APUSH U2 terms

Middle Passage

The stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of Africans sold for enslavement were forcibly transported to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade

John Calvin

Responsible for founding Calvinism, which was reformed Catholicism

John Rolfe

known as the “father of tobacco” in North America for cultivating the first successful strain of sweet, marketable tobacco in Virginia, creating the colony's long-awaited cash crop and profitable economy.

Captain John Smith

A pivotal English explorer, leader, and author instrumental in the survival of the Jamestown colony, He imposed strict discipline on the settlers, implemented the policy "He who will not work shall not eat" to promote agriculture, and explored the region, establishing crucial relationships with Native American tribes.

House of Burgesses

The first elected legislative assembly in the British American colonies, where representatives from each county made laws and set taxes. It represented an early form of self-governance and democratic principles in America.

Indian War 1622

or the Indian Massacre of 1622, was a surprise attack by the Powhatan Confederacy on English sett;events in Virginia on March 22, 1622.

Lord Baltimore

Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Baron Baltimore, who founded the Province of Maryland as a haven for persecuted Catholics.

Toleration Act of 1649

A colonial law that granted religious freedom to all Trinitarian Christians in Maryland, though it also included penalties for denying the divinity of Jesus.

Indentured servitude

A system where migrants, primarily poor Europeans, bound themselves to work for a fixed term (typically 4-7 years) for a colonial employer in exchange for transatlantic passage, food, and shelter.

Great Migration

the period from roughly 1910 to 1970 when approximately six million Black Americans moved from the rural South to cities in the North, Midwest, and West, seeking economic opportunities and escaping the Jim Crow laws, violence, and oppressive social conditions of the South

Puritans

English Protestants who, following the teachings of Calvinism and predestination, sought to "purify" the Church of England of its remaining Catholic practices but not necessarily break away entirely, as opposed to Separatists like the Pilgrims.

Pilgrims

A group of English Separatists who, seeking religious freedom from the Church of England, sailed to North America on the Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, establishing the first permanent English settlement in New England.

John Winthrop

leader and the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, instrumental in establishing it as a religious model for the world. He is famous for his 1630 sermon, "A Model of Christian Charity,"

Mayflower Compact

An agreement signed by the Pilgrims and other passengers in 1620 that established a self-governing political body to create "just and equal laws" for the general good of the Plymouth Colony,

William Bradford

leader and second governor of Plymouth Colony, a crucial early New England settlement. He is known for leading the Separatists on the Mayflower, governing Plymouth for decades

Congregational Church

A Puritan form of church governance in colonial New England where each local congregation was autonomous and self-governing, rather than being controlled by a central church authority like the Church of England. This structure allowed individual churches to manage their own affairs

Roger Williams

Founder of Rhode Island, a leader advocating for religious freedom and the separation of church and state, and a proponent of fair treatment of Native Americans. He was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his radical ideas, including the belief that government should not enforce religious doctrine

Anne Hutchinson

charismatic Puritan leader in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who challenged religious and gender norms by hosting meetings where she interpreted the Bible and preached salvation through grace alone, rather than good works.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

America's first written constitution, establishing a framework for self-governance based on "consent of the governed". It created a representative government with a supreme General Court and allowed all "freemen" to elect magistrates by secret ballot

Iroquois Confederation

A powerful political and military alliance of five (later six) Native American nations in the northeastern Woodlands (present-day New York), founded on the principle of permanent peace and mutual defense, which significantly influenced regional geopolitics and warfare with European colonial powers.

Metacom/King Philip

the Wampanoag leader who led the Metacom's War (1675-1678) against English settlers in New England. The war was caused by English encroachment on Native lands

Pequot War

The 1636-1638 conflict between the Connecticut-based Pequot Indians and English colonists, supported by Mohegan and Narragansett allies, that occurred due to land expansion, competition for the fur trade, and increasing tensions over cultural differences.

Bacon’s Rebellion

A violent uprising in colonial Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor William Berkeley and his friendly Native American policies. Caused by class tensions between wealthy Tidewater planters and land-hungry frontier farmers

Sir William Berkeley

Illustrated significant trends in colonial governance, such as the tension between elite interests and popular discontent. His policies favored wealthy planters, which facilitated economic growth but also created class divisions that spurred events like Bacon's Rebellion.

Royal Colony

A British colony directly controlled by the king, who appointed a governor and council to manage the colony's affairs and generate wealth for the Crown. While the King or his representative held veto power over colonial assemblies, colonists in royal colonies often still elected their own representatives to create local laws.

Headright system

a land grant policy used in early colonial America, beginning in 1618 in Jamestown, that offered 50 acres of land to any person who paid for their own passage to the colony or financed the passage of another settler. This system was designed to attract new settlers, particularly to the tobacco-dependent colonies like Virginia, but it primarily benefited wealthy individuals and landowners who could afford to pay for laborers