Independence Movements

Vocabulary flashcards related to the Independence Movements of America and Latin America.

Magna Carta

Written in 1215 to protect the rights and property of the people from a tyrannical leader; it limited government power and protected rights, serving as a blueprint for the Bill of Rights.

Two Treatises of Government

Created by John Locke; it showed how an abusive government can lead to revolution and influenced the American Declaration of Independence.

Mayflower Compact

Signed in 1620 on the Mayflower, it established fundamental principles of local self-government and common consent in what is now the United States.

Maryland Toleration Act, 1649

Granted religious tolerance to Christians in the colony, allowing freedom of religious practice.

New England town hall meetings

Original form of democracy in New England where society members expressed their rights to vote and freedom of speech, inspiring the US political evolution.

John Locke's Natural Rights

Life, liberty, and property; governments should protect these rights through a social contract, and can be overthrown if they fail to do so.

Charles-Louis Montesquieu

Believed governments should have three branches (judicial, executive, legislative) with a checks and balances system to prevent any one branch from having too much power.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Argued that citizens enter a social contract and governments should govern based on the opinion of the majority.

Voltaire

Advocated for freedom of speech, no censorship, and freedom of religion.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Pamphlet shaming the king and explaining the reasons for the American revolt.

Chattel slavery

Enslaved people considered personal property with little to no legal rights. Slavery became strictly defined by race.

Indentured Servitude

Servants had some freedom and were freed after about 7 years with financial support, unlike enslaved people who had little chance for freedom.

Triangle Trade

Trade routes involving Europe, the Americas, and Africa, facilitating the exchange of people and goods across the Atlantic.

Middle Passage

The deadly and cruel journey enslaved Africans were forced to endure to get to the New World, with up to 20% dying en route.

Resistance to Slavery

Africans resisted slavery by faking illnesses, breaking tools, slowing down work, and through rebellions such as the Stono Rebellion in 1793.

Mercantilism

A form of trade involving a monopoly between a government and a colony, where the colony can only trade with the mother country (e.g., England).

Salutary Neglect

British policy from 1720-1760 where Navigation Acts were not enforced.

Creoles

Descendants of Europeans who became permanent inhabitants of Latin America.

Napoleon’s Invasion of Spain

Destabilized the Spanish Crown, creating a 15-year period of instability similar to Salutary Neglect in Latin America.

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Led by patriots, this group organized peaceful and violent protests and helped spread revolutionary ideas.

Continental Congress

Meeting of colonial leaders to debate a new government after gaining independence.

Committee of Correspondence

Letter-writing group of founding fathers who communicated with each other for about 10 years.

George Washington

Virginia planter and militia officer who led American forces during the Revolutionary War and became the first president.

Thomas Jefferson

Virginian lawyer who wrote the Declaration of Independence, influenced by John Locke's ideas.

John Adams

Delegate for the First and Second Continental Congress, he led the movement for independence and served in diplomatic roles during the Revolutionary War.

Simón Bolívar

Led many colonies to independence, served as president of Gran Colombia, and was known as “The Liberator”.

José de San Martín

Revolutionary military leader who fought for independence in Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

French and Indian War

Conflict in the 1750s where the French and natives fought the British and colonies; British victory led to debt and taxation of the colonies.

Navigation Acts

Laws where the mother country (England) controlled all trade in a colony. Colonies could only trade with England.

Boston Massacre

Incident where 5 colonists died; used as propaganda to bring colonial support to the cause.

Boston Tea Party

Protest in response to the Tea Act where colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor, leading to the Coercive Acts.

James Otis

First brought on the idea of no taxation without representation.

Marquis de Lafayette

Close friend of Washington, French forces gave gunpowder, food, uniforms, navy helped to defeat the British at Yorktown

Olive Branch Petition

The last attempt for peace between the colonies and England that was sent to King George and ultimatley rejected by him.

Monroe Doctrine

Written by John Q. Adams, this doctrine declared the American continent was closed to further colonization; and the U.S. would see any attempt to challenge this position as an “unfriendly act”