Untitled Flashcards Set

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

Mestizo

A person of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry.

Pueblo Revolt

A 1680 uprising of Pueblo people against Spanish colonizers in present-day New Mexico, temporarily driving the Spanish out.

Roanoke

The first English settlement in the New World, established in 1587, which mysteriously disappeared, earning the name 'The Lost Colony.'

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607 in Virginia.

House of Burgesses

The first elected legislative assembly in the New World, established in Virginia in 1619.

Headright System

A system granting land (usually 50 acres) to settlers who paid for their own or another's passage to Virginia.

Indentured Servitude

A system where individuals worked for a set period in exchange for passage to America and eventual freedom.

Bacon's Rebellion

A 1676 rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor William Berkeley, highlighting tensions between settlers and colonial authorities.

William Berkeley

Colonial governor of Virginia during Bacon’s Rebellion, criticized for favoring wealthy planters.

Pilgrims/Separatists

English Protestants who sought to separate from the Church of England and founded Plymouth Colony in 1620.

Predestination

The belief that God has predetermined who will be saved and who will be damned, central to Puritan theology.

Mayflower Compact

A 1620 agreement among Pilgrims for self-government in Plymouth Colony.

Plymouth Colony

The colony established by the Pilgrims in 1620 in present-day Massachusetts.

William Bradford

A Pilgrim leader and longtime governor of Plymouth Colony.

John Winthrop

Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, known for envisioning it as a 'city upon a hill.'

Anne Hutchinson (antinomianism)

A Puritan woman who challenged church authority and was banished from Massachusetts for her religious beliefs.

Roger Williams

Founder of Rhode Island, an advocate for religious freedom and separation of church and state.

Halfway Covenant

A policy allowing partial church membership for the descendants of Puritans.

William Penn

Founder of Pennsylvania, a Quaker who promoted religious tolerance.

Quakers

A religious group known for pacifism and belief in the 'Inner Light.'

James Oglethorpe

Founder of Georgia, which was established as a haven for debtors.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where colonies existed to benefit the mother country by providing raw materials and markets.

Navigation Acts

British trade laws restricting colonial trade to benefit England.

Stono Rebellion

A 1739 slave uprising in South Carolina that led to stricter slave codes.

Great Awakening

A religious revival in the 18th century that emphasized emotional preaching and individual faith.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights.

John Locke

Enlightenment thinker who influenced American political thought, advocating for natural rights and the social contract.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of lax enforcement of laws in the American colonies, allowing them to develop independently.

Albany Congress

A 1754 meeting aimed at uniting the colonies against French threats.

Seven Years’ War/French and Indian War

A conflict between Britain and France over North American territory, ending with the Treaty of Paris (1763).

Proclamation of 1763

A British decree forbidding colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Stamp Act

A 1765 tax on printed materials in the colonies, sparking widespread protest.

Quartering Act

A law requiring colonists to house and supply British soldiers.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest against British taxation in which colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

British laws meant to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial networks for communicating resistance to British policies.

First Continental Congress

A 1774 meeting of colonial representatives to coordinate resistance against British rule.

Second Continental Congress

The governing body during the American Revolution, which adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Olive Branch Petition

A final attempt to avoid war with Britain, rejected by King George III.

Common Sense

A pamphlet by Thomas Paine advocating for American independence.

Saratoga

A turning point in the American Revolution that led to French support for the colonies.

Yorktown

The final battle of the Revolution, where British forces surrendered.

Shays’ Rebellion

A 1786 uprising by Massachusetts farmers protesting debt and taxes, highlighting weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation.

Articles of Confederation

The first U.S. government framework, which was weak and later replaced by the Constitution.

Land Ordinance of 1785

A law that set up a system for surveying and selling land in the Northwest Territory.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

A law establishing a government for the Northwest Territory and outlining the process for statehood, banning slavery in the region.

Virginia Plan

A proposal for representation in Congress based on population, favoring large states.

New Jersey Plan

A proposal for equal representation in Congress, favoring small states.

Federalism

A system of government where power is divided between national and state governments.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement counting three-fifths of enslaved people for taxation and representation purposes.

Federalist Papers #10

An essay by James Madison arguing for a large republic to control factions and prevent tyranny.

Alexander Hamilton

A Founding Father, leader of the Federalists, and the first Secretary of the Treasury.

Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of Independence and leader of the Democratic-Republican Party.

Hamilton’s Federalists vs. Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans

Early political parties; Federalists favored a strong central government, while Democratic-Republicans supported states’ rights.

Hamilton’s Financial Plan

A plan to stabilize the U.S. economy, including the national bank, assumption of state debts, and excise taxes.

Jay’s Treaty

A 1794 treaty with Britain to resolve trade and border issues but unpopular for not addressing British impressment.

Pinckney’s Treaty

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

Whiskey Rebellion

A 1794 protest against the whiskey tax, showing the strength of the new federal government under the Constitution.

XYZ Affair

A diplomatic scandal in which French officials demanded bribes from American diplomats.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws passed in 1798 restricting immigrants and limiting free speech to silence critics of the government.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Statements that argued states could nullify unconstitutional federal laws.

John Marshall

Chief Justice who strengthened the power of the Supreme Court and federal government.

Marbury v. Madison

A 1803 Supreme Court case establishing judicial review, allowing courts to strike down unconstitutional laws.

McCulloch v. Maryland

A case upholding federal supremacy and the constitutionality of the national bank.

Embargo Act of 1807

A U.S. trade ban with Britain and France that hurt the American economy.

Battle of Tippecanoe

A battle in 1811 in which U.S. forces defeated Native American resistance in the Northwest Territory.

Causes of the War of 1812

British impressment of American sailors, trade restrictions, and Native American conflicts.

Impressment

The British practice of seizing American sailors and forcing them into military service.

War Hawks

Members of Congress who pushed for war with Britain, including Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun.

Hartford Convention

A meeting of New England Federalists opposed to the War of 1812; led to the decline of the Federalist Party.

Treaty of Ghent

The 1814 treaty ending the War of 1812, restoring pre-war boundaries.

Era of Good Feelings

A period of national unity and political harmony following the War of 1812.

Henry Clay’s American System

A plan to strengthen the U.S. economy through a national bank, protective tariffs, and internal improvements.

Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817

A treaty between the U.S. and Britain limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes.

Adams-Onís Treaty (1819)

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

Missouri Compromise

A law that admitted Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and banned slavery in certain territories.

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. policy warning European powers against further colonization in the Western Hemisphere.

Hudson River School of Art

A group of artists known for landscape paintings celebrating American nature.

Spoils System

A practice where government jobs were given to political supporters.

Peggy Eaton Affair

A scandal involving the wife of a cabinet member that divided Andrew Jackson’s administration.

Nullification Crisis

A confrontation between South Carolina and the federal government over tariffs and states' rights.

Bank Veto

Andrew Jackson’s rejection of the Second Bank of the U.S., leading to the destruction of the national bank.

Panic of 1837

A financial crisis caused by the collapse of state banks following Jackson’s economic policies.

Independent Treasury Act

A law that created a separate government treasury to stabilize the economy.

Nativism

Anti-immigrant sentiment favoring native-born Americans.

Erie Canal

A canal linking the Great Lakes with the Hudson River, boosting trade and westward expansion.

Lowell System

A labor system using young women to work in textile mills in Massachusetts.

Nat Turner Rebellion

An 1831 slave revolt in Virginia, leading to stricter slave laws.

Alexis de Tocqueville

A French political thinker who analyzed American democracy in Democracy in America.

Second Great Awakening

A religious revival that emphasized personal salvation and social reform.

Neal Dow

A leader in the temperance movement advocating against alcohol.

Cult of True Womanhood/Domesticity

An ideology that idealized women’s role in the home.

Seneca Falls Convention

The first women’s rights convention in 1848 advocating for gender equality.

Declaration of Sentiments

A document demanding equal rights for women, modeled after the Declaration of Independence.

Lucretia Mott

A women's rights advocate and abolitionist.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

A leader in the women’s rights movement and organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention.

Horace Mann

A reformer who promoted public education.

Dorothea Dix

An activist who worked for better treatment of the mentally ill.

William Lloyd Garrison

An abolitionist who published The Liberator.