CH.5: COLONIAL SOCIETY ON THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 1700-1775

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to colonial society on the eve of the American Revolution (1700-1775).

Triangular Trade

A transatlantic network linking Europe, Africa, and the American colonies for the exchange of slaves, sugar/molasses, and manufactured goods.

Molasses Act

1733 British law taxing non-British molasses to protect the Caribbean sugar trade.

Arminianism

Protestant belief emphasizing free will and conditional salvation rather than predestination.

Great Awakening

18th-century religious revival in the American colonies promoting personal faith and revivalist preaching.

Poor Richard’s Almanack

Benjamin Franklin’s annual publication (starting 1733) filled with proverbs, weather forecasts, and practical wisdom.

Zenger Trial

1735 trial that supported freedom of the press by challenging the idea that criticism of government was libel.

Royal Colonies

Colonies governed directly by the Crown with royal governors and councils.

Jonathan Edwards

Key Great Awakening preacher (Congregationalist) known for fiery sermons and theological influence.

George Whitefield

Evangelist whose itinerant preaching helped spark the Great Awakening in colonial America.

Phillis Wheatley

African American poet and writer born into slavery who was later emancipated and published works.

Paxton Boys

1764 frontier settlers in Pennsylvania who attacked Native Americans to demand protection and stricter policies.

Regulator Movement

1760s North Carolina uprising of western settlers demanding fairer treatment and more representation.

Governor Tryon

Royal governor of North Carolina who clashed with the Regulators during the regulatory unrest.

Africans in America

The African American population and culture in the colonies, including enslaved and free people.

New York Slave Revolt, 1712

Slave rebellion in New York City demonstrating resistance and leading to harsher slave codes.

Stono Revolt, 1739

Major slave rebellion in South Carolina aiming for freedom in Spanish Florida; brutally suppressed.

German Coast Slave Revolt (1811)

Largest slave uprising in Louisiana, near New Orleans, led by Charles Deslondes.

Charles Deslondes

Leader of the 1811 German Coast Slave Revolt in Louisiana.

Egalitarian

Belief in the equality of people, especially in political and social life.

Social mobility

The ability of individuals to move up or down the social hierarchy.

Europeanization

Adoption of European cultural, political, and social practices in the colonies.

Yeomen farmers

Independent, landowning farmers who owned and worked their own land.

Indentured servants

Workers who exchanged years of service for passage and settlement in the colonies.

Slaves

Enslaved persons held in bondage, primarily of African descent, in colonial America.

Aristocrats

Leading planters, merchants, lawyers, officials, and clergy who held social and political influence.

Lesser tradesmen

Smaller craftsmen and manual laborers who performed skilled or semi-skilled work.

The First Latin School (1635)

Early colonial school in New England emphasizing Latin and classical studies.

New England classical education

Educational approach in New England focusing on classical languages and liberal arts.

Nine colonial colleges

Early higher education institutions founded in the colonial period (e.g., Harvard, Yale, William & Mary).

Proclamation line of 1763

Royal decree prohibiting settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains after the French and Indian War.

Anglican

Church of England; dominant in the southern colonies.

Congregational

Puritan-influenced Protestant church favored in New England.

Lutheran

Protestant denomination present among German settlers in the colonies.

Presbyterian

Protestant denomination with Scottish roots common in several colonies.

Baptist

Protestant group emphasizing believer’s baptism and congregational governance.

Roman Catholic

Catholic Church presence in the colonies, often in Maryland and certain port cities.

Jewish

Jewish communities and congregations in port cities and some colonies.

Reformed Churches

Dutch and other Reformed Protestant denominations in the colonies.

Dutch

Dutch settlers and their Reformed traditions influencing religious and cultural life.

German

German settlers contributing Lutheran and Catholic influences in the colonies.

Quaker

Religious group (Society of Friends) with pacifist and egalitarian principles, prominent in Pennsylvania.

Old Lights

Conservative clergy who resisted revivalist enthusiasm during the Great Awakening.

New Lights

Revivalist clergy and supporters who embraced the Great Awakening.

The Democratization of American Christianity

Expansion of church membership and participation across social classes in the 18th–19th centuries.

Baptists

Denomination advocating believer’s baptism and congregational governance; grew rapidly during revivals.

Methodists

Christian movement that grew out of Anglicanism, emphasizing itinerant preaching and organization.

Nathan O. Hatch

Historian known for analyses of the democratization of American Christianity.

Colonial assemblies

Elected representative bodies in each colony that legislated alongside governors.