apush period 2

Atlantic Economy

The interconnected economic system involving Europe, Africa, and the Americas, fueled by trade in goods, enslaved people, and raw materials across the Atlantic Ocean.

Atlantic Slave Trade

The forced transportation of millions of Africans to the Americas as part of the triangular trade; key to plantation economies.

Bacon’s Rebellion

A 1676 uprising of Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor Berkeley, highlighting tensions between frontier settlers and colonial elites.

Bread-basket Colonies

Refers to the Middle Colonies (like Pennsylvania and New York) that produced large amounts of grain due to fertile soil and a moderate climate.

British Colonization

The process of settling the East Coast of North America, driven by goals of wealth, religious freedom, and imperial competition.

Chattel Slavery

A system in which enslaved people were treated as property, inherited and bought/sold with no legal rights, central to plantation economies.

Chesapeake and North Carolina Colonies

Colonies like Virginia and Maryland, focused on tobacco cultivation, with economies reliant on indentured servitude and slavery.

Christianity

The dominant religion of European colonizers, used both as a motive for colonization and a justification for converting Indigenous peoples.

Colonial Legislatures

Elected assemblies (e.g., House of Burgesses) in the colonies that gave settlers a degree of self-government under British oversight.

Covert Resistance to Slavery

Hidden ways enslaved people resisted oppression, such as working slowly, pretending not to understand, or sabotaging tools.

Dutch Colonization

Focused on trade and commerce, especially in New Netherland (modern-day New York), with diverse populations and tolerance policies.

Elite Planters

Wealthy landowners in the Southern Colonies who dominated the economy and politics through large plantations and enslaved labor.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individual rights, and scientific thought, which influenced colonial leaders and revolutionary ideas.

Epidemic Diseases

Illnesses like smallpox and measles brought by Europeans that devastated Native American populations due to lack of immunity.

First Great Awakening

A religious revival in the 1730s–1740s that emphasized emotional spirituality, repentance, and personal connection with God.

French Colonization

Focused on the fur trade, alliances with Native tribes, and the interior of North America, including Canada and the Mississippi River valley.

Fur Trade

Economic exchange between European colonizers (especially French and Dutch) and Native Americans, centered on beaver pelts.

Head-right System

A land grant program that gave settlers land (typically 50 acres) for each person they brought to the colony, encouraging immigration and labor.

House of Burgesses

The first elected legislative assembly in the American colonies, established in Virginia in 1619, a step toward representative government.

Imperial Policies

Rules and regulations from European mother countries intended to control their colonies, such as taxes, trade laws, and military presence.

Indentured Servant

A laborer who agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for passage to the colonies, often before slavery became widespread.

Intermarriage

Marriages between Europeans and Indigenous or African people, more common in Spanish and French colonies than in English ones.

Jamestown Colony

The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607 in Virginia; struggled early with disease and food shortages.

John Winthrop

Leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who envisioned it as a "city upon a hill" representing a model Christian society.

Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

A famous sermon from the First Great Awakening warning of divine wrath and the need for repentance.

John Smith

A leader in Jamestown who helped stabilize the colony with his leadership and the motto “He who does not work, shall not eat.”

King Philip’s War

A violent conflict (1675-1676) between New England colonists and Native Americans led by Metacom (King Philip), resulting in massive losses for Native tribes.

Mayflower Compact

An early form of self-government signed by Pilgrims in 1620, pledging to create and obey laws for the good of the colony.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where colonies existed to benefit the mother country through controlled trade and accumulation of wealth.

Middle Colonies

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; known for diversity, trade, and mixed farming economies.

Navigation Acts

British laws that restricted colonial trade to benefit England and enforce mercantilism, leading to colonial resentment.

New England Colonies

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire; characterized by religious motivations, small farms, and town-centered life.

New France

French colonial territory in North America, especially around the St. Lawrence River and Mississippi Valley; focused on trade and alliances with Natives.

New Netherlands

Dutch colony along the Hudson River, with New Amsterdam (now NYC) as its capital; known for trade and diversity.

New Spain

Spanish territories in the Americas, including Mexico, Florida, and much of South America, focused on extraction of wealth and Christianization.

Overt Resistance to Slavery

Open acts of rebellion by enslaved people, including running away, revolts, and physical defiance.

Participatory Town Meetings

Local government practices in New England where male landowners met to make decisions on public issues.

Plymouth Colony

Founded in 1620 by Pilgrims seeking religious freedom; known for the Mayflower Compact and early cooperation with Native Americans.

Predestination

A Calvinist belief that God has already chosen who will be saved; influenced Puritan theology and behavior.

Protestant Evangelicalism

A religious movement emphasizing personal conversion, Biblical authority, and spreading the Christian message, especially during the Great Awakening.

Pueblo Revolt

A 1680 uprising of Pueblo Indians in New Mexico that temporarily drove out Spanish settlers and disrupted their mission system.

Puritans

English Protestants who wanted to purify the Church of England and established strict religious communities in New England.

Quakers

A pacifist religious group that believed in equality, inner light, and religious tolerance; led by William Penn in founding Pennsylvania.

Religious Toleration

The acceptance of different religious beliefs; promoted in colonies like Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.

Roanoke Colony

England’s first attempt at colonization in the Americas, which mysteriously disappeared by 1590; known as the “Lost Colony.”

Salem Witch Trials

A series of trials and executions in 1692 Massachusetts fueled by religious hysteria, fear of outsiders, and local tensions.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of loosely enforcing colonial regulations, allowing the colonies a degree of autonomy and fostering independence.

Slave Codes

Laws in the colonies that defined the status of enslaved people and the rights of slave owners, reinforcing the racial caste system.

Southern Colonies

Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia; economies based on cash crops and enslaved labor.

Spanish Colonization

Spain’s imperial expansion into the Americas, marked by conquest, conversion of Natives, and exploitation of resources.

Spanish Mission System

Religious and military outposts used by Spain to convert and control Native populations in the Southwest and California.

Starving Time

The winter of 1609–1610 in Jamestown when food shortages, disease, and conflict with Natives led to massive death.

Stono Rebellion

A 1739 slave uprising in South Carolina, one of the largest in colonial America, leading to stricter slave laws.

Tobacco

A cash crop that became central to the economies of the Chesapeake colonies and fueled demand for labor, including slavery.

Trial of Anne Hutchinson

A Puritan woman tried and banished from Massachusetts for challenging gender roles and religious authority.

Triangular Trade

The transatlantic trade network that linked Europe, Africa, and the Americas, involving slaves, sugar, rum, and other goods.

Zenger Trial

A 1735 court case that promoted freedom of the press after John Peter Zenger was acquitted for criticizing the colonial governor.