Chapter 8: America Secedes from the Empire, 1775-1783
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Arsenal
| a place for making or storing weapons and ammunition.
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Blockade
| the isolation of a place by hostile ships or troops.
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Confiscate
| to seize private property for public use, often as a penalty.
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Dictatorship
| a form of government characterized by absolute state power and the unlimited authority of the ruler.
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Envoy
| a messenger or agent sent by a government on official business.
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Graft
| taking advantage of one's official position to gain money or property by illegal means.
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Indictment
| a formal written accusation charging someone with a crime.
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Isolationist
| concerning the belief that a country should take little or no part in foreign affairs, especially through alliances or wars.
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Mercenary
| a professional soldier who serves in a foreign army for pay.
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Militiamen
| soldiers who were not members of a regular army but ordinary citizens called out in case of emergencies.
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Neutral
| a nation or person not taking sides in a war.
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Privateer
| a private vessel temporarily authorized to capture or plunder enemy ships in wartime.
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Rabble
| a mass of disorderly and crude common people.
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Republic
| nation in which supreme power resides in the citizens, who elect representatives to govern them.
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Traitor
| one who betrays a country by aiding an enemy. |
