U.S. History Unit 1: Colonization and the Rise of the United States (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Page 2 notes of Unit 1: Colonization and the Rise of the United States.

Cahokia

A major pre-Columbian Mississippian urban center near present-day St. Louis, known for large mound-building and long-distance trade networks.

Aztec Empire

A powerful Mesoamerican empire in central Mexico with Tenochtitlan at its center, known for extensive cities, calendars, and religious practices.

Indigenous Cultural Regions: Southeast

Mound-building and agricultural cultures in the southeastern United States with complex social networks.

Indigenous Cultural Regions: Northeast/Eastern Woodlands

Iroquoian and Algonquian-speaking societies with longhouse and palisade settlements and rich trade networks.

Indigenous Cultural Regions: Great Plains

Nomadic and semi-sedentary groups adapted to grasslands, many following bision herds and developing portable life ways.

Indigenous Cultural Regions: Southwest

Desert-culture civilizations (e.g., Ancestral Pueblo) with irrigation, cliff dwellings, and sophisticated adobe architecture.

Indigenous Cultural Regions: The Pacific Coast - Northwest

Coastal hunter-gatherer and maritime cultures with rich resources and extensive trade networks.

Indigenous Cultural Regions: The Pacific Coast - California

Diverse hunter-gatherer communities with abundant resources and complex social structures.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator sponsored by Spain who reached the Americas in 1492, initiating sustained European contact and exchange.

Goals of exploration

Desire for wealth, religious expansion, national glory, and new trade routes driving European voyages.

Relationship with Native Americans

Varied interactions including trade, alliances, conflict, disease, displacement, and cultural exchange.

European Exploration

Transatlantic voyages beginning in the 15th century spurred by trade, faith, and advances in navigation.

European Colonization in the Americas - Spanish colonization

Spanish settlements and missions in the Caribbean, American Southwest, and parts of the Americas, often with encomienda systems.

European Colonization in the Americas - French colonization

French settlements in Canada and along the Mississippi River valley focused on fur trade and alliances with Native Americans.

European Colonization in the Americas - British colonization

British colonies along the Atlantic seaboard with diverse economies and stronger settler presence.

Triangle Trade/Atlantic Slave Trade

A transatlantic system where enslaved Africans were traded for goods and transported to the Americas, facilitating sugar, tobacco, and cotton production.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that a nation’s wealth is measured by bullion and that colonies exist to supply raw materials and markets for the mother country.

Navigation Acts

England’s laws restricting colonial trade to English ships and ports to promote mercantilist goals and control colonial commerce.

The Chesapeake (Southern) Colonies

Virginia and Maryland; tobacco-based plantation economies with early indentured servitude and later slavery.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in Virginia (1607), established by the Virginia Company and later sustained by tobacco.

Middle Colonies

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware; mix of farming and trade; religious tolerance; diverse population.

Quakers

Society of Friends; pacifist religious group advocating equality and religious tolerance, influential in Pennsylvania.

New England (Northern) Colonies

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire; Puritan foundations, town meetings, maritime economy.

Plymouth

1620 Pilgrim settlement in present-day Massachusetts; Puritan separatists and the Mayflower Compact origin.

Slavery in the British Colonies

Institutionalized labor system across colonies, most entrenched in the Southern colonies but present in others as well.

Bacon’s Rebellion

1676 Virginia uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon against colonial governance, highlighting frontier tensions and labor shifts.

Magna Carta

1215 charter limiting the king’s power and laying early groundwork for rule of law and certain rights.

English Bill of Rights

1689 statute limiting royal power and affirming Parliament’s and individuals’ rights.

American Revolution – Background

Long-term and immediate causes including mercantilist policy, Enlightenment ideas, and colonial grievances.

Continental Congress

Colonial delegates who coordinated resistance to Britain and governed the colonies during the Revolution.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

April 1775 battles marking the start of the American Revolution.

Battle of Saratoga

1777 turning point in the revolution, leading to Franco-American alliance and increased support.

Treaty of Paris 1783

Ended the American Revolutionary War; recognized United States independence and set new borders.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document asserting colonies’ independence and outlining natural rights and grievances.

Causes of the American Revolution: Mercantilism

Mercantilist policies restricted colonial trade and created resentment toward Britain.

Causes of the American Revolution: Enlightenment—John Locke; Natural Rights

Philosophical ideas about rights and government that inspired revolutionary thought.

Causes of the American Revolution: First Great Awakening

Religious revival that fostered challenge to traditional authority and questioned social hierarchies.

Causes of the American Revolution: French and Indian War

Conflict that ended with British debt and new imperial policies affecting the colonies.

Proclamation of 1763

Royal order restricting colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains to reduce conflict with Native Americans.

No taxation without representation

Colonial slogan arguing that taxes imposed by Britain lacked colonial representation in Parliament.

Virtual Representation

British claim that Parliament represented all subjects, including colonies, even without colonial votes.

Sugar Act

1764 British tax on sugar and molasses aimed at raising revenue from the colonies.

Declaratory Act

1766 assertion by Parliament of the right to legislate for the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever.'

Stamp Act

1765 tax requiring stamps on paper goods, provoking widespread colonial opposition.

Townshend Acts

1767 series of taxes on colonial goods (tea, glass, paint) leading to protest and boycotts.

Boston Massacre

1770 clash in which British soldiers killed several colonists, fueling anti-British sentiment.

Boston Tea Party

1773 protest where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose taxation.

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts

1787 punitive laws punishing Massachusetts and tightening imperial control after the Tea Party.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial networks for sharing information and coordinating resistance to Britain.

Sons of Liberty

Colonial group advocating resistance to British rule and taxes.

Daughters of Liberty

Women’s group supporting resistance, often through home manufacturing and boycotts.

Common Sense

Thomas Paine’s pamphlet (1776) arguing for independence from Britain.

Northwest Territory & conflict

Teritory north of the Ohio River; conflicts with Native Americans during expansion.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Law establishing governance for the Northwest Territory and pathways to statehood; banned slavery there.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. constitutional framework (1781–1789) with a weak central government and no power to tax.

Shays’ Rebellion

1786–87 Massachusetts farmer rebellion highlighting AoC weaknesses and the need for a stronger central government.

Constitutional Convention of 1787

Philadelphia meeting to revise the AoC, producing the U.S. Constitution and key compromises.

Great Compromise

Legislative plan combining Virginia and New Jersey plans to create a bicameral Congress.

3/5ths Compromise

Constitutional clause counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation.

Electoral College

Indirect system for electing the President, with votes allocated by state congressional representation.

Federalism

Division of power between national and state governments.

Checks & Balances

System ensuring no single branch of government becomes too powerful.

Debate Over Ratification

Argument between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the new Constitution and rights protections.

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution who favored a stronger central government.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the Constitution who demanded protections for individual rights (led to Bill of Rights)).

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments guaranteeing individual liberties and limiting federal power.

Citizenship: Natural born vs. naturalization

Natural born: born in the country; Naturalization: legal process to become a citizen.

Assimilation

Process by which newcomers are integrated into the dominant culture.

Gradual emancipation

Policy in some states for gradually freeing enslaved people, often by age or time.