APUSH Time Period 1 & 2 Study Flashcards

55 question-and-answer flashcards covering key concepts, people, events, and ideas from APUSH Time Periods 1 and 2.

What was the Act of Toleration (1649) and where was it enacted?

A Maryland statute granting religious tolerance to Christians (Catholics and Protestants), protecting worship but excluding non-Christians.

Who was Anne Hutchinson and why is she significant in colonial Massachusetts?

A Puritan dissenter who challenged clerical authority and gender roles; banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for her antinomian views, highlighting religious dissent.

What sparked Bacon’s Rebellion and what did it reveal about colonial Virginia?

1676 revolt by frontier settlers against Governor Berkeley over frontier defense and Native policy; exposed class tensions between landless settlers and elites.

Who was Bartolomé de Las Casas and what did he argue about Native Americans?

A Spanish Dominican missionary who condemned the encomienda system and argued for fair treatment and rights of Native peoples.

What is the Columbian Exchange and what were its effects?

The transfer of crops, animals, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds; reshaped global diets and economies and devastated Native populations with disease.

How did New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies differ in government, religion, economy, and relations with Native Americans?

New England: town meetings and strong Puritan influence; Middle: diverse economies and religious tolerance; South: plantation economies with slavery; Native relations varied by region.

In what ways did Spain, France, and England differ as colonial powers?

Spain pursued missions and the encomienda system; France focused on fur trade and alliances with Native tribes; England established settler colonies with commercial economies and varied relations with Natives.

Why were colonies created (religious reasons, profit, dissenters)?

Religious refuge for dissenters and Catholics; profit through joint-stock companies; freedom for religious reformers from other European churches.

How did slavery develop in the English colonies?

Transition from indentured servitude to racialized, hereditary slavery; fueled by cash crops and codified through slave laws.

What was the Encomienda System?

Spanish colonial labor system granting land and Native labor to encomenderos in exchange for Christianizing Native peoples; often abusive.

What is the difference between exports and imports in the colonial economy?

Exports are goods produced locally and sent abroad (e.g., tobacco, rice); imports are goods brought in (manufactured goods from England); central to mercantilist policy.

Who was George Whitefield and what was his role in the colonies?

A charismatic Anglican preacher whose itinerant revivals helped popularize the Great Awakening across the American colonies.

What was the Great Awakening?

Religious revival movement in the 1730s–1740s emphasizing personal conversion, emotional worship, and the questioning of established churches.

What was the House of Burgesses?

Virginia’s first elected representative assembly (established 1619) and an early model of colonial self-government.

What is Jamestown, and why is it significant?

The first permanent English settlement in North America (founded 1607); endured the Starving Time and later flourished with tobacco cultivation under leaders like John Smith.

Who was John Peter Zenger and why is his trial important?

A New York printer whose 1735 trial helped establish freedom of the press; truth as a defense against libel.

Who was John Smith and what did he do at Jamestown?

Leader who stabilized Jamestown, enforced work and order, and articulated the motto, 'He who will not work shall not eat'.

Who was John Winthrop and what was his vision for Massachusetts Bay?

Puritan governor who framed the colony as a 'city upon a hill,' emphasizing covenant community and religious conformity.

Who was Juan Sepúlveda and what was his stance toward Native Americans?

Spanish humanist who argued natives were inferior and suitable for conquest, opposing Las Casas’s criticisms of colonization.

What was King Philip’s War and who fought in it?

1675–76 conflict in New England between English colonists and Native American tribes led by Metacom (King Philip); resulted in heavy colonial expansion.

Why is maize cultivation historically important in the Americas?

A staple crop that supported large populations and complex societies; influenced agricultural practices and later global exchange.

Why was Maryland founded and by whom?

Founded as a haven for English Catholics and a profit-making colony for its proprietors; later featured limited religious toleration.

What is the Mayflower Compact?

A 1620 agreement among Pilgrims to govern themselves by majority rule in Plymouth, laying groundwork for self-government.

What is Mercantilism?

Economic theory that national power comes from accumulating wealth via a favorable balance of trade; colonies exist to enrich the mother country.

What were the Navigation Acts?

British laws restricting colonial trade to English ships and enumerated goods, enforcing mercantilist policy.

What distinguishes New Lights from Old Lights?

New Lights were revivalists during the Great Awakening; Old Lights were traditional clergy skeptical of revivals.

Who were the Puritans?

Religious reformers who sought to purify the Church of England and founded colonies like Massachusetts Bay with strict covenant communities.

What is Rhode Island known for in colonial history?

Founded by Roger Williams as a haven for religious liberty and the separation of church and state.

Where was rice cultivation significant, and why did it matter?

South Carolina and Georgia; rice plantations relied on enslaved labor and shaped social and economic structures.

What happened during the Salem Witch Trials?

1692 mass hysteria in Massachusetts leading to accusations of witchcraft and executions, reflecting social tensions and fear.

What was salutary neglect and its consequence?

British policy of lax enforcement of trade laws in the early 18th century that fostered colonial autonomy and later contributed to calls for independence.

What was the Starving Time in Jamestown?

Winter 1609–1610 when famine and disease killed many settlers due to drought and supply shortages.

What was the Virginia Company?

A joint-stock company that funded and organized the Jamestown settlement for profit.

How did tobacco cultivation shape the Chesapeake economy?

Tobacco became the dominant cash crop, driving settlement, wealth, and a growing dependence on enslaved labor.

What defines the Middle Colonies?

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware; fertile land, diverse economies, religious tolerance, and urban growth.

How did slavery function in the Southern colonies (rice and tobacco)?

Plantations relied on enslaved Africans for labor on tobacco and rice crops; led to rigid slave codes and a plantation society.

What did Transatlantic trade involve?

Exchange of goods, enslaved people, and ideas across the Atlantic; included the Columbian Exchange and later triangular trade.

How did European-Native American interactions evolve 1607–1754?

Early conflict and disease gave way to alliances and trade, with policies varying by power (French alliances with tribes, English expansion).

What were the causes and effects of slavery in the British colonies?

Economic demand for labor and legal codifications led to a looming racial hierarchy and durable slave systems; influenced social and political structures.

How did enslaved people respond to slavery?

Resistance included work slowdowns, running away, maintaining cultural practices, and organized uprisings, as well as forming family networks.

How did the movement of people and ideas across the Atlantic shape American culture?

The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment spread religious and philosophical ideas that influenced education, politics, and social norms.

What are some key features of the Great Awakening?

Revival meetings, itinerant preachers, democratization of religion, and challenges to established churches and traditional authority.

What Enlightenment ideas influenced colonial America?

Natural rights, social contract, and emphasis on reason and inquiry that informed political thought and influenced independence movements.

How did town meetings differ from county government in the colonies?

Town meetings in New England featured direct democracy for local matters; county governments in the South were more hierarchical and appointed.

What role did religion play in colonial governance?

Religious beliefs shaped laws, education, and social norms; many colonies had established churches or religious influence in policy.

How did Puritan-Native relations differ between New England and the Chesapeake?

New England saw missionary activity and displacement with occasional treaties; Chesapeake relied on Native labor early on and endured frequent conflicts.

How did slave economies differ between rice-growing South Carolina/Georgia and tobacco-growing Virginia/Maryland?

Carolina’s rice plantations required substantial enslaved labor and cultural knowledge; Virginia/Maryland’s tobacco plantations also relied on slavery but with different demographic patterns.

Which goods were commonly exported and imported in the colonial economy?

Exports included tobacco, rice, fur; imports were manufactured goods from Britain; trade was regulated to benefit Britain.

How did Jamestown survive its Starving Time and establish stability?

Resupply, improved leadership, and later the shift to tobacco cultivation, along with trade with Native groups, stabilized the colony.

Who invested in the Virginia Company and why?

English merchants and gentry funded Jamestown through a joint-stock venture seeking profits from early colonial resources.

Why did New England place emphasis on education, and which institution emerged?

Puritans valued literacy for Bible reading; Harvard College (1636) was established to train ministers and educated leaders.

Who founded Rhode Island and for what principle?

Roger Williams founded Rhode Island as a refuge for religious liberty and for separating church and state.

Who was Metacom, and what occurred in King Philip’s War?

Metacom (King Philip) led a Native coalition against English colonists in 1675–76; the war ended with colonial victory and weakened Native power.

How did tobacco cultivation influence migration and settlement patterns?

It incentivized land acquisition and permanent settlement in the Chesapeake, increasing reliance on enslaved labor and expanding colonization.

What was Pennsylvania’s founding purpose and who founded it?

Founded by William Penn in 1681 as a Quaker haven emphasizing religious liberty, fair dealings with Native Americans, and representative government (Charter of Liberties).