AP US History - Period 2 Vocab

Bacon’s Rebellion

(1676) Uprising of Virginia backcountry farmers and indentured servants; initially a response to Governor William Berkeley's refusal to protect the backcountry settlers from Indian attacks, the rebellion eventually grew into a broader conflict between impoverished settlers and the planter elite (militia attacked not only Indian villages, but also the royal governor before being defeated)

Chattel Slavery

Absolute legal ownership of another person, including the right to buy or sell that person

Chesapeake Colonies

Virginia and Maryland. In contrast to New England, this region was distinguished by indentured servants, cash crops, and use of enslaved labor from Africa

Enlightenment

A philosophical movement of the eighteenth century which stressed human reasoning over blind faith or obedience and was thus in contrast with much of the religious and political order of the day, while also encouraging scientific thinking

Great Awakening

A period of huge religious revival throughout the colonies, sparked by a few strong religious speakers, called the "new lights"

Indentured Servants

Migrants who, in exchange for transatlantic passage, bound themselves to a colonial employer for a term of service, typically between 4-7 years

John Winthrop

As governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, he was instrumental in forming the colony's government and shaping its legislative policy. He envisioned the colony as a "city upon a hill" from which Puritans would spread religious righteousness throughout the world

King Philip’s/Metacom”s War

(1675-1676) Series of assaults by Metacom (King Philip) on English settlements in New England. The attacks slowed the westward migration of New England setters for several decades and the eventual defeat of The Narragansett and Wampanoag people virtually ended Native American resistance in this region

Mercantilism

An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of wealth and resources, and by selling more goods than they bought

Middle Colonies

English colonies of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Grew cereal crops, and was the most tolerant and diverse of the colonial regions

New England Colonies

English colonies of Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts (and Maine), and Rhode Island. First settled by Puritans, developed around small towns with mixed agriculture

Protestant Reformation/Evangelism

Religious reform movement within the Christian Church beginning in 1519. It split the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the "protesters" forming several new Christian denominations, including the Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican Churches, among many others

Pueblo Revolt

(1680) Native American revolt against the Spanish in late 17th century; expelled the Spanish for over 10 years; Spain began to take an accommodating approach to Natives after the revolt

Puritans

A religious group who wanted to purify the Church of England. They came to America for religious freedom and settled in Massachusetts Bay

Roger Williams

A dissenter, he clashed with Massachusetts Puritans over the issue of separation of church and state. After being banished from Massachusetts in 1636, he traveled south, where he founded the colony of Rhode Island, which granted full religious freedom to its inhabitants

Southern Colonies

Colonies with hot summers and mild winters, focus on cash crops which led to increased demand for enslaved labor

Pilgrims

A name given to the Separatists (wanted to “separate” from the church) within the Church of England who settled Plymouth, Massachusetts

Mayflower Compact

The 1620 agreement made among the Pilgrims and others (whom the Pilgrims called “strangers”) on board the ship that brought them to Plymouth

Puritans

A name given to those more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who wanted to stay in the church but “purify” it of what they saw as Roman Catholic ways

The Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company

The legal charter given to the London-based corporation that launched Massachusetts Bay colony

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

The 1639 charter that Massachusetts authorities allowed a new separate colony based in Hartford to adopt, which confirmed its independence from Massachusetts

Halfway Covenant

Plan adapted in 1662 by New England clergy that allowed adults who had been baptized because their parents were church members, but who had not yet experienced conversion, to have their own children baptized

Proprietary Colony

A colony created when the English monarch granted a huge tract of land to an individual as his private property

Headright System

A system of land distribution during the early colonial era that granted settlers a set amount of land for each “head” (or person) who settled in the colony

Patroons

Dutch settlers who were given vast tracts of land along the Hudson River between New Amsterdam and Albany in return for bringing at least 50 immigrants to work the land

Mestizo

People of mixed bloodlines, usually the children of European fathers and Native American mothers and their decendants

Pueblo Revolt

Rebellion in 1680 of Pueblo Indians in New Mexico against their Spanish overlords, sparked by Spanish suppression of native religious activity and excessive Spanish depends for Indian labor

Glorious Revolution

Bloodless revolt that occurred in England in 1688 when parliamentary leaders invited William of Orange, a Protestant, and his wife Mary, the daughter of King James II, to assume the English throne in place of James II

Divine Right of Kings

A belief that the king-or queen-was selected by God through birth in the royal family and that it was irreligious to question either a monarch’s fitness to serve or a monarch’s decision. During the 1600s, England overthrew two monarch , and afterwards, few still held such a belief

Natural Rights

Political philosophy that maintains that individuals have an inherent right, found in nature and preceding any government or written law, to life and liberty

West Indies

Lots of slave labor, first grew tobacco, cotton, and indigo, eventually switched to sugar

Middle Passage

The forced sea voyage of millions of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade

Mayflower Compact

The first written framework of self-government in British North America, a temporary social contract to maintain order, unity, and survival before stepping ashore between the Separatist Pilgrims and non-religious laborers

“City on a Hill”

John Winthrop's 1630 vision for the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a model Christian community that would be watched and judged by the world

Salutary Neglect

An unofficial British policy in the early-to-mid 18th century where trade rules and laws were loosely enforced in the North American colonies

Anglicization

The practice of modifying words, names, places, or cultures to make them sound, look, or function more like English

Navigation Acts

A series of 17th- and 18th-century British laws designed to restrict colonial trade to English ships and protect mercantilist economic interests

Plantation System

A large-scale agricultural operation focused on producing cash crops for export

Great Migration

The mass movement of approximately six million Black Americans from the rural Southern United States to urban centers in the North, Midwest, and West between 1916 and 1970

Triangular Trade

A historical, three-legged shipping system from the 16th to the 19th centuries that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas

Imperial

The process where a powerful nation extends its political, economic, or military control over weaker foreign territories or peoples

Autonomy

The right or condition of self-government, political independence, or freedom

Cash Crops

An agricultural product grown specifically to be sold for profit and export rather than consumed by the farmer's family

Pluralism

A society where multiple distinct religious, ethnic, and cultural groups coexist and interact within the same framework

Higherarchical

Describes a system or society organized by ranked levels of power, status, or authority

Overt Resistance

Open, direct, and visible acts of defiance against authority or oppression

Covert Resistance

Hidden, subtle, or indirect actions used by enslaved people to undermine and cope with the institution of slavery without engaging in open confrontation

Dehumanize

To view, represent, or treat a person or group as less than human, stripping them of their individuality, dignity, and basic human rights

Commerce

Refers to the buying, selling, and exchange of goods, services, and money

House of Burgesses

The first democratically elected legislative body in English North America, established in the Colony of Virginia in 1819