History Final Study Guide

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of goods, people, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, Europe, and Africa following Columbus’ voyages.

Virginia Company

A joint-stock company chartered by King James I to establish settlements in North America; founded Jamestown in 1607.

Enclosure Movement

Process in England where common lands were privatized, displacing many peasants and leading to increased migration to America.

Puritans

Religious reformers who sought to 'purify' the Church of England; established a theocratic society in Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Pilgrims

A separatist group who broke away from the Church of England; founded Plymouth Colony in 1620.

Roanoke Colony

Known as the 'Lost Colony,' it was an early English settlement that mysteriously disappeared by 1590.

Great Migration

Mass movement of Puritans to New England between 1620 and 1640 due to religious persecution in England.

Mercantilism

Economic policy where colonies provided raw materials to the mother country and served as markets for manufactured goods.

Navigation Acts

British laws that regulated colonial trade to benefit England, requiring goods to be transported on English ships.

Quakers (Society of Friends)

Religious group advocating equality, pacifism, and religious tolerance; prominent in Pennsylvania under William Penn.

Middle Passage

The brutal sea journey endured by enslaved Africans to the Americas, marked by overcrowding, disease, and high mortality.

Republicanism

Political philosophy emphasizing liberty, self-governance, and civic virtue, opposing monarchy and aristocracy.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of loosely enforcing trade regulations, allowing colonies to develop independently until 1763.

Great Awakening

Religious revival movement emphasizing emotional connection to faith and challenging established churches.

Proclamation of 1763

British decree forbidding colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflict with Native Americans.

Intolerable Acts

Harsh laws passed after the Boston Tea Party, including closing Boston Harbor and revoking Massachusetts’ charter.

Declaration of Independence

Document authored by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, declaring the colonies independent from Britain.

Suffrage

Expansion of voting rights, largely limited to property-owning white men during this period.

Abolition

Early movements to end slavery, gaining momentum during and after the Revolution.

Federalists

Early political faction favoring a strong central government; authored The Federalist Papers.

Separation of Powers

Division of government into three branches to prevent tyranny.

Checks and Balances

System ensuring that no branch of government has excessive power.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 land acquisition from France that doubled U.S. territory and opened the west to expansion.

Nativism

Anti-immigrant sentiment, particularly against Irish and German newcomers.

Manifest Destiny

Belief in the U.S.’s divine right to expand across the continent.

Missouri Compromise

Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining balance in the Senate.

Spoils System

Practice of rewarding political supporters with government positions.

Peculiar Institution

Euphemism for slavery in the South, highlighting its centrality to Southern life.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Federal agency assisting freed people with education, housing, and employment.

Black Codes

Laws restricting African Americans' rights and freedoms post-Civil War.

Fourteenth Amendment

Guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the law.

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibited voter discrimination based on race, color, or previous servitude.

Reconstruction Act

Divided the South into military districts to enforce Reconstruction policies.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist group opposing Reconstruction through terror and violence.