APUSH Period 2 (1607-1754): Final Review (Key Concepts and Events)

Act of Religious Toleration

1649 act passed by the Maryland Assembly granting religious freedom to all Christians

Anglicization

Adoption of English customs and traditions. This shaped colonial culture and politics in eighteenth-century North America

Anglo-Powhatan Wars

Series of conflicts in the 1620s between the Powhatan Confederacy and English settlers in Virginia and Maryland

Bacon’s Rebellion

1676 uprising in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon. Bacon and his followers, many of whom were former indentured servants, were upset by the Virginia governor’s unwillingness to send troops to intervene in conflicts between settlers and American Indians and by the lack of representation of western settlers in the House of Burgesses

Calvinism

Developed in Switzerland by John Calvin, a version of Protestantism in which civil judges and reformed ministers ruled over a Christian society

Cash Crop

A crop produced for profit rather than for subsistence

Church of England

National church established by King Henry VIII after he split with the Catholic Church in 1534

Colonization

The process of settling and controlling and already inhabited are for the economic benefit of the settlers, or colonizers

Common law

Law established from custom and the standards set by previous judicial rulings

Consumer Revolution

A process through which status in the colonies became more closely linked to financial success and a refined lifestyle rather than birth and family pedigree during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The consumer revolution was spurred by industrialization and increased global trade

Covenant Chain

An alliance system primarily between the Iroquois Confederacy and the British Crown to prevent future conflict

Dominion of New England

The consolidation of Northeastern colonies by King James II in 1686 to establish greater control over them, resulting in the banning of town meetings, new taxes, and other unpopular policies. The Dominion was dissolved during the Glorious Revolution

Enclosure movements

Claimed that only noble title-holders had the right to use land, and evicted English commoners, who had until that point lived and farmed there

English Civil War

A series of conflicts between supporters of King Charles I (Royalists or Cavaliers) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads) over issues of religion and power

Enlightenment

European cultural movement spanning the late seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century emphasizing rational and scientific thinking over traditional religion and superstition

Gang labor

A form of forced labor within the institution of slavery where enslaved people were organized into work groups and compelled to work at a continuous, supervised pace throughout the entire day, with little to no personal time

Glorious Revolution

The overthrow of Catholic King James II by the Protestant rulers William and Mary of England in 1688-89

Great Awakening

Series of religious revivals in colonial America that began in 1720 and lasted to about 1750

Headright System

Created in Virginia in 1618, it rewarded those who imported indentured laborers and settlers with fifty acres of land

Household mode of production

An economic system where households produce goods and services for their own direct use and consumption, often involving the exchange of labor and goods between family members or other households within the community

House of Burgesses

Local governing body in Virginia established by the English crown in 1619

Huguenots

French protestants; barred from settling in North America by French policy

Imperialism

A policy of expanding the border and increasing the global power of a nation, typically via military force

Impressment

The forced enlistment of civilians into the army or navy. The impressment of residents of colonial seaports into the British navy was a major source of complaint in the eighteenth century

Indentured servitude

Servants contracted to work for a set period of time without pay. Many early migrants to the English colonies indentured themselves in exchange for the price of passage to North America

Indulgences

Documents that absolved the buyer of sin

Inflation

The rate at which the prices of goods and services increase over a period of time

Iroquois Confederacy

A group of allied American Indian nations that included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later the Tuscarora. The Confederacy was largely dissolved by the final decade of the 1700s

Joint-stock companies

Companies in which large numbers of investors own stock. They were able to quickly raise large amounts of money and shared risk and reward equally among investors

King George’s War

1739-1748 war between France, Spain, and England fought in North America. King George’s War secured Georgia for the English, though Louisbourg was ceded to the French in return

King William’s War

1689-1697 war that began as a conflict over competing French and English interests on the European continent but soon spread to the American frontier. Both sides pulled American Indian allies into the war

Leisler’s Rebellion

1689 class revolt in New York led by merchant Jacob Leisler. Urban artisans and landless renters rebelled against new taxes and centralized rule

Libel

A false written statement designed to damage the reputation of its subject

Mayflower Compact

Written agreement created by the Pilgrims upon their arrival in Plymouth. It was the first written constitution adopted in North America

Metacom’s War

1675-1676 conflict between New England settlers and the region’s American Indians. The settlers were the eventual victors, but fighting was fierce and casualties on both sides were high

Methodism

It emphasizes a personal relationship with God, a life of holiness through grace, and a commitment to social justice and the welfare of others

Middle Passage

The brutal second leg of the forced journey of enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas. Historians estimate that millions of enslaved Africans died before the arrival in the Americas

Mercantilism

Economic system centered on maintaining a favorable balance of trade for the home country, with more gold and silver flowing into that country than flowed out. Seventeenth- and eighteenth- century British colonial policy was heavily shaped by mercantilism

Navigation Acts

Acts passed by Parliament in the 1650s and 1660s that prohibited smuggling, established guidelines for legal commerce, and set duties on trade items

New Light clergy

Colonial clergy who called for religious revivals and emphasized the emotional aspects of spiritual commitment. The New Lights were leaders in the Great Awakening

Old Light clergy

Colonial clergy from established churches who supported the religious status quo in the early eighteenth century

Original sin

Christian doctrine that all humans inherit a fallen nature and a tendency toward sin due to the first disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

Patriarchal family

Model of the family in which fathers have absolute authority over wives, children, and servants. Most colonial Americans accepted the patriarchal model of the family, at least as an ideal

Pequot War

1636-1637 conflict between New England settlers, their Narragansett allies, and the Pequots. The English saw the Pequots as both a threat and an obstacle to further English expansion

Pietist

German Protestant Christian movement emphasizing personal faith, heartfelt devotion, and practical Christian living over doctrine and church structure

Pilgrims

Also known as Separatists, a group of English religious dissenters who established a settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. Unlike more mainstream Protestants, the Pilgrims aimed to cut all connections with the Church of England

Powhatan Confederacy

Large and powerful confederation of Algonquian-speaking American Indians in Virginia. The Jamestown settlers had a complicated and often combative relationship with the leaders of the Powhatan Confederacy

Predestination

Religious belief that God had pre-determined who is worthy of salvation, and thus it could not be earned through good works or penance

Privy Council

A smaller, private group of the monarch’s most trusted advisors who provided confidential council on matters of state

Protestant Reformation

A 16th-century religious and political movement that broke the religious unity of Europe by challenging the Catholic Church's authority and leading to the creation of new Protestant denominations

Pueblo revolt

1680 uprising of Pueblo Indians against Spanish forces in New Mexico that led to the Spaniards’ temporary retreat from the area. The uprising was sparked by mistreatment and the suppression of Pueblo culture and religion

Puritan Migration

The mass migration of Puritans from Europe to New England during the 1620s and 1630s

Puritans

Radical English Protestants who hoped to reform the Church of England. The first Puritan settlers in the Americas arrived in Massachusetts in 1630

Queen Anne’s War

1702-1713 war over control of Spain and its colonies; also known as the War of the Spanish Succession. Although the Treaty of Utrecht that ended the war in 1713 was intended to bring peace by establishing a balance of power, imperial conflict continued to escalate

Redemptioners

Immigrants who borrowed money from shipping agents to cover the costs of transport to America, loans that were repaid, or “redeemed,” by colonial employers. Redemptioners worked for their “redeemers” for a set number of years

Seditious

Behavior of language aimed at starting a rebellion against a government

Slave code

Laws restricting enslaved peoples’ rights, largely due to slaveholders’ fears of rebellion

Slave laws

A series of laws that defined slavery as a distinct status based on racial identity and which passed that status on through future generations

Stono Rebellion

1739 uprising by enslaved Africans and African Americans in South Carolina. In its aftermath, white fear of slave revolts intensified

Subsistence farmers

Farmers who grew crops for their own needs rather than for profit

Theologians

Someone who studies God, religion, and religious beliefs

Treaty of Utrecht

Ended Queen Anne’s War and aimed to secure a lasting peace by balancing the interests of the great powers in Europe and their colonial Possessions

Tuscarora War

War launched by Tuscarora Indians from 1711 to 1715 against European settlers in North Carolina and their allies from the Yamasee, Catawba, and Cherokee nations. The Tuscaroras lost their lands when they signed the peace treaty and many then joined joined the Iroquois Confederacy to the north

Veto

The right to block a decision made by a governing body

Walking Purchase

1737 treaty that allowed Pennsylvania to expand its boundaries at the expense of the Delaware Indians. The treaty, likely a forgery, allowed the British to add territory that could be walked off in a day and a half

Yamasee War

A Pan-American Indian war from 1715 to 1717 led by the Yamasee who intended, but failed, to oust the British from South Carolina