Bering Strait/Beringia: Landform which Native Americans used to cross into the Americas

pre-Columbian societies: Societies at large before Columbian encounters

Eastern Woodland Cultures: Indigenous groups, including Iroquois; relatively fixed, non-agricultural

Columbus: Genoan explorer hired by the Spanish to travel to India

Treaty of Tordesillas: Pope’s treaty that split the world between Spain and Portugal.

Conquistadores: Soldiers that went to conquer the Americans for the crown

Encomienda: A system of slavery in which native americans were subject to under a conquistador through the crown in order to gain profit and convert the native americans to Catholicism

Amerigo Vespucci: Italian explorer who proposed that America was a new continent

Columbian Exchange/Ecological Revolution: Exchange of plants, animals, and disease. Large ecological exchange between ‘old’ and ‘new’ world

Bartolomé de las Casas/Historia de las Indias: Missionary against encomienda

Pueblo Revolt (1680): Puebloan rebellion against the Spanish due to mistreatment, drove them out of New Mexico for 12 years

New France: French-claimed territory in Canada, failed miserably, nobody wanted to go there, fur trade was the only appealing aspect.

Virginia: Founded by a joint-stock company for economic gain
Roanoke: First British settlement in America, failed and was abandoned after the mysterious disappearance of settlers. 

Richard Hakluyt: English writer who promoted English settlement of the Americas

Henry Hudson: Explored Hudson Bay and River on behalf of the Dutch East India Co.!!!

Puritans: Protestant Religious group frustrated by Protestant Reformation not going far enough. Settled in New England, established churches, SCHOOLS, colonial government. 

Glorious Revolution (1688): Bloodless overthrow of Catholic James II by Protestant daughter Mary II and Dutch husband William III. Extremely popular across colonies.

Jamestown (1607): First permanent English settlement in the Americas founded by Virginia Company

Joint-Stock Company: Company owned by multiple investors to limit liability

Virginia Company: English Joint-Stock Company looking for precious goods

Headright: Individuals were compensated for bringing indentured servants to the colonies

Indentured Servants: Individuals tied to an owner for a specific time, owners often paid for their travel to the new world

Georgia Royal Colony: Established as a buffer from the Spanish

Proprietary Colony: Colonies established by companies given official jurisdiction by the crown

Pilgrims/’Scrooby Separatists’: Puritans who sought separation from the English church, emigrated to the Netherlands but, concerned about Dutchification of their children, finally made off for America on the Mayflower.

William Bradford: Puritan polyglot, leader and scholar; concerned about non-Puritan settlements in America, governor of Plymouth Colony

Mayflower Compact: Pact between adult male pilgrims made aboard the mayflower; outlined democratic government

Plymouth Colony: First permanent settlement of Puritans in New England.

Calvinism: Protestant denom. followed by Puritans. Based on works of Luther & Calvin, argued humans were weak & wicked, only elect would be saved.

John Winthrop: Massachusetts governor who proposed it should be a “city on a hill”

“A Model of Christian Charity” / “City on a Hill”: Famous argument by Winthrop that Massachusetts should serve as an example

Massachusetts Bay Colony: Colony comprising non-Separatist Puritans. Experienced a lot of immigration.

Congregationalism: Method of govt. among Puritans; self governing congregations

Roger Williams: Founder of Rhode Island. Salem minister who was forced out for extreme separatist philosophy, opposing govt.’s means of acquiring indigenous land, and for advocating separation of church and state.

Anne Hutchinson: Antinomianist (opposed predestination): challenged the Puritans, was banished.

Quakers: Democratic, relatively gender-egalitarian Christian protestant sect. Had no paid clergy, spoke for themselves, opposed oaths and religious taxes.
William Penn: Quaker religious leader, founded Pennsylvania. Granted land by the British govt. in return for debt they owed his father. Relatively kind to the Indigenous population.

Covenant: A relationship with God through the church
Social Mobility: Movement between economic classes.

Secularism: Lack of religion. In the context of government, separation of Church and state.

Jeremiad: Leaders trying to keep people religious as people were straying too far from religion

Half-Way Covenant (1662): Lowered the requirements to attend church to allow more into church

Salem Witch Trials (1692): Witchcraft hysteria caused by instability in Salem, Massachusetts

‘Witch Hunt’: When a group of people looks for someone/something to blame for their problems

Mercantilism: Finite number of resources and a zero sum game, amass the most gold (or other precious metals) through maximum exports and minimum imports

Navigation Acts: British restrictions on colonial trade that were remarkably unimpactful. Some in fact benefited colonists, if anything–e.g. requirements for Anglosphere ships & crew supported Americans shipbuilders and sailors.

Enumerated Goods: Certain raw materials which colonists were only allowed to trade to Britain. 

Metacom’s Rebellion/King Philip's War (1675): Native american rebellion because of loss of land, results in Massachusetts becoming a royal colony with an unpopular governor

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676): Revolt of black & white indentured servants and black slaves because of perceived excessively gentle treatment of Indigenous people. Razed Jamestown, forced Berkeley back to England, but collapsed after Bacon’s death.

Triangular Trade: Trade between Africa, America, and Europe

Middle Passage: Slave journey across the Atlantic, noted for being exceptionally brutal and inhumane. Slavers set sail knowing about half of the slaves on board would die on the journey.

Backcountry: Not on the coast, poorer regions (many former indentured servants.

Tidewater: Coastal region, more affluent.

American Enlightenment: Philosophical movement inherited from Europe that examined previously accepted ideas. Set stage for the rise of republicanism.

Ben Franklin: American scientist, diplomat and political philosopher

Deism: Believe that some supreme deity who set the world in motion but does not act on it & use reason to understand the world

Great Awakening: 18th century american religious revival

Jonathan Edwards: Pastor & speaker of “Sinners in the hands of an angry god”

George Whitefield: Charismatic itinerant Pastor, broke barriers of denominations

‘New Lights’: Those whose beliefs have changed and become new from the great awakening

Itinerant Preachers: Preachers who moved around, had no congregation

Political Culture: Ideas, beliefs, values, & behaviors that individuals bring to politics

‘State of Nature’: Hobbesian state where intrinsic human evil comes to the fore without a society to prevent it

‘Contract Theory’: The model of citizens willingly exchanging certain liberties in exchange for in return for protections of certain rights and of the social order.

John Locke: Enlightenment thinker who emphasized social contract. Valued right to revolution.  Viewed life, liberty, and property as central rights.

English Constitution: Widely popular non-physical constitution distributing power among king, house of lords, and house of commons. (One, few, many.)

‘Balanced Constitution’: The system has to be balanced to work property, no group should have more power or else it can lead to destruction (tyranny, oligarchy, anarchy). Separation of powers.

Parliament: Made of the house of lords (few) and the house of commons (many)
Virtual Representation: Elected officials represent the non-voters because people like them can vote.

Direct Representation: Everyone must directly vote to be represented

John Peter Zenger: Journalist accused of defamation by a governor (though the published information was true, negative reporting on public officials was illegal), later acquitted in what is considered the basis of freedom of the press

George Washington: Virginian Colonel enlisted by the British

Albany Congress: British called the colonies together to work together in the 7-years war

Albany Plan: Benjamin Franklin’s call for a grand council with representatives from the colonies for common defense, wholly rejected by both colonies and British

Braddock’s Defeat: Along with Washington, he was sent to conquer Fort Duquesne, completely destroyed by the French. Embarrassed colonists and British alike, but showed the British were fallible.

Seven Years’ War/ French & Indian War: World war started in the americas due to Braddock and Washington (land disputes), English ultimately win. Helps develop American identity. 

Treaty of Paris (1763): France is no longer present in the North American mainland

Republican Ideology:
Factions: Different segments of Americans with different positions on rev.

Virtue: Selflessness; the willingness to make sacrifices for the common good

‘Salutary Neglect’: Healthy neglect; positively regarded period of British leaving colonies alone

George III: British king during revolution who was a bad leader and handled the unrest very poorly.

Parliamentary Sovereignty: The absolute power of parliament to impose laws over the empire.

Power/Liberty/Virtue: Liberty necessitates virtue of citizenry. Requires power as defense from external threats.

Proclamation of 1763: British law restricting Americans from Westward expansion in interest of not provoking further conflict with Indigenous population.

Sugar Act: Taxes on sugar and other imports

Quartering Act: Required that colonial households must be hospitable and available for British soldiers to stay in. Caused riots, became a rallying point in the American revolutionary movement.

Stamp Act: Placed stamps on all pieces of paper, placed a tax on them.

Standing Army: Professional army, as opposed to citizen militias.

Declaratory Act: Declaration of parliamentary sovereignty, granted parliament to make any laws whatsoever over America.

Patrick Henry: Rev. leader, famously said in House of Burgesses “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Stamp Act Congress: Assembly of major colonial figures, called for abolition of the stamp act

Sons of Liberty: American activist group; protested British overreach, enforced nonimportation movements.

Townshend Acts: Taxes on goods such as glass and tea

Boston Massacre: Americans threw rocks and snow at British soldiers who in turn, killed several, spun into propaganda by Sam Adams

Sam Adams: Cousin of John Adams, rabble rouser, propagandist, and founding father.

Committees of Correspondence: Communication lines between the colonies. Organized by Sam Adams.

Tea Act: Remaining act from townshend act, also granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea in America to save it from free fall. May have lowered tea prices for colonists, still opposed as govt. overreach.

Boston Tea Party: Response to tea act where the sons of liberty went and smashed tea into Boston harbor 

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts: Closed Boston port, restructured Massachusetts. government, more troops in Boston, response was a boycott of British Goods and First Continental Congress

Governor Hutchinson: Mass. Governor during the Boston Tea Party.

Quebec Act: Made Quebec’s laws similar to the ones they had under France, gave them the Ohio Valley region. Protested by colonies as anti-democratic and pro-catholic.

Prohibitory Act: British attempt to coerce Americans to submission, embargo on American goods. Permitted seizing of American ships

Placemen: ? Maybe Commonwealthmen: British protestant religious figures similar to Whigs. Had huge impact in America.

First Continental Congress: Meeting between delegates from most colonies to discuss struggles with the British to make an appeal to the British government.

Paul Revere: American revolutionary leader, along committees of correspondence, famous for midnight ride

Lexington & Concord: First battle of revolutionary war. British soldiers fired on colonial militia, are forced to retreat to Boston. Occurred before colonists had expected.

Minutemen: Colonial militiamen, assembled very quickly.

Militia: Armed citizenry, membership often compelled. Composed a significant chunk of the American fighting force.

Second Continental Congress: Met in Philadelphia in 1775, after war had started. Offered reconciliation, bolstered continental army.

Bunker Hill: British pyrrhic victory. Forced Americans off of hill overlooking Boston at tremendous cost. Boosted patriot morale.

Continental Army (regulars): American trained revolutionary force. 

Thomas Paine/‘Common Sense’: Straw that broke the camel’s back re calls for independence. Suggested that Britain’s control over America doesn’t make logical sense.

Loyalists/Tories:Those who continued to support British control over America, sometimes fought to protect it.

Thomas Jefferson: Virginia planter, statesman, and writer. Took the lead in composing the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence: Explanation of the colonies’ need for independence. Written by Jefferson. Included a list of grievances.

Saratoga: American victory under Benedict Arnold that boosted morale.

Valley Forge: Continental Army’s quarters during brutal winter of 1777-1778. Soldiers instructed by Von Steuben.

Yorktown: Georgia site of decisive battle in Rev. War. The French beat the British navy, and blockaded Washington & other generals laid siege on land. Cornwallis forced to surrender.

‘Newburgh Conspiracy’: Continental Army officers got upset about not getting paid and planned a coup, but Washington talked them out of it.

Treaty of Paris (1783): Revolutionary peace treaty favorable to Americans. Granted Americans land. Only required that they encourage American citizens to repay debts to British merchants.