Exploration and Colonization Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about the Exploration and Colonization period in early American history.

Bering Land Bridge (Beringia)

A land bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska, allowing for the Paleo-Indian Migration to North America.

Astrolabe

An early scientific instrument used by sailors to determine latitude.

Portuguese Caravel

A small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 15th century.

Prince Henry the Navigator

A Portuguese prince who sponsored voyages of exploration along the African coast.

The Reconquista

The process by which the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella drove out the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula.

The Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who claimed Canada for France

Samuel de Champlain

Known as the Father of New France

Queen Elizabeth 1

English Queen during exploration period

Sir Walter Raleigh

English explorer who established Roanoke colony

Roanoke - The Lost Colony

English colony that disappeared with no trace

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America

Tobacco

Cash crop that saved Jamestown

House of Burgesses

First representative assembly in colonial Virginia

Mercantilism

An economic theory that promotes governmental regulation of a nation's economy to increase its power at the expense of rival nations.

Bacon's Rebellion

Uprising in colonial Virginia in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon. It was triggered by disputes over territory with Native Americans.

Puritanism

Religious reform movement that began in England

Roger Williams

Religious dissenter banished from Massachusetts

King Charles II

English king during the Restoration period

Navigation Acts

Series of laws passed by the English Parliament in the 17th century to regulate colonial trade and shipping.

Navigation Act of 1696

Parliament's assertion of its authority over the colonies

The Glorious Revolution

Bloodless revolution in England when William and Mary replaced King James II

THE ANGLO-FRENCH CONFLICT

Series of conflicts between Great Britain and France to gain dominance

King William’s War, Queen Anne’s War, King George’s War, French & Indian War

Colonial conflicts between Great Britian and France

French & Indian War

A colonial conflict between Great Britain and France that began in 1754.

French & Indian War

This removed France from North America

Prime Minister William Pitt

British Prime minister during the French and Indian War

Franklin's Plan of Union

This called for a unified colonial government

Declaration of Independence

A document declaring the 13 American colonies independent from Great Britain

The Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States (1781-1788), which created a weak central government with limited powers.

Battle of Yorktown

Final major battle in the Revolutionary War

Treaty of Paris (1783)

A treaty signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, that officially ended the American Revolutionary War

Shay's Rebellion

Farmers uprising

The Federalist

A series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to support the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedoms to individuals.

Federalist Party

A political faction led by Alexander Hamilton that favored a strong central government and a national bank.

Democratic-Republican Party

A political faction led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison that favored limited government and states' rights.

XYZ Affair

Diplomatic crisis involving the United States and France

Alien and Sedition Acts

A set of laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress that restricted immigration and limited freedom of speech and the press.

Marbury vs Madison

Established judicial review

Louisiana Purchase

The acquisition of a large territory from France in 1803, which doubled the size of the United States.

Impressment

Forced military service

Embargo Act of 1807

A law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1807 that prohibited American ships from trading with foreign ports.

The Warhawks

Members of Congress who supported war with Great Britain in the early 19th century.

War of 1812

Conflicts fought over British violations of U.S. maritime rights

Hartford Convention

A meeting of New England Federalists in 1814 to protest the War of 1812 and discuss possible secession from the Union.

Battle of New Orleans

A decisive American victory against the British

The Era of Good Feelings

A period of national unity and political harmony during James Monroe's presidency.

Erie Canal

Linked the Great Lakes and the Hudson River

2nd Bank of the United States

A financial institution created by the U.S. government in 1816 to regulate the economy and provide a stable currency.

Adams-Onis Treaty

A treaty between the U.S. and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary between the U.S. and Spanish territory.

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. foreign policy doctrine that warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.

Missouri Compromise

Line dividing free and slave states

The Jacksonian Era

The political and social developments during the presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), characterized by populism, expansion of democracy, and conflict over states' rights.

Indian Removal Policy

Forcible relocation of Native American tribes.

Theory of Nullification

Called for the right of a state to reject a federal law they felt was unconstitutional

William Henry Harrison

John Tyler became president after who died?

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent, spreading its ideals of democracy and freedom.

Polk

Declared land between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande as disputed territory

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Territory ceded to the US by Mexico

Economic Sectionalism:

North - Northeast – industry, immigration, cities, Northwest - free soil agriculture, South - slave-based agriculture

South

King Cotton

Underground Railroad

A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape to freedom in the North.

The Liberator

Abolitionist newspaper

nCompromise of 1850

A set of laws passed by the U.S. Congress to address the issue of slavery in newly acquired territories, admitting California as a free state but also strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Depicated the horrors of slavery

Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854

Allows the residents of federal territories to decide on slavery