Unit I Terms From "american History: A Survey"

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William Bradford

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Governor of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts from 1621-1651, who helped the Separatists Movement establish itself in the New World and created a system of privatized agriculture. He headed a theocracy in this settlement.

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John Winthrop

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Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony sporadically from 1630-1648. He famously envisioned a "city on a hill" - a Utopian community with an intense focus on religion - which contributed greatly to the formation of the Puritan lifestyle. He headed a theocracy in this settlement.

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Separatists

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Those who believed the Church of England could not be reformed and chose to separate from it entirely. The most famous example of Separatists in the 17th century was the Pilgrims who established a colony at Plymouth Rock.

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Anne Hutchinson

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A Puritan who taught the principle of antinomianism, in which individuals are not obligated to obey the laws of religious authorities. She was exiled from Massachusetts Bay in 1637 and moved to Rhode Island to continue preaching. She served as an important dissident and religious figure in American history.

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Jonathan Edwards

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A Puritan preacher whose fire-and-brimstone sermons triggered the First Great Awakening in the 1730s in the American Northeast. This Awakening made religion more personal and intense and led to the creation of new Protestant sects along the east coast.

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Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

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A document widely recognized as the first written Constitution in the British North American colonies, signed on 14 January 1638 by the Connecticut government. It contains some protection of individual rights, and served as an influence to the United States Constitution.

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Deism

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The religious philosophy which rejects the concepts of miracle and divine intervention, but focuses on human reason and considers God a force present in the natural world. This philosophy helped establish the precedent of separation of church and state in American history.

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Massachusetts Bay Colony

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A colony formed by royal charter in 1629 in present-day Massachusetts which became a theocracy led by John Winthrop. It was settled by Puritans, a group of English settlers who hoped to reform the Anglican Church. It was significant because it was the longest and most effective of the New World colonies to date, in that it had a thriving economic, political, and social structure. These settlers sought religious freedom, but did not practice religious toleration.

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Mayflower Compact

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A written agreement signed by the men aboard the Mayflower on 11 November 1620, which provided for democratic government. It was significant because it set the precedent of democracy in American history.

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Puritan Migration

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The mass movement of Puritans, a group of zealous religious purists, to the Massachusetts and Connecticut areas in the mid-17th century in hopes of establishing a theocracy and reforming the Anglican church. It was significant because this population contributed to the success of the British colonies in North America.

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Edmund Andros

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Governor of New York from 1674 to 1681, then governor of the Dominion of New England in 1686 until 1689, when Bostonians seized him, arrested him and sent him back to England. Andros was particularly vilified for strictly enforcing the Navigation Acts, which sought to hinder colonial economic progress and for openly supporting the Church of England.

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Triangular Trade

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A form of colonial trade in which three regions (Europe, Africa and the New World) all contributed. African slaves were taken via the Middle Passage to the Caribbean, where they were sold for sugar which was shipped to New England and processed into rum, which was then sent to Africa.

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Navigation Acts (1650, 1660, 1663, 1693)

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These acts served to further establish British commercial dominance, forcing all manufactured goods to channel through Great Britain before seeing the rest of the empire. This raised resentment among the colonists because it hindered their ability to openly trade with other areas. These acts are a reflection of basic mercantilist principles.

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Primogeniture

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A common practice among the English, wherein all assets, land and other possessions were inherited by the first-born son of the family. It carried over to the colonies early on, but quickly became unnecessary due to the availability of land in North America. This became a clear reflection of the social mobility present in the English colonies.

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Indentured Servants

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Servants who made the emigration to America but were too poor to pay and thus had to seek sponsorship from a colonial landowner. In turn, they required three to seven years of work to pay off the 6-8 pounds needed to travel. At the completion of the contract, the servant was given a small tract of land to farm. This system died out because it became too costly for the landowners.

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Proprietary Colony

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Certain colonies of Great Britain were granted directly by the Crown to an individual or group that adopted full governing power, e.g. Lord Baltimore in Maryland.

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Royal Colony

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Colonies set up directly such that the Crown had direct control over them, e.g. New Hampshire and New Jersey.

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Halfway Covenant

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An agreement reached by the Puritans of 17th century New England. As church attendance and participation began to increase in the early 1700s, Puritan leaders revised the requirement for membership and participation in the church.

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Maryland Act of Toleration

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Passed on 21 April 1649, granted religious toleration to all Christians in Maryland. The act was passed in the interest of Lord Baltimore II, who was a Roman Catholic in a colony where the official religion was the Church of England. It helped create the precedent for religious toleration in America.

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King Phillip's War

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A war between the Wampanoag tribe led by "King Phillip" and New Englanders in the Plymouth Colony. The Native Americans resented white intrusion and dominance; fighting started in June of 1675 and spread through New England. The whites eventually destroyed the Native forces. Phillip was captured and killed in August of 1676; this was the last major conflict between whites and Native Americans in New England.

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Dominion of New England

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In 1686, Massachusetts, Plymouth, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine were consolidated into the Dominion of New England. The Dominion was established to give England greater and more direct administrative control, especially over economic activities in the area. King Jame II appointed Edmund Andros governor. In 1689, Puritan leaders led a revolt against him and he fled back to England. The colonists made a powerful statement and England lost its first attempt to directly control the colonies.

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Joint Stock Company

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Companies, including the Virginia Company, which raised money needed for exploration and settlement in North America by selling shares to a number of investors. These 'corporations' were established as economic ventures and profited alone, the most famous being Virginia.

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Salem Witch Trials

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In 1692 and 1693, 19 people were tried and executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. This reflected the power than can be generated by fear and the authority of the Puritan church in the Massachusetts Bay area. Little concrete evidence was provided in the trials and, in hindsight, economics may have been a motivating force behind some of the accusations.

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John Rolfe

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English colonist who settled in Virginia in 1610. He was the first person to cultivate tobacco in the New World, which soon became a lucrative crop that made colonization a plausible financial endeavor. The cultivation of tobacco saved the struggling Jamestown settlement.

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House of Burgesses

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The first representative body in British North America, first met in Virginia in 1619. Members of the House were appointed by the Virginia Company or elected by the colony. This governing body became a model for the development of the legislative branch under the Constitution.

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Bacon's Rebellion

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Angered by large-scale Indian raids, a Virginia mob captured a peaceful group of Native Americans. When the local government reprimanded Bacon and his followers, they revolted, capturing and burning Jamestown. The government wanted to protect its lucrative trade with the Indians. This rebellion highlighted colonial unrest due to economic and social differences in the area.

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William Penn

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A prominent English Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania as a proprietary colony. He believed in religious toleration and peace with Native Americans.

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Holy Experiment

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William Penn called his colony, Pennsylvania, the 'Holy Experiment.' The colony was established as a haven for Quakers but practiced religious tolerance and pacifism, as well as fair treatment of Native Americans.

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Leisler's Rebellion

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Spurred by the Glorious Revolution in England, merchant Jacob Leisler revolted, somewhat successfully, in New York in 1689. He deposed the governor and proclaimed himself the new one. In 1691, King William appointed a royal governor; Leisler was convicted of treason and hanged.

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Great Awakening

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A large-scale religious revival in America between 1720 and 1740. Began in New England and filtered down the seaboard. It was a reaction to a decrease in religious activity in many New England settlements. Spurred on by fire-and-brimstone preachers like George Whitefield, it stressed piety and fear of God, as well as new devotion to religious practices. Led to the creation of many new sects in the North American colonies.

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The Zenger Trials, 28 July 1746

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Took place in New York; John Peter Zenger was accused of seditious libel for using the New York Weekly Journal as a tool to expose the faults and horrors of Governor William Cosby. The trial was based on the definition and interpretation of seditious libel, and Zenger was acquitted. This trial was significant because it set a precedent for freedom of the press.

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Charter Colony

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One of three types of settlements that existed in the English colonies, created through private enterprise under charters from the King. They were founded by trading companies, squatters and later Lord Proprietors. These colonies had more control over their own affairs than did others, which were ruled more directly by the Crown.

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Roger Williams

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Radical Puritan thinker, 1603-1684, founder of Rhode Island. Became alienated from the church in Massachusetts Bay for his view on religion and government, then expelled from the colony by the Massachusetts General Court. In 1636 he bought land from the Narragansett tribe and created Rhode Island based on complete religious toleration and separation of church and state. He was significant because he helped this latter idea to develop.

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George Whitefield

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Evangelist who played a large part in preaching the message of the Great Awakening in the colonies, helping the religious revival to spread throughout the country.

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New England Confederation

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A union of colonies formed in 1643 by Connecticut, New Haven, Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. These colonies decided they needed to form a colonial defense and settle border disputes. Despite the imperfections of the Confederation, it worked very well in dealing with the Indians. The confederation is significant because it showed the beginnings of organization and union in the colonies.

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Mercantilism

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Economic policy present in Europe in the 16th through 18th centuries. Based on the idea of exporting more than importing. Europe exploited its colonies into providing it with raw materials and precious metals which were processed and then sold back to them as finished products. This policy limited the growth of the colonies and kept them dependent on the Crown.

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Admiralty Courts

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The court system prevalent in Britain and the colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Used to solve issues regarding the violation of the Navigation Acts. There was no jury; instead, a judge heard all the evidence and testimony, then decided on a ruling. Often biased in cases involving colonists, as there was no jury and the judges were usually paid by the King.

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Headright System

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Introduced in 1618 by the Virginia Company to solve labor shortage issues. Granted on headright (50 acres) to each colonist already settled or coming in. Wealthy people could gain more headrights by sponsoring newcomers. The latter then became indentured servants in order to pay off the cost of the voyage.