US history semester 1 final review

Mercantilism

British economic system that viewed colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for manufactured goods; trade was regulated to benefit Britain and strengthen imperial control.

Indentured Servitude

Labor system in which poor Europeans worked for a fixed number of years in exchange for passage to America; declined as land became scarce and life expectancy rose.

New England Government

Local government based on town meetings and church membership, reinforcing Puritan religious authority and community discipline.

New England Economy

Mixed economy of small farms, fishing, shipbuilding, and commerce rather than plantation agriculture.

Salem Witch Trials

1692 outbreak of accusations rooted in social tension, fear of disorder, and religious anxiety that weakened Puritan authority.

Religious Dissenters

Groups such as Quakers and Baptists who challenged Puritan orthodoxy and promoted religious liberty.

House of Burgesses

Elected Virginia assembly dominated by wealthy landowners; early example of representative government.

Tobacco Economy

Monoculture plantation economy that created land hunger, class inequality, and reliance on unfree labor.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 uprising of frontier settlers against colonial elites over land and Indian policy, exposing class tensions.

Chattel Slavery

System of permanent, hereditary bondage based on race that denied enslaved people legal rights.

1619

Year enslaved Africans were first recorded arriving in English North America, marking the beginning of racial slavery.

Development of the Color Line

Legal and social separation of Europeans and Africans that made slavery permanent and inheritable.

Middle Passage

Brutal transatlantic voyage transporting enslaved Africans to the Americas with high mortality rates.

Geography of Slavery

Slavery developed mainly in the Chesapeake and Lower South where plantation crops required large labor forces.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of loosely enforcing trade laws, allowing colonial self-government to develop.

French and Indian War

Conflict between Britain and France over empire that left Britain in debt and led to new colonial taxes.

Stamp Act

1765 direct tax on printed materials that provoked protests against taxation without representation.

Sugar Act

Tax on molasses with stricter enforcement that angered colonial merchants.

Proclamation Line of 1763

British restriction forbidding settlement west of the Appalachians to prevent Native conflict.

Declaration of Independence

Document asserting natural rights and justifying separation from Britain while revealing contradictions about slavery.

Lexington and Concord

First battles of the American Revolution that marked the start of armed conflict.

Battle of Saratoga

Turning point victory that convinced France to support the American war effort.

Battle of Yorktown

Final major battle that forced Britain to negotiate peace.

Native Americans in the Revolution

Native nations made strategic alliances to protect their land but lost territory after the war.

Articles of Confederation

Weak national government with no power to tax or enforce laws.

Shays' Rebellion

Farmers' uprising over debt and taxes that exposed weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Law establishing rules for territorial government and banning slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Virginia Plan

Proposal for representation based on population, favoring large states.

New Jersey Plan

Proposal for equal representation of states in Congress.

Separation of Powers

Division of government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Checks and Balances

System that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the others.

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution who favored a strong national government.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the Constitution who feared centralized power and demanded a Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments protecting individual liberties such as speech and religion.

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 protest against a federal tax showing the government's ability to enforce laws.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 land acquisition that doubled U.S. territory and strengthened the nation.

Missouri Compromise of 1820

Agreement that balanced free and slave states and limited slavery's expansion.

Spoils System

Jacksonian practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs.

Nullification Crisis

Conflict over whether states could nullify federal laws, testing national authority.

Indian Removal Act

Law that authorized forced relocation of Native Americans, leading to the Trail of Tears.

Frederick Douglass

Former enslaved person and leading abolitionist who exposed the realities of slavery.

Olaudah Equiano

Enslaved African whose autobiography revealed the horrors of slavery and the Middle Passage.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Antislavery novel that increased Northern opposition to slavery.

Abolitionism

Movement demanding the immediate end of slavery on moral grounds.

Early Women's Rights

Grew out of reform movements and challenged legal and social inequality.

Election of 1860

Lincoln's victory without Southern support that triggered secession.

Secession

Southern states leaving the Union to protect slavery and states' rights.

Battle of Bull Run

First major Civil War battle showing the conflict would be long and costly.

Battle of Gettysburg

Turning point battle that ended Confederate hopes of victory.

Siege of Vicksburg

Union victory that secured control of the Mississippi River.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 order freeing slaves in Confederate states and redefining the war's purpose.

Sherman's March to the Sea

Total war campaign destroying Southern infrastructure and morale.

Appomattox Court House

Location of Lee's surrender that effectively ended the Civil War.

Assassination of Lincoln

Lincoln's death after the war that complicated Reconstruction.