Unit 1 Test Review: Colonial Political Development & American Revolution

Vocabulary flashcards covering topics from Colonial Political Development (1607-1754), the American Revolution (1754-1783), and the Declaration of Independence based on the Unit 1 Test 1 review outline.

Joint Stock Companies

Businesses formed by investors who pooled their capital to fund colonial settlements in America in exchange for shares of future profits.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, established in Virginia in 1607.

House of Burgesses

The representative assembly established in colonial Virginia, serving as the first legislative body of elected representatives in North America.

Maryland Toleration Act

A 1649 law granting religious freedom to all Christians in Maryland, designed to protect Catholic settlers.

Bacon's Rebellion

An armed rebellion in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon against Virginia Governor William Berkeley over frontier defense and colonial governance.

Mayflower Compact

A 1620 agreement signed by Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower establishing self-government based on a civil body politic and majority rule.

New Netherland

A 17th-century Dutch colonial territory along the East Coast of North America that was eventually captured by the English and renamed New York.

Magna Carta

A 1215 English charter that limited the power of the monarch and established foundational principles of due process and the rule of law.

English Bill of Rights

A 1689 act that limited royal authority, enhanced parliamentary powers, and set individual rights that influenced American constitutional concepts.

Habeas Corpus

A legal principle requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or court to determine if their detention is lawful.

Salutary Neglect

An unofficial British policy during the 17th and 18th centuries of lenient enforcement of parliamentary laws, allowing American colonies to govern themselves relatively independently.

The Zenger Case

A 1735 trial of publisher John Peter Zenger that helped establish the legal precedent for freedom of the press in colonial America.

French and Indian War

A conflict from 1754 to 1763 between Great Britain and France (along with Native American allies) over control of North American territory, ending in British victory.

Treaty of Paris 1763

The peace agreement ending the French and Indian War, in which France ceded its mainland North American territories to Great Britain and Spain.

Pontiac's Rebellion

A 1763 Native American uprising led by Ottawa chief Pontiac against British military occupation and expansion in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War.

Albany Plan of Union

A 1754 proposal drafted by Benjamin Franklin suggesting a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies for defense and administration.

Proclamation of 1763

A British royal order forbidding colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to prevent conflict with Native American tribes.

Sugar Act

A 1764 British law that imposed duties on imported sugar and molasses to raise revenue from the American colonies and curb smuggling.

Quartering Act

British legislation requiring American colonial authorities to provide housing and supplies for British troops stationed in the colonies.

Stamp Act

A 1765 British law imposing a direct tax on printed materials and legal documents in the American colonies, sparking widespread resistance.

Taxation without Representation

The colonial rally cry and grievance stating that Parliament had no legal right to tax colonists who lacked elected representatives in the British legislature.

Patrick Henry

A Virginia orator and politician known for his radical opposition to British taxation policies and his fierce advocate for colonial rights.

Sons of Liberty

A secret colonial political organization formed to oppose British taxation and protest laws like the Stamp Act.

Townshend Acts

A series of 1767 British parliamentary laws placing import duties on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea introduced into the American colonies.

Boston Massacre

A 1770 confrontation in Boston where British soldiers fired into a crowd of hostile colonists, resulting in five colonial deaths and heightened tension.

Committee of Correspondence

Shadow governments and communication networks created by colonial leaders to coordinate political action and resistance against British policies.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 political protest in which the Sons of Liberty dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act.

Coercive/Intolerable Acts

Punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, closing Boston Harbor and restricting local self-government.

The First Continental Congress

A 1774 convention of delegates from twelve colonies in Philadelphia convened to coordinate unified resistance against the Coercive Acts.

Lexington and Concord

The initial military engagements of the American Revolutionary War fought in Massachusetts in April 1775.

Minutemen

Colonial militia members trained to mobilize and respond to military threats at a minute's notice during the Revolutionary War.

The Second Continental Congress

A meeting of colonial delegates starting in May 1775 that directed the colonial war effort and adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Continental Army

The official military force formed by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 to wage war against Great Britain under the command of George Washington.

Loyalists

American colonists who remained faithful to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War.

Patriots

American colonists who rejected British authority and fought for independence during the American Revolution.

Thomas Paine - Common Sense

A influential 1776 pamphlet written by Thomas Paine arguing persuasively for total independence of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain.

The Olive Branch Petition

A July 1775 appeal sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III in a final effort to prevent a full war.

Declaration of Independence

The formal document adopted on July 4, 1776, announcing the thirteen American colonies' complete independence from British rule.

Marquis de Lafayette

A French nobleman and officer who joined George Washington's army and played a crucial role in securing French military support for the American Revolution.

Crossing the Delaware

A surprise military movement led by George Washington on December 25-26, 1776, resulting in a crucial Continental Army victory at Trenton.

Yorktown

The 1781 siege in Virginia where General Cornwallis surrendered to American and French troops, marking the final major land battle of the American Revolution.

Treaty of Paris 1783

The peace agreement signed in 1783 that officially ended the American Revolutionary War and formally recognized the independence of the United States.

Manumission

The formal act of an owner granting freedom to their enslaved individuals.