Comprehensive U.S. Colonial and Native American History: Exploration, Settlement, and Conflict

Earliest inhabitants of America

People who crossed from Asia to Alaska around 12,000 years ago during the Ice Age, following large mammals.

Hunter-gatherers

Early inhabitants who formed camps after large animals like woolly mammoths died out.

Major Native civilizations (1492)

Civilizations that became more advanced, building settlements around rivers and food sources.

Geography's influence on Native life

Different regions shaped lifestyles: Southwest focused on farming/irrigation, Northeast on hunting, Mississippi Valley on large towns, Great Plains on mobile groups, Great Basin on small, scattered communities.

Maize

Supported population growth and reduced starvation, allowing children to eat solid food sooner, increasing birth rates.

Cahokia

A major trade center in the Southwest.

Exploration causes in Europe

Desire for wealth, religious expansion or freedom, overpopulation, advances in navigation, and competition among nations encouraged exploration.

Leif Ericson

Greenlandic explorer who reached modern Canada around 1000 AD.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer sailing for Spain in 1492, aiming for Asia but reached America.

Amerigo Vespucci

Italian explorer who realized South America was a new continent, not Asia.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 treaty dividing new lands: Spain got most of the Americas, Portugal got Brazil, parts of Africa and Asia.

Balboa

First European to see the Pacific Ocean.

Cortes

Conquered the Aztecs, demonstrating European military power.

Conquistadores

Spanish adventurers seeking wealth and land, spreading Christianity, often through violence.

Encomienda system

Spanish system of forced Native labor and conversion, leading to severe exploitation.

Pueblo Revolt

1680 uprising led by Pueblo leader Pope, temporarily driving out the Spanish.

John Cabot

Italian explorer sailing for England who claimed land but England delayed settlement.

Henry Hudson

Explorer for England and the Netherlands, helped found New Netherland.

Protestant Reformation

European religious movement led by Martin Luther, prompting migration of Protestants seeking freedom.

Richard Hakluyt

English writer promoting New World exploration.

Queen Elizabeth

Protestant queen of England supporting exploration and piracy against Spain.

Sir Walter Raleigh

Founded Roanoke colony, the first English settlement, which later failed.

Spanish Armada

Large Spanish fleet defeated by England, boosting English exploration.

Sir Francis Drake

English privateer who disrupted the Spanish Armada.

Roanoke

England's first colony, mysteriously abandoned.

London Company

Joint-stock company that funded Jamestown, starting English colonial investment.

Jamestown

First permanent English colony; struggled with famine and attacks, survived through tobacco cultivation.

Powhatans

Native group that initially helped Jamestown settlers but later fought them.

Indentured servant

Laborer working 7 years in exchange for passage to America.

House of Burgesses

First democratic assembly in America.

Anglican Church

Protestant Church of England; caused tension with other religions in colonies.

Separatists

Pilgrims who left England for religious freedom, founding Plymouth.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement among pilgrims for self-government by majority vote.

Squanto

Native American who taught pilgrims survival skills, helping Plymouth thrive.

William Bradford

Governor of Plymouth Colony.

Massachusetts Bay Company

Puritan joint-stock company; created a wealthy, successful colony in 1630.

John Winthrop

First governor of Mass Bay Colony; established a Christian society.

Great Migration

1630-40 movement of 20,000 Puritans seeking religious and economic opportunities in America.

Puritan covenant

Belief in a binding agreement with God dictating Puritan life.

predestination/visible saints

Only 'visible saints' predestined for heaven could join certain churches.

Anne Hutchinson

Challenged Puritan beliefs; expelled for claiming faith—not works—determined salvation.

Roger Williams

Founded Rhode Island for religious freedom and separation of church and state.

Thomas Hooker

Led settlers to Connecticut; Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was first written constitution.

Pequot War

Conflict between settlers and Pequot tribe; settlers massacred the tribe, showing their violence.

Dutch settlement in America

New Netherland (modern NY) founded by the Dutch.

Peter Minuit

Purchased Manhattan from Natives in 1626.

Lord Baltimore

Founded Maryland with religious tolerance.

Toleration Act of 1649

Maryland law granting religious freedom to Christians.

Duke of York

Renamed New Netherland as New York after England took it from the Dutch.

William Penn

Quaker founder of Pennsylvania; promoted tolerance and good relations with Natives.

Columbian Exchange

Transfer of plants, animals, and technology between Europe and America; benefited Europeans, harmed Natives through disease.

Reasons for European exploration

Desire for gold, religious motives, navigation advances, and competition among nations.

Reasons for England's slow exploration

Political instability, lack of resources, fear of war with Spain.

European view of Natives

Europeans saw themselves as superior, valued land ownership, often exploited Natives.

Private exploration in England

Government lacked funds; companies funded colonies, leading to self-governance and scattered settlements.

Problems faced by English settlements

Starvation, disease, labor shortages, financial instability.

Types of colonies

Joint-stock: investors funded colonies for profit. Proprietary: land granted by the king (e.g., Lord Baltimore). Royal: controlled by English government.

Native American and European cultures

Both valued trade, farming, and religion; Natives were mobile and small-scale, Europeans settled in large, permanent communities with advanced technology.

Reasons for Spain and England's success

Spain had early wealth and power to fund expeditions; England succeeded with permanent settlements, joint-stock companies, and self-governance.

Religious vs. economic motives in English settlement

Religion drove New England migration; economics drove Virginia/Maryland; both caused initial travel.

Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson's threat

Their beliefs opposed Puritan authority and doctrines of predestination, challenging the colony's foundation.

Comparison of Virginia and Massachusetts Bay

Virginia focused on economic gain, Mass Bay on religion; both had democratic institutions and eventually succeeded.

Headright system

Colonists who paid for themselves or others to travel received 50 acres of land.

Quitrent

Small annual tax on land received through systems like headright.

Peculiar Institution

Term for slavery in the South, which shaped society uniquely.

Town Meetings

New England system where male church members voted on issues, beginning American democracy.

Half-Way Covenant

Puritan rule allowing non-members' children to be baptized, but not full members.

Dominion of New England

King James II combined northern colonies to tighten control; unpopular with settlers.

Edmund Andros

Governor of the Dominion; strict rules angered colonists; overthrown after Glorious Revolution.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 Virginia uprising against Governor Berkeley over native attacks and class tensions.

William Berkeley

Virginia governor favoring elites; overthrown by Bacon.

Middle Passage

Harrowing ocean journey for enslaved Africans; many died from disease and abuse.

Stono Rebellion

1739 South Carolina slave revolt; crushed, led to harsher laws.

Boston Latin School / Harvard

Boston Latin: first colonial grammar school. Harvard: first higher education institution.

Scotch-Irish

Immigrants settling in backcountry; independent and self-reliant.

James Oglethorpe

Founded Georgia as a buffer colony; initially banned slavery and rum.

Cotton Mather

Puritan minister; promoted science, religion, smallpox advancements, and supported witch trials.

Glorious Revolution

William and Mary overthrew James II; Dominion of New England collapsed; colonists regained autonomy.

Salem Village

Site of Salem Witch Trials; 20 executions revealed Puritan tensions.

Leisler's Rebellion

1689-91 NY uprising; Jacob Leisler seized power but was executed.

Paxton Boys Uprising

1764 Pennsylvania revolt; Scotch-Irish attacked Natives and protested government neglect.

Life in Chesapeake

Precarious due to disease, malaria, climate, conflicts with Natives, and initial struggles with tobacco.

New World change London Company plans

Headright system, House of Burgesses, and focus on tobacco arose due to challenges like Jamestown famine.

Slavery adoption in colonies

Labor demand, fewer indentured servants, and racism against Africans.

Consequences of tobacco cultivation

Labor demand increased, wealthy planters dominated, and settlers expanded into Native lands.

Causes of Bacon's Rebellion

Poor settlers vs. elites over land, Native attacks, and class tension.

New England thriving

Self-governance, work ethic from religion, mixed economy not reliant on one crop.

Triangular trade function

Africans to Americas, raw goods to England, manufactured goods to Africa; more of a complex web.

Middle Colonies growth

Fertile land, rivers, diversity, and tolerance.

Life differences across colonies

Southern: plantations, cash crops, slavery. Middle: mixed economy, tolerant, diverse. New England: small farms, fishing, tight-knit, religious.

European Americanization

Adapted to new conditions, learned from Natives; a colonial American valued independence, self-government, and new culture.

Africans brought to colonies

Labor shortages, decline of indentured servants, access to African slaves.

Impact of slavery

Slavery entrenched, plantations thrived, racial hierarchy.

Decline of Puritan fervor

Half-Way Covenant, new generations, and weakening authority after Cromwell.

Fueling Salem witch hysteria

Political: village rivalry. Social: family/economic disputes. Religious: fear of devil, sin, and moral enforcement.

Causes of Bacon's, Leisler's, and Paxton Boys rebellions

Bacon: class tension and native attacks in Virginia. Leisler: merchants/artisans vs. elite in NY. Paxton Boys: Scotch-Irish attacked Natives, protested colonial neglect in PA.