AP US History Vocabulary

AP US History Vocabulary from AMSCO Textbook

land bridge

a connection between two landmasses, specifically the one connecting Siberia and Alaska across the Bering Strait

Hohokam, Anasazi, and Pueblos

groups that settled in the dry Southwest region of North America

Adena-Hopewell

Native American tribe in the Midwest region of what is now the United States; some of its descendants migrated to New York

woodland mound builders

people of Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian cultures who constructed certain structures that those cultures are known for

Mayas

Central American civilization circa 300-800

Aztecs

Central American civilization following Mayas

Incas

civilization based in Peru that developed a vast empire

maize

 extremely popular crop native to North and South America that was introduced to Europe in the Transatlantic Exchange

Algonquian

 large language family present in the Northeast region of North America

Siouan

large language family present in the Great Plains region

longhouses

narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling

Iroquois Confederation

 powerful political union of many tribes from the region near the Great Lakes and New York

Gunpowder

invented by the Chinese

Sailing compass

adopted from Arab merchants who learned about it from the chinese

Printing press

invented in Europe and revolutionized communication and facilitated the spread of knowledge across the continent

Isabella and Ferdinand

Queen and King of Spain in the late 15th century

Christopher Columbus

explorer funded by Isabella and Ferdinand

Henry the Navigator

Portuguese explorer who succeeded in opening up a long sea route around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope

Treaty of Tordesillas

agreement that drew a line through Brazil, establishing the Spanish and Portuguese claims to land

Roanoke Island

failed colonial establishment off the coast of North Carolina

Protestant Reformation

revolt against the authority of the pope in Rome that occurred in Germany, England, France, Holland, and other northern European countries

Nation-state

countries in which the majority of people shared both a common culture and common loyalty toward a central government

Horses

domesticated animals brought to the Americas by Europeans

Diseases

a disorder of structure or function in a human or plant and caused population decline in the Americas

Smallpox

deadly disease for which the first vaccine was invented

Measles

infectious viral disease causing a rash on the skin

Capitalist

economic system in which control of capital became more important than the control of land (feudalism)

Joint-stock company

a business owned by a large number of investors

Encomienda

Spain’s king granted natives who lived on a tract of land to individual Spaniards and these natives were then forced to farm or work in mines

Asiento

required Spanish colonists to pay a tax to the king on each enslaved person they imported to the Americas

Slavery

condition in which one human being was owned by another

Conquistadores

name for Spanish conquerors of the Americas

Hernan Cortes

conquered the Aztecs in Mexico

Francisco Pizarro

conquered the Incas in Peru

Slave Trade

the exchange of people across the Atlantic Ocean

Middle Passage

tumultuous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean

New Laws of 1542

ended native slavery under Spanish law

Bartolome de Las Casas

Spanish priest who advocated for better treatment of Native Americans

Valladolid Debate

the debate over the role of Natives in the Spanish colonies

Juan Gines Sepulveda

priest that argued that natives were less than human

John Cabot

Italian navigator and explorer who is credited with discovering parts of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England

Joint-stock company

business funded by investors rather than a government

Cecil Calvert

Lord Baltimore; implemented his father’s plan to provide a haven to Catholics in Maryland

Act of Toleration

the first colonial statute granting religious freedom to all Christians

Roger Williams

Puritan minister who moved from England to Boston

Providence

birthplace of the Baptist church

Anne Hutchinson

believer in antinomianism; dissident who questioned doctrines of Puritans authority

Antinomianism

the idea that individuals receive salvation through faith alone

Rhode Island

convergence of Providence and Portsmouth into a single colony

Halfway covenant

offered by some clergy so that people could become partial members even if they had not felt a conversion

Quakers

believed that religious authority was found within each person and not in the Bible nor in any outside source

William Penn

founded Pennsylvania

Holy Experiment

attempt to establish the Religious Society of Friends

Charter of Liberties (1701)

Quaker’s written Constitution

Rice-growing plantations

plantations in South Carolina that enslaved Africans and resembled the economy and culture of the West Indies

Tobacco farms

source of Jamestown’s wealth

Jamestown

first permanent English colony in 1607

Captain John Smith

leader of Jamestown

John Rolfe

husband of Pocahontas

Pocahontas

Native American wife of John Rolfe

Virginia

a safe haven for Catholics created by Lord Baltimore

Plymouth Colony

colony of the pilgrims

Separatists

radical dissenters who wanted to organize a completely separate church from royal control

Pilgrims

another name for the Separatists who traveled to the Americas

Mayflower

the boat that brought the pilgrims to the Americas

Massachusetts Bay Colony

colony founded on the east coast

Puritans

People who left England to escape religious prosecution

John Winthrop

led the Puritans to Massachusetts and founded Boston

Great Migration

movement of 15.000 settlers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Thomas Hooker

led a large group of Boston Puritans into the valley and founded Hartford

John Davenport

founded New Haven in the Connecticut Valley

Connecticut

colony formed by joining New Haven and Hartford

New Hampshire

last colony to be founded in New Hampshire

The Carolinas

Two southern colonies whose economies depended on the export of crops like rice; cotton; and dye

New York

Originally called New Amsterdam by the Dutch

New Jersey

Middle colony with a representative government

Pennsylvania

Middle colony that was one of the most religiously tolerant

Delaware

Middle colony that later became the first to ratify the constitution

Georgia

Southernmost colony that relied on slave labor and exporting crops

James Oglethorpe

first government of Georgia

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)

first written constitution in American history

Frame of Government (1862-3)

guaranteed a representative assembly elected by landowners for the Quakers

Virginia House of Burgesses

elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly

Mayflower Compact

agreement that bound the signers to obey the legal system of Plymouth colony

Corporate colonies

colonies run by joint-stock companies

Royal colonies

colonies under the direct authority and rule of the king’s government

Proprietary colonies

colonies under the authority and rule of the king’s government

Virginia Company

a joint-stock company that founded the first permanent English colony in America at Jamestown 1607

Chesapeake colonies

colonies of Virginia and Maryland

Triangular trade

the system of trade between the colonies; Europe; and Africa

Mercantilism

economic system based on the notion that there was limited wealth in the world so to accumulate wealth a country must export as many goods as possible

Navigation Acts

England’s imposition of mercantilist policy on the colonies between 1650 and 1673

Dominion of New England

Union of New England and Middle Colonies -- excluding Delaware and Pennsylvania -- to increase royal control

Sir Edmund Andros

governor of the Dominion of New England

Glorious Revolution

uprising that replaced James II with William and Mary in 1688

Salutary neglect

lax enforcement of policies

Wampanoag

tribe of natives that got into a war with New England colonies

Metacom

a chief of the Wampanoag

King Philip’s War

war between natives and colonists; also called Metacom’s War

Sir William Berkeley

Governor of Virginia during Bacon’s Rebellion