APUSH holy grail period 1-5

Maya

Mesoamerican civ known for advanced cities, writing, astronomy, agriculture. Collapsed before European contact-left cultural influences.

Aztec

powerful empire in Mexico with a tribute system. Had a large capital and did human sacrifice, conquered by Hernan Cortes in 1521

Inca

south American empire in the Andes with roads, terracing, centralized bureaucracy. Conquered by Pizarro in 1530s

Maize

corn domesticated in Mesoamerica. Allowed population growth, settles agriculture, and complex societies in the Americas.

Iroquois Confederation

powerful alliance of six native American nations in northeast known for councils, warfare strength, and balancing European powers.

Woodland mound builders

pre-Columbian cultures built ceremonial mounds for burial and social purposes- Mississippi river valley.

Columbian Exchange

transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and tech from the old world and new world (also people) reshaped global populations and economies.

Christopher Columbus

Sailor for Spain whose 1492 voyage initiated European contact with the Americas leading to colonization and demographic change.

Printing press

15th century invention that spread ideas quickly, helped to fuel reformation and facilitated circulation of exploration accounts.

Compass

Chinese navigational tool adapted by Europeans, enables trans-Atlantic exploration and improved maritime accuracy

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement that divided non-European world between Spain and Portugal and gave most of the Americas to Spain.

Martin Luther

German monk who launched the Protestant reformation in 1517, challenged catholic authority and influenced European migration to the Americas. he wrote the 95 theses

Encomienda

Spanish labor system- granted colonists control over NA labor in exchange for “Christianizing” them- led to severe exploitation

Hernan Cortes

Conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire using alliance, disease (not on purpose) and military tech which opened Mexico to Spanish rule.

Smallpox

deadly European disease that devastated NA populations, helped to enable European conquest

Las Casas

A Spanish Scholar who condemned NA mistreatment and advocated for their rights, influenced debated that limited Native enslavement

Sepulveda

A Spanish Scholar who says that Natives were inferior and therefore justified their subjugation, opposed De Las Casas

Joint stock companies

Businesses pooled investors to fund colonies (like Jamestown), spreading risk and enabling large scale colonization.

Roger Williams

Puritan dissenter who founded Rhode Island after being banished for advocating for religious freedom and the separation of church and state.

Act of Toleration

Law in Maryland in 1649 granting religious freedom to all Christians, protected Catholic rights not non-Christian rights.

Anne Hutchinson

Puritan woman punished from Massachusetts for challenging the ministers and gender norms, later founded part of Rhode Island.

William Penn

Quaker founder of Pennsylvania promoted peaceful relations with Natives, religious tolerance, and representative government.

Tobacco

cash crop- saved Jamestown economy, spurred land expansion, and increased demand for labor including slavery.

Jamestown

founded in 1607- first permanent English colony; struggled early on but prospered due to the rise in tobacco as a cash crop.

1619

pivotal year in Virginia when the first Africans arrived and the House of Burgesses was established

John Rolfe

Jamestown colonist who introduced profitable tobacco cultivation and married Pocahontas- briefly eased tensions with Powhatan.

Plymouth Colony

Settlement founded by the pilgrims in 1620 who were looking for religious freedom, known for Mayflower Compact and early cooperation with the Natives.

“City upon a hill”

phrase from John Winthrop which described Massachusetts Bay as a moral example for the world- reflected Puritan mission and exceptionalism.

John Winthrop

Governor of the Massachusetts Bay- promoted Puritan religious community and shaped early New England governance.

Mayflower

ship which brought the pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620

House of Burgesses

Established in 1619 in Virginia, first representative legislative assembly in the ENGLISH America

Thomas Hooker

Puritan minister who founded Connecticut and promoted democratic government- influenced Fundamental Orders.

NE v Middle v South

New England: Small farms, religious centered, commerce. Middle: diverse, grain economy. South: plantation agriculture, slavery based.

Mayflower Compact

early self-government agreement among Pilgrims, establishing majority rule for Plymouth Colony

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

first written constitution in America (1639) established a representative government with elected legislature.

corporate/royal/proprietary colonies

Corporate: run by joint stick companies; Royal: ruled directly by the Crown; Proprietary: granted to individuals by the King (of Spain)

Virginian Company

Joint stock company founded Jamestown to profit from New World resources.

Triangle trade

Trade routes connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas involving manufactured goods, enslaved people (Native Americans and Africans), and raw materials.

Mercantilism

Economic philosophy that colonies exist to benefit mother country through controlled trade and accumulation of wealth.

Navigation Acts

English laws restricting colonial trade to English ships and channels, strengthening mercantilism- angered colonists.

Glorious Revolution

1688 event replacing James II with William & Mary, expanded parliament’s power and inspired colonial resistance to the royal control.

Metacom

Wampanoag leader who led a major Native American resistance against the New England colonists 1675-1676 (King Philips War)

King Philip’s War

destructive conflict between New England Natives and colonists- ended NA power in the region

Sir William Berkeley

Governor of Virginia who favorited wealthy elites and failed to protect frontier farmers- helped to spark Bacon’s Rebellion

Bacon’s Rebellion

1676 uprising of frontier farmers against Berkeley’s government, reveled class tensions and accelerated shift towards slavery

Indentured servitude

Contract labor system where people worked for several years in exchange for passage; declined after Bacon’s Rebellion

Phillis Wheatley

Enslaved AA poet whose work challenged assumptions about back intellectual inferiority

Atlantic slave trade

Transatlantic system that transported millions of Africans to the Americas, fueled plantation economies

Middle Passage

brutal part of the voyage from Africa to the Americas, endured by Africans

Indentured servants

Laborers who worked for a set time for passage; replaced by enslaved Africans

Republicanism

Political ideology which valued civic virtue and elected representatives and the rejection of the monarchy

Liberalism

enlightenment influencing belief of individual rights, consent of the governed, and protection of liberty

Salutary neglect

British UNOFFICIAL policy of minimal colonial enforcement, allowed for self rule and trade autonomy until 1763

Enlightenment

intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and natural rights; influenced American political thought

John Locke

An enlightenment thinker who argued for natural rights and the right to overthrow unjust and failing governments

Rousseau

Philosopher who emphasized the social contract and popular sovereignty

Social contract

theory that government exists by consent of the governed to protect their rights, if the contract is broken people may resist government

Consent

the idea that legitimate gov authority comes from the peoples approval

Adam Smith

economist who promoted free markets and competition in The Wealth of Nations, criticizing mercantilism

Wealth of Nations

Smith’s 1776 work arguing for capitalism, supply and demand, and limited government economic interference.

Deism

enlightenment idea influenced by the belief that God created the universe but he does not intervene in daily life, clockmaker

Great Awakening

series of religious revivals in the 1730s-40s that emphasized emotional faith, challenges established churches, and promoted democratic thought

Jonathan Edwards

Great Awakening preacher whose sermons like “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” stressed personal repentance and emotional conversion

7 Years’ War/French & Indian War

Conflict between Britain and France for North American control; Britain won but incurred massive debt, led to colonial taxation and tension

Pontiac’s Rebellion

1763 Native American uprising against British expansion into the Ohio Valley, promoting the Proclamation of 1763

Proclamation of 1763

British law banning colonial settlement west of the Appalachians to prevent Indian conflict; angered colonists who wanted western expansion

Peace of Paris (1763)

treaty ending the French and Indian War, gave British control of Canada and land east of the Mississippi River

Albany Plan of Union

Ben Franklin’s 1754 proposal for colonial unity during the French & Indian War; rejected bur foreshadowed later cooperation

“Join or Die”

Franklins famous cartoon urging colonial unity, especially Franch and Native threats.

George Washington

Commander of Continental Army and first president; early military experience in the French and Indian War

Sugar Act

1764 tax lowering previous duties but strictly enforcing them, aimed to reduce smuggling and raise revenue

Quartering Act

Required colonist to house and supply British troops, heightening tensions and colonial resentment

Stamp Act

1765 tax on paper goods requiring official stamps, first direct tax on colonists, sparking worldwide protest.

Stamp Act Congress

colonial delegates who met in 1764 and argued that only colonial legislatures could tax colonists

John Adams

Patriot leader, lawyer in Boston Massacre trial, major advocate for independence

Patrick Henry

Verginia patriot known for fiery speeches- “Give me liberty of give me death!” opposed British tyranny

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Patriot groups that organized boycotts, protests, and intimidation against British taxation

Virtual representation

British claim that parliament represented all British subjects, including colonists, even if those people did not elect the members themselves.

Writs of assistance

broad search warrants allowing British officials to inspect any property for smuggled goods- angered colonists.

“No taxation w/o representation.”

colonial slogan arguing that taxes imposed without elected representation violated their rights

Committee of Correspondence

colonial communication networks coordinating resistance and spreading political ideas before the Revolution

Sons of Liberty

Patriot groups that organized boycotts, protests, and intimidation against British taxation

Townshend Acts

1767 taxes on imports like tea and glass; increased British enforcement and revived colonial boycotts

Boston Massacre

1770 confrontation where British soldiers killed five colonists, used by patriots as anti-British propaganda

Crispus Attucks

African Native sailor considered the first casualty of the Boston massacre and of the revolution

Tea Act

1773 law giving the British East India Company a monopoly on tea, worsening colonial resentment

Coercive Acts

Punitive laws closing Boston Harbor and restricting Massachusetts government after the Boston Tea Party

Quebec Act

Extended Quebec’s boundaries and allowed Catholicism; seen by colonists as threatening land claims and liberty

Boston Tea Party

1773 protest where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act.

Intolerable Acts

Colonial name for the Coercive Acts due to their severe punishment of Massachusetts

Continental Congress

A meeting of colonial delegates that coordinated resistance (1st Congress) and declared independence (2nd Congress)

Olive Branch Petition

Final colonial attempt to avoid war in 1775; King Goerge III rejected it making reconciliation impossible

Patriots v. Loyalists/Tories

Patriots supported independence; loyalists remained loyal to Britain and often faced persecution

Battles of Lexington & Concord

First battled of AR, known ad “the shot heard ‘round the world”

Battle of Bunker Hill

early battle showing the colonists could fight British troops effectively despite losing the battle due to low ammunition

Common Sense

Thomas Paine’s influential pamphlet arguing for independence and republican government

Thomas Paine

Revolutionary writer who’s works (Common Sense, Etc.) mobilized colonial support for independence.

John Dickinson

moderate colonial leader who wrote the Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania opposing British taxes but seeking compromise

Declaration of Independence

1776 doc asserting colonial freedom based on natural right and listing grievances against the King

Hessians

German mercenaries hired by Britain to fight colonists during the AR