AP US History - Period 1 and Period 2 Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, economic concepts, and cultural developments from AP US History Period 1 and Period 2 lecture notes.

Middle Colonies

Known as the "Bread colonies" for their production of wheat and grain, featuring rich soil for large-scale agriculture, good shipping ports, and high religious freedom making them the most ethnically diverse region in the American colonies.

Quakers

Also known as the Society of Friends; early colonial advocates for the abolition of slavery whose colony of Pennsylvania was founded as a haven by William Penn in 1681.

Enlightenment

Cultural movement of intellectuals beginning in late 17th-century Europe emphasizing reason rather than tradition, whose political ideals later influenced the American Declaration of Independence.

John Locke

English political philosopher whose ideas inspired the American Revolution; he wrote that human beings have rights to life, liberty, and property, and that citizens have a right to rebel if government fails to protect these rights.

Half-Way Covenant

A policy in Puritan colonies allowing children of church members who had not yet achieved grace themselves to participate in certain church affairs.

Great Awakening

A sudden outbreak of religious fervor that swept through the colonies in the 1730s, leading to the founding of higher learning colleges like Princeton, Brown, and Dartmouth and breaking down sectional and denominational lines.

George Whitefield

Anglican minister from England and leader of the Great Awakening whose powerful, emotional preaching moved listeners to tears and brought people to God.

Jonathan Edwards

Prominent minister during the Great Awakening famous for preaching the "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" sermon.

Salutary Neglect

A period from 1607 to 1763 in which England did not strictly enforce Parliamentary laws, allowing the colonies to flourish as almost independent states.

Zenger Trial

A 1734–1735 trial in New York where newspaper printer John Peter Zenger exposed the corrupt royal governor and was declared innocent of libel, marking a major victory for freedom of the press.

Junipero Serra

A Roman Catholic Spanish Franciscan friar who founded 9 of the 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco, designed primarily to convert Native Americans.

Pueblo Revolt

A 1680 revolt by Pueblo Indians against Spanish colonists in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that temporarily ended Spanish rule in New Mexico.

Jamestown

First permanent English colony in America, founded in 1607 by the joint-stock Virginia Company, which became economically successful when John Rolfe began growing tobacco for export.

John Rolfe

English settler at Jamestown (who married Pocahontas) who discovered how to successfully grow and cure tobacco for export, making Virginia economically successful.

House of Burgesses

Established in Virginia in 1619, it was the first legislative body in colonial America and served as a model for other colonial legislatures.

Pilgrims

Separatists who broke away from the Church of England, settled in Plymouth in 1620, and established self-government through the Mayflower Compact.

Puritans

Non-separatists who sought to purify the Church of England, settled Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629, and aimed to be a "city upon a hill" under Governor John Winthrop.

Roger Williams

Colonist forced out of Massachusetts for promoting religious freedom and questioning treatment of Native Americans, who went on to establish Rhode Island.

Anne Hutchinson

Colonist banished from Massachusetts because she attacked the Puritan doctrine of predestination and traditional gender roles.

King Phillip's War

Conflict in New England led by Chief Metacom (King Phillip) resisting Puritan expansion; the Native American defeat ensured they would never again seriously threaten New England colonies.

Bacon's Rebellion

Uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon and former indentured servants against Virginia's government for failing to protect them from Native Americans, prompting wealthy landowners to transition to African slave labor.

Slave Codes

A series of laws passed in Southern colonies to defend the status of slaves and codify the denial of basic civil rights to them, following West Indies precedent.

Stono Revolt

A South Carolina slave uprising in which 20 recently arrived slaves armed themselves, killed about 30 colonists, and marched toward Florida, leading to a 10-year shutoff of the slave trade through Charleston.

Triangular Trade

Atlantic trade network forming the backbone of the New England economy, exchanging manufactured goods and rum for African slaves, slaves for Caribbean sugar and molasses, and sugar back to New England.

Middle Passage

The trans-Atlantic leg of the Triangular Trade carrying enslaved Africans to the New World, characterized by horrific conditions and high mortality.

New England Colonies

Northern colonial region marked by a religious and family-oriented society, small farms with diverse crops, good ports, and an economy where slavery was not profitable.

Southern Colonies

Rural colonial region with a severe class system and an economy centered on large single-crop plantations heavily reliant on indentured servants and African slaves.

Southwest Native American Culture (Pueblo)

Native society in arid lands reliant on irrigation to grow maize and other agricultural products, known for building cliff dwellings.

Great Basin and Great Plains Native American Culture (Sioux)

Native societies where a lack of natural resources led to a nomadic lifestyle centered around hunting buffalo.

Northeast Native American Culture (Iroquois)

Atlantic coast and Northeast native society characterized by a mix of agriculture and hunter-gatherer practices in permanent villages.

Encomienda System

System where the Spanish king granted land and native laborers to individual Spaniards, who exploited native labor in farming and mining under the premise of caring for them.

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

Spanish thinker who defended Spain's right to conquer Native Americans, arguing that indigenous populations were barbaric and savage to justify harsh treatment.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Spanish missionary outraged by the encomienda system who advocated for Native American rights directly to King Charles of Spain.

Dutch Colonization

Colonial effort initiated by Henry Hudson establishing claims to New Amsterdam (later New York) focused primarily on economic gain.

Feudalism

Dominant social system in medieval Europe where nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and peasants provided labor and produce in exchange for protection.

Capitalism

Economic system in which trade, industry, and means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, rewarding risk (e.g., Joint Stock Companies).