American Revolution Jeopardy

Review the American Revolution the fun way: a free board covering taxes, battles, and founders that any class can copy and play with phone buzzers.

6 categories · 30 clues · Final Jeopardy · everyone buzzes in from their phone

Copies all 30 clues into an editor of your own. Free, no account needed.

Every clue on this board

This page is public, so anyone can read the answers — copy the board and swap a few clues before game day.

Causes and Taxes

$200
This 1765 act required colonists to pay a tax on printed materials, from newspapers to playing cards.
What is the Stamp Act?
$400
Colonists protested this 1773 event, in which chests of tea were dumped into a Massachusetts harbor.
What is the Boston Tea Party?
$600
This 1770 incident, in which British soldiers killed five colonists, was used as propaganda by Patriots like Paul Revere.
What is the Boston Massacre?
$800
Passed in response to the Tea Party, this series of 1774 laws closed a major colonial port and were dubbed the Intolerable Acts by colonists.
What are the Coercive Acts?
$1,000
This protest slogan captured colonial anger at being taxed by a Parliament in which they had no elected voice.
What is "no taxation without representation"?

Founding Figures

$200
This Virginia planter commanded the Continental Army and later became the first US president.
Who is George Washington?
$400
This Boston silversmith made a famous night ride in 1775 to warn that British troops were coming.
Who is Paul Revere?
$600
This Philadelphia printer and inventor served as a diplomat who helped secure French support for the Revolution.
Who is Benjamin Franklin?
$800
This Prussian drillmaster trained Continental soldiers at a Pennsylvania winter encampment in 1778.
Who is Baron von Steuben?
$1,000
This young French aristocrat volunteered without pay and became one of Washington's most trusted generals.
Who is the Marquis de Lafayette?

Major Battles

$200
This 1775 battle near Boston is remembered for the order not to fire until the whites of the enemy's eyes could be seen.
What is the Battle of Bunker Hill?
$400
Washington crossed an icy river on Christmas night 1776 to launch a surprise attack on Hessian forces in a New Jersey town.
What is the Battle of Trenton?
$600
This October 1777 American victory in upstate New York convinced France to formally ally with the colonies.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
$800
This brutal winter encampment of 1777-1778 tested the Continental Army's endurance without a major battle.
What is Valley Forge?
$1,000
Fought in the South Carolina backcountry in January 1781, this battle badly weakened British forces before the war's final campaign.
What is the Battle of Cowpens?

The Declaration of Independence

$200
This Virginia delegate is credited as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.
Who is Thomas Jefferson?
$400
The Declaration was formally adopted by the Second Continental Congress on this date in 1776.
What is July 4, 1776?
$600
The Declaration lists a long set of grievances against this British monarch.
Who is King George III?
$800
This Philadelphia building, where the Declaration was signed, is now a national historic site.
What is Independence Hall?
$1,000
This unalienable right, named alongside life and liberty, is third in the Declaration's list of self-evident truths.
What is the pursuit of happiness?

A Soldier's Life

$200
Continental Army soldiers typically wore coats of this color, distinguishing them from British troops.
What is blue?
$400
This term names the part-time citizen soldiers, often farmers, who could be called up for short local service.
What is a militia?
$600
Many soldiers at the harsh winter encampment of 1777-1778 went without this basic footwear.
What are shoes?
$800
This nickname was given to Mary Ludwig Hays for reportedly carrying water to soldiers and manning a cannon at the Battle of Monmouth.
Who is Molly Pitcher?
$1,000
This medical procedure, often performed without anesthesia by army surgeons, was the common treatment for a badly wounded limb.
What is amputation?

Allies and the World Stage

$200
This European kingdom formally allied with the United States in 1778 and provided troops, ships, and money.
What is France?
$400
This European nation extended loans to the American cause and, in 1782, became the second country to recognize American independence.
What is the Netherlands?
$600
This French naval commander helped trap a British fleet at the Chesapeake Bay in 1781, cutting off its escape by sea.
Who is the Comte de Grasse?
$800
Though it never signed a formal treaty with the Americans, this European power quietly supplied gunpowder and funds from early in the war.
What is Spain?
$1,000
This 1783 treaty, signed in a French capital, formally ended the Revolutionary War and recognized American independence.
What is the Treaty of Paris?

Final Jeopardy — The World Turned Upside Down

Cornwallis surrendered his army after this 1781 siege in Virginia, the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

What is the Battle of Yorktown?

How to run this board

Taxation without representation, midnight rides, and a ragtag army that beat an empire - this board covers the full arc of the Revolution, from the protests of the 1760s to the surrender at Yorktown.

The six categories move from causes to consequences, so playing left to right doubles as a chronology review. If your students have not played before, run one practice clue so they learn the buzzer rhythm before points count.

A good wrinkle for this unit: let each team consult for ten seconds before buzzing on the two highest-value rows, which rewards discussion over reflexes.

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