• Continental Congress—Colonies sent delegates to this meeting in 1774 to decide
on unified action against the Intolerable Acts
• Governor—The head of a state government who carries out the laws of that state
• Stamp Act—An unpopular tax by the British government to raise revenue in
the colonies
• Townshend Acts—British taxes on imports of paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea
• Confederation—A group of states united for a common purpose but having a
weak central government
• President—The head of the national government, who carries out national laws
• Tariff—A tax, most often on imports
• Treaty—Agreement between countries, often at the end of a war
• Currency—Coins and paper money
• Congress—Representatives who make laws
• Treaty of Paris (1783)—Treaty ending the Revolutionary War, in which Britain
recognized the United States as an independent nation