Unit 1: Colonization to Constitution Flashcards

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the colonization of America through the drafting and ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Mercantilism

An economic system that drove the development of the colonies by viewing them as a source of raw materials and a market for finished goods to benefit the mother country.

Trans-Atlantic trade

A global trade network connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas, which facilitated the development of the colonies through the exchange of goods and labor.

Middle Passage

The brutal leg of the trans-Atlantic trade route in which enslaved Africans were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

Salutary Neglect

A period of loose British oversight of the colonies, which allowed for the development of colonial self-government such as town meetings and legislatures.

Great Awakening

A religious revival that unified the colonies and encouraged colonists to challenge traditional religious and political authority.

Proclamation of 1763

A British policy following the French and Indian War that prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains to prevent conflict with American Indians.

Stamp Act

A 1765 British law that required a tax on nearly all printed materials in the colonies, leading to widespread protests.

Intolerable Acts

A series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party, designed to exert more control over Massachusetts.

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Patriot organizations that formed to protest British taxes and policies through boycotts, demonstrations, and domestic production of goods.

Committees of Correspondence

Communication networks established between the colonies to coordinate resistance against British policies and share information.

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense

A pamphlet that used clear language to argue why American independence from Britain was necessary and logical.

Committee of Five

The group tasked with drafting the Declaration of Independence, which included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.

Baron von Steuben and Marquis de LaFayette

European military officers who provided training and leadership to help transform the Continental Army into a professional fighting force.

Battle of Trenton

A major victory for George Washington where the geography of the Delaware River allowed for a surprise attack on Hessian forces.

Battle of Saratoga

A turning point in the American Revolution where geography helped the Americans trap the British, leading to an alliance with France.

Battle of Yorktown

The final major battle of the Revolution where the coastal geography and a French naval blockade trapped General Cornwallis on a peninsula.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The official peace agreement that ended the American Revolution and recognized the independence of the United States.

Articles of Confederation

The first national constitution of the United States, characterized by a weak central government and strong state powers.

Land Ordinance of 1785

A law that established a systematic process for surveying and selling land in the west to encourage migration.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

A document that provided a method for admitting new states, banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, and supported public education.

Shay’s Rebellion

An uprising by Massachusetts farmers that exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and led to calls for a stronger central government.

Great Compromise

An agreement at the Constitutional Convention that created a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with equal representation.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement that counted three out of every five enslaved individuals for the purposes of representation and taxation.

The Federalist Papers

A series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to persuade the public and states to ratify the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, added to address Anti-Federalist concerns regarding individual liberties and limited government.