Mayflower Compact: 1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. Signed by 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony. 

William Bradford: A Pilgrim, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, 1621-1657. He developed private land ownership and helped colonists get out of debt. He helped the colony survive droughts, crop failures, and indian attacks. 

Pilgrims and Puritans contrasted: The Pilgrims were separatists who believed that the Church of England could not be reformed. Separatist groups were illegal in England, so the Pilgrims fled to America and settled in Plymouth. The Puritans were non-separatists who wished to adopt reforms to purify the Church of England. They received a right to settle in the Massachusetts Bay area from the King of England. 

Massachusetts Bay Colony: 1629 - King Charles gave the Puritans a right to settle and govern a colony in the Massachusetts Bay area. The colony established political freedom and a representative government. 

Puritan migration: Many Puritans emigrated from England to America in the 1630s and 1640s. During this time, the population of the Massachusetts Bay colony grew to ten times its earlier population. 

Church of England (Anglican Church): The national church of England, founded by King Henry VIII. It included both Roman Catholic and Protestant ideas. 

John Winthrop (1588-1649): 1629 - He became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and served in that capacity from 1630 through 1649. A Puritan with strong religious beliefs. He opposed total democracy, believing the colony was best governed by a small group of skillful leaders. He helped organize the New England Confederation in 1643 and served as its first president.

Congregational Church, Cambridge Platform: The Congregational Church was founded by separatists who felt that the Church of England retained too many Roman Catholic beliefs and practices. The Pilgrims were members of the Congregational Church. The Cambridge Platform stressed morality over church dogma. 

Contrast Puritan colonies with others: Puritan colonies were self-governed, with each town having its own government which led the people in strict accordance with Puritan beliefs. Only those members of the congregation who had achieved grace and were full church members (called the "elect," or "saints") could vote and hold public office. 

Anne Hutchinson: She preached the idea that God communicated directly to individuals instead of through the church elders. She was forced to leave Massachusetts in 1637. 

Roger Williams, Rhode Island: 1635 - He left the Massachusetts colony and purchased the land from a neighboring Indian tribe to found the colony of Rhode Island. Rhode Island was the only colony at that time to offer complete religious freedom. 

Half-way Covenant: The Half-way Covenant applied to those members of the Puritan colonies who were the children of church members, but who hadn't achieved grace themselves. The covenant allowed them to participate in some church affairs. 

Thomas Hooker: Clergyman, one of the founders of Hartford. Called "the father of American democracy" because he said that people have a right to choose their magistrates. 

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut: Set up a unified government for the towns of the Connecticut area (Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield). First constitution written in America. 

 Massachusetts School Law: First public education legislation in America. It declared that towns with 50 or more families had to hire a schoolmaster and that towns with over 100 families had to found a grammar school. 

Harvard founded: 1636 - Founded by a grant form the Massachusetts general court. Followed Puritan beliefs. New England Confederation: 1643 - Formed to provide for the defense of the four New England colonies, and also acted as a court in disputes between colonies. 

King Philip's War: 1675 - A series of battles in New Hampshire between the colonists and the Wampanoags, led by a chief known as King Philip. The war was started when the Massachusetts government tried to assert court jurisdiction over the local Indians. The colonists won with the help of the Mohawks, and this victory opened up additional Indian lands for expansion. 

Dominion of New England: 1686 - The British government combined the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut into a single province headed by a royal governor (Andros). The Dominion ended in 1692, when the colonists revolted and drove out Governor Andros. 

Joint stock company: A company made up of a group of shareholders. Each shareholder contributes some money to the company and receives some share of the company's profits and debts. 

Virginia: purpose, problems, failures, successes: Virginia was formed by the Virginia Company as a profit-earning venture. Starvation was the major problem; about 90% of the colonists died the first year, many of the survivors left, and the company had trouble attracting new colonists. They offered private land ownership in the colony to attract settlers, but the Virginia Company eventually went bankrupt and the colony went to the crown. Virginia did not become a successful colony until the colonists started raising and exporting tobacco. 

Headright system: parcels of land consisting of about 50 acres which were given to colonists who brought indentured servants into America. They were used by the Virginia Company to attract more colonists. 

John Smith: Helped found & govern Jamestown. His leadership and strict discipline helped Virginia colony get through a difficult 1st winter.

John Rolfe: One of the English settlers at Jamestown (and he married Pocahontas). He discovered how to successfully grow tobacco in Virginia and cure it for export, which made Virginia an economically successful colony. 

Slavery begins: 1619 - The first African slaves in America arrive in the Virginia colony. 

House of Burgesses: 1619 - The Virginia House of Burgesses formed the first legislative body in colonial America. 

Bacon's Rebellion: 1676 - Nathaniel Bacon and other western Virginia settlers were angry at Virginia Governor Berkeley for trying to appease the Doeg Indians after the Doegs attacked the western settlements. The frontiersmen formed an army, with Bacon as its leader, which defeated the Indians and then marched on Jamestown and burned the city. The rebellion ended suddenly when Bacon died of an illness. 

Georgia: reasons, successes: 1733 - Georgia was formed as a buffer between the Carolinas and Spanish-held Florida. It was a military-style colony, but also served as a haven for the poor, criminals, and persecuted Protestants. 

James Oglethorpe: Founder and governor of the Georgia colony. He ran a tightly-disciplined, military-like colony. Slaves, alcohol, and Catholicism were forbidden in his colony. 

Carolinas: 1665 - Charles II granted this land to pay off a debt to some supporters. They instituted headrights and a representative government to attract colonists. The southern region of the Carolinas grew rich off its ties to the sugar islands, while the poorer northern region was composed mainly of farmers. The conflicts between the regions eventually led to the colony being split into North and South Carolina. 

Staple crops in the South: Tobacco was grown in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Rice was grown in South Carolina and Georgia. Indigo was grown in South Carolina. 

Pennsylvania: 1681- William Penn received a land grant from King Charles II, and used it to form a colony that would provide a haven for Quakers. His colony, Pennsylvania, allowed religious freedom. William Penn allowed anyone to emigrate to Pennsylvania, in order to provide a haven for persecuted religions. 

New York: Dutch, 1664 English: New York belonged to the Dutch, but King Charles II gave the land to his brother, the Duke of York in 1664. When the British came to take the colony, the Dutch, who hated their Governor Peter Stuyvesant, quickly surrendered to them. The Dutch retook the colony in 1673, but the British regained it in 1674. 

Five Nations: The federation of tribes occupying northern New York: the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Seneca, the Onondaga, and the Cayuga. The federation was also known as the "Iroquois," or the League of Five Nations, although in about 1720 the Tuscarora tribe was added as a sixth member. It was the most powerful and efficient North American Indian organization during the 1700s. 

Crops in the Middle Colonies: The middle colonies produced staple crops, primarily grain and com. 

New York and Philadelphia as urban centers: New York became an important urban center due to its harbor and rivers, which made it an important center for trade. Philadelphia was a center for trade and crafts, and attracted a large number of immigrants, so that by 1720 it had a population of 10,000. It was capital of Pennsylvania from 1683-1799. As urban centers, both played a role in American Independence. 

Benjamin Franklin: Printer, author, inventor, diplomat, statesman, and Founding Father. One of the few Americans who was highly respected in Europe, primarily due to his discoveries in the field of electricity. 

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island: Pennsylvania: Founded by William Penn, a Quaker, to provide protection for Quakers, Maryland: Formed as a colony where Catholics would be free from persecution. Rhode Island: Formed to provide a haven for all persecuted religions, including all Christian denominations and Jews. 

Great Awakening (1739-1744): Puritanism had declined by the 1730s, and people were upset about the decline in religious piety. The Great Awakening was a sudden outbreak of religious fervor that swept through the colonies. One of the first events to unify the colonies. 40. Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Part of the Great Awakening, Edwards gave gripping sermons about sin and the torments of Hell. 

George Whitefield: Credited with starting the Great Awakening, also a leader of the "New Lights." 

Old Lights, New Lights: The "New Lights" were new religious movements formed during the Great Awakening and broke away from the congregational church in New England. The "Old Lights" were the established congregational churches. 

Lord Baltimore: Founded the colony of Maryland and offered religious freedom to all Christian colonists. He did so because he knew that members of his own religion (Catholicism) would be a minority in the colony. Maryland Act of Toleration (Act of Religious Toleration)1649 - Ordered by Lord Baltimore guaranteed religious freedom to all Christians. 

Deism: The religion of the Enlightenment (1700s). Followers believed that God existed and had created the world, but that afterwards He left it to run by its own natural laws. Denied that God communicated to man or in any way influenced his life. 

Mercantilism: economic policy of Europe in the 1500s through 1700s. The government exercised control over industry and trade with the idea that national strength and economic security comes from exporting more than is imported. Possession of colonies provided countries both with sources of raw materials and markets for their manufactured goods. Great Britain exported goods and forced the colonies to buy them. 

Navigation Acts of 1650, 1660, 1663, and 1696: British regulations designed to protect British shipping from competition. Said that British colonies could only import goods if they were shipped on British-owned vessels and at least 3/4 of the crew of the ship were British. 

Triangular Trade: The backbone of New England's economy during the colonial period. Ships from New England sailed first to Africa, exchanging New England rum for slaves. The slaves were shipped from Africa to the Caribbean (this was known as the Middle Passage, when many slaves died on the ships). In the Caribbean, the slaves were traded for sugar and molasses. Then the ships returned to New England, where the molasses were used to make rum. 

Molasses Act, 1733: British legislation which taxed all molasses, rum, and sugar which the colonies imported from countries other than Britain and her colonies. The act angered the New England colonies, which imported a lot of molasses from the Caribbean as part of the Triangular Trade. The British had difficulty enforcing the tax; most colonial merchants ignored it. 

Currency Act, 1764: This act applied to all of the colonies. It banned the production of paper money in the colonies in an effort to combat the inflation caused by Virginia's decision to get itself out of debt by issuing more paper money. 

Salem witch trials: Several accusations of witchcraft led to sensational trials in Salem, Massachusetts at which Cotton Mather presided as the chief judge. 18 people were hanged as witches. Afterwards, most admitted that the trials and executions had been a terrible mistake.

Indentured servants: People who couldn't afford passage to the colonies could become indentured servants. Another person would pay their passage, and in exchange, the indentured servant would serve that person for a set time (usually seven years) and then would be free. 

Poor Richard's Almanack: first published 1732, written by Benjamin Franklin, it was filled with witty, insightful, and funny bits of observation and common sense advice (the saying, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," first appeared in this almanac). It was the most popular almanac in the colonies. 

Phillis Wheatly (1754-1784): An African domestic in the colonies, and a well-known colonial poet. Her poetry was ornate and elaborate. 54. Ann Bradstreet (1612-1692): A Puritan and the 15 colonial poet to be published. The main subjects of poetry were family, home, and religion. 

Magna Carta, 1215: An English document drawn up by nobles under King John which limited the power of the king. It has influenced later constitutional documents in Britain and America. 

"Salutary neglect": Prime Minister Robert Walpole's policy in dealing with the American colonies. He was primarily concerned with British affairs and believed that unrestricted trade in the colonies would be more profitable for England than taxation of the colonies. 

The Enlightenment: A philosophical movement which started in Europe in the 1700's and spread to the colonies. It emphasized reason and the scientific method. Writers of the enlightenment tended to focus on government, ethics, and science, rather than on imagination, emotions, or religion. Many members of the Enlightenment rejected traditional religious beliefs in favor of Deism, which holds that the world is run by natural laws without the direct intervention of God. 

Theories of representative government in legislatures: virtual representation, actual representation: Virtual representation means that a representative is not elected by his constituents, but he resembles them in his political beliefs and goals. Actual representation means that a representative is elected by his constituents. The colonies only had virtual representation in the British government. 

Proprietary, charter, and royal colonies: Proprietary colonies were founded by a proprietary company or individual and were controlled by the proprietor. Charter colonies were founded by a government charter granted to a company or a group of people. The British government had some control over charter colonies. Royal (or crown) colonies were formed by the king, so the government had total control over them. 

Town meetings: A purely democratic form of government common in the colonies, and the most prevalent form of local government in New England. In general, the town's voting population would meet once a year to elect officers, levy taxes, and pass laws. 

John Peter Zenger trial: Zenger published articles critical of British governor William Cosby. He was taken to trial, but found not guilty. The trial set a precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies. 

John Locke (1632-1704): Locke was an English political philosopher whose ideas inspired the American revolution. He wrote that all human beings have a right to life, liberty, and property, and that governments exist to protect those rights. He believed that the government was based upon an unwritten "social contract" between the rulers and their people, and if the government failed to uphold its end of the contract, the people had a right to rebel and institute a new government. 

A democratic society or not?: The Founding Fathers were not sure that democracy was the right form of government for America. They feared anarchy and the rise of factions whose policies would not represent the true will of the people. Hence, the government which they designed contains many aspects of a republic; that is, an indirect democracy in which the people do not vote directly on the laws, but instead elect representatives who vote for them. 

Land claims and squabbles in North America: The British controlled the colonies on the east coast, and the French held the land around the Mississippi and west of it. Both the British and the French laid claim to Canada and the Ohio Valley region. 

Differences between French and British colonization: The British settled mainly along the coast, where they started farms, towns, and governments. As a general rule, whole families emigrated. The British colonies had little interaction with the local Indians (aside from occasional fighting). The French colonized the interior, where they controlled the fur trade. Most of the French immigrants were single men, and there were few towns and only loose governmental authority. The French lived closely with the Indians, trading with them for furs and sometimes taking Indian wives. 

French and Indian War (1756-1763): Part of the Seven Years' War in Europe. Britain and France fought for control of the Ohio Valley and Canada. The Algonquins, who feared British expansion into the Ohio Valley, allied with the French. The Mohawks also fought for the French while the rest of the Iroquois Nation allied with the British. The colonies fought under British commanders. Britain eventually won, and gained control of all of the remaining French possessions in Canada, as well as India. Spain, which had allied with France, ceded Florida to Britain, but received Louisiana in return. 

Albany Plan of Union, Benjamin Franklin: During the French and Indian War, Franklin wrote this proposal for a unified colonial government, which would operate under the authority of the British government. 

General Braddock: British commander in the French and Indian War. He was killed and his army defeated in a battle at the intersection of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers, known as the Battle of Fallen Timbers. After his death, his colonial second-in-command, Col. George Washington, temporarily led the British forces. 

William Pitt (1708-1778): British secretary of state during the French and Indian War. He brought the British/colonial army under tight British control and started drafting colonists, which led to riots. 

Fort Pitt, Fort Duquesne: Fort Duquesne became one of the principal French outposts in the northern Ohio Valley, and, in 1754 the French troops in Fort Duquesne destroyed nearby British Fort Necessity, after Washington and the colonial army surrendered it to them. The British rebuilt Fort Necessity as Fort Pitt in 1758. 

Wolfe, Montcalm, Quebec: 1759 - British general James Wolfe led an attack on Quebec. The French, under Marquis de Montcalm, fought off the initial attack, but the British recovered and took Quebec in a surprise night attack in September, 1759. 

Treaty of Paris, 1763: Treaty between Britain, France, and Spain, which ended the Seven Years War (and the French and Indian War). France lost Canada, the land east of the Mississippi, some Caribbean islands and India to Britain. France also gave New Orleans and the land west of the Mississippi to Spain, to compensate it for ceding Florida to the British. 

Pontiac's Rebellion 1763: An Indian uprising after the French and Indian War, led by an Ottawa chief named Pontiac. They opposed British expansion into the western Ohio Valley and began destroying British forts in the area. The attacks ended when Pontiac was killed. 

Proclamation of 1763: A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east. 

Paxton Boys: 1763-A mob of Pennsylvania frontiersmen led by the Paxtons who massacred a group of non-hostile Indians.