American Revolution

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People of the American Revolution

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Samuel Adams

• 1722 – 1803• Boston Patriot• Organized Sons of

Liberty – led protests against Stamp Act of 1765

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Benjamin Franklin

• 1706 – 1790• Philadelphia• Diplomat, inventor,

publisher• 1st public library, 1st

newspaper• Helped write

Declaration of Independence

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King George III

• 1738 - 1820• King of England • Taxed British colonies

in America to help pay for cost of French and Indian War and defending the colonies

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Thomas Jefferson

• 1743 – 1826• Virginia House of

Burgesses age 26• Continental Congress

1775• Author of Declaration

of Independence 1776

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Marquis de Lafayette

• 1757 – 1834• French soldier• Joined Washington’s

staff at Valley Forge at age 19

• Became a general in Continental Army

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Thomas Paine

• 1737 – 1809• Moved from England

to Philadelphia in 1774

• Leading Patriot in fight against England

• Common Sense 1776

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George Washington

• 1732 – 1799• Mt. Vernon, Virginia• Fought alongside

British in French and Indian War 1754-1763

• Led Continental Army during Revolutionary War against British 1775-1781

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Patrick Henry

• 1736 – 1799• Virginia patriot and

lawyer• Supported American

independence from England

• “Give me liberty or give me death!”

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Benedict Arnold

• 1741 – 1801• General during the

Revolutionary War• Led soldiers to victory

at Battle of Saratoga• Turned traitor and

joined the British in 1780

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Paul Revere

• 1735 – 1818• Boston silversmith• Patriot who rode from

Boston to Lexington on April 19, 1775 warning people that the British were coming (Midnight Ride)

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Nathan Hale

• 1755 – 1776• Patriot hanged as a

spy by the British in 1776 during the American Revolution

• “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country!”

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Committees of Correspondence

• Started by Sam Adams

• Groups of colonists formed in 1772 to spread news quickly about protests against the British

• “Express Riders”• Colonial gossip lines

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Crispus Attucks

• 1723? – 1770• African American

patriot• Former slave• Killed in Boston

Massacre on March 5, 1770

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John Paul Jones

• 1747 – 1792• Patriot naval leader• Commanded

American ship Bonhomme Richard

• Defeated British ship Serapis in 1779

• “I have not yet begun to fight!”

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Lord Charles Cornwallis

• 1738 – 1805• Commanding general

of the British forces during Revolutionary War

• Defeated by the Americans at Yorktown in 1781

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John Hancock

• 1737 – 1793• Patriot leader• President of the

Second Continental Congress

• First person to sign the Declaration of Independence

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Deborah Sampson

• 1760 – 1827• Patriot• Disguised herself as a

man to fight in the Revolutionary War

• Known as the Secret Soldier

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Mary Ludwig Hayes

• 1744 – 1832• Patriot known for her

bravery on the battlefield during the Revolutionary War

• Nicknamed “Molly Pitcher”

James Armistead

• An African American slave

• Spied on British troop

• movements and reported it

• to the Americans

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Haym Soloman

• A Jewish Merchant

• Made loans to help finance

• the new government.

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