Early American History Review

Flashcards for US History Exam Review

Indentured Servitude

A system of labor where individuals contract to work for a fixed period in exchange for passage to America and necessities.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

The trade route that transported enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Mercantilism

Economic policy focused on accumulating wealth through a favorable balance of trade.

First Great Awakening

Religious revival movement in the 1730s and 1740s that emphasized emotional and personal faith.

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement emphasizing reason and individualism.

Anglicization

The process of adopting English customs and culture in the colonies.

Declaration of Independence

Document declaring the 13 American colonies independent from Great Britain.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws in the colonies.

Navigation Acts

Acts passed by the British Parliament to regulate colonial trade and navigation.

Tobacco, Sugar, Rice

Key crops grown in the Southern colonies.

Sugar Act

British tax on sugar and other imports to the colonies.

Townshend Acts

Acts imposing duties on various goods imported into the American colonies.

Tea Act

Act that granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

The American Revolution

The revolution in which the thirteen British colonies in North America won independence from Great Britain.

Metacom’s War

Armed conflict between Native American tribes and English colonists in New England.

Common Sense

Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine advocating for American independence.

Transition from indentured to enslaved labor in the Chesapeake

The shift in the Chesapeake colonies from using indentured servants to enslaved Africans as the primary labor source.

Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War)

War between Great Britain and France and their respective allies; known as the French and Indian War in North America.

Proclamation of 1763

British declaration that forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Pontiac’s Rebellion

Native American uprising against British rule in the Great Lakes region.

Stamp Act and repeal (Declaratory Act)

Act imposing a direct tax on printed materials in the colonies; later repealed.

Triangular Trade

A system of trade in which slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods were exchanged between Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

Cash Crops

Agricultural crops grown for sale to generate profit.

Middle Passage

The forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

Black Codes

Laws enacted in the Southern states that restricted the rights and activities of African Americans.

Stono Rebellion

Violent uprising of enslaved people in South Carolina.

Enlightenment effects on colonial thought

The impact of Enlightenment ideals on the development of colonial thought and philosophy.

Boston Massacre

An incident in which British soldiers killed five colonists in Boston.

Christopher Columbus

A seafaring explorer and navigator who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that opened the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

Ferdinand Magellan

A Portuguese explorer and navigator who is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East Indies across the Pacific Ocean, during which he discovered a maritime path to Asia, ultimately achieving a nearly complete circumnavigation of the Earth.

Aztec Empire

Large Native American empire in present-day Mexico.

Spanish Conquest of Mexico

Spanish military campaign that led to the overthrow of the Aztec Empire.

Smallpox

Deadly disease introduced by Europeans that killed a large amount of Native Americans

Encomienda

A labor system where Spanish conquistadors were given land and Native Americans to work it.

Silver Mining

The extraction of silver by the Spanish in the America's using coerced indigenous and enslaved labor

Plantation Agriculture

Agricultural system based on large-scale farms that relied on enslaved labor, specializing in cash crops.

Chattel Slavery

The process of treating enslaved people as personal property that can be bought, sold, traded, or inherited.

The Fur Trade

The trade of animal pelts between Europeans and Native Americans.

House of Burgesses

The first legislative assembly in the American colonies, located in Virginia.

Quakers

A Christian group that believed in religious tolerance.

Town Meetings (New England)

System of government where people in town directly vote on issues