APUSH Unit 2 Terms

Poor Richard's Almanac

(1732-1758) Widely read annual pamphlet edited by Benjamin Franklin. Best known for its proverbs and aphorisms emphasizing thrift, industry, morality, and common sense.

Nathaniel Bacon

29-year old planter and leader of the Freeman who broke out of control against the Virginia governor. He led Bacon's Rebellion in 1675 by conducting a series of raids and massacres in Indian villages against Governor Berkeley's orders.

Jonathan Edwards

A Congressionalist and Protestant pastor and theologian who first ignited the Great Awakening in Northampton, Massachusetts. He believed in salvation through good works and God's grace. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is one of his most famous works about the damnation that comes to those who aren't true believers.

Martin Luther

A German friar that nailed his protests against Catholic doctrines on the door of Wittenberg's cathedral in 1517. He denounced the authority of priests and popes, and he also declared that the Bible alone was the source of God's word. He ignited the religious reform known as the Protestant Reformation that occurred from 1517 to 1648.

William Bradford

A Pilgrim leader that was also a self-taught scholar who read Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, and Dutch. He was chosen governor thirty times in the annual elections. He worried that independent, non-Puritan settlers might corrupt his godly experiment in the wilderness. He lived from 1590-1657.

Roger Williams

A Salem minister and extreme Separatist who hounded his fellow clergymen to make a clean break with the corrupt Church of England. He also challenged the legality of the Bay Colony's charter and denied the authority of civil government to regulate religious behavior. In 1635, the Bay Colony authorities found him guilty of disseminating "new & dangerous opinions" and ordered him banished.

Paxton Boys

A band of people from western Pennsylvania (living in the backcountry...) who came to Philadelphia in 1763 demanding tax relief and money to help their defenses against the Indians. They had earlier been declared outlaws for launching an illegal attack on the Conestoga Indians.

John Peter Zenger

A newspaper printer who critiqued the policies of the corrupt royal governor of New York in the 1700's. He was charged with seditious libel, although later when standing trial he was found not guilty. This court case was the basis for the freedom of speech and press.

John Trumbull

A painter from Connecticut known for his historical paintings particularly during the Revolutionary War. In childhood he was discouraged for his artistic affinity, however later he was able to travel to London to pursue his ambitions.

Captain Myles Standish

A prominent passenger on the Mayflower who was not a Separatist. He was a peppy and stocky soldier of fortune, who was dubbed "Captain Shrimp" by a critic. Later, he rendered indispensable service as an Indian fighter and negotiator.

Great Awakening

A religious revival, which occurred during the 1730s and the 1740s, which swept through the colonies. Participating ministers, most notably Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield, placed an emphasis on direct, emotive spirituality.

Triangular Trade

A three way system of trade during 1600-1800s Africa sent slaves to America, America sent raw materials to Europe, and Europe sent guns and rum to Africa. This was a small, but immensely profitable subset of the Atlantic trade.

Regulator Movement

A violent uprising in North Carolina that was an insurrection against eastern domination of colony's affairs. This was spearheaded by Scots-Irish; many who participated in this later joined American revolutionaries (including presidents, ex. Andrew Jackson).

Headright system

A way to attract immigrants; gave 50 acres of land to anyone who paid their way and/or any plantation owner that paid an immigrant's way. It was employed in the tobacco colonies to encourage the importation of indentured servants.

John Winthrop

A wealthy pillar of English society who became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was a successful attorney and manor lord in England, so he eagerly accepted the offer believing that he had a 'calling' from God to lead the new religious experiment. He served as governor for 19 years, and his resources and skills helped Massachusetts to prosper. He thought that democracy was the worst form of government.

William Penn

A wellborn and athletic young Englishman, who was attracted to the Quaker faith in 1660 at only 16 years old; his father disapproved. Eager to establish an asylum for his people, he managed to secure from the king an immense grant of fertile land in 1681. He bought land from the Indians and treated them fairly. His new proprietary regime was unusually liberal and included a representative assembly elected by the landowners. Freedom of worship was guaranteed although he was forced to deny Catholics and Jews. He spent about four years in Pennsylvania, but was never fully appreciated by his colonists. He became too friendly with James II, the Catholic king and was thrice arrested for treason.

William III

After the Glorious (or Bloodless) Revolution, the people of Old England dethroned the Catholic James II and enthroned him. He relaxed control over the American colonies, inaugurating a period of "salutary neglect" that lasted until the French and Indian War.

Mary II

After the Glorious (or Bloodless) Revolution, the people of Old England dethroned the Catholic James II and enthroned this Dutch-born Protestant. She is the daughter of James II.

Halfway Covenant

Agreement allowing unconverted offspring of church members to baptize their children. It signified a warning of religious zeal among second and third generation Puritans.

George Whitefield

An English, Anglican priest who preached a message of human helplessness and divine omnipotence. He was a gifted orator who moved many to tears with his speeches. His style of preaching was unique and helped inspire people to minister and claim equality.

Sir Edmund Andros

An able military man, conscientious but tactless who stood at the head of the Dominion of New England. Establishing headquarters in Puritanical Boston, he generated much hostility by his open affiliation with the despised Church of England. The colonists were outraged by his noisy soldiers. He was prompt to use the mailed fist so he ruthlessly curbed town meetings, laid heavy restrictions on courts, the press, and the schools and revoked all land titles; he taxed people without consent of representatives; strove to enforce unpopular Navigation Laws and suppress smuggling.

Phillis Wheatley

An enslaved girl who was sold to a family in Boston. Although never formally educated she went on to publish poetry at 20 yrs. old when taken to England.

Anne Hutchinson

An intelligent, strong-willed, and talkative woman who was mother to fourteen children. She carried to logical extremes the Puritan doctrine of predestination. She claimed that a holy life was no sure sign of salvation and that the truly saved need not bother to obey the law of either God or man. She was brought to trial in 1638 for heresy, and she and her family were banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Molasses Act

British legislation taxed all molasses, rum, and sugar 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 did not pay it.

Predestination

Calvinist doctrine that God has foreordained some people to be saved and some to be damned. Though their fate was irreversible, Calvinists, particularly those who believed they were destined for salvation, sought to lead sanctified lives in order to demonstrate to others that they were in fact members of the "elect".

Proprietary colonies

Colonies under the control of local proprietors, who appointed colonial governors. These colonies included Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Royal colonies

Colonies where governors were appointed directly by the King. Though often competent administrators, the governors frequently ran into trouble with colonial legislatures, which resented the imposition of control from across the Atlantic.

Charles II

Colonists fell into disfavor with this person as a result of having sheltered two of the judges who condemned his father, Charles I to death. When he was restored to the English throne in 1660, the royalists and their Church of England allies were once more firmly in the saddle. He was determined to take an active, aggressive hand in managing the colonies. His plans ran headlong against the habits of decades of relative independence had bred in the colonists. In 1662, He gave Connecticut, a rival of Massachusetts, a sea-to-sea charter grant, which legalized the squatter settlements.

Puritans

English Protestant reformers who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic rituals and creeds. Some of the most devout members of this group believed that only "visible saints" should be admitted to church membership.

Great Migration

From 1630 to 1642, the migration of seventy thousand refugees from England to the North American colonies, primarily New England the Caribbean. The twenty thousand migrants who came to Massachusetts largely shared a common sense of purpose - to establish a model Christian settlement in the New World.

Pequot War

From 1636 to 1638, the series of clashes between English settlers and Pequot Indians in the Connecticut River Valley. This conflict ended in the slaughter of the Pequots by the Puritans and the Narragansett Indian allies.

King Philip's War

From 1675 to 1676, the series of assaults by Metacom, King Philip, on English settlements in New England. The attacks slowed the westward migration of New England settlers for several decades.

Fundamental Orders

In 1639, they were drafted by settlers in the Connecticut River Valley. It was the first "modern constitution" establishing a democratically controlled government. Key features of the document were borrowed for Connecticut's colonial charter and later, its state constitution.

New England Confederation

In 1643, this was a weak union of the colonies in Massachusetts and Connecticut led by Puritans. The main purposes of this were for organization and defense against foes such as the Indians, French, Dutch. It was an early attempt at self-government during the the benign neglect of the English Civil War.

Bacon's Rebellion

In 1676, Bacon, a young planter led a rebellion against people who were friendly to the Indians. In the process he torched Jamestown, Virginia and was murdered by Indians. It was the first revolt in the American colonies and consisted of frontiersmen and protested against Native American raids; the farmers did not win.

Benjamin Franklin

In his life he was known by many titles, including inventor, author, politician, scientist and diplomat. He is also among the seven Founding Fathers of our country. In American history he made significant contributions to both education and literature. With his help the first American college free from denominational control (University of Pennsylvania) was launched. He also edited Poor Richard's Almanack, a yearly almanac, which represented the views of great minds such as himself.

New Amsterdam

Later known as New York City, this was a company town. It was run by and for the Dutch Company, in the interest of their stockholders. There was no enthusiasm for religious toleration, free speech, or democratic practices; and governors were harsh and despotic. It attracted a cosmopolitan population, which was common in such seaport towns.

New Lights

Ministers who took part in the revivalist, emotive religious tradition pioneered by George Whitefield during the Great Awakening. The defended the Awakening for its role in revitalizing American religion.

Old Lights

Orthodox clergymen who rejected the emotionalism of the Great Awakening. They were in favor of a more rational spirituality.

Middle Passage

Part of the Triangle trade, Africans were transported to the Americas, where they were traded for sugar and tobacco. The transatlantic voyages slaves endured between Africa and other colonies, where mortality rates were notoriously high.

Indentured servants

People who voluntarily mortgaged the sweat of their bodies for about four to seven years to Chesapeake masters. In exchange, they received transatlantic passage and eventual "freedom dues," including an ax and a how, a few barrels of corn, a suit of clothes, and perhaps a small parcel of land.

Congregational Church

Protestant Christian churches, in which each church runs its own affairs, and do not connect with one another, Many of the churches have Protestant theories of unity. They were established the the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and later in New England.

Henry Hudson

Seeking greater riches, the Dutch East Indies Company employed this English explorer. Disregarding orders to sail northeast, he ventured into Delaware Bay and New York Bay in 1609 and then ascended the Hudson River, hoping that at last he had chanced upon the coveted shortcut through the continent. But as the event proved, he merely filled a Dutch claim to a magnificently wooded and watered area.

Salem Witch Trials

Series of witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Teens accused three older women of bewitching them, which set off a mass witch hunt which resulted in the trials; it led to twenty women being lynched (hung) in 1692.

English Civil War

Taking place from 1642 and 1651, this conflict was between Royalists and Parliamentarians. In the end, the pro-Parliament forces were victorious, which led to the execution of Charles I.

Mayflower Compact

The agreement to form a majoritarian government in Plymouth, which was signed aboard the Mayflower. This created a foundation for self-government in the colony.

Antinomianism

The belief that the elect need not to obey the law of either God or man. This thought was most notably espoused in the colonies by Anne Hutchinson.

Massasoit

The chieftain of the Wampanoag Indians, the tribe that welcomed the plymouth pilgrims. Signed a treaty with those pilgrims in 1621 and helped them celebrate the first Thanksgiving after the autumn harvests that same year.

Calvinism

The dominant theological credo of the New England Puritans based on the teachings of John Calvin. Calvinists believed in predestination - that only "the elect" were destined for salvation.

Separatists

The small group of Puritans who sought to break away entirely from the Church of England. A number of them settled in Holland initially, but made their way to Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts in 1620.

Metacom

The son of Massasoit who, by the English, was called King Philip. In 1675 he forged an alliance and mounted a series of coordinated assaults on English villages throughout New England. Not only did his war slow the westward march of English settlement, but also inflicted a lasting defeat on New England's Indians

Blue laws

These are designed to restrict personal behavior in accord with a strict code of morality and are also known as sumptuary laws. They prohibited "ungodly revelers," stage plays, playing cards, dice, games, and excessive hilarity. They were passed across the colonies, particularly in Puritan New England and Quaker Pennsylvania.

Navigation Acts (Laws)

These were a series of laws passed, beginning in 1651, to regulate colonial shipping. They provided that only English ships would be allowed to trade in English and colonial ports, and that all goods destined for the colonies would first pass through England.

Church of England

This branch of Christianity was established after Henry VIII of England wanted a divorce from his first wife. It served as the state Church of England, which was mostly Catholic in order and basic doctrine, but also contained many important principles of the Protestant Reformation.

Massachusetts Bay colony

This colony was established by non-separating Puritans in 1630. It soon grew to become the largest and most influential of the New England colonies.

Harvard College

This institution was established in 1636 in Massachusetts. This is the oldest institution of higher learning in the U.S. and was created in order to train Puritan ministers.

Slave Codes

This set laws defining racial slavery beginning in 1662. It established the hereditary nature of slavery, and legally limiting the rights and learning of slaves.

Quakers

This was a religious group that arose in England during the mid-1600s. They were known for their tolerance, emphasis on peace, and idealistic Indian policy. They settled heavily in Pennsylvania in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and were officially known as the Religious Society of Friends.

Dominion of New England

This was the administrative union created in 1686 by royal authority, incorporating all of New England, New York, and East and West Jersey. It was placed under the rule of Sir Edmund Andros who curbed popular assemblies, taxed residents without their consent, and strictly enforced Navigation Laws. Its collapse in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution in England demonstrated colonial opposition to strict royal control.

Glorious Revolution

This was the the relatively peaceful overthrow of the unpopular Catholic monarch, James II in 1688-1689. He was replaced with Dutch-born William III and Mary, daughter of James II. The Protestant rulers, William and Mary, accepted increased parliamentary oversight and new limits on monarchical authority.

Salutary neglect

This was the unofficial policy of relaxed royal control over colonial trade and only weak enforcement of Navigation Laws caused by the new monarchs. This lasted from the Glorious Revolution in 1688 to the end of the French and Indian War in 1763.

William Berkeley

Virginian governor who disliked wretched bachelors (poor, indebted, discontented, and armed) and was disliked by them because he had friendly relations with Indians. He adopted policies that favored large planters and neglected the needs of recent settlers in the 'backcountry'. His shortcomings led to Bacon's Rebellion.