U.S. History Ch.1

historiography

The study of how history is written, including the methods, interpretations, and biases historians bring to their work.

worldview

A historian’s overall perspective about what is true and important, shaping the selection, interpretation, and evaluation of evidence.

presuppositions

Underlying beliefs about what is true or valuable that influence how historians approach history.

primary sources

Original materials from the period studied (letters, diaries, official documents) used to interpret history.

secondary sources

Accounts or analyses based on primary sources (textbooks, articles) that interpret historical events.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old World and the New World after 1492.

encomienda system

Spanish colonial practice granting land and native labor to conquerors, often leading to forced labor and abuse.

totem poles

Carved wooden posts of Northwest Coast tribes that symbolize family lineage, status, or beliefs.

petroglyphs

Rock carvings created by Native peoples, often with spiritual or cultural significance.

Mound Builders

Eastern Woodlands cultures (Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian) known for earthwork mounds and artifacts.

Great Serpent Mound

A famous Mississippian-era earthwork in Ohio shaped like a serpent.

Cahokia

Large Mississippian mound site near East St. Louis, Illinois, with a large pre-Columbian population.

Three Sisters

The intercropping of maize, beans, and squash used by Native American farmers.

Bering Strait

Body of water believed to have connected Asia and North America via a land/ice bridge for ancient migrations.

Aztec

Mesoamerican empire in central Mexico famed for pyramids and complex calendars; conquered by Cortés.

Maya

Mesoamerican civilization in Central America known for advanced calendars and architecture.

Inca

South American empire in the Andes with extensive road networks and monumental architecture.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America (1607) in Virginia.

Powhatan Confederacy

Alliance of Algonquian-speaking tribes in Virginia who interacted with Jamestown.

Pocahontas

Daughter of Powhatan; married John Rolfe and briefly aided relations between settlers and Native Americans.

House of Burgesses

The first representative assembly in English America, established in Virginia in 1619.

mercantilism

Economic theory that wealth is measured by gold/silver; colonies exist to provide raw materials and markets.

joint-stock companies

Business ventures that raised capital by selling shares to investors for colonization profits.

Roanoke

Early English attempt at a colony on the North Carolina coast; known as the Lost Colony.

Sir Francis Drake

English Sea Dog who raided Spanish ships and ports and circumnavigated the globe (1577–1580).

Spanish Armada

Huge Spanish fleet defeated by England in 1588, boosting Protestant English dominance at sea.

line of demarcation

The Pope’s 1493 boundary dividing newly discovered lands between Spain (west) and Portugal (east).

Verrazano

Explored the Atlantic coast for France (1524), seeking a Northwest Passage.

Cartier

Explored the St. Lawrence River and helped establish New France for France.

Champlain

Established Quebec, explored the Great Lakes, and helped expand New France.

La Salle

Explored the Mississippi River and claimed Louisiana for France.

Hudson

Explored the Hudson River and sought a Northwest Passage for the Dutch.

St. Augustine

Oldest continuously inhabited European-established city in what is now the United States (founded by Spain, 1565).

Columbus

Christopher Columbus; his 1492 voyage funded by Spain opened up the Americas to extensive European exploration.

Amerigo Vespucci

Explorer whose voyages helped show that the Americas were new continents, not Asia; the name 'America' honors him.

Hernando Cortés

Spanish conquistador who toppled the Aztec empire and marched on Tenochtitlán.

Juan Ponce de León

Spanish explorer who claimed Florida for Spain; associated with the search for the Fountain of Youth.

Francisco de Coronado

Spanish explorer who searched for the Seven Cities of Gold and explored the American Southwest.

Hernando de Soto

Spanish explorer who crossed the Southeast and discovered the Mississippi River.

Columbian Exchange (revisited)

See Columbian Exchange above; the global transfer of crops, livestock, and diseases after 1492.

Middle Passage

The brutal transatlantic voyage enslaved Africans endured to reach the Americas.

Timbuktu

City in Mali, a major center of Islamic learning and culture during the Mali Empire.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali who expanded wealth through gold trade and turned Timbuktu into a center of learning.

Ghana (West Africa)

Early West African empire known for wealth from gold and salt; collapsed by the early 1200s.

Mali

West African empire that rose under Mansa Musa; famed for gold and salt trade and Timbuktu.

Songhai

West African empire that became the largest in the region, conquering Mali before falling to Moroccans.

Middle Passage (emphasis)

The segment of the Atlantic slave trade transporting Africans to the Americas; high mortality.

Historiography

The study of how history is written and interpreted.

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese explorer whose expedition's crew completed the first circumnavigation of the globe.

Circumnavigate

To sail all the way around the world.

New France

French North American territory extending from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico.

New Netherlands

Dutch colonial settlement in North America along the Hudson River.

Hudson River

River along which the Dutch established New Netherlands.

Sir Francis Drake

English privateer who looted Spanish ports in the Pacific and circumnavigated the globe.

Sir Walter Raleigh

English explorer who established Roanoke Colony (the Lost Colony).

House of Burgesses

The first self-governing assembly of colonists in America (Virginia).

1619

The year Africans first arrived in Jamestown.

Worldview

A historian’s perspective that shapes what facts are studied, how they are interpreted, and how events are evaluated.

Validity of historical interpretation

An interpretation is valid when it is based on solid evidence.

Migration routes to the Americas

Possible paths by which Native peoples arrived: across the Bering Strait by boat, via an ice bridge, a land bridge, or by sailing across the ocean.

Crusades, Renaissance, Reformation

Key factors that helped make the Age of Exploration possible.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas, Europe, and Africa; examples include potatoes, tobacco, wheat, and oranges.

New France settlement challenges

Long Canadian winters limited farming and agriculture.

Reasons English came to America

To own land, seek freedom, escape persecution, gain wealth, explore, and increase power.

Mercantilism

Economic policy where nations sought to increase wealth through trade and colonial power.

Jamestown challenges

Early settlers faced disease, starvation, and attacks.

Powhatan relations by 1622

Violent conflicts and attacks between Virginians and the Powhatan.

Ghana wealth

The Ghana Empire gained wealth through trading and taxation of goods.

Timbuktu under Mansa Musa

Timbuktu became a center of Islamic learning and culture.

Songhai Empire expansion and defeat

Expanded with armored cavalry; defeated by the Moroccan army using muskets.

Middle Passage

A sea voyage that brought enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Columbian Exchange (labor drivers)

The exchange of goods between continents and the rise of labor demand due to trade routes and colonies.

Native American creativity

Native cultures demonstrated creativity through architecture, art, and agricultural practices.

Animism

Belief that natural objects and phenomena possess spirits; a characteristic sometimes noted in Native American religions.

Middle Passage and dignity

The Middle Passage violated the dignity of enslaved Africans by subjecting them to inhumane conditions and poor treatment.