apush key terms (1-75)

Mayflower Compact

Mayflower Compact

The first self-government agreement in America, signed by 41 men on the Mayflower, establishing a government for the Plymouth colony.

William Bradford

The second governor of the Plymouth colony, known for developing private land ownership and aiding colonists in times of crisis.

Pilgrims vs Puritans

Pilgrims were separatists who fled to America, while Puritans sought to reform the Church of England and settled in the Massachusetts Bay area.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Established in 1629 by King Charles, it promoted political freedom and representative government.

Puritan migration

The influx of Puritans to America in the 1630s and 1640s, significantly increasing the population of the Massachusetts Bay colony.

Church of England (Anglican Church)

The national church of England founded by King Henry VIII, blending Catholic and Protestant elements.

John Winthrop

The first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, served from 1630-1649, puritan who advocated for a small group of skilled leaders to govern and opposed total democracy. Helped organize the New England Confederation in 1643and served as its first president.

Congregational Church, Cambridge Platform

Founded by separatists, emphasizing morality over church dogma.

Puritan colonies

Self-governed towns in accordance with Puritan beliefs, allowing only "elect" members to vote and hold office.

Anne Hutchinson

Preached direct communication with God, leading to her expulsion from Massachusetts in 1637.

Roger Williams

Founded Rhode Island in 1635, offering complete religious freedom.

Half-way Covenant

Allowed the children of church members in Puritan colonies to participate in some church affairs.

Thomas Hooker

Clergyman and founder of Hartford, advocating for the right of people to choose their magistrates.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

set up a unified government for the towns of the connecticut area. first constitution written in America.

Massachusetts School Law

First public education legislation in America, requiring towns to hire schoolmasters and found grammar schools.

Harvard University

Established in 1636, following Puritan beliefs.

New England Confederation

Formed in 1643 for defense and dispute resolution among New England colonies.

King Philip's War

A series of battles in New Hampshire in 1675 between the colonists and the Wampanoags, led by a native american chief known as King Philip. The war was started when the Massachusetts government tried to assert court jurisdiction over the local Indians. The colonists won with the help of the Mohawks, and this victory opened up additional Indian lands for expansion.

Dominion of New England

British province combining colonies, dissolved in 1692 after colonist revolt.

Joint stock company

Company where shareholders contribute money and share profits and debts.

Virginia

Formed as a profit venture, faced early challenges but succeeded with tobacco cultivation.

Headright system

system that gave land grants to colonists bringing indentured servants to Virginia.

John Smith

Helped found and govern Jamestown, ensuring its survival.

John Rolfe

Introduced successful tobacco cultivation in Virginia, boosting its economy, married pocahontas.

Slavery in the colonies

In 1619, the first African slaves arrived in the Virginia colony.

House of Burgesses

Formed in 1619, the first legislative body in colonial America.

Bacon's Rebellion

Nathaniel Bacon and other western Virginia settlers were angry at Virginia Governor Berkeley for trying to appease the Doeg Indians after the Doegs attacked the western settlements. The frontiersmen formed an army, with Bacon as its leader, which defeated the Indians and then marched on Jamestown and burned the city. The rebellion ended suddenly when Bacon died of an illness, happened in 1676.

Georgia

colony established in 1733 as a buffer and haven for the poor and persecuted.

James Oglethorpe

Founder and governor of the Georgia colony, enforced strict rules.

Carolinas

Granted by Charles II, split into North and South due to regional conflicts.

Staple crops in the South

Tobacco, rice, and indigo.

Pennsylvania

Founded by William Penn in 1681, offering religious freedom, provided a haven for quakers.

New York

Dutch colony taken by the English in 1664 when King Charles gave the land to the Duke of York.

Five Nations

Federation of native american tribes in northern New York, powerful during the 1700s.

staple crops in the Middle Colonies

Primarily grain and corn.

urban centers in the colonies

New York and Philadelphia emerged as trade and immigrant hubs, playing roles in American Independence.

Benjamin Franklin

Respected Founding Father known for his diverse contributions and discoveries.

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island

Colonies founded for religious freedom and protection.

Great Awakening

Religious revival in the 1730s, unifying the colonies.

George Whitefield

Leader of the Great Awakening and the "New Lights."

New Lights

New religious movements during the Great Awakening, breaking from established congregational churches (old lights)

Lord Baltimore

Founded Maryland, offering religious freedom to Christians.

Deism

Enlightenment religion denying divine intervention in human affairs.

Mercantilism

economic policy of Europe in the 1500s through 1700s. The government exercised control over industry and trade with the idea that national strength and economic security comes from exporting more than is imported. Possession of colonies provided countries both with sources of raw materials and markets for their manufactured goods. Great Britain exported goods and forced the colonies to buy them.

Navigation Acts

British regulations designed to protect British shipping from competition. Said that British colonies could only import goods if they were shipped on British-owned vessels and at least 3/4 of the crew of the ship were British.

Triangular Trade

The backbone of New England's economy during the colonial period. Ships from New England sailed first to Africa, exchanging New England rum for slaves. The slaves were shipped from Africa to the Caribbean (this was known as the Middle Passage, when many slaves died on the ships). In the Caribbean, the slaves were traded for sugar and molasses. Then the ships returned to New England, where the molasses were used to make rum.

Phillis Wheatly

An African domestic in the colonies and a well-known colonial poet with ornate and elaborate poetry.

Magna Carta

1215 English document that limited the power of the king and influenced later constitutional documents in Britain and America.

Salutary neglect

Policy of unrestricted trade in the American colonies over taxation; trading policies were not enforced on American colonies.

The Enlightenment

A philosophical movement emphasizing reason, the scientific method, government, ethics, and science.

Theories of representative government

Virtual representation (resembles constituents) and actual representation (elected by constituents).

Proprietary, charter, and royal colonies

Different types of colonies based on control and founding.

Town meetings

A purely democratic form of government common in the colonies, and the most prevalent form of local government in New England. In general, the town's voting population would meet once a year to elect officers, levy taxes, and pass laws.

John Peter Zenger trial

trial that set a precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies.

John Locke

English political philosopher whose ideas inspired the American revolution, including natural rights and social contract theory.

Democratic society or not?

Founding Fathers' concerns about democracy and the design of a republic.

Land claims and squabbles in North America

British and French disputes over territories in North America.

Differences between French and British colonization

The British settled mainly along the coast, where they started farms, towns, and governments. As a general rule, whole families emigrated. The British colonies had little interaction with the local Indians (aside from occasional fighting). The French colonized the interior, where they controlled the fur trade. Most of the French immigrants were single men, and there were few towns and only loose governmental authority. The French lived closely with the Indians, trading with them for furs and sometimes taking Indian wives.

French and Indian War (1756-1763)

Part of the Seven Years' War in Europe. Britain and France fought for control of the Ohio Valley and Canada. The Algonquins, who feared British expansion into the Ohio Valley, allied with the French. The Mohawks also fought for the French while the rest of the Iroquois Nation allied with the British. The colonies fought under British commanders. Britain eventually won, and gained control of all of the remaining French possessions in Canada, as well as India. Spain, which had allied with France, ceded Florida to Britain, but received Louisiana in return.

Albany Plan of Union

Proposal for a unified colonial government during the French and Indian War.

General Braddock

British commander in the French and Indian War defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

William Pitt

British secretary of state who tightened control over the British/colonial army during the French and Indian War.

Fort Pitt, Fort Duquesne

Forts in the Ohio Valley region during the French and Indian War.

Wolfe, Montcalm, Quebec

British and French leaders in the Battle of Quebec during the French and Indian War.

Treaty of Paris, 1763

Ended the Seven Years War, resulting in territorial changes between Britain, France, and Spain.

Pontiac's Rebellion 1763

Indian uprising against British expansion in the Ohio Valley after the French and Indian War.

Proclamation of 1763

British proclamation that forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Paxton Boys

Pennsylvania frontiersmen who massacred non-hostile Indians in 1763.

Maryland Act of Toleration

Ordered by Lord Baltimore and guaranteed religious freedom to all Christians. 

Jonathan Edwards

theologian and philosopher of British American Puritanism, stimulator of the Enlightenment.

molasses act (1733)

British legislation which taxed all molasses, rum, and sugar which the colonies imported from countries other than Britain and her colonies. The act angered the New England colonies, which imported a lot of molasses from the Caribbean as part of the Triangular Trade. The British had difficulty enforcing the tax; most colonial merchants ignored it. 

currency act, 1764

This act applied to all of the colonies. It banned the production of paper money in the colonies in an effort to combat the inflation caused by Virginia's decision to get itself out of debt by issuing more paper money.

salem witch trials

Several accusations of witchcraft led to sensational trials in Salem, Massachusetts at which Cotton Mather presided as the chief judge. 18 people were hanged as witches. Afterwards, most admitted that the trials and executions had been a terrible mistake.

indentured servants

People who couldn't afford passage to the colonies . Another person would pay their passage, and in exchange, the people would serve that person for a set time (usually seven years) and then would be free.

poor richard’s almanac

first published 1732, written by Benjamin Franklin, it was filled with witty, insightful, and funny bits of observation and common sense advice (the saying, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," first appeared in this almanac). It was the most popular almanac in the colonies.