Sign up for duty

 

Civilians: People not in the military

 

Continental: Paper money

 

George Rogers Clark: Won major victories on the Ohio Valley front. He and his men captured

                                        the British outposts at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes.

 

Bernardo de Galvez: Louisiana governor who secretly supplied the Americans with money and

                                     supplies.

 

John Paul Jones: Commander of the ship that defeated the British in the most famous naval

                                battle of the Revolution.

 

Privateers: Armed civilian ships that had their governments’ permission to attack enemy ships

                     and keep their goods.

 

Charles Cornwallis: British commander who carried the war into North Carolina. He eventually

                                    surrenders to American and French force at Yorktown to end the war.

 

Guerrillas: Fighters who work in small bands to make hit-and-run attacks.

 

Francis Marion: Guerrilla leader who had great success in attacking the British. Known as the

                              Swamp Fox.

 

Nathanael Greene: American general who took control of the Continental army in the South

                                    in 1780 and split it in two. This strategy led to a major American victory at

                                    the Battle of Cowpens.

 

Traitor: A person who turns against one side in a conflict to help the other side.