Unit 1 Vocabulary and Key People

  1. Cash Crop- a crop grown for the purpose of selling for profit; not grown for personal use
  2. Charter- a contract written by a government which gives someone the permission to establish a colony
  3. Colonization- to take control of another area of land by sending people to live there
  4. Columbian Exchange- The exchange of plants, animals, and disease between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (Americas)
  5. English Bill of Rights- Protected the rights of English citizens and became the basis for the American Bill of Rights.
  6. First Great Awakening- The renewal of religious faith in the 1790’s and early 1800’s
  7. French and Indian War- War between France and England over the Ohio River Valley from 1754-1763
  8. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut- 1st written Constitution in America
  9. Indentured Servant- a person who sells his or her labor in exchange for passage to the Americas
  10. Joint-Stock Company- a business in which investors combine their money in order to make a profit
  11. Magna Carta- Signed in 1215, was the first English document that limited power of the ruler
  12. Mayflower Compact- Agreement signed in 1620 by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, to consult each other about laws for the colony and a promise to work together to make it succeed; “Civil body politic”
  13. Mercantilism- an economic theory that a country’s strength is measured by the amount of gold it has, that a country should sell more than it buys and that the colonies exist for the benefit of the Mother Country
  14. Northwest Passage- A water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific; explorers hoped to find this to increase trade with Asia
  15. Plantation- a large farm where crops such as tea, coffee, cotton, and sugar are grown and slave labor is used
  16. Representative Government- a system of government in which voters elect representatives to make laws for them
  17. Town Meeting- an early form of representative government in the New England colonies where citizens of a town came together to discuss important issues
  18. Transatlantic Slave Trade- Voyage of slave ships from Africa to the Americas
  19. Treaty of Paris 1763- Ended the French and Indian War and effectively kicked the French out of North America
  20. Triangular Trade- A system of trade in which goods, including slaves, were traded between Europe, Africa, and the colonies
  21. Virginia House of Burgesses- first representative assembly in the new world
  22. Pilgrims- A group of English Separatists who moved to Plymouth, Massachusetts to escape persecution from the Church of England
  23. 1607- Jamestown; First Permanent English Settlement in America
  24. 1620- Signing of the Mayflower Compact by the Pilgrims at Plymouth
  25. Anne Hutchinson- Believed a person could worship without help of a church, minister, or bible; Preached secretly in her home; Forced to leave Massachusetts; Moved to Rhode Island
  26. Eliza Pinckney- Changed agriculture in colonial South Carolina, where she developed indigo as one of its most important cash crops
  27. James Oglethorpe- Settled the colony of Georgia; hoped to resettle England’s poor
  28. John Rolfe- Forever change the economy of the South when he introduced tobacco as a cash crop in Jamestown
  29. John Smith- Saved the colony Jamestown from starvation by bringing stability and creating peace with the Natives
  30. Lord Baltimore- Founded the colony of Maryland as a haven for Catholics immigrating from England
  31. Puritans- Immigrated the colonies to reform (purify) the Church of England; did not want to separate
  32. Quakers- A person who believed all people should live in peace and harmony; accepted different religions and ethnic groups
  33. Roger Williams- From Salem, Massachusetts; found guilty of preaching new & dangerous opinions and was exiled; Founded Rhode Island the next year
  34. Thomas Hooker- Founded the colony of Connecticut; advanced a more democratic view, favoring the vote for all men, regardless of any religious or property qualifications
  35. William Blackstone- His work influenced the Founding Fathers of the U.S. such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. More copies of his work were sold in America than in England. It was a basic textbook for America’s early lawyers
  36. William Penn- Quaker leader, helped develop self-government in America, founded Pennsylvania