Apush Unit 2-3

European Colonization in the New World

Refers to the period where Spanish, French, Dutch, and British colonizers established colonies in America with different goals impacting economic, political, and cultural development.

Triangular Trade

A trade network in the 18th century involving Europe, Africa, and the Americas, where goods like slaves, cash crops, and manufactured items were exchanged.

Indentured Servitude

People who traded their freedom for passage to the New World for a set period, declining in favor of slavery in the 17th century.

Bacon’s Rebellion

A failed 1676 revolt in Jamestown led by Nathaniel Bacon against the Virginia Colony's aristocracy, strengthening racially coded laws.

Headright system

A policy granting land to settlers who paid for their passage to the New World, aiming to encourage immigration and settlement.

Charter of Liberties and Privileges

Drafted in 1683 by a New York assembly, mandated elections, trial by jury, security of property, and religious tolerance for Protestant churches.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

The first “constitution” in colonial America, established the Hartford government in 1639, allowed power of government to be derived from the governed.

Great Migration of the 1630s

A period where many Puritan families moved to Massachusetts, approximately 20,000 Puritans immigrated by 1642.

George Whitefield

A preacher during the Great Awakening, emphasized the consequences of sin in his sermons.

Mercantilism

Economic theory advocating government control to enhance national power, prominent in Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Toleration Act of 1689

An English law allowing free worship for most Protestants, forced on Massachusetts in 1691 after becoming a royal colony.

Massachusetts Circular Letter

A response to the Townshend Acts demanding their repeal, penned by Samuel Adams, which revitalized boycotts of British goods.

Boston Massacre

Incident in 1770 where British troops killed five and wounded six protesters, leading to John Adams defending the guards in trial.

Committees of Correspondence

A network for circulating protest letters against British policies, crucial in organizing the Continental Congress.

Gaspee Affair

The burning of a British warship by the Sons of Liberty, celebrated as a victory against tax burdens.

Tea Act

A 1773 law lowering tea prices but rejected by colonists wary of British revenue collection, leading to the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Tea Party

Protest where Bostonians dumped tea into the harbor, resulting in the closure of the Harbor and the revocation of the colonial charter of Massachusetts.

Quebec Act

1774 act expanding Quebec's borders and allowing religious freedom, angering colonists in the Ohio River Valley.

Intolerable Acts

Punitive laws by the British Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party, including the Quebec Act and Tea Act.

Declaration and Resolves

Address to King George III by the First Continental Congress urging redress of colonial grievances while recognizing Parliament's authority.

First Continental Congress

1774 assembly responding to the Intolerable Acts, advocating military readiness and boycotts.

Thomas Gage

British general enforcing the Intolerable Acts, leading forces at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill.

American Revolution

Anti-colonial revolt leading to the establishment of the United States, distinct from the Revolutionary War.

Declaration of Independence

Document announcing the colonies' independence from England, reflecting Enlightenment philosophy.

Patriots

Activists for independence, often young New Englanders and Virginians volunteering in the Continental Army.

Tories

British political party controlling Parliament during the Revolution, led by Lord North.

Benedict Arnold

American general infamous for defecting to the British, known for his role in the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga.

Horatio Gates

American general credited with winning the Battle of Saratoga alongside Benedict Arnold.

Battle of Saratoga

Two battles in 1777 leading to a British retreat, pivotal in securing French aid for the American cause.

Whigs

British political party negotiating peace terms with the colonists, distinct from the later American party.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Treaty ending the Revolutionary War, recognizing the U.S. as an independent country and setting boundaries with the British Empire.

George Mason

Delegate at the Constitutional Convention who refused to sign the final document due to the absence of a Bill of Rights and his objection to the slave trade.

Political parties

Factions within a republican government, despite warnings from the Founding Fathers, that quickly emerged in Washington's first term, leading to the enduring two-party system in the U.S.

Edmund Randolph

Founding Father who proposed the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention, favoring larger states.

Virginia Plan

Proposal by Edmund Randolph at the Constitutional Convention advocating for representation in both legislative houses based solely on population.

William Paterson

Founding Father who presented the New Jersey Plan at the Constitutional Convention, calling for equal representation in the legislative branch.

New Jersey Plan

Proposal by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention for equal representation in the legislative branch, resembling the structure under the Articles of Confederation.

Roger Sherman

Founding Father who proposed the Connecticut Compromise at the Constitutional Convention, shaping the structure of the legislative branch.

Connecticut Compromise

Proposal at the Constitutional Convention establishing membership in one legislative branch based on state population and equal representation in the Senate.

House of Representatives

Lower chamber of the U.S. Congress with representation proportional to population, fixed at 435 seats by the Reapportionment Act of 1929.

Senate

Upper chamber of the U.S. Congress with representation by state, each state having two Senators regardless of population.