Unit 1 Vocabulary: Colonial America

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering economic, social, and political terms from the Colonial America unit based on lecture notes.

Economic

Anything related to the making or spending of money

Capital

Money for investment.

Cash Crop

A crop that is grown for the purpose of selling it for profit. (example: tobacco)

Commerce

The buying and selling of goods.

Indentured Servant

A person who sells labor for a specific amount of time in exchange for passage to the New World.

Mercantilism

The strength of a country is measured by its wealth in gold. (Money = Power)

Plantation

A large farm that grows cash crops using slave labor.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

The Middle Passage on the Triangular Trade where slaves were brought from Africa to the New World.

Triangular Trade

The system of trade between Europe, Africa and the New World.

Social

Anything related to the interactions of people or organizations, including religion.

First Great Awakening

Religious movement that emphasized a personal connection with God rather than strict church rules

Great Migration

Mass movement of Puritans to Massachusetts to build a more strict religious community away from the King

Persecution

Mistreatment or punishment of a group because of their beliefs.

Pilgrims

English settlers who migrated to Massachusetts to escape religious persecution.

Puritans

Religious group that wanted to reform (purify) the Church of England and settled in New England.

Quakers

Religious group that practiced religious and racial tolerance. (Called themselves the Friends)

Religious Tolerance

The practice of accepting different religious viewpoints.

Political

Anything related to the government.

Charter

A contract written by the government giving a piece of land to a person or a group.

Colonization

To take control of and settle new lands.

English Bill of Rights

A document that protected the rights of English citizens and is the basis for the US Bill of Rights.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

First written constitution in the New World written by Thomas Hooker.

House of Burgesses

First representative government created in Virginia.

Magna Carta

The first English document written in 1215 that limited the power of the King.

Mayflower Compact

A social contract signed by the Pilgrims at Plymouth establishing a community.

Representative Government

Government in which voters elect representatives to make laws for them.

Social Contract

An agreement in which people create a government and agree to make and follow the laws.

Thomas Hooker

Puritan Minister and Founder of the Connecticut Colony and author of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

William Bradford

Leader of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony

Roger Williams

Puritan minister and founder of Rhode Island on the basis of religious tolerance.

John Smith

Leader of the first colonists of Jamestown whose strict rules helped with their survival.

John Rolfe

Settler at Jamestown who saved it with his introduction of tobacco as a cash crop and his marriage to Pocahontas

William Penn

A Quaker that founded Pennsylvania to establish a place where his people and others could live in peace and be free from persecution

John Winthrop

Puritan leader who became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony after the Great Migration