King Philip's War
1675 - A series of battles in New Hampshire between the colonists and the Wompanoags, led by Metacom, a chief also known as King Philip. The war was started when the Massachusetts government tried to assert court jurisdiction over the local Indians. The c
Pequot War
1637 Conflict between an alliance of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, with American Indian allies (the Narragansett, and Mohegan Indians), against the Pequot Indians. This war saw the elimination of the Pequot in New England, and is exemplary of t
Pueblo Revolt
1680 rebellion of Native Americans in Northwestern province of Spanish America, caused by Spanish attempt to eliminate all Kachina (dolls that represented guardian spirits) worship. The Native American victory allowed the Hopi to continue to practice thei
John Smith
Helped found and govern Jamestown. His leadership and strict discipline helped the Virginia colony get through the difficult first winter.
John Rolfe
He was one of the English settlers at Jamestown (and he married Pocahontas). He discovered how to successfully grow tobacco in Virginia and cure it for export, which made Virginia an economically successful colony.
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 dissatis
William Penn/Pennsylvania:
1681- received a land grant from King Charles II, and used it to form a colony that would provide a haven for Quakers. His colony allowed religious freedom and encouraged anyone to emigrate to Pennsylvania, in order to provide a haven for persecuted relig
Peter Stuyvesant
The governor of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, hated by the colonists. They surrendered the colony to the English on Sept. 8, 1664.
Lord Baltimore (George Calvert)
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.
William Bradford
A Pilgrim, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, 1621-1657. He developed private land ownership and helped colonists get out of debt. He helped the colony survive droughts, crop failures, and Indian attacks.
Church of England (Anglican Church)
The national church of England, founded by King Henry VIII. It included both Roman Catholic and Protestant ideas.
John Winthrop:
(1588-1649), 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 gr
Non-separatists
Included the Puritans- believed that the Church of England could be purified through reforms.
Separatists
Included the Pilgrims-believed that the Church of England could not be reformed, and so started their own congregations. Separatists,
Anne Hutchinson
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 were Antinomianists
Roger Williams
Founded Rhode Island, 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.
Half-way Covenant
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.
Harvard
1636 - Founded by a grant form the Massachusetts general court. Followed Puritan beliefs, and had the purpose of providing ministers
Great Awakening
(1739-1744) Sudden outbreak of religious fervor that swept through the colonies. One of the first events to unify the colonies.
Jonathan Edwards
He gave a gripping sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, a Careful and Strict Inquiry Into...That Freedom of Will and was a part of the First Great Awakening
George Whitefield
Credited with starting the Great Awakening, also a leader of the "New Lights.
Mercantilism
Economic policy of Europe in the 1500s through 1700s. The government exercised control over industry and trade with the idea that national strength and economic security comes from exporting more than is imported. Possession of colonies provided countries
Primogeniture & Entail
These were the two British legal doctrines governing the inheritance of property. Primogeniture requried that a man's real property pass in its entirety to his oldest son. Entail requried that property could only be left to direct descendants (usually son
Poor Richard's Almanack
first published 1732. Written by Benjamin Franklin, it was filled with witty, insightful, and funny bits of observation and common sense advice (the saying, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," first appeared in this alma
Phillis Wheatley
(1754-1784) An African domestic in the colonies, and a well-known colonial poet. Her poetry was ornate and elaborate.
Indentured servants
People who could not afford passage to the colonies another person would pay their passage, and in exchange, the indentured servant would serve that person for a set length of time (usually seven years) and then would be free.
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 s
Mayflower Compact
1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It was signed by the 41 men on the and set up a government for the Plymouth colony.
Thomas Hooker
Clergyman, one of the founders of Hartford. Called "the father of American democracy" because he said that people have a right to choose their magistrates.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
Set up a unified government for the towns of the Connecticut area (Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield). First constitution written in America.
New England Confederation
1643 - Formed to provide for the defense of the four New England colonies, and also acted as a court in disputes between colonies.
House of Burgesses
1619 the first legislative body in colonial America. Later other colonies would adopt this system
Bacon's Rebellion
1676 - Virginia settlers were angry at Virginia Governor Berkley for not addressing their concerns over Indians. The frontiersmen formed an army, with a charismatic leader they attacked a friendly tribe and eventually the group marched on Jamestown and bu
Dominion of New England
1686 - The British government combined the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut into a single province headed by a royal governor (Andros).
Sir Edmond Andros
Governor of the Dominion of New England from 1686 until 1692, when the colonists rebelled and forced him to return to England.
Benjamin Franklin
Printer, author, inventor, diplomat, statesman, and Founding Father. One of the few Americans who was highly respected in Europe, primarily due to his discoveries in the field of electricity.
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.
English Bill of Rights, 1689
Drawn up by Parliament and presented to King William II and Queen Mary, it listed certain rights of the British people. It also limited the king's powers in taxing and prohibitted the maintenance of a standing army in peacetime.
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. Al
John Peter Zenger
He published articles critical of British governor William Cosby. He was taken to trial, but found not guilty. The trial set a precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies.
Paxton Boys Uprising,
1763-64. Pennsylvania frontiersmen angered by the Eastern-dominated colonial Assembly's unwillingness to help in defense against Indian attacks, murdered some peaceful Indians (always easier than taking on warlike tribes) and marched on Philadelphia. They
Regulator War
1769-71. Another east-west conflict, this one in North Carolina, triggered by the dominance of the eastern counties. It culminated in the Battle of Alamance, where a thousand government troops beat a "Regulator" (rebel) force twice that size.
Coverture (femme covert)
legal doctrine whereby, upon marriage, a woman's legal rights were subsumed by those of her husband
Encomiendas
A system of labor introduced into the Western Hemisphere by the Spanish. This permitted the holder to claim labor from Indians in a district for a stated period of time.