All APUSH Terms

Sepulveda

He argued that the Indians were less than human and benefited from serving the Spanish.

Charter

This is a written grant by a country's government, by which an institution (or in this case, colony) is created and its rights and privileges defined.

Joint-Stock Company

A business, often backed by a government charter, that sold shares to individuals to raise money for its trading enterprises and to spread the risks (and profits) among many investors.

Jamestown

1607. Virginia company sponsored English colonization in this part of Virginia. English men didn't want to work/build the colony. This was the first permanent English settlement. It was a swampy area-hard to grow crops. There was disease and disputes with Indians. Once women arrived, tobacco was planted, and the colonists established trade with the Indians the colony survived, even though starvation was a big problem.

John Rolfe

He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the colony of Virginia and known as the husband of Pocahontas. (Yes, Disney got it wrong).

John Smith

He is usually credited with saving Jamestown, by forcing the settlers to actually work, plant crops and build shelters when they just wanted to search for gold and chill...Ok, not exactly, but the settlers weren't super motivated, and he forced them to be, and Jamestown survived.

predestination

Those who believed in this idea, John Calvin, believed that before creation God determined the fate of the universe throughout all of time and space. In colonial times, they believed.

Plymouth

William Bradford and Miles Standish were the early leaders of this colony, which remained small and relied on fish, fur and lumber as the foundation of their economy.

John Winthrop

One of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, most well known for his "City on a Hill" speech, which talks about the colony being a model society

Separatists/Pilgrims

These religious dissenters of the Church of England believed it could not be reformed and thus wanted to organize a completely separate church independent of royal control that did not have Catholic influences. They fled to America and settled in Plymouth.

Puritans

This group of moderate dissenters believed the Church of England could be reformed. Because they were being persecuted, they gained a royal charter and settled in Massachusetts Bay.

Salem Witch Trials

This event really did not burn thousands alive like some of you thought, but still, 19 innocent people died, and was an important cause that brought light to gender roles and social class differences in early Massachusetts. Several accusations of witchcraft led to sensational trials in Massachusetts at which Cotton Mather presided as the chief judge. 18 people were hanged as witches. Afterwards, most people involved admitted that the trials and executions had been a terrible mistake.

House of Burgesses

1619- The government of Virginia formed; it was the first legislative body of elected representatives in colonial America. Later, other colonies would adopt this type of representative government.

Mayflower Compact

This was an early form of colonial government drawn up by the Pilgrims pledging to honor the will of the majority. It was based on self-government and a rudimentary Constitution.

Lord Baltimore

Funder of Maryland that set it up as a haven for Catholics.

Act of Toleration

As protestants began to outnumber Catholics in Maryland, they adopted this law that granted religious freedom to all Christians. But...... if you denied the divinity of Christ, the penalty was death. (very "tolerant").

indentured servants

This was a labor system whereby young people entered into a contract with a land owner who paid for their passage to the new world and in return, they worked for a specific amount of time, usually 4-7 years.

Headright system

In this system, 50 acres of land were given to each immigrant who paid for his passage or plantation owner who paid for an immigrant's passage. This allowed some to amass vast amounts of land as well as the laborers to work it and encouraged the Virginia colony to attract more colonists.

Bacon's Rebellion

A movement by western Virginia settlers because they were angry at the governor for trying to appease the Native Americans (secretively because he was trading furs with them) when the Natives were attacking the western settlements. The frontiersmen formed an army, which defeated the Indians and then marched on Jamestown and burned the city. It was another dysentery death but more importantly, led to the use of slaves for labor along with illustrating 1) sharp class differences between wealthy planters and food farmers and 2) colonial resistance to royal control.

Berkley

He was the governor of Virginia during Bacon's rebellion. He adopted the policies that favored large planters and neglected the needs of recent settlers in the "backcountry". His shortcomings led to Bacon's rebellion.

Roger Williams

He founded Rhode Island, which was different because it recognized the American Indian rights to their land and paid them for it, and allowed freedom of worship to all Catholics, Quakers and Jews.

Anne Hutchinson

She believed in antinomianism, the idea that faith alone not deeds, was necessary for salvation. She preached the idea that God communicated directly to individuals instead of through the church elders, and was forced to leave Massachusetts and died in an Indian uprising (did NOT die of dysentery, as fun as that seems). Also criticized the church and believed women could also be prominent leaders in the church.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

This was the first constitution written in America and set up a representative government consisting of a legislature elected by popular vote and a governor chosen by that legislature.

Halfway covenant

This applied to those members of the Puritan colonies who were children of church members, but who had not achieved grace themselves. The idea was to expand church membership and involvement. This allowed them to participate in some church affairs.

New England Confederation

In 1640 a group of colonies formed this alliance to protect themselves from the American Indians, the Dutch and the French. It lasted about 40 years, but more importantly, set a precedent for colonial cooperation and unified action towards a common purpose.

King Philip's War/Metacom's Rebellion

This was one of the "last stands" of the Native Americans against the colonist enroaching on their lands. Their leader was able to unite many tribes and thousands were killed on both sides, but in the end, the colonists won and the "king" was killed.

Quakers

They settled in Pennsylvania and believed in an "inner light" and pacifism. They also support equality between the genders and do not pay their clergy.

Holy Experiment

In this experiment, William Penn founded Pennsylvania as religious refuge for the Quakers as well as other religious groups. He advertised political, religious freedom and land to attract settlers, and actually came to the colony to supervise.

Mercantilism

This economic policy based a country's strength on its accumulation of wealth and trade. Its goal was for a country to be self sufficient by regulation trade and production.

Acts of Trade of Navigation/Navigation Acts

These established rules for colonial trade, like all goods had to pass through England and goods had to be transported on English or colonial built ships. Certain goods (tobacco at first) could only be exported to England.

Dominion of New England

The British government combined the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut into a single province headed by a loyal governor (Andros). Andros made himself very unpopular by levying taxes, limiting town meetings, and revoking land titles.

Slave Laws

A set of statutes passed throughout the colonies to keep African Americans in bondage for life. Racism was soon integral to the colonies.

Triangle Trade

The backbone of New England's economy during the colonial period. Ships from New England sailed first to Africa, exchanging New England rum for slaves. The slaves were shipped from Africa to the Caribbean. In the Caribbean, the slaves were traded for sugar and molasses. Then the ships returned to New England, where the molasses were used to make rum.

Stono Rebellion

One of the earliest known organized acts of rebellion against slavery in the Americas. On September 9, 1739, Carolinian slaves gathered to plan an armed march for freedom. They planned to flee to Spanish held Florida, but it failed.

3 Sisters

The Europeans started to eat these (corn, beans, and squash) which allowed them to survive during early colonization.

maize

Another name for corn.

encomienda system

The King of Spain gave grants of land and natives to individual Spaniards and led to a system of dominance and exploration.

asiento system

A system which required the Spanish to pay a tax to their king on each slave they imported to the Americas. This allowed the Spanish to import cheap labor.

Columbian Exchange

The Transatlantic exchange of plant, animal, and diseases between the natives of America and the Europeans, end the age-old separation of hemispheres.

Bartolome de Las Casas

Was a Spanish priest that advocated for better treatment of the Indians. He established the basic arguments on behalf of justice for the Indians.

Pueblo Revolt

This was a "successful" uprising, also known as Pope's rebellion of most of the indigenous people against the Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe, present day New Mexico. They were able to push the Spanish out, albeit not for the long term.

Great Awakening

Puritanism had declined by the late 1730's. This was a movement characterized by fervent expressions of religious feeling among the people. Think of it as a religious revival....

Jonathan Edwards/ "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

He believed each individual must be saved through God's grace through repentance. He was well know for his fire and brimstone preaching in the Great Awakening, talking about everyone being a sinner and God being mad.

George Whitefield

He was known for delivering sermons that stressed God's omnipotence. Although he did not give the famous "Sinners" sermon, he preached similar doctrine, including the idea that ordinary people with faith and sincerity could understand the gospel without ministers.

"Old Lights" v "New Lights"

These were names given to those who supported the teachings of the Great Awakening and those who condemned it.

the Zenger Case

Although it did not guarantee freedom of press, it encouraged newspapers to take greater risks in criticizing a colony's government.

Enlightenment

This European movement believed in the use of human reasoning instead of religion to solve humanity's problems. Many of the ideas that emerged from this movement were the basis for the American Revolution and constitution.

John Locke

He wrote that all human beings have a right to the "natural gifts" of life, liberty, and property and that governments exist to protect those rights. He wrote Two Treaties of Government and assured that sovereignty (who has the power) ultimately resides with the people not the state (government), and that people had the right to overthrow government that did not protect their rights.

town meetings

This was the means of communication within local government in the New England colonies, where religious, white, male property owners would gather to directly vote on public issues.

Albany Plan

This was coordinated by Benjamin Franklin in order to have an intercolonial council to secure recruitment of troops and taxes for the French and Indian war. It didn't work well at this time but set a precedent for later Revolutionary congresses.

Treaty of Paris of 1763

Ends the French and Indian war, and gives Britain control of most of North America

salutory neglect

This was the policy of leaving colonies alone and not interfering with their political and economic systems. This set a precedent that made the colonists upset when Britain changed it and started taxing and regulating them after the French and Indian war.

Pontiac's Rebellion

This was the first major test to new British imperial policy. After the French and Indian war, American Indians were mad because the colonists kept moving west. An alliance of Native Americans burned forts and settlements. This rebellion led the the Proclamation of 1763.

Proclamation of 1763

(YES YOU NEED THE YEAR) This was made by the British government which forbid the colonists from settling west of the Appalachian mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east. Made colonists very unhappy and so they moved west anyway.

Stamp Act

British legislation passed which required that all illegal or official documents used in the colonies, such as wills, deeds, and contracts, had to be marked and taxed. It was the first direct tax to be "felt" by the common man and it was so unpopular that it caused riots. Because of this opposition, and the decline in British imports caused by the non-importation movement, Parliament eventually repealed it.

Sons/Daughters of Liberty

This was a radical "secret" society at first formed for the purpose of intimidating tax agents. They incited riots and burned the customs house where stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition of British policies towards the colonists.

Declaratory Act

Passed at the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed, the act declared that Parliament had the power to tax and make laws for the colonies, and had absolute power of the colonial legislatures. Kind of like saying, even though you got us to repeal the stamp act, we can still do whatever we want with you, colonies.

Townshend Acts

This taxed colonial imports and used money to pay the salaries of royal officials in the colonies. This also allowed for searches of suspected smugglers homes with a general license instead of a search warrant. Guess what, the colonists were not fans of this.

Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer

Written by John Dickinson arguing no taxation without representation. He said Parliament could regulate commerce, but duties were taxed and needed approval from colonial assemblies (which obviously was not going to happen). Again guess who were not fans of this.

Boston Massacre

The colonists didn't like it much that British troops were in Boston. A group of colonists started throwing rocks and snowballs at some British troops; the soldiers ended up shooting into the crowd killing a few (5) colonists. This outraged the colonists and fueled a propaganda campaign. John Adams defended the soldiers.

Boston Tea Party

Colonists are mad (surprise!) Britain is trying to help the British east India company out of its financial problems and makes the cost of tea cheaper than the smuggled Dutch tea. Sons of Liberty thought if they dressed up like Native Americans no one would know who they were, and made a little party in the Boston harbor. (If you don't know this, you should be very sad and worried)

Coercive/ Intolerable Acts

The King is mad at Boston (because, really the Native American disguise didn't fool anyone) and passes these acts to try and bring the unruly colonists back under control. They included things like closing the Boston harbor, making people house British troops in their homes, and letting bad British officials be tried in Britain not in the colonies( that isn't suspicious at all).

virtual representation

The idea that the colonists were represented in Parliament, because that is how it was in Britain. This would be different than the direct representation the colonists thought was "representation".

sovereignty

This concept determines who has the power and control. "We the people" in the Constitution.

First Continental Congress

This was the first time the colonists met to figure out how to respond to Britain's new taxation policies. At this point they do not want independence, they just want to put things back to how they were before the Seven Years War.

Suffolk Resolves

Called for an immediate recall of the Intolerable Acts, and for the colonists to resist them by making military preparations and boycotting British goods.

Lexington and Concord

These were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. British troops were attempting to seize colonial supplies. Sam Adams and John Hancock were warned by Paul Revere that "The British are coming!". Actually, it was Revere, Dawes and Prescott :) Actually, it was Prescott, because Revere was arrested and Dawes got lost. Actually, they didn't say the British are coming, because they still thought of themselves as British, and it was supposed to be all hush hush.

Second Continental Congress

They adopted the Declaration of Causes and Necessities for taking up Arms and called on the colonies to provide troops, led by Washington. They tried to both wage war and seek a peaceful settlement. We know how that turned out...

Thomas Paine

He wrote Common Sense. This publication was on January 1, 1776, to encourage the colonists to seek independence. It spoke out against the unfair treatment of the colonies by the British government and was instrumental in turning public opinion in favor of the Revolution

Olive Branch Petition

A petition to King George asking him to help the colonists out and intervene with Parliament. He dismissed the plea and declared them in rebellion.

Patrick Henry

This famous Anti-Federalist said "Give me Liberty or give me Death!"

British Imperial System

The policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies.

Declaration of Independence

Statement adopted in 1776 by the Continental Congress that announced the Colonies as independent states. Jefferson wrote about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Loyalists/Tories

Supporters of British Troops and loyal to Parliament in the Colonies

Saratoga

Turning point battle that led to France helping out the colonists during the Revolutionary War.

Yorktown

This was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

Treaty of Paris, 1783

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River. Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants and honor loyalist property claims.

Articles of Confederation

This delegated most of the powers (the power to tax, to regulate trade, and to draft troops) to the individual states, but left the federal government power over war, foreign policy, and issuing money. Proved to be weak and was replaced by the Constitution.

Northwest Ordinances

This was one of the successes of our first Constitution and set up a system for adding new states to the Union, along with setting aside money from public land sales for public education.

Shay's Rebellion

Poor, indebted landowners in Massachusetts were mad about taxes and sending people to prison for debt. The federal government was too weak to help Boston remove the rebels, a sign that the Articles of Confederation weren't working effectively

Abigail Adams

During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the home front. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping create. He didn't. Men.

New Jersey Plan

This plan during the Constitution Convention proposed allowing equal representation for all the states, regardless of size or population

Virginia Plan

This plan during the Constitution Convention proposed allowing representation for all the states based on population

Great Compromise

This agreement ended up with the Senate and the House of Rep and settled the representation debate at the Constitutional Convention.

3/5 Compromise

The agreement between northern and southern states regarding representation and taxation of slaves in the Constitution. It also stipulated an end to the slave trade in 1808.

Federalist Papers

This was a series of essays written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay in favor of the ratification of the Constitution.

Federalists/Federalist Papers

Loose constructionists. This was a series of 85 essays written in favor of the ratification of the Constitution. John Jay got sick after writing 5. James Madison wrote 29. Hamilton wrote the other 51!

AntiFederalists

This is the group that opposed the ratification of the Constitution, primarily because it lacked a Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights (know 1st, 9th)

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution

Hamilton's Financial Plan

BEFAT (See Memory Cues)

Washington's Neutrality Proclamation

A formal announcement issued by U.S. President George Washington on April 22, 1793 that declared the nation neutral in the conflict between France and Great Britain.

Citizen Genet

French Minster to the US that broke all the rules by speaking directly to the people and asking them to support the French Revolution

Jay's Treaty

This is when our representative, let's call him John, went to Britain to ask for an end to impressment. He came back with an agreement to pay our remaining debts from the Revolutionary War and Britain agreed to take its forts off the western front.

Pickney's Treaty

This secured the use of New Orleans from Spain in 1795. They offered it to us because they were worried we were getting buddy buddy with Britain.

Treaty of Greenville

This is where we recognized that the Native American's land was theirs in the Ohio River Valley. In return we promised to "protect" them. Really, they ceded their territory to us and we kept moving west.

Whiskey Rebellion

Group of farmers that didn't want the excise taxes imposed by Hamilton's Financial Plan and got mad, attacking tax collectors. Washington sent a whole bunch of people to shut it down, and it proved to some that the Consitution was better.

Washington's Farewell Address

In the 32-page handwritten address, Washington urged Americans to avoid excessive political party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances with other nations.

French Revolution (as it relates to the political views at the time in the US)

Supported by mainstream Americans although most were disgusted with the violent executions and mistreatment of prisoners.

XYZ affair

A delegation sent to Paris to discuss impressment and told they had to pay money to meet with officials. We got really mad "Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute!"

Alien and Sedition Acts

This act passed under Adam's administration made it illegal to say or write anything against the government. It was a violation of freedom of speech, but since the Federalists were in power, they let it slide.