Colonial America (APUSH Period 2)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, events, and concepts from the Colonial America notes (1607–1756).

Triangular Trade

The transatlantic exchange of enslaved Africans, cash crops, and manufactured goods among Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

Pueblo Revolt

1680 Indigenous uprising in New Mexico resisting Spanish colonization and reforming local governance.

Pequot War

1636-1638 conflict between English colonists and the Pequot Nation in New England.

King Philip’s War

1675-1676 major conflict between New England settlers and Native American tribes led by Metacomet (King Philip).

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America (established 1607 by the Virginia Company).

Starving Time

Period (1609-1610) of severe famine in Jamestown with high mortality.

Tobacco

Cash crop that saved Jamestown economically and spurred expansion and labor demand.

Headright System

Policy granting 50 acres of land to settlers who paid for another’s passage.

Indentured Servitude

Labor system where settlers contracted 5-7 years of service in exchange for passage and eventual freedom dues.

House of Burgesses

First representative assembly in the American colonies, established in Virginia in 1619.

Pocahontas–John Rolfe marriage

1620s peace development between English settlers and Powhatan; helped ease tensions.

First Anglo-Powhatan War

1610-1614 conflict between English settlers and the Powhatan Confederacy.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Transatlantic exchange of enslaved Africans for goods, transforming the colonial economy.

Middle Passage

The brutal sea voyage transporting enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Maryland Act of Toleration (1649)

Law granting freedom of worship to Christians in Maryland, though excluding others.

Puritans

English Protestants who sought to purify the Church of England and settled in New England.

Plymouth

1620 settlement founded by Separatists seeking religious freedom.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement establishing a self-governing body for Plymouth settlers.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

1630 Puritan settlement near Boston; “City upon a Hill”; Great Migration.

Calvinism

Predestination and the elect; influenced Puritan beliefs and conduct.

Visible Saints

Puritan belief that only certain individuals were preordained for salvation.

Protestant Work Ethic

Idea that steady, humble work demonstrates God’s grace; tied to Puritan virtue.

Great Awakening

1730s-1740s religious revival introducing New Light denominations and challenging established churches.

Jonathan Edwards

Leader of the Great Awakening; author of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

George Whitefield

Dynamic preacher who attracted massive crowds and spread revivalism.

Old Lights vs. New Lights

Old Lights: established clergy; New Lights: revivalist preachers.

Navigation Acts

Mercantilist laws restricting colonial trade to English ships and purposes.

Mercantilism

Economic policy: colonies exist to enrich the mother country through trade.

Salutary Neglect

British policy (ca. 1710s-1763) of minimal enforcement of trade laws in colonies.

New Netherland / New York

Dutch colony; New Amsterdam; taken by the English in 1664 and renamed New York.

Leisler’s Rebellion

1689-1691 NY revolt against Dominion of New England; Leisler executed for treason.

Charter of Liberties and Privileges (New York, 1683)

Rights for male property holders to vote; trial by jury; religious toleration.

Quakers

Religious group (Society of Friends) advocating pacifism and religious tolerance, especially in Pennsylvania.

William Penn

Founder of Pennsylvania; a Quaker who pursued a “Holy Experiment” in religious liberty.

Pennsylvania

1681 colony founded by William Penn; religious toleration and diverse population; Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges (1701)

Constitutional framework for PA’s government, emphasizing representative assembly and worship freedom.

Paxton Boys

1763 Scots-Irish frontier uprising in Pennsylvania against Native Americans.

Georgia

1733 colony founded as a buffer against Spanish Florida; initially planned as a debtors’ colony; later allowed slavery.

Rice and Indigo (Carolina economy)

Major exports of the Carolinas, driving slave labor and plantation system.

Carolina Split (NC/SC)

Resolution of differing economic and social systems leading to the distinction of North and South Carolina.

Slavery in the Southern Colonies

Growth of slave labor to support tobacco and rice plantations; development of slave codes.

King James II / Glorious Revolution

1688 revolution in England leading to parliamentary sovereignty and colonial reorganization.

English Bill of Rights (1689)

Limitations on monarchy; protection of individual rights and parliamentary authority.

Plymouth Rock/ Plymouth Colony founders

Pilgrims who settled Plymouth; signified early self-government and religious liberty.

Massachusetts Bay “City upon a Hill”

Puritan belief that Massachusetts would be a model Christian community.

Great Migration (Massachusetts Bay)

Massive 1630s-1640s influx of Puritans to Massachusetts Bay.

Harvard College (1636)

First institution in Mass Bay to train ministers; symbol of literacy and education.

Anne Hutchinson

Puritan dissenter banished for challenging gender roles and predestination beliefs.

Plymouth and New England Confederation

Early New England alliance for defense and mutual support.

Bacons rebellion

An armed uprising in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon against the Governor of Virginia, William Berkeley, highlighting class and racial tensions.

First Enslaved Africans in British North America

Arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, initiating the institution of slavery in the future United States.

Shift from Indentured Servitude to Slavery

Economic transition in colonies due to declining indentured servants and increased demand for labor on cash crop plantations (e.g., tobacco, rice).

Magna Carta (1215)

English charter limiting monarchical power, inspiring colonial concepts of rights, due process, and representative governance.

John Peter Zenger Case (1735)

New York trial that challenged executive power and set a key precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies.

Colonial Assemblies

Representative legislative bodies in British colonies that provided local governance, passed laws, and managed finances, fostering self-rule.

English Enlightenment Thinkers

Philosophers (e.g., John Locke) whose