us history

St. Augustine

Founded by Spain in 1565, St. Augustine was the first permanent European settlement in North America. Its existence highlights that Spain, not England, initially dominated early American colonization and that the future U.S. developed out of intense imperial competition.

Jamestown

Established in 1607 by the Virginia Company, Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement. Its survival depended on tobacco cultivation, which entrenched plantation agriculture, economic dependence on cash crops, and the expansion of slavery.

Indentured Servant

Indentured servants were Europeans who exchanged years of labor for passage to America. This system shaped early colonial labor but declined as land became scarce and elites turned to enslaved Africans to prevent class rebellion.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Founded by Puritans seeking religious reform, the colony emphasized communal discipline and moral conformity. It influenced American self-government but also demonstrated the limits of religious tolerance.

William Penn

A Quaker leader who founded Pennsylvania, Penn promoted religious freedom, representative government, and peaceful relations with Native Americans. His colony became a model of pluralism and economic success.

Salutary Neglect

Britain’s informal policy of allowing colonies to govern themselves economically and politically. While beneficial short-term, it fostered colonial independence and made later British control attempts explosive.

Bacon’s Rebellion

A 1676 uprising of frontier settlers against Virginia’s elite leadership. It exposed class conflict and accelerated Virginia’s shift toward racial slavery as a way to divide poor whites from enslaved Africans.

Puritans / Intolerance

Puritans believed in creating a morally pure society but punished dissent harshly. Their intolerance led to banishments and laid groundwork for debates over religious freedom in America.

Pequot War

A brutal conflict in which New England colonists nearly destroyed the Pequot tribe. It set a precedent for violent Native removal and expansionist colonial policy.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that colonies existed to enrich the mother country through raw materials and restricted trade. This system fueled colonial resentment and resistance to British economic controls.

Jonathan Edwards

A key figure of the First Great Awakening who emphasized emotional religious experience. His preaching weakened traditional authority and encouraged individualism.

Headright System

A land-grant policy that rewarded settlers for importing laborers. It promoted large plantations and entrenched inequality and slavery.

Native Americans / disease / treatment by Europeans

European diseases decimated Native populations, while settlers often exploited alliances and violence to seize land. This combination reshaped demographics and power in North America.

New England vs. Chesapeake Colonies

New England emphasized small farms, education, religion, and family settlement, while Chesapeake colonies relied on plantations, tobacco, and enslaved labor. These differences produced distinct cultures and economies.

Pennsylvania (unique characteristics)

Pennsylvania featured fertile land, ethnic diversity, religious tolerance, and a strong representative assembly. It became one of the most prosperous and democratic colonies.

RI / MD / PA & Religious Toleration

Rhode Island, Maryland, and Pennsylvania were founded to protect religious minorities. These colonies expanded the idea of religious liberty in America.

Importance of 1619 in Virginia

The arrival of the first enslaved Africans marked the beginning of institutionalized slavery in English America, shaping economic and racial systems for centuries.

Plymouth Colony / Pilgrims

Founded by Separatists seeking religious independence. Though small, Plymouth influenced American ideas of self-rule and covenant government.

Challenges Facing Virginia

Disease, starvation, conflict with Native Americans, and labor shortages nearly destroyed the colony. Its survival depended on tobacco and increasingly on enslaved labor.

Anne Hutchinson

Challenged Puritan authority by asserting individual interpretation of scripture. Her banishment highlighted the limits of religious freedom.

Pocahontas

A Powhatan woman who symbolized early Native-colonial diplomacy. Her story reflects both cooperation and exploitation.

Governor Berkeley

Virginia’s royal governor whose policies favored elites and triggered Bacon’s Rebellion.

French and Indian War (Significance)

The war unified colonies against a common enemy and expanded British territory. However, British debt led to new taxes that sparked colonial resistance.

French and Indian War (Causes & Results)

Caused by competition over the Ohio River Valley, the war ended French power in North America but destabilized British-colonial relations.

Saratoga

A decisive American victory that convinced France to formally support the Revolution. It transformed the war into an international conflict.

Boston Massacre

British soldiers killed five colonists, fueling anti-British sentiment and propaganda.

Common Sense (Thomas Paine)

Argued that monarchy was illegitimate and independence was necessary. It mobilized ordinary colonists toward revolution.

Declaration of Independence

Asserted natural rights and justified rebellion by listing British abuses. It framed the Revolution as a moral

Shays’ Rebellion

A 1786–87 uprising of indebted Massachusetts farmers protesting high taxes and debt imprisonment. It exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and directly led to calls for a stronger federal government and the Constitutional Convention.

Yorktown

The 1781 battle where American and French forces defeated the British army under Cornwallis. It effectively ended major fighting in the Revolutionary War and secured American independence.

Proclamation of 1763

British decree banning colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. It aimed to prevent Native conflict but angered colonists who felt betrayed after the French and Indian War.

Tea Act

A British law granting the East India Company a monopoly on tea sales. Colonists saw it as a threat to colonial merchants and a tax precedent, leading to the Boston Tea Party.

Influence of John Locke / Enlightenment

Locke’s ideas on natural rights and government by consent shaped American revolutionary ideology and the Declaration of Independence.

Social Contract Theory

The belief that governments exist to protect citizens’ rights and derive power from the people. This justified rebellion when governments failed their obligations.

Lexington & Concord

The first armed conflicts of the American Revolution. They marked the transition from protest to open war.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Ended the Revolutionary War, recognized U.S. independence, and granted territory east of the Mississippi River.

3/5 Compromise

Counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation. It increased Southern political power while institutionalizing slavery in the Constitution.

House of Burgesses

First elected legislative assembly in the colonies. It set a precedent for representative government.

Virginia Company

A joint-stock company that founded Jamestown for profit. Its failure led to direct royal control and expanded slavery.

King Philip’s War

A devastating conflict between New England colonists and Native tribes. It eliminated organized Native resistance and expanded colonial land control.

Middle Passage

The deadly transatlantic journey of enslaved Africans. It demonstrated the brutality and human cost of slavery.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of crops, animals, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds. It reshaped global economies and caused massive Native population decline.

Triangular Trade

Trade system connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas. It sustained slavery and colonial economies.

Roanoke

England’s first attempted colony that mysteriously disappeared. It revealed early challenges of colonization.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement establishing self-government based on majority rule. It influenced democratic principles.

Specific Features of the Middle Colonies

Economically diverse, religiously tolerant, ethnically mixed, and agriculturally productive. They became colonial trade centers.

Joint-Stock Company

A business model allowing shared investment and risk. It enabled early colonization efforts.

Roger Williams

Advocate of church-state separation and religious freedom. Founder of Rhode Island.

Specific Features of Virginia Colony

Plantation economy, tobacco dependence, enslaved labor, and strong class hierarchy.

Significance of Tobacco

Tobacco made Virginia profitable but required large labor forces, driving slavery’s expansion.

The Powhatan

A Native confederacy interacting with Jamestown settlers. Their resistance shaped early colonial survival.

Town Meetings

Local assemblies in New England that allowed direct citizen participation in governance.

Samuel Adams / Sons of Liberty

Organized resistance to British taxes and policies through protests and propaganda.

First Continental Congress

A colonial meeting to coordinate resistance to British coercive acts.

Natural Rights

Fundamental rights inherent to all people; central to American political philosophy.

Valley Forge

A harsh winter encampment that tested and strengthened the Continental Army.

Stamp Act

Britain’s first direct tax on colonists. Sparked widespread protest and unity.

Federalist Papers

Essays arguing for ratification of the Constitution by explaining its principles.

James Madison

Chief architect of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Amendment Process

Allows constitutional change while maintaining stability.

Checks and Balances

System preventing any branch from becoming too powerful.

Northwest Ordinance

Established rules for western expansion and banned slavery in new territories.

Federalists

Supported a strong national government and ratification of the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments protecting individual freedoms.

Federalism

Division of power between state and federal governments.

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

Balanced large and small state interests in Congress.

Antifederalists

Opposed the Constitution without explicit protections for individual rights.

Articles of Confederation

Created a weak central government lacking taxation and enforcement power, with equal state representation.

Limited Social Change after the Revolution

Political independence did not lead to equality for women, African Americans, or Native Americans; slavery and inequality persisted.

Election of 1800

Peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Democratic-Republicans.

Creation of Cabinet

Advisory system that strengthened executive leadership.

Strict vs. Loose Interpretation

Debate over how broadly to interpret the Constitution.

War of 1812

Confirmed U.S. sovereignty and increased nationalism.

VA / KY Resolutions

Asserted states’ rights to nullify federal laws.

John Marshall

Strengthened federal authority through Supreme Court rulings.

Spoils System

Rewarding political supporters with government jobs.

National Bank

Centralized financial control; controversial over constitutionality.

King Cotton

Cotton’s dominance entrenched Southern slavery and sectionalism.

Nullification

Claim that states could void federal laws.

Louisiana Purchase

Doubled U.S. size and expanded slavery debates.

Trail of Tears

Forced relocation of Native tribes under Jackson.

CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION (KEY MISSED TERMS)

Ft. Sumter

First shots of the Civil War.

Antietam

Bloodiest single-day battle; allowed Lincoln to issue Emancipation Proclamation.

Emancipation Proclamation

Freed enslaved people in Confederate states and reframed war as a fight against slavery.

Gettysburg

Turning point of the Civil War; halted Confederate momentum.

Appomattox Court House

Lee’s surrender ended the Civil War.

13th / 14th / 15th Amendments

Ended slavery, granted citizenship, and voting rights to Black men.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Provided education and aid to formerly enslaved people.

Black Codes

Laws restricting Black freedom after the war.

Sharecropping / Tenant Farming

Economic systems trapping Black families in poverty.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that U.S. expansion was divinely justified.

Seneca Falls Convention

First women’s rights convention.

Horace Mann

Leader of public education reform.

Second Great Awakening

Religious revival that inspired reform movements.

Abolitionist Movement

Organized effort to end slavery.

William Lloyd Garrison

Radical abolitionist and publisher of The Liberator.

Harriet Tubman

Led enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

Frederick Douglass

Former enslaved person who became a leading abolitionist voice.