U.S. History Survey: Native America through Reconstruction (1400s-1877)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, events, concepts, and legislation from Native American societies through Reconstruction, designed to reinforce major themes for exam review.

Animism

Native American belief that plants, animals, and other non-human things possess a spiritual essence.

Pueblo (Southwest)

Native people who lived in arid lands and relied on irrigation to grow maize and other crops.

Lakota/Sioux (Great Plains & Great Basin)

Nomadic Native groups who hunted buffalo due to scarce natural resources.

Iroquois Confederation

Powerful alliance of Northeast tribes that practiced mixed agriculture and hunting and formed permanent villages.

Three G’s

Motives for European exploration—Gold (wealth), Glory (power), and God (spread Christianity).

Columbian Exchange

Trans-Atlantic transfer of people, plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between Europe, Africa, and the Americas after 1492.

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

Agreement in which Spain and Portugal divided the Western Hemisphere; Spain got most of the Americas.

Encomienda System

Spanish labor system that granted colonists land and Native laborers in exchange for Christianization.

Mestizo

Person of mixed Native American and European ancestry in Spanish colonies.

Mulatto

Person of mixed African and European ancestry in Spanish colonies.

Pueblo Revolt (1680)

Native uprising led by Popé that expelled the Spanish from New Mexico for 12 years.

Juan de Sepúlveda

Spanish writer who justified conquest in “Just Causes for War Against the Indians.”

Bartolomé de las Casas

Spanish priest who condemned Native abuse in “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” (1552).

Mercantilism

Economic theory that colonies exist to enrich the mother country by supplying raw materials and buying finished goods.

Joint-Stock Company

Business entity in which investors share profits and losses from a colony (e.g., Virginia Company).

Indentured Servant

Laborer who worked 4-7 years for passage to America, prominent in early Virginia.

Headright System

Policy granting land to anyone who paid passage for a laborer to Virginia.

House of Burgesses (1619)

First representative assembly in British North America, located in Virginia.

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

Frontier revolt that accelerated the shift from indentured servants to African chattel slavery.

Act of Toleration (1649)

Maryland law granting religious freedom to all Christians but death to those denying Jesus’ divinity.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

Agreement for self-government signed by Pilgrims before landing at Plymouth.

Puritans

English Protestants who sought to purify the Church of England; many settled Massachusetts Bay.

“City upon a Hill”

John Winthrop’s vision of Massachusetts Bay as a godly model for the world.

Roger Williams

Banished Puritan minister who founded Rhode Island on principles of religious freedom and separation of church and state.

Anne Hutchinson

Puritan woman exiled for challenging church authority and gender roles in Massachusetts.

Pequot War (1630s)

Conflict in which New England colonists wiped out the Pequot tribe.

King Philip’s War (1675-76)

War led by Wampanoag chief Metacom; last major Native resistance in New England.

Quakers

Pacifist Protestant sect that founded Pennsylvania under William Penn for religious tolerance.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of loose enforcement of trade laws in the colonies before 1763.

Navigation Acts

Laws restricting colonial trade to English ships and ports to enforce mercantilism.

Dominion of New England (1686-88)

Royal consolidation of colonies under Sir Edmund Andros to tighten control; collapsed after Glorious Revolution.

Triangular Trade

Three-way exchange of slaves, raw materials, and manufactured goods between Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

Middle Passage

Brutal ocean voyage that brought enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

South Carolina slave uprising that led to stricter slave codes.

Half-Way Covenant (1662)

Policy allowing partial church membership for New Englanders lacking a conversion experience.

First Great Awakening

1730s-40s religious revival led by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, fostering new denominations and egalitarian ideas.

Zenger Trial (1735)

Colonial case establishing that truthful criticism of officials is not libel, advancing freedom of the press.

French & Indian War

North American theater of the Seven Years’ War (1754-63) between Britain and France; ended Salutary Neglect.

Albany Plan of Union

Benjamin Franklin’s 1754 proposal to coordinate colonial defense; rejected but set precedent for unity.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Ended French & Indian War; Britain gained Canada and land to Mississippi, France lost mainland North America.

Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763)

Native uprising in the Great Lakes; prompted Proclamation of 1763.

Proclamation of 1763

British decree forbidding colonial settlement west of Appalachian Mountains.

Sugar Act (1764)

First revenue tax on colonies; lowered molasses duty but enforced collection.

Stamp Act (1765)

Direct tax on printed materials; sparked “no taxation without representation.”

Sons of Liberty

Radical group that used protests and violence to resist British taxes.

Declaratory Act (1766)

Parliament’s assertion of the right to legislate for colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”

Townshend Acts (1767)

Import taxes on glass, paper, tea; revenues paid royal officials, sparking boycotts.

Boston Massacre (1770)

Confrontation where British troops killed five colonists; used as propaganda against Britain.

Committees of Correspondence

Inter-colonial networks created by Samuel Adams to coordinate resistance to British policy.

Tea Act (1773)

Law granting British East India Company a tea monopoly; led to Boston Tea Party.

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774)

Punitive laws closing Boston port and restricting Massachusetts self-government after Tea Party.

Quebec Act (1774)

Extended Quebec into Ohio Valley and recognized Catholicism, angering colonists.

First Continental Congress

1774 Philadelphia meeting that organized boycotts and petitioned the king after Intolerable Acts.

Lexington & Concord (1775)

First armed clashes of the American Revolution; “shot heard ’round the world.”

Olive Branch Petition

1775 plea by Second Continental Congress for reconciliation; rejected by King George III.

Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”

1776 pamphlet urging independence and republican government.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document asserting colonial independence and Enlightenment principles of natural rights.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to Britain; about 20-30 % of population.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

Turning-point American victory that secured French alliance.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Final major battle; Cornwallis surrendered to American and French forces.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Ended Revolutionary War; Britain recognized U.S. independence to Mississippi River.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. national government (1781-89) with weak central powers and no taxation authority.

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Law setting process for territories to become states and banning slavery north of Ohio River.

Shay’s Rebellion (1786-87)

Massachusetts farmers’ uprising exposing weaknesses of Articles and prompting Constitutional Convention.

Great Compromise

Constitutional agreement creating bicameral Congress: Senate equal, House by population.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Counted each enslaved person as 3⁄5 of a person for representation and taxation.

Federalist Papers

Essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay promoting Constitution ratification.

Bill of Rights (1791)

First ten amendments safeguarding individual liberties from federal power.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Pennsylvania uprising against excise tax; suppressed by Washington, proving federal authority.

Alien & Sedition Acts (1798)

Federalist laws targeting immigrants and limiting speech against government.

Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions

Jefferson and Madison’s essays asserting state power to nullify unconstitutional federal laws.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Supreme Court case establishing judicial review.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

Jefferson’s acquisition doubling U.S. size for $15 million from France.

Embargo Act (1807)

Jefferson’s ban on foreign trade aiming to protect neutrality; hurt U.S. economy.

War Hawks

Young congressmen like Clay and Calhoun who pushed for war with Britain (1812).

War of 1812

Conflict with Britain over maritime rights; ended in stalemate but boosted nationalism.

Hartford Convention (1814)

Federalist meeting opposing War of 1812; discredited party for seeming unpatriotic.

American System

Henry Clay’s plan for protective tariffs, 2nd Bank of U.S., and internal improvements.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Admitted Missouri slave, Maine free; banned slavery north of 36°30′ in Louisiana Territory.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

U.S. declaration opposing European colonization in Western Hemisphere.

Corrupt Bargain (1824)

Alleged deal that made John Quincy Adams president and Henry Clay Secretary of State.

Spoils System

Andrew Jackson’s practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs.

Nullification Crisis (1832-33)

South Carolina’s attempt to void tariffs; resolved by Compromise Tariff and Force Bill.

Indian Removal Act (1830)

Law mandating relocation of Southeastern tribes west of Mississippi.

Trail of Tears (1838)

Forced march of Cherokee to Oklahoma; thousands died.

Bank War

Jackson’s veto and dismantling of Second Bank of the U.S.

Panic of 1837

Severe economic downturn linked to bank policies and Specie Circular.

Market Revolution

19th-century transformation of U.S. economy via factories, transportation, and commercialization.

Second Great Awakening

Early-19th-century religious revival spurring reform movements.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

First women’s rights convention; issued Declaration of Sentiments demanding suffrage.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that U.S. was destined to expand across the continent.

Mexican-American War (1846-48)

Conflict yielding U.S. acquisition of Southwest via Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Wilmot Proviso

Failed 1846 proposal to ban slavery in territory gained from Mexico.

Compromise of 1850

Package admitting California free, tough Fugitive Slave Law, popular sovereignty in Utah/NM, ending D.C. slave trade.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Law requiring return of runaway slaves; denied accused a jury trial.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Law allowing popular sovereignty north of 36°30′, voiding Missouri Compromise.

“Bleeding Kansas”

Violence between pro- and anti-slavery settlers after Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Fort Sumter (1861)

Confederate attack that began the Civil War.

Border States

Slave states (MO, KY, MD, DE) that stayed in Union; key to Union strategy.

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to blockade South and control Mississippi River.