Act of Toleration
a 1649 Maryland law that provided religious freedom for all Christians
Anne Hutchinson
A Puritan woman who disagreed with the Puritan Church in Massachusetts Bay Colony, resulting in her banishment and her later founding of Rhode Island. Believed in antinomianism.
Antinomianism
Idea that since individuals receive salvation through faith, they were not required to follow traditional moral laws.
Bacon's Rebellion
Led by Nathaniel Bacon, a rebellion against Sir William Berkeley's government in which Native American villages were raided and massacred. Bacon's army would later defeat the governor's forces and burn Jamestown.
Captain John Smith
Organized Jamestown and imposed a harsh law "He who will not work shall not eat".
Chesapeake Colonies
Term for the colonies of Maryland and Virginia
Corporate Colonies
Colonies operated by joint-stock companies during the early years of the colonies, such as Jamestown
Charter of Liberties (1701)
constitution by Penn, which guaranteed freedom of worship for all and unrestricted immigration
Dominion of New England
Combination of New York, New Jersey, and other New England colonies into a larger administration unit to increase royal control by King James II in 1686. Sir Edmund Andros was sent to be governor and was unpopular.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)
First constitution in American history (1639). Established a representative government made up of a legislature elected by popular vote and a governor chosen by the legislature.
Frame of Government (1682)
From 1682-1683, William Penn provided the Pennsylvania colony with a Frame of Government which guaranteed a representative assembly elected by landowners and a written constitution (the Charter of Liberties).
Georgia
In 1732, Georgia (13th colony) was formed to provide a buffer between South Carolina and Spanish Florida, and to provide a place for the many debtors of England to begin again.
Glorious Revolution
A reference to the political events of 1688-1689, when James II abdicated his throne and was replaced by his daughter Mary and her husband, Prince William of Orange. Brought Dominion of New England to an end.
Great Migration
Puritan settlers moving to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630s due to religious/political conflict in England.
Halfway Covenant
A Puritan church document, allowing partial membership rights to persons not yet converted into the Puritan church to increase church membership.
Holy Experiment
William Penn's term for the government of Pennsylvania, which was supposed to serve everyone and provide freedom for all.
Headright System
The Virginia Company's system in which settlers and the family members who came with them each received 50 acres of land
House of Burgesses
the first elected legislative assembly in the New World established in the Colony of Virginia in 1619, representative colony set up by England to make laws and levy taxes but England could veto its legislative acts.
Indentured Servants
Colonists who received free passage to North America in exchange for working without pay for a certain number of years
Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement in North America, found in East Virginia
James Oglethorpe
Founder and governor of the Georgia colony. He ran a tightly-disciplined, military-like colony. Slaves, alcohol, and Catholicism were forbidden in his colony. Many colonists felt that Oglethorpe was a dictator, and that (along with the colonist's dissatisfaction over not being allowed to own slaves) caused the colony to break down and Oglethorpe to lose his position as governor.
John Cabot
English explorer who claimed Newfoundland for England while looking for Northwest Passage
John Winthrop
Puritan governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Speaker of "City upon a hill
Joint-Stock Company
A company made up of a group of shareholders. Each shareholder contributes some money to the company and receives some share of the company's profits and debts.
John Rolfe
Jamestown colony leader who showed that tobacco could be grown successfully in Virginia
Lord Baltimore
1694- He was the founder of Maryland, a colony which offered religious freedom, and a refuge for the persecuted Roman Catholics.
King Philip's War
War between colonists (+ some Indian allies) and united tribes of Natives, led by Metacom (King Philip) that resulted in many deaths and burnt villages, ending in Metacom's death
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.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
1629 - King Charles gave the Puritans a right to settle and govern a colony in the Massachusetts Bay area. The colony established political freedom and a representative government.
Mercantilism
Economic theory that a country's wealth as determined by how much more it exported than imported.
Middle Passage
A voyage that brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the West Indies
Metacom
Native American chief who fought against English colonists in the King Philip's War
Navigation Acts
Laws that governed trade between England and its colonies. Colonists were required to ship certain products exclusively to England. These acts made colonists very angry because they were forbidden from trading with other countries.
New England Confederation
1643 - Military alliance of the four New England colonies (Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, New Haven), and also acted as a court in disputes between colonies.
Puritans
A religious group who wanted to purify the Church of England. They came to America for religious freedom and settled Massachusetts Bay.
Pilgrims
English Puritans who founded Plymouth colony in 1620
Plymouth Colony
A colony established by the English Pilgrims, or Separatists, in 1620. The Separatists were Puritans who abandoned hope that the Anglican Church could be reformed. Plymouth became part of Massachusetts in 1691.
Proprietary Colonies
Colonies under the authority of individuals granted charters of ownership by the king.
Quakers
English dissenters who broke from Church of England, preached a doctrine of pacificism, inner divinity, and social equity, under William Penn; they founded Pennsylvania
Royal Colonies
Colonies controlled by the British king through governors appointed by him and through the king's veto power over colonial laws.
Roger Williams
A dissenter who clashed with the Massachusetts Puritans over separation of church and state and was banished in 1636, after which he founded the colony of Rhode Island to the south
Separatists
People who wanted to have a separate, or different church. Also known as Pilgrims.
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
Virginia Company
Joint-Stock Company in London that received a charter for land in the new world. Charter guarantees new colonists same rights as people back in England.
Wampanoag
a member of the Algonquian people of Rhode Island and Massachusetts who greeted the Pilgrims; also, Metacom's tribe in the King Philip's War
William Penn
A Quaker that founded Pennsylvania to establish a place where his people and others could live in peace and be free from persecution.