American History to 1877 - HIST 121 Resource Guide

Historian and author of A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn presents a moral perspective on early America, citing events and movements rarely covered in U.S. history textbooks.

The first sparks of rebellion against the British Crown, the Declaration of Independence, and the unfolding drama of the American Revolution are examined in this program. T

Loyalists in the American War of Independence were those colonists who, by some public or covert actions, demonstrated their continued allegiance to Great Britain and opposition to government by the revolutionary authorities.

1774-89, federal legislature of the Thirteen Colonies and later of the United States in the American Revolution and under the Articles of Confederation (see Confederation, Articles of).

Raising of money from individuals and organizations by the state in order to pay for the goods and services it provides.

Revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville.

From The Reader's Companion to American History
The Townshend Acts were a series of measures introduced
into Parliament by Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend in 1767.

A form of dictatorial, one-person government characterized by injustice and lack of respect for the rights of individual citizens.

A riot on 5 March 1770, arising from the resentment of Boston citizens against British troops quartered in the city.

American patriots, disguised as Mohawks, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, in protest against the British Tea Act.

First skirmish of the American Revolution.

The battles in and around New York City in the summer and fall of 1776 had gone badly for the American revolutionaries. The British had taken the city and established posts across from New York in New Jersey and up the Hudson River. Meanwhile, General George Washington knew that the enlistments of many of his few remaining troops would end on December 31, 1776. He needed a victory both to support the patriot cause and to maintain his army.

On October 6, 1781, the British, French, and American armies converged around Yorktown, Virginia, for what would be the final and decisive battle of the American War of Independence.

The American victory induced the French to offer open recognition and military aid.

Full and formal declaration adopted July 4, 1776, by representatives of the Thirteen Colonies in North America announcing the separation of those colonies from Great Britain and making them into the United States.