Unit 1 Study Guide — Colonial Life & The American Revolution Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, essential documents, and major battles from the Colonial Life & American Revolution study guide.

Columbian Exchange

The global transfer of plants and animals between the Eastern and Southern hemispheres, which permanently connected the ecosystems and economies of the Americas with Europe, Asia, and Africa after 1492.

King Philip’s War (1675)

A bloody armed conflict in southern New England between English colonists and an alliance of Native American tribes led by Wampanoag leader Metacom ("King Philip"), which ended major Indigenous resistance in southern New England.

Triangular Trade

A transatlantic trading system that connected Europe, Western Africa, and the Americas from the 16th to the 19th centuries, fueling Western colonial expansion and global capitalism.

Cash Crop

Agricultural products grown specifically to sell for a profit in national or international markets rather than to feed the farmer's family or livestock.

Bacon’s Rebellion

An armed uprising in 1676–1677 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon; fearing future alliances among poor whites, black servants, and enslaved people, wealthy elites turned toward hereditary African slavery.

Navigation Acts

A series of British Parliament laws passed between 1651 and 1774 that restricted colonial trade to English ships and markets with majority-English crews.

Salutary Neglect

An unofficial 18th-century British policy of loosely enforcing trade laws and governing American colonies lightly, allowing colonies to build self-governing institutions and independent economic habits.

Mercantilism

An economic theory measuring a nation's wealth by its accumulation of gold and silver, promoting strict government regulation of trade to achieve a favorable balance.

The French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War), 1756–1763

A North American conflict fought from 1754 to 1763 pitting Great Britain and its colonists against France, its colonists, and Indigenous allies, shifting global power to Britain and creating tensions that sparked the Revolution.

Proclamation Line of 1763

A boundary set along the Appalachian Mountains banning American colonists from settling west to reduce conflicts with Native Americans.

Stamp Act, 1765

The first direct attempt by British Parliament to tax the thirteen colonies, which spurred the creation of the Sons of Liberty and led to the Declaratory Acts.

Sons of Liberty

A secret political group in the Thirteen American Colonies that used public protests, boycotts, and civil disobedience to fight against unjust British taxes and laws.

Boycotts

An organized, collective refusal to buy, use, or deal with a product, business, or country to express disapproval or leverage economic power to force change.

Daughters of Liberty

Informal groups of women patriots who supported patriotic movements through non-importation and producing home-goods without stepping outside normal gender roles.

Townshend Act, 1767

British legislation imposing import taxes on everyday goods in America to pay off war debt, leading to increased British military presence and escalating tension in Boston.

Boston Massacre, 1770

A deadly street clash on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers fired into an angry mob of American colonists in Boston, killing five people and turning public opinion against British rule.

Boston Tea Party, 1773

A political protest by American colonists against British tea taxes that served as a major catalyst for the American Revolutionary War.

Committees of Correspondence

Underground communication networks created by American colonists to share information and coordinate resistance across the thirteen colonies prior to the Revolution.

Intolerable (Coercive) Acts and Quartering Acts, 1774

Punitive laws passed to punish colonists for the Boston Tea Party, forcing colonists to house British soldiers and prompting delegates from 12 colonies to meet at the First Continental Congress.

Patriots

Colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rejected British rule, redefining a patriot as someone fighting for liberty against oppressive authority.

Loyalists

American colonists who remained faithful to the British Crown, turning the revolution into an internal civil war and reshaping North America's political layout after their exile.

Second Continental Congress, 1775

A governing body that established a foreign relations committee, created the Continental Army under George Washington, and printed money to fund the war effort.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

A peace treaty ending the Revolutionary War in which Britain recognized U.S. independence, while Americans agreed to pay merchant debts and honor Loyalist claims.

Arawak

Indigenous people from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela who inhabited areas of South America and practiced slash-and-burn cultivation of cassava and corn (maize).

King George III

King of Great Britain and Ireland from October 25, 1760 until 1820, known as the monarch who lost the American colonies.

Benjamin Franklin

American polymath, statesman, and Founding Father who was the only person to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, and the U.S. Constitution.

John Adams

A political philosopher and second President of the U.S. who led the independence movement and served diplomatic roles in France and Holland.

George Washington

Founding Father and commander of the Continental Army who led the colonies to victory in the Revolutionary War and became the first U.S. President (1789–1797).

Thomas Paine

Author of Common Sense and The American Crisis whose writings advocated the right to overthrow government and inspired the demand for American independence.

Thomas Jefferson

Founding Father, third President of the U.S., and primary drafter of the Declaration of Independence.

Abigail Adams

Iconic figure in revolutionary history known for her "Remember the Ladies" letter; wife of John Adams who served as Second Lady and First Lady.

Mayflower Compact

The first written framework of self-government in the American colonies, establishing majority rule in the New World.

Olive Branch Petition (July 1775)

The American colonists' final, formal attempt to avoid full-scale war with Great Britain and achieve peaceful reconciliation.

Common Sense (January 1776)

A revolutionary pamphlet by Thomas Paine that shifted public demand from minor imperial reform to complete and immediate independence from Great Britain.

The Declaration of Independence (July 1776)

Text adopted on July 4, 1776, announcing colonial freedom from Britain and establishing that all people have natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Battles at Lexington and Concord

April 18–19, 1775 engagements where British troops attempted to seize rebel armaments near Boston, resulting in mass mobilization of colonial militiamen.

Battle of Bunker Hill

June 17, 1775 battle proving that colonial militiamen could hold their own against professional British troops, despite losing on the third attack.

Battle of Saratoga

October 7, 1777 battle that resulted in British defeat and secured the crucial military alliance between France and the Continental Army.

Battle of Yorktown

Fall 1781 siege ending on October 19, where French naval forces blocked British escape, forcing the surrender of 18,000 British soldiers.