African-American History Exam

Kingdom of Ghana

A West African empire that flourished between the 6th and 13th centuries, controlling trade routes and becoming wealthy by taxing the trans-Saharan trade of gold and salt.

Plantation System

Chattel Slavery

A form of slavery in which individuals are treated as personal property (chattel) that can be bought, sold, and inherited. Enslaved people had no legal rights.

Bacon’s Rebellion(1676)

An armed rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon, where frontiersmen, upset with Governor William Berkeley’s policies towards Native Americans, revolted. It exposed tensions between the wealthy elite and the poor settlers.

St. Augustine(1565)

The oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the continental United States, founded by the Spanish in Florida.

Stono Rebellion(1739)

A slave uprising in South Carolina where enslaved people tried to escape to Spanish Florida. It resulted in stricter slave laws to prevent future revolts.

Great Awakening

A religious revival movement in the American colonies, promoting emotional preaching and personal connections to God, which challenged traditional church authority.

Natural Rights

The idea that all individuals are born with basic rights, such as life, liberty, and property, which governments cannot take away. John Locke popularized this concept.

Lord Dunmore’s Procolamation

A declaration by the British governor of Virginia offering freedom to enslaved people who joined the British army during the American Revolutionary War.

Northwest Ordinance.

Legislation passed by the U.S. Congress that outlined the process for territories in the Northwest to become states. It also banned slavery in those territories.

3/5 Compromise

A compromise during the U.S. Constitutional Convention where enslaved people were counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation.

Cotton Gin

A machine invented by Eli Whitney that quickly separated cotton fibers from seeds, revolutionizing cotton production and increasing the demand for enslaved labor in the American South.

Explain the similarities and differences between slavery in Northern British
Colonies and Southern British Colonies. One paragraph or a few sentences in
length.

In the Southern colonies, slavery was central to the economy, especially in large plantations producing cash crops like tobacco, rice, and later cotton. Enslaved people in the South endured harsher conditions due to the labor-intensive agricultural work and strict legal codes that limited their freedoms.

In contrast, Northern colonies had a more diversified economy with smaller farms, urban industries, and domestic servitude. While slavery existed, it was not as dominant or essential to economic growth. Enslaved individuals in the North often worked as artisans, laborers, or household servants, and they generally had more opportunities to interact with free society, though they still faced discrimination and legal restrictions.