Chapter 5: Early American Culture, Governance, and Colonial Economics

Vocabulary and key concept flashcards covering early American culture, the roots of American democracy, trade regulations, and colonial economics.

Ben Franklin

American writer, publisher, scientist, inventor, and diplomat.

Jonathan Edwards

Preacher who delivered fiery sermons during the Great Awakening.

George Whitefield

Preacher who drew large crowds during the Great Awakening.

John Locke

English philosopher who argued that people have natural rights.

Great Awakening

Christian religious movement.

Enlightenment

Philosophical movement stressing human reason.

Apprentice

One who is learning a trade from an experienced craftsperson.

Literacy

The ability to read and write.

Diversity

Variety.

John Peter Zenger

New York publisher who was taken to court for criticizing the governor of New York.

Parliament

England's chief lawmaking body.

Magna Carta

Charter of English political and civil liberties that guaranteed political and civil liberties.

Edmund Andros

English governor appointed to rule the reorganized northern colonies to create New England.

Increase Mather

Minister who sailed from Massachusetts to England with a complaint.

Glorious Revolution

Event in $1688\text{–}1689$ when English Parliament invited William and Mary to replace James II as monarchs.

English Bill of Rights

Laws passed in $1689$ protecting the rights of English subjects and Parliament that monarchs William and Mary agreed to uphold.

Virginia's House of Burgesses

Virginia assembly that served as the first representative assembly in America, which imposed taxes and managed the colony.

Mercantilism

Economic theory stating that the mother country (England) was supposed to profit from its colonies.

Navigation Acts

Laws passed beginning in $1651$ with four major provisions designed to ensure England profited from colonial trade.

Enumerated Goods

Products such as tobacco, wood, and sugar that could be sold only to England or its colonies under the Navigation Acts.

Smuggling

Importing or exporting goods illegally.

Triangular Trade

Complex international trade network between the Americas, Europe, and Africa used to exchange rum, manufactured goods, enslaved people, sugar, and molasses.

Middle Passage

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

Exports

Goods that are sent out of a port.

Imports

Goods that are brought into another country.

Salutary Neglect

Policy of the British Crown of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary and commerce laws as long as colonies remained loyal and contributed to England's economic growth.

Social Mobility

The movement of an individual up or down in social or economic status.

Colonial Social Structure

Society marked by the lack of a titled aristocracy, a large middle class, a huge underclass of enslaved people, and widespread landownership that enabled broad voting rights.