AP US History Chapter 1 & 2 Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key historical terms, figures, events, and concepts from Chapters 1 and 2 of the notes.

Columbian Exchange

The global exchange of items, food crops, animals, diseases, and human populations between the Old World and the New World.

Bering Strait

The land bridge across which early migrants from Asia traveled on foot into North America.

Incas

South American civilization that built the largest empire in the Americas, featuring roads, irrigation systems, and a strong central government.

Mayans

Mesoamerican civilization that developed writing, mathematics, calendars, and advanced agriculture.

Aztecs

Mesoamerican civilization centered at Tenochtitlan that built a large, powerful empire before being conquered by Hern!1n Cort!1s.

Tenochtitlan

The large and powerful capital city that served as the center of the Aztec empire.

Matrilineal

System of social organization used by many Native American societies where family and clan membership followed the mother's side.

Christopher Columbus

Explorer who sailed west for Spain in 1492, reaching the Americas while mistakenly believing he had reached Asia.

Hern!1n Cort!1s

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec empire with help from Native enemies of the Aztecs and the spread of smallpox.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca empire in South America.

St. Augustine

The first permanent European settlement in the present-day United States, established by Spain in Florida in 1565.

Pueblo Revolt

An uprising in 1680 that temporarily drove Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico.

Middle Passage

The 3 to 4 month journey across the Atlantic Ocean that forcibly brought enslaved Africans to the Americas under crowded and unhealthy conditions.

Triangular Trade

A complex network of trade routes connecting the American colonies, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Navigation Acts

British laws passed to regulate colonial trade, which led some merchants to engage in illegal trade for better prices.

Iron Act of 1750

British legislation restricting metal processing in the American colonies to limit colonial industrial growth.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, established in 1607 along the James River in Virginia.

John Smith

Jamestown leader credited with holding the colony together by enforcing the rule that those who did not work would not eat.

John Rolfe

Jamestown colonist who learned Native farming techniques and introduced tobacco as Virginia's first profitable cash crop.

House of Burgesses

Representative assembly created in Virginia where plantation owners made decisions, marking an early step toward self-government.

Bacon's Rebellion

Uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon against Virginia Governor William Berkeley over restrictions on western settlement and control of the fur trade.

Maryland Toleration Act

A 1649 law allowing religious toleration among Christians in Maryland, while subjecting nonbelievers in Jesus Christ to the death penalty.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement signed in 1620 by Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower establishing a system of self-government for Plymouth Plantation.

John Winthrop

Puritan leader who led about 1,000 settlers to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious 'city upon a hill.'

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

System of government created by Thomas Hooker and his followers after migrating away from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Roger Williams

Founder of Providence, Rhode Island, who broke away from Puritan leaders over disagreement with church governance and belief in religious freedom.

Anne Hutchinson

Dissenter who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony after challenging Puritan religious leaders and hosting Bible study meetings.

King Philip's War

A 1675-1676 conflict led by the Wampanoag leader Metacom against English expansion in New England.

Quakers

Religious group that rejected predestination, believed in inner divinity, practiced pacifism, and founded Pennsylvania under William Penn.

Middle Grounds

Borderland areas where neither European empires nor Native American nations could establish complete control, requiring negotiation and compromise.

Encomienda System

Spanish colonial policy granting landowners the legal right to enforce forced labor on Native Americans.

Barbados Slave Code of 1661

Statute that gave slaveholders extensive powers while providing little protection for enslaved people in the Caribbean.

Stono Rebellion

Major slave revolt in South Carolina where enslaved people attempted to reach freedom in Spanish Florida before being stopped by militia.