American Revolution Quiz

The American Revolution (1765-1783) was a political upheaval through which the thirteen American colonies broke from British rule and established the United States of America. Beginning with colonial resistance to British taxation (particularly "taxation without representation"), the revolution evolved into armed conflict with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, formal independence declared on July 4, 1776, and military victory achieved with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Causes, Key Figures, and Battles

Colonial grievances centered on parliamentary acts including the Stamp Act (1765), Townshend Acts (1767), and Tea Act (1773), which led to the Boston Tea Party - Colonists dumping 342 chests of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor to protest taxation without representation. The Boston Massacre (1770) inflamed colonial opinion. George Washington commanded the Continental Army. Benjamin Franklin served as diplomat to France, securing the crucial French alliance. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. Alexander Hamilton served as Washington's aide-de-camp before becoming the first Secretary of the Treasury.

Key battles include Lexington and Concord (April 1775, "the shot heard 'round the world'"), Bunker Hill (June 1775), Trenton (December 1776, Washington's famous Christmas crossing of the Delaware), Saratoga (1777, the turning point that brought France into the war), Valley Forge (the brutal winter encampment of 1777-78), and Yorktown (1781, the final major battle where Cornwallis surrendered). The Treaty of Paris (September 1783) confirmed American independence and British recognition of US territory. The US Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788, established the government of the new nation.