DE US HISTORY TEST

Development of agriculture

Encouraged permanent settlements, population growth, and specialized occupations.

"Three Sisters"

Maize, beans, and squash; they allowed for high-yield, sustainable agriculture that supported dense populations.

Columbian Exchange

The global transfer of food, plants, animals, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres; the most devastating consequence was the introduction of European diseases.

European diseases

Caused catastrophic mortality rates, wiping out up to 90% of Native American populations due to a lack of immunity.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Divided newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal using a meridian line.

Popé's Rebellion

A Pueblo Indian uprising in 1680 that successfully drove the Spanish out of New Mexico for over a decade.

Virginia Company

Established Jamestown to find gold and discover a trade route to Asia for profit.

Jamestown foundation

Founded in 1607; it was the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Early problems (Jamestown)

Disease (malaria/dysentery), starvation, and hostile relations with local Native Americans.

Captain John Smith

Imposed strict discipline ("He who shall not work shall not eat") and secured vital food supplies from Native Americans.

John Rolfe

Introduced sweet West Indian tobacco, creating a profitable export crop that saved the colony economically.

House of Burgesses

The first representative legislative assembly in the English American colonies (established in 1619).

Headright system

Granted 50 acres of land to anyone who paid for their own or another laborer's passage to Virginia.

Increased conflicts (Virginia)

Settlers constantly encroached on native lands for tobacco farming and demanded food, leading to violent clashes with the Powhatan Confederacy.

Protestant Reformation

Religious turmoil and the persecution of dissenters (like Puritans and Separatists) drove groups to seek religious freedom abroad.

Separatists/Pilgrims

Radical Puritans who believed the Church of England was beyond reform and chose to break away entirely.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement signed aboard the Mayflower establishing a temporary government based on majority rule.

William Bradford

The long-serving governor of Plymouth Colony who helped it survive its early years.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Established by Puritans to build a righteous, model Christian community free from religious persecution.

"City upon a hill"

John Winthrop's vision that the colony would serve as a shining, visible example of a godly society for the world to emulate.

Family life (New England vs. Chesapeake)

New England had stable family structures, higher life expectancies, and lower child mortality; the Chesapeake had fragmented families, high mortality rates, and many orphans/widows.

Roger Williams

Expelled from Massachusetts Bay for advocating freedom of conscience, separation of church and state, and fair treatment of Native Americans.

Anne Hutchinson

Challenged clerical authority and traditional gender roles by preaching antinomianism (faith alone suffices for salvation, not good works or church laws).

Dominant Chesapeake crop

Tobacco.

Indentured servitude

Laborers signed contracts to work for a master for a fixed term (usually 4–7 years) in exchange for passage, food, shelter, and freedom dues.

Bacon's Rebellion location & leader

Virginia; led by Nathaniel Bacon.

Major causes (Bacon's Rebellion)

Discontent among landless former indentured servants over Governor William Berkeley's friendly Indian policy and lack of protection against frontier attacks.

Social tensions exposed (Bacon's Rebellion)

Deep class conflict between wealthy planters (aristocracy) and poor, landless frontiersmen.

Labor system changes

Planters shifted away from volatile indentured servants toward enslaved African labor, who were viewed as more controllable.

Triangular trade

A trade network moving rum, enslaved people, and manufactured goods between Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where colonies exist to enrich the mother country by providing raw materials and buying manufactured goods.

Great Awakening

An emotional religious revival that undermined traditional religious authority and encouraged individuals to think independently.

Enlightenment vs. Great Awakening

The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement emphasizing reason and science; the Great Awakening was an emotional religious revival.

John Locke's natural rights

Life, liberty, and property.

French and Native alliances

The French relied on fur trapping and trade rather than permanent land clearance, treating natives more as economic partners.

Larger conflict (French and Indian War)

The Seven Years' War.

Ohio River Valley importance

Crucial for westward expansion, trade, and control of interior river systems.

Territorial changes (Seven Years' War)

France lost all of its mainland North American possessions (ceded Canada to Britain and Louisiana to Spain).

National debt

The war doubled Britain's national debt, prompting Parliament to tax the colonies to help pay it off.

Proclamation of 1763

Prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Colonist anger (Proclamation of 1763)

They felt cheated out of the land they had just fought to win in the French and Indian War.

New taxes

To pay off massive war debts and cover the cost of colonial defense.

Sugar Act of 1764

Raised revenue by taxing foreign sugar and molasses imported into the colonies.

Stamp Act

Taxed paper goods, including legal documents, newspapers, playing cards, and pamphlets.

Violation of rights (Stamp Act)

It was an internal direct tax levied without colonial representation in Parliament ("taxation without representation").

Townshend Acts

Taxed imported goods like glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.

Paul Revere's propaganda

Depicted the Boston Massacre as a brutal, unprovoked slaughter of peaceful colonists by ruthless British soldiers.

Boston Tea Party

Carried out to protest the Tea Act and British monopoly, dumping tea into Boston Harbor while disguised as Mohawks.

Parliament's response (Boston Tea Party)

Passed the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts), closing Boston Harbor and restricting local self-government.

First Continental Congress

Brought delegates together from twelve colonies to coordinate unified resistance against British policies.

George Washington's position

Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

Common Sense author & importance

Written by Thomas Paine; used plain language to persuade ordinary colonists that independence from Britain was necessary and logical.

Declaration adopted

July 4, 1776.

Enlightenment influence (Declaration)

John Locke.

Source of government power

From the consent of the governed.

Articles power location

With the individual state governments.

Shays' Rebellion

An uprising of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers that exposed the weakness of the central government's ability to maintain order.

Original convention goal

To revise the Articles of Confederation.

Great Compromise

Resolved the dispute between large and small states over congressional representation by creating a bicameral legislature.

House representation

Determined by state population.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Counted three out of every five enslaved people for purposes of taxation and representation; resolved disputes between Northern and Southern states over population counts.

Federalist support

Favored a strong national government to maintain order and economic stability.

Anti-Federalist opposition

Feared the Constitution gave too much power to the central government and lacked a Bill of Rights protecting individual liberties.

Bill of Rights promise

Secured the support of hesitant states and Anti-Federalists by guaranteeing fundamental personal freedoms.

Importance of tobacco

Provided Virginia with a lucrative cash crop that ensured its economic survival.

Effect on labor system (Tobacco)

Created a massive demand for manual labor, initially filled by indentured servants and later by enslaved Africans.

Declaratory Act

Passed when the Stamp Act was repealed; declared Parliament's absolute authority to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever.

Thomas Paine's argument

That a small island should not rule a continent and that hereditary monarchy was absurd.

Effectiveness of Common Sense

Written in simple, accessible, and direct language rather than formal legal jargon.

"Unalienable Rights"

Natural rights that cannot be taken away or surrendered (such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness).

French and Indian War cause/effect

Britain accumulated massive debt, ending "salutary neglect" and enforcing taxes and regulations that angered colonists.

Articles vs. Constitution differences

Executive: Articles had no executive branch; Constitution created a strong executive (President). / Taxation: Articles lacked the power to tax directly; Constitution gave Congress the power to levy taxes. / Courts: Articles had no federal court system; Constitution established a federal judiciary (Supreme Court).

1607

Foundation year of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Columbian Exchange (Definition)

Global transfer of plants, animals, culture, and diseases between the Americas and Europe/Africa.

Popé's Rebellion (Definition)

Pueblo Indian revolt in 1680 that temporarily drove Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico.

William Bradford (Definition)

Long-serving governor of Plymouth Colony.

House of Burgesses (Definition)

First representative legislative assembly in the English American colonies (1619).

Indentured Servitude (Definition)

System where laborers worked for a fixed term in exchange for passage to America.

Great Awakening (Definition)

Emotional religious revival movement in the mid-18th century.

Enlightenment (Definition)

18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individualism.

John Locke (Definition)

Enlightenment philosopher whose ideas on natural rights and social contracts influenced the Declaration of Independence.

Common Sense (Definition)

Influential 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine advocating American independence.

Great Compromise (Definition)

Agreement creating a bicameral legislature balancing large and small state representation.

Shays' Rebellion (Definition)

1786–1787 farmers' revolt that exposed the fatal weaknesses of central/state control under the Articles of Confederation.

Seven Years' War (Definition)

Global conflict (including the French and Indian War) that shifted the balance of power in North America.

Mayflower Compact (Definition)

1620 document establishing self-government and majority rule for the Pilgrims.

Declaration of Independence (Definition)

1776 document announcing the colonies' separation from Britain and asserting natural rights.