APUSH Full Review

Mayflower Compact

(1620) First agreement for self-government in America. Signed by the 41 men on the ship and set up a government for the Plymouth colony.

William Bradford

Second governor of the Plymouth colony (1621-1657). Developed private land ownership, helped colonists get out of debt, and survive droughts, crop failures, and Indian attacks.

Pilgrims vs Puritans

• Pilgrims were separatists who believed that the Church of England could not be reformed. Separatist groups were illegal in England, so they fled to America and settled in Plymouth.

• Puritans were non-separatists who wished to adopt reforms to purify the Church of England. Received a right to settle in the Massachusetts Bay area from the King of England.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

(1629) King Charles gave the Puritans a right to settle and govern a colony in the Massachusetts Bay area. Established political freedom and a representative government.

Cambridge Agreement

(1629) Puritan stockholders of the Massachusetts Bay Company agreed to emigrate to New England on the condition that they would have control of the government of the colony.

Puritan migration

Many emigrated from England to America in the 1630s and 1640s. During this time, the population of the Massachusetts Bay colony grew 10x.

Church of England (Anglican Church)

The national church of England, founded by King Henry VIII. Included both Roman Catholic and Protestant ideas.

John Winthrop

(1588-1649)

• 1629 - He became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and served in that capacity from 1630 through 1649.

• Puritan with strong religious beliefs, opposed total democracy, believing the colony was best governed by a small group of skillful leaders.

• Helped organize the New England Confederation in 1643 and served as its first president.

Separatists vs Non-Separatists

• Non-Separatists (which included the Puritans) believed that the Church of England could be purified through reforms.

• Separatists (which included the Pilgrims) believed that the Church of England could not be reformed and started their own congregations.

Calvinism

Protestant sect founded by John Calvin. Emphasized a strong moral code and believed in predestination (the idea that God decided whether or not a person would be saved as soon as they were born). Supported constitutional representative government and the separation of church and state.

Congregational Church

Congregational Church was founded by separatists who felt that the Church of England retained too many Roman Catholic beliefs and practices. Included Pilgrims.

Contrast Puritan colonies with others

Puritan colonies were self-governed, with each town having its own government which led the people in strict accordance with Puritan beliefs. Only those members of the congregation who had achieved grace and were full church members (called the "elect," or "saints") could vote and hold public office. Other colonies had different styles of government and were more open to different beliefs.

Anne Hutchinson

Preached the idea that God communicated directly to individuals instead of through the church elders. Was forced to leave Massachusetts in 1637.

Rhode Island Colony

Roger Williams left the Massachusetts colony in 1635 and purchased the land from a neighboring Indian tribe to found this colony. Was the only colony at that time to offer complete religious freedom.

Covenant theology

Puritan teachings emphasized the biblical covenants: God's covenants with Adam and with Noah, the covenant of grace between God and man through Christ.

Voting granted to church members

(1631) Massachusetts general court passed an act to limit voting rights to church members.

Half-way Covenant

Allowed members of the Puritan colonies were children of church members but hadn’t achieved grace themselves to participate in some church affairs

Brattle Street Church

(Founded by Thomas Brattle - 1698) Differed from Puritans because it did not require people to prove that they had achieved grace in order to become full church members

Thomas Hooker

The “father of American democracy" because he said that people have a right to choose their magistrates.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Set up a unified government for the towns of the Connecticut area (Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield). First constitution written in America.

Saybrook Platform

Organized town churches into county associations which sent delegates to the annual assembly which governed the colony of Connecticut.

Massachusetts School Law

First public education legislation in America. Mandated that towns with 50 or more families hire a schoolmaster and towns with over 100 families found a grammar school.

Harvard

(1636) Founded by a grant form the Massachusetts general court and followed Puritan beliefs.

New England Confederation

(1643) Formed to provide for the defense of the four New England colonies and acted as a court in disputes between colonies.

King Philip's War

(1675)

• Series of battles in New Hampshire between the colonists and the Wompanowogs, led by a chief known as King Philip.

• Was started when the Massachusetts government tried to assert court jurisdiction over the local Indians.

• The colonists won with the help of the Mohawks, and this victory opened up additional Indian lands for expansion.

Dominion of New England

(1686) British government combined the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut into a single province headed by the royal Governor Andros. Ended in 1692, when the colonists revolted and drove out the governor.

Sir Edmond Andros

Governor of the Dominion of New England (1686-1692) when colonists rebelled and forced him to return to England.

Joint stock company

A company made up of a group of shareholders. Each shareholder contributes some money to the company and receives some share of the company's profits and debts.

Virginia Colony

• Formed by the Virginia Company as a profit-earning venture.

• Starvation, about 90% of the colonists died the first year, many of the survivors left, and the company had trouble attracting new colonists.

• Offered private land ownership in the colony to attract settlers, but eventually went bankrupt and the colony went to the crown.

• Did not become a successful colony until the colonists started raising and exporting tobacco.

Headright system

Parcels of land consisting of about 50 acres which were given to colonists who brought indentured servants into America. Used by the Virginia Company to attract more colonists.

John Smith

Helped found and govern Jamestown. His leadership and strict discipline helped the Virginia colony get through the difficult first winter.

John Rolfe

He was one of the English settlers at Jamestown (and he married Pocahontas). Discovered how to grow and cure tobacco for export, which made Virginia an economically successful colony.

Slavery begins

(1619) First African slaves arrive in the America.

House of Burgesses

(1619) First legislative body in colonial America is formed. Other colonies would later adopt it.

Cavaliers

In the English Civil War (1642-1647), the troops loyal to Charles II.

Bacon's Rebellion

(1676)

• Nathaniel Bacon and other western Virginia settlers were angry at Governor Berkley for trying to appease the Doeg Indians after they attacked the western settlements.

• Frontiersmen formed an army which defeated the Indians and then marched on Jamestown and burned the city. Ended when Bacon died illness.

Culperer's Rebellion

Alpemark colony rebelled against its English governor, Thomas Miller. The rebellion was crushed, but Culperer was acquitted.

Georgia Colony

(1733) Formed as a buffer between the Carolinas and Spanish-held Florida. Military-style but also served as a haven for the poor, criminals, and persecuted Protestants.

James Oglethorpe

Founder and governor of the Georgia colony. Slaves, alcohol, and Catholicism were forbidden in his colony. Many colonists felt that Oglethorpe was a dictator, and it, along with the colonist's dissatisfaction over not being allowed to own slaves, caused the colony to break down and him to lose power.

Carolina Colonies

(1665) Charles II granted this land to pay off a debt to some supporters. Instituted headrights and a representative government to attract colonists. Southern region grew rich off its ties to the sugar islands, while the poorer northern region was composed mainly of farmers. Conflict led the colony to split.

John Locke

British political theorist who wrote the Fundamental Constitution for the Carolinas colony. Was never put into effect.

Charleston

(1690) First permanent settlement in the Carolinas, named in honor of King Charles II. Much of the population were Huguenot (French Protestant) refugees.

Staple crops in the South

• Tobacco - Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina.

• Rice - South Carolina, Georgia.

• Indigo - South Carolina.

Pennsylvania

(1681) William Penn received a land grant from King Charles II, and formed a colony that would provide a haven for Quakers. Allowed religious freedom.

Liberal land laws in Pennsylvania

William Penn allowed anyone to emigrate in order to provide a haven for persecuted religions.

Holy experiment

William Penn's term for the government of Pennsylvania, which was supposed to serve everyone and provide freedom for all.

Frame of government

(1701) The Charter of Liberties set up the government for the Pennsylvania colony. It established representative government and allowed counties to form their own colonies.

New York

• Belonged to the Dutch, but King Charles II gave the land to his brother, the Duke of York in 1664.

• British came to take the colony, the Dutch, who hated Governor Stuyvesant, quickly surrendered The Dutch retook the colony in 1673, but the British regained it in 1674.

Patron system

Offered to individuals who managed to build a settlement of at least 50 people within 4 years. Few people were able to accomplish this.

Peter Stuyvesant

The governor of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, hated by the colonists. Colony surrendered to the English on Sept. 8, 1664.

Five Nations

• The Mohawk, the Oneida, the Senecca, the Onondaga, and the Cayuga. Also known as the "Iriquois." In about 1720 the Tuscarora tribe was added.

• Most powerful and efficient North American Indian organization during the 1700s.

• Some of the ideas from its constitution were used in the Constitution of the United States.

Crops in the Middle Colonies

Produced staple crops, primarily grain and corn.

New York and Philadelphia as urban centers

• New York: Due to its harbor and rivers, which made it an important center for trade.

• Philadelphia: Center for trade and crafts, and attracted a large number of immigrants. By 1720 it had a population of 10k. It was the capital of Pennsylvania from 1683-1799.

Both cities played a major role in American Independence.

Leisler's Rebellion

(1689)

• When King James II was dethroned and replaced by King William of the Netherlands, colonists of New York rebelled and made Jacob Leiser governor of New York.

• Leisler was hanged for treason when royal authority was reinstated in 1691, but the representative assembly which he founded remained part of the government of New York.

Benjamin Franklin

Printer, author, inventor, diplomat, statesman, and Founding Father. One of the few Americans who was highly respected in Europe, primarily due to his discoveries in the field of electricity.

John Bartram

(1699-1777) America's first botanist; traveled through the frontier collecting specimens.

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island founders established churches

• Pennsylvania: Founded by William Penn, a Quaker, to provide protection for Quakers.

• Maryland: Formed as a colony where Catholics would be free from persecution.

• Rhode Island: Formed to provide a haven for all persecuted religions, including all Christian denominations and Jews.

Great Awakening

(1739-1744) Puritanism had declined by the 1730s. A sudden outbreak of religious fervor that swept through the colonies. One of the first events to unify the colonies.

Jonathan Edwards

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” part of the Great Awakening, gave gripping sermons about sin and the torments of Hell.

George Whitefield

Credited with starting the Great Awakening, a leader of the "New Lights."

William Tennant

A strong Presbyterian minister and leader during the Great Awakening. Founded a college for the training of Presbyterian ministers in 1726.

Gilbert Tennant

William Tennant's son. Developed a theology of revivalism.

Old Lights

The established congregational church.

Lord Baltimore

Founded the colony of Maryland and offered religious freedom to all Christian colonists, including Catholics.

Maryland Act of Toleration (Act of Religious Toleration)

(1649) Ordered by Lord Baltimore after a Protestant was made governor of Maryland. The act guaranteed religious freedom to all Christians.

Deism

The religion of the Enlightenment (1700s). Followers believed that God existed and had created the world, but that afterwards He left it to run by its own natural laws. Denied that God communicated to man or in any way influenced his life.

Huguenots

French Protestants. The Edict of Nantes (1598) freed them from persecution in France, but when that was revoked in the late 1700s, hundreds of thousands fled to other countries, including America.

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (in Foreign Parts)

A group which worked to spread Christianity to other parts of the world through missionaries in the late 1800s.

Mercantilism: features, rationale, impact on Great Britain, impact on the colonies

Economic policy of Europe in the 1500s through 1700s. Government exercised control over industry and trade with the idea that national strength and economic security comes from exporting more than is imported. Possession of colonies provided countries both with sources of raw materials and markets for their manufactured goods. Great Britain exported goods and forced the colonies to buy them.

Navigation Acts of 1650, 1660, 1663, and 1696

British regulations designed to protect British shipping from competition. British colonies could only import goods if they were shipped on British-owned vessels and at least 3/4 of the crew of the ship were British.

Admiralty courts

British courts originally established to try cases involving smuggling or violations of the Navigation Acts which the British government sometimes used to try American criminals in the colonies. Heard by judges without a jury.

Triangular Trade

The backbone of New England's economy during the colonial period. 1) Ships from New England sailed to Africa, exchanging rum for slaves. 2) Slaves were shipped from Africa to the Caribbean (through the deadly Middle Passage). 3) In the Caribbean, the slaves were traded for sugar and molasses. 4) Ships returned to New England, where the molasses were used to make rum.

Markets

The area or group of people which needs a product. Colonial merchants took goods produced in the colonies to areas of the world that needed those goods. Also, the colonies served as a market for other countries' goods.

Consignment system

One company sells another company's products, and then gives the producing company most of the profits, but keeps a commission for itself.

Molasses Act

(1733) British legislation which taxed all molasses, rum, and sugar which the colonies imported from countries other than Britain and its colonies. Angered the New England colonies, which imported a lot from the Caribbean (Triangular Trade). The British had difficulty enforcing the tax; most colonial merchants ignored it.

Woolens Act

(1699) Said wool produced in the colonies could only be exported to Britain.

Hat Act

(1732) Said hats made in the colonies could not be exported.

Iron Act

(1750) Said no new iron forges or mills could be created in the colonies.

Currency Act

(1751) Applied only to Massachusetts, was an attempt to ban the production of paper money, but it was defeated in Parliament.

Currency Act

(1764) Applied to all of the colonies, banned the production of paper money in an effort to combat the inflation caused by Virginia's decision to get itself out of debt by issuing more paper money.

Salem Witch Trials

Several accusations of witchcraft led to sensational trials at which Judge Cotton Mather made 18 people hang as witches. Most involved admitted later that the trials and executions had been a terrible mistake.

Primogeniture

British legal doctrine covering inheritance of property. Required that a man's real property pass in its entirety to his oldest son.

Quitrents

Nominal taxes collected by the crown in crown colonies, or by the proprietor(s) of proprietary colonies.

Indentured servants

People who could not afford passage to the colonies would have another person pay their passage, and in exchange, the individual would serve that person for a set length of time (usually seven years) and then would be free.

Poor Richard's Almanack

(1732) Written by Benjamin Franklin, it was filled with witty, insightful, and funny bits of observation and common sense advice (the saying, "early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," first appeared).

Phillis Wheatly

(1754-1784) An African slave in the colonies and a well-known colonial poet. Her poetry was ornate and elaborate.

Ann Bradstreet

(1612-1692) Puritan and first colonial poet to be published. Wrote about family, home, and religion.

Magna Carta

(1215) English document by nobles under King John which limited the power of the king. Influenced later constitutional documents in Britain and America.

Petition of Right

(1628) A document drawn up by Parliament's House of Commons listing grievances against King Charles I and extending Parliament's powers while limiting the king's. It gave Parliament authority over taxation, declared that free citizens could not be arrested without cause, declared that soldiers could not be quartered in private homes without compensation, and said that martial law cannot be declared during peacetime.

Habeas Corpus Act, 1679

British law had traditionally provided a procedure that allowed a person who had been arrested to challenge the legality of his arrest or confinement, called the Writ of Habeus Corpus, or the Great Writ. The Act imposed strict penalties on judges who refused to issue a writ of habeus corpus when there was good cause, and on officers who refused to comply with the writ.

Bill of Rights, 1689

Drawn up by Parliament and presented to King William II and Queen Mary, it listed certain rights of the British people. It also limited the king's powers in taxing and prohibitted the maintenance of a standing army in peacetime.

Board of Trade (of the Privy Council)

Advisors to the king who regulated British trade during the 1600s and 1700s.

Robert Walpole

Prime minister of Great Britain in the first half of the 1700s. His position towards the colonies was salutary neglect.

"Salutary neglect"

Prime Minister Robert Walpole's policy in dealing with the American colonies. He was primarily concerned with British affairs and believed that unrestricted trade in the colonies would be more profitable for England than would taxation of the colonies.

The Enlightenment

A philosophical movement which started in Europe in the 1700's and spread to the colonies. It emphasized reason and the scientific method. Writers of the enlightenment tended to focus on government, ethics, and science, rather than on imagination, emotions, or religion. Many members of the Enlightenment rejected traditional religious beliefs in favor of Deism, which holds that the world is run by natural laws without the direct intervention of God.

Theories of representative government in legislatures: virtual representation, actual representation

Virtual representation means that a representative is not elected by his constituents, but he resembles them in his political beliefs and goals. Actual representation mean that a representative is elected by his constituents. The colonies only had virtual representation in the British government.

Rise of the Lower House

Most of the colonial legislatures had two houses: a lower house elected by the people of the colony and an upper house appointed by the governor. Over time, the lower house became more powerful because it reflected the needs and desires of the people, while the upper house was merely a figurehead.

Proprietary, charter, and royal colonies

Proprietary colonies were founded by a proprietary company or individual and were controlled by the proprietor. Charter colonies were founded by a government charter granted to a company or a group of people. The British government had some control over charter colonies. Royal (or crown) colonies were formed by the king, so the government had total control over them.

Colonial agents

These were representatives sent to England by the colonies during the 1600s and 1700s. They served as a link between England and the colonies.

Town meetings

A purely democratic form of government common in the colonies, and the most prevalent form of local government in New England. In general, the town's voting population would meet once a year to elect officers, levy taxes, and pass laws.