American Colonial History - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on Cahokia through the Zenger Trial and related colonial history.

Cahokia

Mound-building city in southern Illinois along the Mississippi; economy based on trade and agriculture; declined due to depletion of natural resources and food.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of plants, animals, minerals, diseases, and people between the Old and New Worlds.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Spanish priest who opposed enslaving Indigenous peoples; later advocated for better treatment of Africans after observing mistreatment; critic of the encomienda system.

encomienda system

Crown-granted land or labor system in which encomenderos forced Native Americans to work in exchange for protection and Christian instruction.

Pueblo Revolt (1680)

Native uprising against Spanish religious and labor oppression; united tribes to resist colonizers; successful for a time before Spaniards returned.

mercantilism

Economic theory that wealth is measured by gold and silver; colonies exist to enrich the mother country through controlled trade.

Protestant Reformation

16th-century religious movement challenging the Catholic Church; led to the creation of Protestant churches.

John Calvin

Protestant reformer who taught predestination and emphasized a disciplined, moral Christian life.

predestination

Belief that God has predetermined who will be saved.

conversion (Puritan)

Emotional experience of being saved by God in Puritan belief.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in Virginia, founded for economic gain and tobacco cultivation.

John Smith

Leader of Jamestown who helped the colony survive by trading with natives, organizing work, and enforcing discipline.

joint stock company

Business model where investors pool capital to fund colonies or trade, sharing profits and risks.

headright system

Virginia policy granting land to settlers for each person brought to the colony to encourage immigration and labor.

Virginia House of Burgesses

First representative assembly in the American colonies (1619), enabling local self-government.

Act of Concerning Religion (Maryland)

Maryland law granting religious freedom to Christians, protecting Catholics and Protestants from persecution.

Georgia (founded as a colony)

Buffer colony to protect South Carolina from Spanish Florida and to provide a fresh start for the poor.

Pilgrims

English separatists who fled for religious freedom and founded Plymouth Colony (1620).

Mayflower Compact

Agreement by Plymouth settlers to govern themselves by majority rule.

Puritans

English Protestants seeking to purify the Church of England and establish a strict, moral religious society in Massachusetts Bay.

John Winthrop

Leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; promoted the idea of a “city upon a hill.”

City Upon a Hill

Ideal of a godly, disciplined, exemplary community that would serve as a model to others.

visible saints

Puritan belief that those chosen by God will show signs of grace and be publicly recognized.

Roger Williams

Banished from Massachusetts for advocating church-state separation and fair treatment of Native Americans; founded Rhode Island for religious freedom.

Anne Hutchinson

Puritan woman who challenged clerical authority and promoted salvation by faith alone; banished and settled in Rhode Island.

Pequot War

Conflict between the Pequot tribe and English settlers in New England, leading to near destruction of the Pequot.

King Philip’s War

Conflict led by Metacom between Native peoples and English colonists; devastating for Native populations and strengthened colonial control.

Quakers

Religious group emphasizing equality, nonviolence, and inner guidance; persecuted in several colonies; influenced Pennsylvania.

William Penn

Founder of Pennsylvania; a Quaker who promoted religious freedom and fair treatment of Native Americans.

Navigation Acts

Mercantilist laws requiring colonial trade to be conducted on English ships and primarily with England.

Middle Passage

Transatlantic voyage transporting enslaved Africans to the Americas; characterized by brutal conditions and high mortality.

Stono Rebellion

Slave uprising in South Carolina; led to harsher slave laws and tightened control of enslaved people.

Great Awakening

Religious revival emphasizing personal faith, emotional preaching, and challenge to traditional authority.

Jonathan Edwards

Prominent Great Awakening preacher known for emotional sermons urging personal conversion.

George Whitefield

Evangelist who traveled the colonies, drew large crowds, and promoted personal conversion and emotional worship.

Zenger Trial

John Peter Zenger’s acquittal established freedom of the press when statements are true.