Colonial America to Early Republic – Key Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering inheritance customs, economic systems, labor arrangements, major rebellions, constitutional principles, landmark legislation, court cases, and sectional differences from colonial America through the early republic.

Primogeniture

Inheritance system in which the eldest son receives all of his father’s estate

Barbados Slave Code of 1661

Harsh set of laws imported to Virginia and the Carolinas that gave masters total control over enslaved people, including brutal punishment

Mercantilism

Economic theory that colonies exist to enrich the mother country by supplying raw materials and buying finished goods

Bullionism

Mercantilist belief that a nation’s wealth is measured by its stock of gold and silver

Triangular Trade

Three-legged Atlantic exchange of slaves (Africa→Americas), raw materials (Americas→Europe), and manufactured goods (Europe→Africa)

Middle Passage

Deadly trans-Atlantic voyage that carried enslaved Africans to the Americas

Cash Crop

Agricultural product grown primarily for sale and profit rather than personal use

Tobacco ("King Nicotine")

Virginia’s primary and most valuable southern cash crop in the colonial era

Indentured Servant System

Labor arrangement in which migrants worked for a set term to repay passage to America, after which they gained freedom

Headright System

Policy granting 50 acres to anyone who paid an immigrant’s passage, encouraging importation of labor

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

Uprising of Virginia farmers and ex-indentured servants protesting economic hardship and native policy, exposing class tensions

White Supremacy

Ideology asserting that white people are inherently superior; colonial laws reinforced racial hierarchy

Columbian Exchange

Widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Old and New Worlds after 1492 (coined by Alfred W. Crosby)

Direct (Actual) Representation

Political principle that a population should be represented by someone they elect from their own community

Virtual Representation

British claim that Parliament represented all subjects, even those who did not elect its members

Articles of Confederation

America’s first national government, weak because it lacked power to tax or regulate commerce

Newburgh Conspiracy (1783)

Threatened military revolt by unpaid Continental Army officers; defused by George Washington

Land Ordinance of 1785

Plan to survey and sell western lands, creating townships to raise federal revenue

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Framework for governing territories north of the Ohio River and admitting new equal-status states

Shays’ Rebellion (1786-87)

Massachusetts farmers’ uprising over taxes and debt; highlighted weaknesses of the Articles and spurred calls for a stronger constitution

Constitutional Convention (1787)

Philadelphia meeting of delegates who replaced the Articles of Confederation with the U.S. Constitution

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

Agreement for a bicameral Congress with proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate

Three-Fifths Compromise

Constitutional formula counting enslaved people as 3⁄5 of a person for representation and taxation

10th Amendment

Part of the Bill of Rights reserving to the states or people powers not delegated to the federal government

Compact Theory

View that the Constitution is a pact among states, which can judge federal overreach

Separation of Powers

Division of governmental authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches

Federalism

System that splits governing power between national and state levels

Enumerated (Delegated) Powers

Specific authorities granted to the federal government by the Constitution (27 listed)

Reserved (Residual) Powers

Powers not given to the federal government and not prohibited to the states, retained under the 10th Amendment

Concurrent Powers

Authorities shared by both federal and state governments, such as taxing and borrowing

Elastic Clause (Necessary and Proper Clause)

Constitutional provision allowing Congress to pass laws needed to carry out its enumerated powers

Nullification

Doctrine claiming a state may invalidate a federal law it deems unconstitutional (e.g., Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions)

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

1798-99 statements asserting state power to judge federal laws; response to the Alien and Sedition Acts

Quasi-War (1798-1800)

Undeclared naval conflict between the United States and France following the XYZ Affair

XYZ Affair

Diplomatic scandal in which French agents demanded bribes from U.S. envoys, inflaming anti-French sentiment

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Supreme Court case that established judicial review, empowering courts to strike down unconstitutional laws

Judicial Review

Power of the Supreme Court to declare legislative or executive acts unconstitutional

Sectional Differences – North

Region favoring industry, free labor, a national bank, hard currency, and federal internal improvements

Sectional Differences – South

Agricultural, slave-based region preferring weak currency, state banks, and limited federal improvements

Sectional Differences – West

Frontier region focused on expansion, agriculture, internal improvements, free labor, and soft currency