2012 Student Reviews
Colonial Era Review
Sam Arnold (Terms) and DJ (No Essay Outline)
Terms
Bacon’s Rebellion- 1676 - Nathaniel Bacon and other western Virginia settlers were angry at Virginia Governor Berkley 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.
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 would taxation of the colonies.
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.
Headright System- Headrights were 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.
Mayflower Compact- 1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony. It was the first sign of a formal agreement for a representative and central government.
Restoration Colonies- English settlement of North America was seriously curtailed by the conflict between king and Parliament that led to the English Civil War and the rule of Oliver Cromwell (1649–60). Once the monarchy was restored under Charles II, however, colonization resumed. The Restoration Colonies were all proprietorships granted by Charles to men who had helped him reclaim the throne.
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- 1649 - Ordered by Lord Baltimore after a Protestant was made governor of Maryland at the demand of the colony's large Protestant population. The act guaranteed religious freedom to all Christians.
Navigation Act of 1660- 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.
Quakers- a member of the Religious Society of Friends, a Christian sect founded by the English religious leader George Fox (1624-91) about 1650, whose central belief is the doctrine of the Inner Light. Quakers reject sacraments, ritual, and formal ministry, hold meetings at which any member may speak, and have promoted many causes for social reform.
Separatists- in religion, those bodies of Christians who withdrew from the Church of England. They desired freedom from church and civil authority, control of each congregation by its membership, and changes in ritual. In the 16th century, they were a group of early separatists were known as Brownists after their leader, Robert Browne. The name Independents came into use in the 17th cent. Among other separatist groups were the Pilgrims, the Quakers, and the Baptists.
Puritans- 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. They wanted to “purify” the Church of England by eliminating traces of its origins in the Roman Catholic Church. In addition, they urged a strict moral code and placed a high value on hard work (see work ethic). After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, they controlled the new government, the Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell, who became leader of the Commonwealth, is the best-known Puritan.
House of Burgesses- 1619 - The Virginia House of Burgesses formed, the first legislative body in colonial America. Later other colonies would adopt houses of burgesses.
Cotton Mather- A scholar and religious leader of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Mather, a prominent Massachusetts Puritan, urged the suppression of witchcraft and supported the Salem witch trials.
City Upon a Hill- In 1630, aboard the Arbella before the ship's departure for the New World, Winthrop recited a sermon to his fellow travelers. Drawing upon Matthew 5:14–15, Winthrop articulated his vision of the prospective Puritan colony in New England as "a city upon a hill": an example to England and the world of a truly godly society. According to historian Perry Miller, Winthrop believed that this religious utopia would be acclaimed and imitated across the Old World, precipitating the Puritans' glorious return to England
Great Migration- 1630s, about 70,000 refugees left England for America. Most of them were attracted to the warm and fertile West Indies, especially the sugar-rich island of Barbados.
Halfway 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.
John Winthrop- 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.
Roger Williams- 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.
Anne Hutchison- Antinomianism
she preached the idea that God communicated directly to individuals instead of through the church elders. She was forced to leave Massachusetts in 1637. Her followers (the Antinomianists) founded the colony of New Hampshire in 1639.
John Singleton Copley- American painter who did portraits of Paul Revere and John Hancock before fleeing to England to avoid the American Revolution (1738-1815)
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 of the people involved admitted that the trials and executions had been a terrible mistake.
American Revolution Era
Adan Shah and Evangelina Oveido
Identify and provide one important fact or example, as appropriate
A. Articles of Confederation- 1st U.S. Government; established a form of weak government in which the states held most of the power. Replaced by the U.S. constitution in 1887.
B. Writs of Assistance- General search warrant used by the British in the American colonies. The warrants authorized customhouse officers, with theassistanceof a sheriff, to search any house or ship for smuggled goods, without requiring them to specify the place or the goods. The legality of the writs was challenged by the colonists in the 1760s, and they became a major grievance in the years leading up to theAmerican Revolution.
C. John Peter Zenger-German-born U.S. printer and journalist. In 1733 he began publishing theNew York Weekly Journal. Arrested for libel in 1734 for his attacks on the policies of the colonial governor, he was acquitted on the grounds that his charges were based on fact (a key consideration in libel cases since that time). It was the first important victory for freedom of the press in Britain's North American colonies
D. Sons of Liberty- Organization of American colonists formed in 1765 to oppose theStamp Act. The name was taken from a speech by Isaac Barr in the British Parliament that referred to American colonials who opposed unjust British measures as sons of liberty. The group agitated for colonial resistance and helped prevent enforcement of the Stamp Act. After the act's repeal, the organization continued to oppose British measures against the colonists.
E. Battle of Yorktown- Arevolutionary Warbattle at Yorktown, Virginia starting in August, 1781, when British troops under Gen.Charles Cornwalliswere attacked by American land forces. The Americans were later joined by forces approaching by sea and in early October began a formal siege. On October 17th Cornwallis surrendered along with his 8, 000 men. It was a turning point in the war since Cornwallis's army was the only British force that was surplus to garrison requirements in North America and British popular opinion began to suspect that there were not adequate resources available to win the war.
F. Coercive, Repressive, or Intolerable Acts- (1774) four punitive measures enacted by the British Parliament against the American colonies. Boston's harbor was closed until restitution was made for the tea destroyed in theBoston Tea Party; the Massachusetts colony's charter was annulled and a military governor installed; British officials charged with capital offenses could go to England for trial; and arrangement for housing British troops in American houses was revived. TheQuebec Actadded to these oppressive measures. The acts, called intolerable by the colonists, led to a convening of theContinental Congress.
G. Declaratory Act- (1766) Declaration by the British Parliament that accompanied repeal of theStamp Act. It stated that Parliament's authority was the same in America as in Britain and asserted Parliament's authority to make laws binding on the American colonies.
H. The “Continental” in the Continental Army- theContinental Armywas formed after the outbreak of theAmerican Revolutionary Warby the colonies that became theUnited States of America. Established by a resolution of theContinental Congresson June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of theThirteen Coloniesin their revolt against the rule ofGreat Britain. The Continental Army was supplemented by localmilitiasand other troops that remained under control of the individual states. GeneralGeorge Washingtonwas the Commander-in-Chief of the army throughout the war.
I. Treaty of Paris of 1783- TheTreaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended theAmerican Revolutionary WarbetweenGreat Britainon one side and theUnited States of Americaand its allies on the other. The other combatant nations,France,Spainand theDutch Republichad separate agreements; for details of these, and the negotiations which produced all four treaties, seePeace of Paris (1783).It is most famous for being "exceedingly generous" to the United States in terms of enlarged boundaries.
J. Treaty of Paris of 1763- Treaty concluding theSeven Years' War(including theFrench and Indian War). It was signed by Britain and Hanover on one side and France and Spain on the other. France renounced to Britain the mainland of North America east of the Mississippi, its conquests in India since 1749, and four West Indian islands. Britain restored to France four other West Indian islands and the West African colony of Gore (Senegal). In return for recovering Havana and Manila, Spain ceded Florida to Britain andreceivedLouisiana from the French.
K. Proclamation Line of 1763- The British crown's attempt to separate whitesettlementfrom Indian country after theFrench and Indian War(1754-63). Drawn at the crest of the Appalachians, the Line was a failure as colonial squatters swarmed into the Ohio Valley.
L. Second Continental Congress- TheSecondContinental Congresswas a convention of delegates from theThirteen Coloniesthat started meeting on May 10, 1775, inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in theAmerican Revolutionary Warhad begun. It succeeded theFirst Continental Congress, which met between September 5, 1774 and October 26, 1774, also in Philadelphia. The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting theUnited States Declaration of Independenceon July 4, 1776. By raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties, the Congress acted as thede factonational government of what became the United States.[1]With the ratification of theArticles of Confederation, the Congress became known as the Congress of the Confederation.
M. “Common Sense”- A pamphlet written in America by EnglishmanThomas Paine, published on January 10, 1776. It called for American independence and a union of the American colonies, and as propaganda, it influenced colonists to pursue both in theRevolutionary War. Paine's “Crisis” papers, issued from 1776 to 1783, were each signed “Common Sense.”
N. Battle of Saratoga- Engagements in theAmerican Revolution. British troops underJohn Burgoynemarched from Canada to join with other British troops, and, after camping at Saratoga, N.Y., engaged the ContinentalArmyunderHoratio Gatesat the First Battle of Saratoga (September 19), also known as the Battle of Freeman's Farm. Failing to break the American lines, the British faced a counterattack led byBenedict Arnoldat the Second Battle of Saratoga (October 7), or the Battle of Bemis Heights. With his forces reduced to 5,000 men, Burgoyne began to retreat, but Gates, with 20,000 men, surrounded the British at Saratoga and forced their surrender (October 17). The American victory induced the French to offer open recognition and military aid.
O. Virtual Representation- In the early stages of theAmerican Revolution, colonists in theThirteen Coloniesrejected legislation imposed upon them by theBritish Parliamentbecause the colonies were not represented. According to theBritish constitution, colonists argued,taxescould only be levied on British subjects with their consent. Because the colonists were represented only in their provincial assemblies, they said, only those legislatures could levy taxes in the colonies. This concept was famously expressed as "No taxation without representation."
P. Tea Act- British legislation giving a tea monopoly in the American colonies to the British East India Co. It adjusted the duty regulations to allow the failing company to sell its large tea surplus below the prices charged by colonial competitors. The act was opposed by colonists as another example of taxation without representation. Resistance to the act resulted in theBoston Tea Party.
Q. Suffolk Resolves- Endorsed by the delegates early in the proceedings of the First Continental Congress, the Suffolk Resolves were adopted earlier by Massachusetts’ Suffolk County (hence the name). These resolutions denounced the Coercive Acts as unconstitutional, urged the people to prepare militarily, and called for an immediate end of trade with the British Empire.
R. Townshend Acts- British parliamentary measures to tax the American colonists. The series of four acts imposed duties on imports of lead, paint, glass, paper, and tea and established a board of customs commissioners to enforce collection. Colonial quartering of British troops was also revived. The colonists protested the new measures as taxation without representation and resisted compliance. Non-importation agreements among colonial merchants cut British imports in half by 1769. In 1770 all the duties except the tax on tea were repealed.