Early American Colonies & Revolutionary Foundations

Modern Plantation System

Large-scale farming using cash crops, monoculture, and coerced labor (indentured servants → enslaved Africans), originating in the Caribbean and spreading to the Chesapeake.

Pope's Rebellion (1680)

A Pueblo uprising against Spanish rule due to religious oppression and forced labor; temporarily drove Spanish out of New Mexico and weakened Spanish control.

Roanoke

England's first attempted colony; mysteriously disappeared ("Lost Colony").

Jamestown

First permanent English colony (1607); survived through tobacco cultivation and strict leadership.

Sugar

Highly profitable Caribbean crop; required massive enslaved labor—"rich man's crop."

Tobacco

Chesapeake cash crop; labor-intensive but accessible to smaller farmers—"poor man's crop."

Motives for English Colonization

Economic gain, religious freedom, national power, and population relief.

Maryland Act of Toleration (1649)

Granted religious freedom to Christians; protected Catholics but excluded non-Christians.

Barbados Slave Codes (1661)

Defined enslaved Africans as property and legalized brutal punishment; model for mainland slavery laws.

Puritans

Sought to purify the Church of England from within.

Separatists

Wanted to break completely from the Church of England.

Roger Williams

Advocated separation of church and state; founded Rhode Island.

Anne Hutchinson

Challenged Puritan authority; banished for religious dissent.

Mary Dyer

Quaker executed for defying Puritan laws; symbol of religious intolerance.

Mayflower Compact

Agreement for self-government based on majority rule.

Chesapeake Region

Warm climate, cash crops, plantation economy, fewer families.

New England Region

Cold climate, small farms, town-centered life, strong education and religion.

Headright System

Granted land to settlers who paid for laborers' passage; encouraged indentured servitude.

Indentured Servants vs. Slaves

Servants worked temporarily; slaves were enslaved for life.

Colonial Rebellions (ex: Bacon's Rebellion)

Caused by economic inequality and lack of political power; led elites to rely more on slavery.

Colonial Social Classes

Elite landowners, small farmers/artisans, landless poor, enslaved Africans.

Salem Witch Trials (1692)

Mass hysteria fueled by fear, religion, and social tensions; resulted in executions.

Enlightenment

Emphasized reason, natural rights, and scientific thinking; challenged tradition.

Great Awakening

Religious revival emphasizing emotional faith and equality before God.

New Lights

Supported revivalism.

Old Lights

Opposed revivalism.

Impact of Great Awakening

Weakened church authority, encouraged individualism, promoted education.

French and Indian War

Britain vs. France over North America; Britain won but gained debt and colonial resentment.

Proclamation of 1763

Banned settlement west of Appalachians; angered colonists.

British Trade Controls

Navigation Acts and restrictions on manufacturing.

Favorable Balance of Trade

Exporting more than importing.

Mercantilism

Colonies exist to benefit the mother country economically.

Causes of the American Revolution

Taxation without representation, loss of self-rule, Enlightenment ideas.

Stamp Act Congress

Colonial meeting protesting the Stamp Act; asserted shared rights.

Post-Revolution Impact

Expanded political participation but limited gains for women and enslaved people.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. government; too weak to tax or enforce laws.

Shays' Rebellion

Farmers' uprising over debt; exposed weaknesses of Articles.

Constitutional Convention

Meeting to revise Articles; resulted in new Constitution.

Great Compromise

Bicameral legislature: House by population, Senate equal.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Counted enslaved people as 3/5 for representation.

Federalists

Supported strong national government.

Anti-Federalists

Feared centralized power; wanted Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments protecting individual liberties.

Balance of Power

Checks and balances among three branches.

Criticisms of the Constitution

Too much federal power, weak protection of rights (initially).

Whiskey Rebellion

Farmers protested whiskey tax; Washington enforced federal authority.

Hamilton's Financial Plan

Assume state debts, national bank, promote industry.

Washington's Farewell Address

Warned against political parties and foreign entanglements.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Restricted immigrants and punished dissent.

Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions

States could nullify unconstitutional laws.

Compact Theory

States formed the Constitution and retain sovereignty.

Revolution of 1800

Peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Republicans.

Essex Junto

Radical Federalists who discussed secession.

Marbury v. Madison

Established judicial review.

National Road

First major federal highway; aided westward growth.

Ban on Slave Trade (1808)

Ended international slave trade (not slavery).

War of 1812

Caused by British impressment and trade interference; boosted nationalism.

Hartford Convention

Federalists opposed the war; hurt party's reputation.

Bonus Bill Veto

Madison vetoed federal funding for internal improvements.

Jacksonian Democracy

Expanded voting rights to white men; emphasized common man.

Corrupt Bargain

Election of 1824 deal between Adams and Clay.

Spoils System

Rewarding supporters with government jobs.

Nullification Crisis

South Carolina opposed federal tariffs.

Force Bill

Allowed Jackson to use military to enforce laws.

Indian Removal

Forced relocation of Native Americans (Trail of Tears).

Bank War

Jackson opposed the national bank.

Texas Independence

Texas won independence from Mexico (1836).

Father of the Factory System

Samuel Slater.

Canal Era

Transportation boom; Erie Canal linked markets.

Cult of Domesticity

Idealized women as moral guardians of the home.

Cotton Gin

Made cotton profitable; expanded slavery.

Nativism

Anti-immigrant sentiment.

Women & Reform

Active in abolition, temperance, education.

Mormons

Religious group led by Joseph Smith; migrated west.

Utopian Communities

Ideal societies (ex: Shakers, Oneida).

Second Great Awakening

Revival movement promoting reform and moral responsibility.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that U.S. should expand westward.

Know-Nothing Party

Nativist political party.

Missouri Compromise

Maintained balance between free and slave states.

Oregon Territory

Resolved by treaty with Britain.

Annexation of Texas

Added slave state; worsened sectional tensions.

Mexican-American War

Fought over borders; resulted in Mexican Cession.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposed banning slavery in new territories.

Compromise of 1850

Temporary solution to slavery disputes; included Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Introduced popular sovereignty; led to violence.

John Brown

Abolitionist; violent actions intensified tensions.

Popular Sovereignty

Settlers decide slavery.

Harriet Tubman

Conductor of the Underground Railroad.

Frederick Douglass

Former slave; abolitionist leader.

Free Soilers

Opposed spread of slavery, not slavery itself.

Border States

Slave states loyal to Union; strategically important.

Crittenden Compromise

Failed attempt to prevent war.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Fort Sumter

First shots of the Civil War.

Perspectives on Slavery

Moral evil vs. economic necessity vs. states' rights.

Bull Run

Showed war would be long.

Antietam

Bloodiest day; allowed Emancipation Proclamation.

Gettysburg

Turning point of the war.

Reconstruction

Post-war rebuilding; 13th-15th Amendments; mixed success.