US History Honors DCA 1 Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering US History Honors DCA 1 from Colonial America through the Era of Good Feelings.

Salutary neglect

Britain’s loose enforcement of colonial rules, which encouraged self-government.

Mercantilism

Economic system in which colonies supply raw materials and serve the mother country.

House of Burgesses

Virginia’s elected colonial legislature.

Great Awakening

Religious revival that emphasized personal faith and challenged established authority.

Enlightenment

Movement emphasizing reason, natural rights, and government by consent.

Bacon’s Rebellion

Virginia frontier uprising revealing class tensions and encouraging a shift toward racial slavery.

King William’s War

First major colonial war between Britain and France, 1689 to 1697.

Queen Anne’s War

Colonial phase of the War of Spanish Succession, 1702 to 1713.

War of Jenkins’s Ear

British-Spanish conflict beginning in 1739 and merging into King George’s War.

Ohio Valley

Strategic region claimed by France and Britain and central to the French and Indian War.

Fort Necessity

Washington’s hastily built fort where he surrendered in 1754.

Albany Congress

1754 meeting seeking defense cooperation and Iroquois support.

Albany Plan

Franklin’s rejected proposal for colonial union.

Edward Braddock

British general defeated near Fort Duquesne in 1755.

William Pitt

British leader who focused resources on conquering Canada.

Battle of Quebec

1759 British victory that helped end French power in Canada.

Treaty of Paris 1763

Ended the French and Indian War and made Britain dominant in North America.

Pontiac’s uprising

Native resistance against British control after France’s defeat.

Proclamation of 1763

Restricted colonial settlement west of the Appalachians.

Sugar Act

1764 revenue measure with stronger customs enforcement.

Stamp Act

1765 direct tax on printed material.

Stamp Act Congress

Intercolonial meeting protesting taxation without representation.

Sons of Liberty

Resistance organization that protested British policies.

Declaratory Act

Claimed Parliament could legislate for the colonies in all cases.

Townshend Acts

Import duties that revived colonial boycotts.

Boston Massacre

1770 confrontation in which British troops killed five colonists.

Committees of Correspondence

Networks that spread news and coordinated resistance.

Tea Act

Helped the East India Company while preserving Parliament’s tax principle.

Boston Tea Party

1773 destruction of taxed tea in Boston Harbor.

Intolerable Acts

Punitive laws aimed at Massachusetts after the Tea Party.

First Continental Congress

1774 meeting that coordinated resistance and boycotts.

Lexington and Concord

April 1775 battles that began the Revolutionary War.

Second Continental Congress

Colonial government that managed the war and created the Continental Army.

Bunker Hill

Costly British victory demonstrating colonial fighting ability.

Olive Branch Petition

Final American attempt to reconcile with George III.

Common Sense

Thomas Paine’s argument for independence and republican government.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document asserting natural rights and government by consent.

Patriot

Colonist supporting independence.

Loyalist

Colonist remaining loyal to Britain.

Saratoga

1777 American victory that brought the French alliance.

Valley Forge

Winter camp symbolizing hardship, endurance, and military training.

Yorktown

1781 American-French victory that ended major fighting.

Treaty of Paris 1783

Recognized U.S. independence and boundaries to the Mississippi.

Republicanism

Government based on citizens and representatives rather than monarchy.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. government; intentionally weak central authority.

Land Ordinance 1785

Created a system for surveying and selling western lands.

Northwest Ordinance 1787

Established territorial statehood process and banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Shays’ Rebellion

Farmer uprising that exposed national weakness under the Articles.

Great Compromise

Population-based House plus equal-state Senate.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Counted three-fifths of enslaved people for representation and direct taxation.

Federalism

Division of power between national and state governments.

Checks and balances

Each branch can limit the powers of the others.

Federalist

Supporter of Constitution and stronger central government.

Anti-Federalist

Opponent who feared central power and wanted explicit rights protections.

Federalist Papers

Essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay defending the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments protecting liberties and limiting federal power.

Alexander Hamilton

Federalist architect of the financial program and national bank.

Loose construction

Broad reading of implied constitutional powers.

Strict construction

Narrow reading limited to specifically granted powers.

Whiskey Rebellion

Federal suppression of tax resistance proving national enforcement power.

Neutrality Proclamation

Washington’s policy keeping the United States out of European war.

Jay’s Treaty

Agreement reducing conflict with Britain but highly unpopular.

Pinckney’s Treaty

Agreement securing Mississippi navigation and New Orleans access.

XYZ Affair

French demand for bribes that produced anti-French anger.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Federalist laws targeting immigrants and government critics.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Jefferson and Madison’s states’ rights response to the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Election of 1800

Peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Democratic-Republicans.

Marbury v Madison

Established judicial review.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 acquisition from France that doubled U.S. territory.

Impressment

British seizure of sailors for naval service.

Embargo Act

Jefferson’s failed ban on exports intended to pressure Britain and France.

War Hawks

Young congressional nationalists who favored war with Britain.

Tecumseh

Shawnee leader who organized Native resistance to U.S. expansion.

War of 1812

Conflict with Britain over neutral rights, frontier tensions, and national honor.

Treaty of Ghent

Ended the War of 1812 and restored prewar conditions.

Battle of New Orleans

Jackson’s post-treaty victory that created national pride.

Hartford Convention

Federalist protest meeting that damaged the party’s reputation.

American System

Clay’s program of national bank, protective tariff, and internal improvements.

Era of Good Feelings

Monroe-era one-party period with nationalism but continuing tensions.

Panic of 1819

First major national depression.

Missouri Compromise

Balanced Maine and Missouri and drew the 36°30′ slavery line.

McCulloch v Maryland

Upheld implied federal powers and barred state taxation of the national bank.

Gibbons v Ogden

Strengthened federal control of interstate commerce.

Adams-Onís Treaty

Spain transferred Florida to the United States.

Monroe Doctrine

Warned Europe against new colonization or intervention in the Americas.