Early American History: Colonization to the Constitution

Vocabulary flashcards detailing key historical terms, colonial structures, major figures, conflicts, and founding documents from early American history.

Joint-Stock Colony

A colony owned by investors to generate profit, such as the Virginia Company and early Massachusetts.

Proprietary Colony

A colony owned and governed by an individual or designated group, such as Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and the Carolinas.

Royal Colony

A colony owned directly by the Crown with a governor appointed by the King or Queen; almost all American colonies eventually transitioned into this status except Pennsylvania.

John Smith

A soldier and diplomat sent to Jamestown to establish order; he instituted martial law and enforced the rule that whoever does not work shall not eat.

Headright System

A system initiated by the Virginia Company offering 50 acres of land per person to incentivize settlement and labor in Virginia.

John Rolfe

Husband of Pocahontas who introduced profitable, labor-intensive tobacco cultivation to the colony of Virginia.

Roger Williams

A religious dissenter who argued that colonists were stealing land from Native Americans without purchasing it and questioned the King's charter; after being banished by John Winthrop, he established Rhode Island.

Anne Hutchinson

A colonist accused of violating the Fifth Commandment and holding gatherings to criticize ministers for preaching good deeds instead of faith; after claiming direct revelation from God, she was banished to Connecticut.

King Philip's War (1675–1676)

A conflict launched by the Wampanoag leader Metacom (King Philip) against New England settlements during church services, which resulted in widespread devastation, organized colonial militias, and King Philip's execution.

Bacon's Rebellion

A 1676 uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon alongside indentured servants who fought Native Americans and burned down Jamestown; its aftermath prompted Virginia planters to transition permanently to enslaved labor.

Lord Baltimore

The proprietor granted land north of Virginia to establish Maryland as a proprietary colony and refuge for Catholics.

William Penn

A Quaker proprietor who was granted Pennsylvania by the King due to a debt owed to his father, establishing a colony marked by nonviolence, religious openness, and purchased land agreements with Native Americans.

New Netherland

A Dutch colony focused on trade and shipping with its hub at New Amsterdam, which was later surrendered to England and granted to the Duke of York.

The Glorious Revolution (1689)

The bloodless overthrow of the Catholic King James II by Parliament, placing William and Mary on the throne, restoring English Protestant rule, and leading to the reissuing of altered colonial charters.

Spectral Evidence

Evidence based on dreams and visions of ghosts or specters, accepted during the Salem Witch Trials where 19 people were hanged and 20 were killed before the governor intervened.

Fort Necessity

A temporary outpost built in a meadow valley by George Washington in western Pennsylvania where he was forced to surrender to French troops on July 3, 1754.

William Pitt

The British leader who took charge of the French and Indian War effort by directing financial resources, military coordination, and troop operations directly to North America.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

The treaty that concluded the French and Indian War, requiring France to cede Canada to England and establishing Great Britain as a dominant global power burdened by significant war debt.

Proclamation of 1763

A British decree issued after the French and Indian War prohibiting American colonists from settling west across the Ohio River.

Stamp Act (1765)

An internal British tax levied on every official document, newspaper, and paper product in the colonies, inciting intense colonial resistance until its repeal in October 1765.

Townshend Duties (1767)

External import taxes enacted by Parliament on British commodities brought into the colonies, including paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea.

Boston Massacre (March 1770)

A violent confrontation in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonial civilians, resulting in American deaths and heightening anti-British sentiment.

Boston Tea Party (December 1773)

A protest staged by the Sons of Liberty against the British tea tax, during which approximately 200 chests of tea were dumped into Boston Harbor.

Battle of Saratoga (October 1777)

The turning point of the Revolutionary War in which American forces compelled the surrender of 7,000 British soldiers, convincing France to form a formal alliance and provide military aid.

Baron von Steuben

A Prussian military officer who drilled and trained Continental Army troops at Valley Forge, transforming colonial soldiers into an effective, disciplined fighting force.

Articles of Confederation

The first national constitution of the United States, creating a weak unicameral legislature without the power to tax, maintain a standing national army, or establish a single national currency.

Newburgh Affair

A potential mutiny by Continental Army officers stationed in New York who threatened to march on Philadelphia over unpaid wages and pensions, defused by George Washington's intervention.

Shays' Rebellion (1786)

An armed insurrection led by Daniel Shays and indebted Massachusetts farmers seeking to halt state court land seizures and farm foreclosures caused by heavy taxes.

Great Compromise

An agreement at the Constitutional Convention reconciling the Virginia and New Jersey Plans by establishing a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate.

Three-Fifths Clause

A constitutional agreement stipulating that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for both congressional representation and federal taxation purposes.

Federalist Papers

A series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.

Republican Motherhood

The ideal that women played a vital civic role in the new American republic by instilling virtue, honor, and civic integrity in their sons.