terms unit one APUSH

Wife of John Adams; early advocate for women’s rights, famously urged her husband to “remember the ladies” when forming the new government.

Abigail Adam

Economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations (1776); argued for free-market capitalism and criticized mercantilism.

Adam Smith

Challenged Puritan religious authority in Massachusetts Bay; promoted antinomianism (faith alone leads to salvation). Banished to Rhode Island.

Anne Hutchinson

Founding Father; inventor, diplomat, and author of Poor Richard’s Almanack; helped negotiate Treaty of Paris (1783) and promoted colonial unity.

Ben Franklin

American general who became a traitor by plotting to surrender West Point to the British during the Revolution

Benedict Arnold

Mohawk leader who allied with the British during the Revolution; represented the Iroquois Confederacy’s interests.

Chief Joseph Brant

British Prime Minister who enforced the Sugar Act and Stamp Act to raise revenue after the French and Indian War.

George Grenville

Commander of the Continental Army; led America to victory in the Revolution; later became the first U.S. President.

George Washington

English preacher; key figure in the First Great Awakening; known for emotional, revival-style sermons.

George Whitefield 

Lawyer who defended British soldiers in the Boston Massacre; leader in the Continental Congress; 2nd U.S. President.

John Adams

Protestant reformer whose doctrine of predestination influenced Puritan beliefs.

John Calvin

Wealthy patriot and president of the Second Continental Congress; first to sign the Declaration of Independence.

John Hancock

Naval hero of the American Revolution; known for saying, “I have not yet begun to fight!”

John Paul Jones

His 1735 trial for libel established the precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies.

John Peter Zenger

ntroduced tobacco cultivation to Virginia, making it economically successful; married Pocahontas.

John Rolfe

Leader of Jamestown; helped the colony survive through discipline and trade with Native Americans.

John Smith

First governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony; described the colony as a “city upon a hill.”

John Winthrop

preacher during the First Great Awakening; known for sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

Jonathon Edwards

British monarch during the American Revolution; symbol of British tyranny to colonists.

King George III

Enslaved African-American poet; first published African-American female writer.

Phyllis Wheatley

Daughter of Powhatan chief; helped early Jamestown settlers; symbol of Native-English relations.

Pocahontas

Founder of Rhode Island; advocated for separation of church and state and religious freedom.

Roger Williams

Leader of the Sons of Liberty; organized Boston Tea Party; key figure in revolutionary resistance.

Samuel Adams

Author of Common Sense and The American Crisis; inspired support for independence.

Thomas Paine

Sponsored failed Roanoke Colony; helped promote English colonization of America.

Walter Raleigh

Governor of Plymouth Colony; author of Of Plymouth Plantation.

William Bradford

founder of Pennsylvania; promoted religious tolerance and good relations with Native Americans.

William Penn

British leader during the French and Indian War; helped Britain win by focusing on North America.

William Pitt

Meeting of colonies to discuss defense and Iroquois alliance; Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union—first attempt at colonial unity.

Albany Congress (1754)

Virginia revolt led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor Berkeley; exposed tensions between frontier settlers and colonial government.

Bacon’s Rebellion

Turning point of the Revolutionary War; American victory convinced France to ally with the colonies.

Battle of Saratoga

Final major battle of the Revolution; British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington.

Battle of Yorktown

First battles of the American Revolution; “the shot heard ‘round the world.”

Battles of Lexington and Concord

British soldiers fired on colonial protestors; used as propaganda by patriots against British rule.

Boston Massacre

Protest by the Sons of Liberty; colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act.

Boston Tea Party

England’s victory over Spain’s fleet; ensured English naval dominance and allowed colonization of North America.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

Virginia’s royal governor offered freedom to enslaved people who joined the British; angered southern colonists.

Dunmore’s Proclamation

Religious revival movement that emphasized emotion and personal salvation; unified colonies spiritually.

First Great Awakening

Thousands of Puritans migrated to Massachusetts Bay seeking religious freedom.

Great Puritan Migration

Conflict between New England colonists and Native Americans led by Metacom (“King Philip”); devastating to Native tribes.

King Philip’s War

Uprising in New York against colonial elites after the Glorious Revolution.

Leisler’s Rebellion

Frontier settlers in Pennsylvania attacked peaceful Native Americans; showed western resentment toward colonial authorities.

Paxton Revolt

Native American uprising against British forts after the French and Indian War; led to the Proclamation of 1763.

Pontiac’s Rebellion

Series of trials in Massachusetts accusing people of witchcraft; symbol of religious extremism and mass hysteria.

Salem Witch Trials

Repealed the Stamp Act but asserted Parliament’s right to tax the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”

Declaratory Act (1766)

Royal consolidation of northern colonies under one governor (Sir Edmund Andros); ended after the Glorious Revolution.

Dominion of New England

Allowed partial church membership for children of Puritans; showed declining religious fervor.

Half-Way Covenant

Granted land to settlers who paid for their own or others’ passage to Virginia; encouraged colonization.

Headright System

British punishment for Boston Tea Party; included closing Boston Harbor and restricting Massachusetts’ self-government.

Intolerable Acts (1774

First permanent English settlement in America; struggled initially but survived through tobacco cultivation.

Jamestown

Economic theory that colonies exist to benefit the mother country; encouraged trade restrictions and control.

Mercantilism

Brutal transatlantic journey enslaved Africans endured on ships to the Americas.

Middle Passage

Alliance of Puritan colonies for defense against Native Americans and Dutch threats.

Olive Branch Petition

Wealthy Dutch landowners in New Netherland granted large estates along the Hudson River.

Patroons

British law forbidding settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflict with Native Americans.

Proclamation of 1763

English Protestants who wanted to purify the Church of England; founded Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Puritans

Required colonists to provide housing and supplies for British soldiers.

Quartering Act (1765)

Uprisings in the Carolinas against corrupt colonial officials and unfair taxes.

Regulator Protests

Radical Puritans who wanted to break completely from the Church of England; founded Plymouth Colony.

Separatists

Tax on printed materials; led to widespread protests and “no taxation without representation.”

Stamp Act (1765)

Tax on sugar and molasses; first act intended to raise revenue from the colonies.

Sugar Act (1764)

Created by the First Continental Congress; called for a boycott of British goods.

The Association

Taxes on imports like glass, paper, and tea; led to colonial boycotts and unrest.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Ended the French and Indian War; France lost North American territories to Britain.

Treaty of Paris

Trade system between Africa, the Americas, and Europe; involved slaves, raw materials, and manufactured goods.

Triangular trade

Joint-stock company that founded Jamestown; sought profit from colonization.

Virginia Company

British claim that Parliament represented all British subjects, including colonists—rejected by colonists.

Virtual representation