full APUSH test review

Great League of Peace (Iroquois Confederacy)

A political alliance of Native American nations (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, later Tuscarora) that created a stable system of governance with councils and shared decision-making. It reduced warfare and influenced later colonial ideas about unity and federalism.

Reconquista

The centuries-long effort by Christian kingdoms in Spain to reclaim land from Muslims, ending in 1492. It created a militant Christian mindset that shaped Spanish exploration and their desire to spread Christianity.

Caravel

A small, fast, highly maneuverable ship developed by the Portuguese. Its design made long-distance ocean travel possible, enabling exploration along Africa and across the Atlantic.

Conquistadores

Spanish explorers/soldiers (like Hernán Cortés) who conquered Native empires. They sought gold, glory, and God, often using violence, alliances, and disease to dominate.

Tenochtitlán

The capital of the Aztec Empire (modern Mexico City), a large, advanced city with canals and markets. Its fall marked the collapse of Aztec power.

Aztec

A powerful Mesoamerican civilization known for tribute systems, human sacrifice, and advanced agriculture (chinampas). They were conquered by the Spanish in the 1500s.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Americas, Europe, and Africa after 1492. It caused massive population decline among Natives (due to disease) and reshaped global diets and economies.

Creoles

People of Spanish descent born in the Americas. They often held wealth but less political power than those born in Spain.

Hacienda

A large Spanish estate that functioned as a self-sufficient agricultural system, often relying on Native labor.

Mestizos / Mestizo

People of mixed European and Native American ancestry. They became the largest social group in Spanish colonies, reflecting racial blending.

Repartimiento System

A labor system where Native Americans were forced to work for Spanish settlers for limited periods. It replaced encomienda but still involved coercion and exploitation.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

A Spanish priest who criticized the mistreatment of Native Americans, arguing for their human rights and better treatment.

Black Legend

The belief that Spanish colonizers were uniquely cruel. It was often used by rival European powers to justify their own colonization.

Pueblo Revolt (1680)

A successful Native American uprising in present-day New Mexico that temporarily drove out the Spanish. It showed Native resistance could be effective.

Borderlands

Regions where European and Native cultures met and interacted, often resulting in blending, conflict, and negotiation.

John Smith

Leader in Jamestown who imposed discipline and helped the colony survive with strict rules like “no work, no food.”

Virginia Company

A joint-stock company that funded the Jamestown colony, aiming to make profit from colonization.

Anglican Church

The official church of England, which colonists were expected to follow in early colonies like Virginia.

Roanoke Colony

An early failed English settlement that mysteriously disappeared (“Lost Colony”).

Enclosure Movement

The privatization of common land in England, which displaced farmers and pushed many to migrate to America.

Indentured Servants

Workers who exchanged several years of labor for passage to America. They were crucial early labor before slavery expanded.

Jamestown (1607)

The first permanent English settlement. It struggled early but survived due to tobacco.

Headright System

A policy granting land to settlers who paid for their own or others’ passage, encouraging migration.

House of Burgesses

The first representative assembly in the colonies, showing early self-government.

Anglo-Powhatan Wars

Conflicts between English settlers and Native Americans over land and resources.

Tobacco

A cash crop that saved Virginia economically but required intensive labor, leading to slavery.

Plantation

A large agricultural estate using labor (often enslaved) to grow cash crops.

West Indies

Caribbean colonies that produced sugar and relied heavily on enslaved labor.

Sugar

A highly profitable but labor-intensive crop that drove the expansion of slavery.

Maryland

A colony founded as a refuge for Catholics but later became religiously mixed.

Puritans

Protestants who wanted to “purify” the Church of England. They emphasized strict moral codes.

John Winthrop

Leader of Massachusetts Bay who envisioned a “city upon a hill” as a model society.

Pilgrims

Separatists who sought complete religious freedom and settled Plymouth.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement for self-government and majority rule in Plymouth.

Great Migration

The mass movement of Puritans to New England in the 1630s.

Massachusetts Bay

A Puritan colony focused on religion and community.

Pequot War

A violent conflict between settlers and Native Americans, ending in Native defeat.

Dissenters

People who challenged Puritan authority (e.g., Roger Williams).

Half-Way Covenant

Allowed partial church membership for children of Puritans, showing declining religious strictness.

Act Concerning Religion (Maryland Toleration Act)

Granted religious tolerance to Christians in Maryland.

King Philip’s War / Metacom

A major Native uprising led by Metacom against colonists; it resulted in massive Native losses and more English control.

Mercantilism

An economic system where colonies exist to benefit the mother country.

Navigation Acts

Laws restricting colonial trade to benefit England.

New York

Originally Dutch, taken by the English; a diverse, economically important colony.

Covenant Chain

An alliance between the English and Iroquois.

Carolina

A southern colony that split into North and South due to economic differences.

Yamasee War

A Native revolt in South Carolina caused by trade abuses.

Society of Friends (Quakers)

A religious group that believed in equality and nonviolence.

William Penn

Founded Pennsylvania as a tolerant colony.

Pennsylvania

A diverse, religiously tolerant colony with good relations with Natives.

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

A revolt by former servants against Virginia’s elite, highlighting class tensions.

Slave Codes

Laws that restricted enslaved people’s rights and institutionalized slavery.

Glorious Revolution

The peaceful overthrow of England’s king, increasing parliamentary power.

English Bill of Rights

Limited the monarch and protected rights of citizens.

Dominion of New England

An attempt by England to centralize control over colonies (widely disliked).

Salem Witch Trials

A series of accusations and executions driven by fear and social tensions.

Scots-Irish & German Immigrants

Groups that settled in the backcountry, contributing to diversity.

Redemptioners

Indentured servants who paid passage after arrival.

Walking Purchase

A controversial land deal that cheated Native Americans.

Backcountry

Frontier areas with fewer resources and more conflict.

Staple Crops

Cash crops like tobacco, rice, and indigo.

Anglicization

Colonists adopting British culture.

Triangular Trade / Atlantic Slave Trade

A system of trade connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Middle Passage

The brutal voyage enslaved Africans endured to the Americas.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

A major slave uprising in South Carolina.

Republicanism

The idea that government should be based on the people’s consent.

John Locke

Argued people have natural rights (life, liberty, property).

Colonial Assemblies

Local governing bodies that gave colonists political experience.

Salutary Neglect

Britain’s loose enforcement of laws, allowing colonial independence.

Enlightenment

A movement emphasizing reason and science.

Benjamin Franklin

A key thinker who promoted science, unity, and practical knowledge.

Deism

Belief in God based on reason rather than religion.

Great Awakening

A religious revival that emphasized emotional faith and challenged authority.

Ohio Valley / Seven Years’ War

A conflict between Britain and France over land; it led to British debt and new taxes.

George Washington

Led colonial forces early in the war.

William Pitt

Helped Britain win by focusing resources on North America.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Ended the war, giving Britain control of French lands in North America.

Pontiac’s War

A Native rebellion against British expansion.

Proclamation of 1763

Limited westward settlement to avoid conflict with Natives.

Albany Plan of Union

An early attempt to unify colonies (failed but important idea).

Sugar, Currency, Stamp Acts

British taxes that angered colonists.

Stamp Act Congress

Colonial meeting protesting taxation.

Virtual Representation

Britain’s claim that Parliament represented all citizens.

Sons/Daughters of Liberty

Groups that organized resistance and boycotts.

Boston Massacre

A deadly clash between colonists and British soldiers.

Tea Act & Boston Tea Party

Led to protest against British control.

Intolerable Acts

Punitive laws against Massachusetts.

Continental Congress

Colonial leaders coordinating resistance.

Battle of Lexington and Concord (1775)

The first battles of the American Revolution.

Battle of Bunker Hill

Showed colonists could fight British troops.

Continental Army

Colonial military force.

Common Sense (by Thomas Paine)

A pamphlet that convinced many to support independence.

Declaration of Independence (by Thomas Jefferson)

A document declaring independence and outlining Enlightenment ideals.

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams who urged her husband to “remember the ladies,” highlighting early calls for women’s rights and greater legal protections in the new republic.

republics

Governments where power comes from the people and elected representatives rule instead of a monarch.

suffrage

The right to vote, which in this period was mostly limited to white male property owners.

separation of church and state

The principle that government should not establish or favor any religion.

Bills for Establishing Religious Freedom

Laws (especially in Virginia) that disestablished the Anglican Church and guaranteed religious liberty, influenced by Enlightenment ideas.

free labor

Economic system based on workers earning wages rather than being enslaved; became central to Northern ideology.

inflation

Rise in prices and fall in the value of money, especially a problem after the Revolution due to excessive paper currency.