American Colonial and Revolutionary Practice Flashcards

Flashcards covering key figures, events, and terminology from early American colonization through the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, based on the lecture transcript.

Walter Raleigh

Founder of England’s first American colony, Roanoke, which failed.

Elizabeth I

English Queen during the golden age who reestablished Protestantism as the state religion and led the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

Treaty of Tordesillas

A $1494$ agreement between Portugal and Spain declaring that newly discovered lands west of an imaginary line in the Atlantic would belong to Spain and lands east would belong to Portugal.

Pocahontas

Daughter of Powhatan who befriended the English at Jamestown; her marriage to John Rolfe was the first interracial union in America and ended the Anglo-Powhatan War.

John Rolfe

Jamestown settler who discovered how to successfully grow and cure tobacco in Virginia for export, making the colony economically successful.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

Occurred in $1588$ by Elizabeth 1 of England, leading to English naval supremacy.

John Smith

Leader whose strict discipline helped the Virginia colony survive the difficult first winter.

Jamestown

Found in $1706$ by the Virginia Company of London, which elected Captain John Smirth as leader.

Thomas Dale

Stern governor of Jamestown after John Smith who created a daily schedule and didn't believe in laziness.

John Calvin

Author of Institutes of the Christian Religion who emphasized predestination and believed church and state should be united under the Calvinist faith.

John Wintrhop

Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony who envisioned the colony as a “city upon a hill.”

Peter Stuyvesant

Governor of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam who surrendered to the English on $\text{September 8th, 1664}$.

Anne Hutchinson

Religious dissenter whose belief in Antinomianism—that Christians are not bound by moral law—led to her expulsion from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

King Phillips War

Conflict between Puritans and Indian tribes (Pequot, Narragansett, Wampanog, and Nipmunk) over land ownership where survivors fled North.

Roger Williams

Founder of Rhode Island who believed in the separation of Church and State after being ordered to leave Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Dominion of New England

Formed in $1686$, the British combined Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut into a province headed by royal governor Andros.

New England Confederation

An alliance formed in $1643$ by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Haven, and Plymouth for defense against Native American tribes and the Dutch.

Patroonships

Vast, mostly unsuccessful estates along the Hudson River established by the Dutch.

William Penn

Englishman and Quaker who founded the colony of Pennsylvania, living from $1644$ to $1718$.

Glorious Revolution $1688$

Bloodless overthrow of King James II that established William and Mary as the new leaders.

Great Puritan Migration

The migration of many Puritans from England to North America between the $1620s$ and $1640s$.

Fundamental Orders

A $1639$ constitution established by Connecticut River colony settlers that created a Democratic government.

Treaty of Utrecht

A $1713$ treaty that ended Queen Ann’s War and transferred French territories like Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to England.

Bacon’s Rebellion

A revolt by Virginia indentured servants against the governor and landowners that resulted in the burning of Jamestown.

Middle Passage

The portion of the triangular trade that brought African slaves to the Americas; many slaves died on the ships during this transit.

Salem Witch Trials

Mass accusations of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, resulting in the hanging of $18$ people and illustrating declining Puritanism.

Halfway Covenant

Puritan practice allowing parents who were baptized but not yet converted to have their children baptized, weakening the distinction between the “elect” and others.

Headright system

Parcels of land approximately $50$ acres in size given to colonists who brought indentured servants to America.

Leisler’s Rebellion

A late $17th$ century uprising in New York led by a militia captain resulting from colonial resentment of King James II’s policies.

Triangular Trade

Illegal trade route where New England rum was traded for African slaves, slaves were traded for Caribbean molasses, and molasses was used to make run.

First Great Awakening

The first grassroots American social movement featuring emotional revivals and a split between old lights and new lights.

George Whitefield

The most influential new light speaker during the First Great Awakening.

Jonathon Edwards

New light preacher who started the First Great Awakening.

John Peter Zenger

Newspaperman whose court case after accusing the governor of New York of wrongdoing became the basis for freedom of speech and press.

Paxton Revolt

A $1764$ armed march in Philadelphia by Scots Irish men protesting the lenient treatment of Indians by Quakers.

Phyllis Wheatley

The first important African American writer, cited by abolitionists as proof of intellectual equality.

William Pitt

Prime Minister of England during the French and Indian War who increased supplies and troops to ensure a British victory.

Treaty of Paris $1763$

Agreement that ended the French and Indian War, resulting in French removal from North America and British dominance.

Pontiac’s Rebellion

An Indian uprising in the Ohio river valley after the French and Indian War that led to the Proclamation of $1763$.

Proclamation of $1763$

British government order forbidding colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Samuel de Champlain

Cartographer and founder of Quebec known as the “father of New France.”

Albany Congress

A $1754$ meeting between the Iroquois and seven colonies to ensure Iroquois loyalty and promote colonial unity.

Mercantilism

Economic theory stating colonies exist for the benefit of the mother country to collect gold and silver.

George Grenville

Prime Minister who persuaded Parliament to use vice-admiralty courts without juries to end smuggling.

Sugar Act

A $1764$ tax on colonists intended to help Britain repay debts from the French and Indian War; replaced the Molasses Act.

Quartering Act $1765$

Act requiring colonials to provide food, lodging, and supplies for British troops.

Stamp Act

A $1756$ act raising revenue by requiring a stamp on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents.

Declaratory Act

Passed in $1766$ after the repeal of the Stamp Act, stating Parliament could legislate for colonies in all cases.

Townshend Acts

British taxes placed on leads, glass, paint, and tea.

Boston Massacre

The first bloodshed of the American Revolution where British guards killed five Americans.

Committees of Correspondence

System of communication between patriot leaders founded by Samuel Adams.

Intolerable Acts

Four acts passed in $1774$ responding to the Boston Tea Party, including closing the Port of Boston.

Quebec Act

$1774$ act that expanded Quebec’s territory and recognized Catholicism, which offended Protestant American colonists.

Samuel Adams

Founder of the Sons of Liberty and a vocal patriot who signed the Declaration of Independence.

The Association

A $1775$ document calling for a complete boycott of British goods, including non-importation and non-consumption.

Battles of Lexington and Concord

Events on $\text{April 19th, 1775}$ that initiated the Revolutionary War and resulted in a British retreat to Boston.

Virtual representation

British claim that every member of Parliament represented all British people, regardless of colonial elections.

Olive Branch Petition

Pledge of loyalty from the 2nd Continental Congress to George III requesting the respect of colonial rights, which the King rejected.

Navigation Acts

Laws requiring colonists to ship certain products exclusively to England.

John Hancock

Patriot leader, president of the Second Continental Congress, and first signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Bunker Hill

A $1775$ battle where Americans killed many British troops before retreating; afterwards George III declared the colonies in rebellion.

Benedict Arnold

Successful American general who turned traitor in $1780$ and joined the British.

Thomas Paine

Author of the pamphlet Common Sense ($1776$) which argued the duty of the colonies was to set up a republican democracy.

George III

King of England during the American Revolution who wanted arbitrary power over the colonies.

Battle of Saratoga

American victory that led to the surrender of British forces and the formation of the Franco-American alliance.

Chef Joseph Brant

Pro-British Mohawk leader who organized northwestern Indian tribes into an alliance.

Battle of Trenton

Christmas night victory where Washington’s soldiers crossed the Delaware and surprised the Hessians.

Ben Franklin

Delegate who proposed the Albany Plan of the Union and negotiated the treaty of alliance with France.

Battle of Yorktown

The $\text{September 1781}$ surrender of General Cornwallis that ended the Revolutionary War.

Treaty of Paris $1783$

Treaty signed $\text{February 3rd, 1783}$ which recognized US independence and required colonies to repay debts to England.

Land Ordinance of $1785$

Articles of Confederation success that provided for the orderly surveying and distribution of public land in the West.

Northwest Ordinance $1787$

Framework that divided the Northwest territory into $3$ to $5$ states, outlawed slavery there, and set a $60,000$ population requirement for statehood.

Shays’ Rebellion

Farmer uprising in Massachusetts expressing criticism of the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation.

New Jersey Plan

Small state plan at the constitutional convention proposing a single-chamber congress with one vote per state.

Virginia Plan

Large state plan proposing that representation in Congress should be based on a state's population.

Connecticut Plan

The Great Compromise proposing a bicameral congress with both equal and proportional representation.

Federalists

Wealthy supporters of a stronger central government and the ratification of the Constitution.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of a strong central government who favored a confederation of independent states.

The Federalist Papers

Collection of essays by Jay, Hamilton, and Madison written to convince New York to ratify the Constitution.

Society of the Cincinnati

An exclusive order of military officers from the revolution viewed by some as a threatening mini-aristocracy.

Charles Beard’s: An economic interpretation of the constitution

Historical claim that the framers of the Constitution were primarily motivated by their own economic interests.

Jeremiads

Sermons by Puritan preachers scolding parishioners for their waning piety, named after the prophet Jeremiah.