Part 1

John Cotton

Influential Puritan minister in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Sir Edmund Andros

English colonial administrator and governor of the Dominion of New England.

Predestination

Doctrine that all events, especially the fate of souls, are willed by God.

“Visible saints”

Puritans who had experienced conversion and were expected to lead godly lives.

Antinomianism

Belief that Christians are not bound by traditional moral law, associated with Anne Hutchinson.

Protestant Reformation

16th-century religious movement that led to the creation of Protestant churches.

New England Confederation

Military alliance of the New England colonies.

Puritans

English Protestants seeking to purify the Church of England.

Dominion of New England

Administrative union of English colonies in the New England region.

Navigation Laws

Series of English laws regulating trade between England and its colonies.

Glorious Revolution

Overthrow of King James II of England in 1688.

Dutch West India Company

Trading company chartered by the Dutch government for trade in the Americas and Africa.

Separatists

English Protestants who sought to separate from the Church of England.

Quakers

Religious group known for pacifism and simple living, formally the Religious Society of Friends.

Mayflower Compact

Agreement for self-government signed by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower.

Fundamental Orders

Early constitution establishing a framework for the government of Connecticut.

William Berkeley

Colonial governor of Virginia.

Nathaniel Bacon

Leader of Bacon’s Rebellion against Governor William Berkeley.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that trade generates wealth through profitable balances.

Headright system

Land grant program designed to attract settlers to the American colonies.

Jeremiads

Sermons lamenting the decline of piety in congregations.

Middle passage

Sea journey undertaken by slave ships from West Africa to the West Indies.

Bacon’s Rebellion

Armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers against Governor William Berkeley.

Leisler’s Rebellion

Uprising in late 17th century New York led by Jacob Leisler.

Half-Way Covenant

Form of partial church membership created by New England in 1662.

Gullah

African American culture and language developed in the southeastern U.S. coastal regions.

Chesapeake

Region of Virginia and Maryland known for tobacco plantations.

Plantations

Large farms using slave labor to grow crops like tobacco, cotton, and sugar.

Salem Witch Trials

Series of hearings and prosecutions for witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts.

Jonathan Edwards

Preacher known for his role in the First Great Awakening and fire-and-brimstone sermons.

Benjamin Franklin

Founding Father known for contributions to the American Enlightenment and experiments with electricity.

Michel-Guillaume de Crèvecoeur

French-American writer known for “Letters from an American Farmer.”

George Whitefield

Anglican preacher key to the Great Awakening, known for charismatic preaching.

John Peter Zenger

Printer whose trial established the principle of freedom of the press in America.

Phillis Wheatley

Enslaved African American poet known for her published works in the late 18th century.

John S

American painter known for portraits of prominent colonial Americans.

Paxton Boys/Regulators

Groups protesting colonial policies and Native American relations in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Great Awakening

Series of religious revivals in the 18th century emphasizing individual piety and personal relationship with God.

Catawba nation

Native American tribe known for pottery and involvement in colonial conflicts.

Old and New Lights

Terms describing the division between traditionalist and revivalist factions in Protestant churches during the Great Awakening.

Molasses Act

British law imposing a tax on molasses, sugar, and rum imported into the American colonies from non-British colonies.

Scots-Irish

Descendants of Scottish Presbyterians who settled in Northern Ireland before emigrating to the American colonies.

Royal v

Types of colonial administration in British America.

Economic activities of the colonies

Varied by region; New England focused on shipping, Middle Colonies on farming, Southern Colonies on plantation agriculture.

Stono Rebellion

Slave uprising in 1739 in South Carolina, one of the largest slave revolts in the British colonies.