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Unit 1
Colonies. Revolution, Constitution
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Nomadic | having no fixed home, moving from place to place according to seasons and availability of food and water |
| Reformation | a religious movement in 16th century Europe, growing out of a desire for reform in the Roman Catholic Church and leading to the establishment of various Protestant churches. |
| Renaissance | a period of European history, lasting from about 1400 to 1600, during which renewed interest in classical culture lead to far-reaching changes in art, learning, and views of the world. |
| Treaty of Tordesillas | the 1494 treaty in which Spain and Portugal agreed to divide the lands of the Western Hemisphere between them. |
| Columbian Exchange | the transfer - beginning with Columbus’ first voyage - of plants, animals, and diseases between the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere |
| Conquistador | one of the Spaniards who traveled to the Americas as an explorer and conqueror in the 16th century. |
| Mestizo | a person of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry. |
| encomienda | a system in which Spanish authorities granted colonial landlords the service of Native Americans as forced laborers. |
| Jamestown | founded in 1607, first permanent English settlement in the Americas. |
| Joint-stock company | businesses in which investors pool their wealth for a common purpose. |
| Indentured servants | a person who has contracted to work for another for a set period of time, often in return for travel expenses, shelter, and sustenance. |
| Puritans | religious sect in England that wanted to eliminate all traces of Roman Catholic ritual and traditions in the Church of England. |
| Mercantilism | an economic system in which nations seek to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold an silver and by establishing a favorable balance of trade (exporting more than they import). |
| Cash crop agriculture | a crop that is grown solely for the purpose of selling and making a profit. Dominant form of agriculture in British colonial America and the American South. Dependent on slave labor. |
| triangular trade | the Transatlantic system of trade in which goods and people, in particular the enslaved, were exchanged between Africa, , Europe, the West Indies, and the colonies in North America. |
| Middle passage | the voyage that brought enslaved Africans to the West Indies and later to North America. |
| Chattel slavery | system of slavery dominant in the Americas in which the enslaved person was considered the property (chattel) of the enslaver. |
| Enlightenment | 18th century intellectual movement that emphasized the use of reason and the scientific method as means of obtaining knowledge. |
| French and Indian War (Seven Years War) | North American theater of a broader worldwide struggle between France and Britain1754-1763. Ended with the defeat of France and the transfer of French Canada to Britain. Britain became the dominant power in North America |
| Salutary neglect | policy of the British Crown that avoided strict enforcement of parliamentary laws, especially related to trade, as long as British colonies remained loyal and contributed to the economic growth of the empire |
| Proclamation of 1763 | British order that prohibited American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. Increased tension between Britain and the American colonies. |
| Sugar Act | a trade law enacted by Parliament in 1764 in an attempt to reduce smuggling in the British colonies in North America. Increased colonial resentment. |
| Stamp Act | 1765 law in which Parliament established the first direct taxation of goods and services within the British colonies in North America. |
| Boston Massacre | clash between British soldier and Boston colonists in 1770, in which five colonists were killed. |
| Boston Tea Party | dumping of 18,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor by colonists in 1773 to protest the Tea Act. Led Parliament to pass the Coercive Acts. |
| Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) | Parliament’s attempt to punish the Massachusetts colonists for the Boston Tea Party. Took away Massachusetts ability to self govern and closed Boston Harbor to trade until the cost of the tea had been paid back. |
| Common Sense | pamphlet by Thomas Pain published in 1776. Called for the separation of the colonies from Britain. Argued that separation would be politically and economically beneficial. |
| Boycott | withdraw from commercial and social relations with a country, organization, or person as a punishment or protest. In the lead up to the American Revolution and in protest of British taxation policies, colonists refused to import British goods. |
| Committees of Correspondence | organizations of colonists that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament. |
| Declaration of Independence | document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 in which the delegates of the Continental Congress declared the colonies’ independence from Britain. |
| Natural rights | also called inalienable rights, rights that are granted to all human beings and cannot be taken away by governments. |
| Loyalists | colonists that supported the British government during the American Revolution. |
| Patriots | colonists who supported the independence of the American colonies during the American Revolution. |
| Battle of Saratoga | 1777 turning point victory for American forces in the war of independence. Convinced France to support the American war effort, culminating in the Franco-American alliance and French entry into the war. |
| Battle of Yorktown | 1781 battle that culminated in the surrender of British forces at Yorktown. Ended armed hostilities between the US and England and effectively ended the American War for Independence. |
| Treaty of Paris | treaty that officially ended the state of war between the two nations. Confirmed the independence of the United States and granted the new nation territorial control of North America all the way west to the Mississippi River. |
| Republic | a government in which citizens rule through elected representatives. |
| Articles of Confederation | document that outline the form of government of the newly independent United States. Created very strong state governments and a fatally weak central government. Was replaced by the Constitution in 1789. |
| Northwest Ordinance of 1787 | organized the Northwest Territory, organized territorial governments, and how to admit new states to the union. Also established the Ohio River as the geographic dividing line between slave states and free states, banning slavery north of the river. |
| Shay’s Rebellion | uprising of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers protesting increased state taxes in 1787. Exposed the weakness of the central government put in place under the Articles of Confederation. |
| Federalism | political system in which a national government and constituent units, such as state governments, share power. |
| Federalists | someone who supported the ratification of the Constitution and a stronger central government. |
| Antifederalists | opponents of a strong central government. |
| Three-fifths Compromise | compromise between slave owning states and non-slave owning states. Three-fifths of a states enslaved population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives. |
| Slave Trade Clause | clause in the Constitution that prohibited Congress from banning the importation of enslaved persons for 20 years until 1808. |
| Judiciary Act of 1789 | law that established the federal court system and the number of Supreme Court justices and that provided for the appeal of certain state court decisions to the federal courts. |
| Two-party system | political system dominated by two major political parties. |
| Democratic-Republican | political party founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1792 in opposition to the Federalist Party. Favored strong state governments and a weak central government. Appealed to small landholders and farmers. |
| Federalist Party | political party founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1789. Favored a strong central government that promoted economic growth. Appealed to businesses and city dwellers. |
| XYZ Affair | 1797 incident in which French diplomats from Revolutionary France demanded bribes from US diplomats. Led to a small, undeclared war between the US and France known as the Quasi War. |
| Alien and Sedition Acts | series of four laws enacted in 1798 to reduce the political power of recent immigrants to the US. Sparked a political crisis as the law was perceived to be targeting supporters of the Democratic-Republican Party who criticized President John Adams. |
| Nullification | a state’s refusal to recognize an act of Congress that it considers unconstitutional. |
| Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions | Argued against Alien and Sedition Acts. For states’ rights and a narrow interpretation of the Constitution. Became the theoretical framework upon which nullification was based and would become a “recipe for disunion.” |
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