APUSH terms test

Indentured Servants

People who worked for a set number of years in exchange for passage to the colonies and eventual freedom.

Trade and Navigation Acts

British laws regulating colonial trade to benefit England and control commerce.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Americas and Europe/Africa.

King Philip's War

1675–1676 conflict between New England colonists and Native Americans over land.

Anne Hutchinson

Puritan woman banished from Massachusetts Bay for challenging church authority.

Roger Williams

Religious dissenter who founded Rhode Island advocating separation of church and state.

George Whitefield

Preacher during the Great Awakening emphasizing personal faith and revivalism.

Joint Stock Company

Business model where investors pooled resources to fund colonial ventures.

Encomienda System

Spanish system forcing Native Americans to work for colonists under the guise of protection.

Great Awakening

1730s–1740s religious revival promoting individual piety and challenging traditional authority.

French and Indian War

1754–1763 conflict between Britain and France in North America, part of the Seven Years’ War.

Triangle Trade

Transatlantic trade system exchanging goods, enslaved people, and raw materials.

John Locke

Philosopher advocating natural rights and social contract theory.

Bartolome de las Casas

Spanish priest who advocated for the humane treatment of Native Americans.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that colonies exist to benefit the mother country by providing resources and markets.

Iroquois Confederacy

Political and military alliance of six Native American nations in the Northeast.

Juan Sepulveda

Spanish scholar who argued for the justification of conquest and subjugation of Native Americans.

Jonathan Edwards

Preacher during the Great Awakening known for “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 revolt in Virginia over land, Native American policy, and government corruption.

Headright System

System granting land to settlers who paid for their own or others’ passage to the colonies.

Enlightenment-Ben Franklin

Movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights; Franklin was a leading colonial figure.

“Irish” Treatment

Discriminatory treatment of Irish immigrants in the colonies.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of loosely enforcing trade regulations, allowing colonies autonomy.

Salem Witch Trials

1692 trials in Massachusetts where individuals were accused of witchcraft.

Middle Passage

Brutal transatlantic voyage transporting enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Popes Rebellion

1680 Pueblo revolt against Spanish rule in present-day New Mexico.

Pequot War

1636–1638 conflict between New England colonists and the Pequot tribe over land.

Stono Rebellion

1739 slave uprising in South Carolina, leading to stricter slave codes.

Maroon Communities

Settlements of escaped enslaved Africans in the Americas.

Maryland Law of Religious Toleration

1649 law granting freedom of worship to all Christians in Maryland.

Puritans

Religious group seeking to purify the Church of England; settled New England with strict moral codes.

New England Colonies vs Chesapeake Colonies

Differences in economy, society, and religion between Northern and Southern colonies.

Adam Smith

Scottish economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations, advocating free-market capitalism.

Proclamation of 1763

British law forbidding settlement west of the Appalachians to prevent conflict with Native Americans.

Thomas Paine/Common Sense

1776 pamphlet advocating independence from Britain.

Loyalists/Tories

Colonists loyal to Britain during the American Revolution.

Daughters of Liberty

Women who protested British policies through boycotts and production of homemade goods.

Pontiac's Rebellion

1763 Native American uprising against British postwar policies in the Great Lakes region.

Quartering Act

1765 law requiring colonists to house British soldiers.

Townshend Acts

1767 taxes on imported goods like paper, glass, and tea to raise revenue from colonies.

Boston Tea Party

1773 protest where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive/Intolerable Acts

1774 punitive laws passed after Boston Tea Party restricting colonial self-government.

Stamp Act

1765 tax on printed materials in the colonies, sparking protests.

Non-importation Agreements

Colonial boycotts of British goods in response to taxation.

Treaty of Paris 1763

Treaty ending the French and Indian War; France ceded territory to Britain.

Boston Massacre

1770 clash where British soldiers killed five colonists.

Paxton Boys

1764 group of Pennsylvania frontiersmen who attacked Native Americans in protest.

Tea Act

1773 law granting British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial networks to communicate and coordinate resistance against Britain.

Sons of Liberty

Secret organization that resisted British policies through protest and sometimes violence.

Lexington and Concord

1775 first battles of the American Revolution.

Federalists vs Anti-Federalists

Debate over ratification of the Constitution; Federalists favored strong central government.

Battle of Saratoga

1777 Revolutionary War battle; American victory convinced France to ally with U.S.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document declaring the colonies independent from Britain.

McCulloch v Maryland

1819 Supreme Court case establishing federal supremacy and implied powers.

Monroe Doctrine

1823 U.S. policy opposing European colonization in the Americas.

Corrupt Bargain

1824 election deal between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay alleged to undermine democratic process.

Marbury v Madison

1803 Supreme Court case establishing judicial review.

Proclamation of Lord Dunmore

1775 declaration offering freedom to enslaved people who joined British forces.

John Deere-Steel Plow

Invented in 1837, revolutionized farming in the Midwest.

Bank of the United States

Federal institution to stabilize currency and credit; controversial among Democratic-Republicans.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 acquisition doubling the size of the U.S.

Democratic Republicans

Political party led by Jefferson and Madison favoring states’ rights and limited government.

Yeomen Farmers

Independent small-scale farmers in the South.

Tecumseh

Shawnee leader who tried to unite Native American tribes against U.S. expansion.

Virginia-Kentucky Resolutions

1798 protests against the Alien and Sedition Acts asserting states’ rights.

Treaty of Greenville

1795 treaty ending Northwest Indian War; opened Ohio territory for settlement.

Battle of Fallen Timbers

1794 U.S. victory over Native Americans in the Northwest Territory.

Shay's Rebellion

1786–1787 uprising of farmers in Massachusetts protesting economic injustices.

Jay’s Treaty

1794 treaty with Britain resolving issues remaining from Revolutionary War.

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 protest against federal tax on whiskey; suppressed by Washington.

Northwest Ordinance

1787 law establishing governance and path to statehood for western territories.

Seminole Wars

1817–1858 conflicts between U.S. forces and Seminole Indians in Florida.

Lowell Girls

Women who worked in textile mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, during the Industrial Revolution.

Chief Little Turtle

Native American leader who resisted U.S. expansion in the Northwest Territory.

Democrats vs Whigs

Two major parties in the early 19th century; Democrats favored states’ rights, Whigs favored federal action.

XYZ Affair

1797–1798 diplomatic scandal with France leading to quasi-war.

Erie Canal

1825 canal connecting the Hudson River to the Great Lakes, boosting trade.

Telegraph

Invention by Samuel Morse revolutionizing long-distance communication.

War Hawks

Members of Congress advocating war against Britain in 1812.

Hartford Convention

1814 meeting of New England Federalists opposing the War of 1812.

John Marshall

Chief Justice whose decisions strengthened federal power.

American Colonization Society

Organization advocating resettlement of freed African Americans to Africa.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. constitution creating a weak central government.

Missouri Compromise

1820 agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as free; banned slavery north of 36°30′.

Three-Fifths Compromise

1787 agreement counting 3/5 of enslaved population for representation and taxation.

Adams-Onis Treaty

1819 treaty in which Spain ceded Florida to the U.S.

Cotton Gin/Eli Whitney

1793 invention increasing cotton production and strengthening slavery.

American System

Henry Clay’s economic plan of protective tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements.

Henry Clay

Politician known for American System and role as “Great Compromiser.”

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments guaranteeing individual liberties.

Connecticut (Great) Compromise

1787 agreement creating a bicameral legislature with proportional and equal representation.

Samuel Slater

“Father of the American Industrial Revolution,” introduced textile mills to the U.S.

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798 laws limiting immigration and criminalizing criticism of the government.

Pinckney Treaty

1795 treaty with Spain granting U.S. navigation rights on the Mississippi River.

Treaty of Paris 1783

Ended Revolutionary War, recognizing U.S. independence.

War of 1812

Conflict with Britain over trade restrictions, impressment, and frontier pressures.

Washington's Farewell Address

1796 speech warning against political parties and permanent foreign alliances.

Abolitionist Movement

Social movement to end slavery.

Utopian Societies-Oneida

Experimental communities seeking ideal social and economic equality.