Midterm Study Guide Flashcards
What were the reasons for European Exploration?
God, Gold, and Glory
Northwest passage
Columbus
Columbian Exchange
What were the Crusades? How did the Crusades impact trade and exploration
European Christians attempted to capture the Holy Land from the Muslims
Led to an increase in trade: European merchants increased their trade with Asia
Mercantilism
An economic system in which nations increase their wealth and power by obtaining gold and silver and by establishing a favorable balance of trade
Free Enterprise System
Freedom of private business to organize and operate for profit in a competitive system without interference by government beyond regulation necessary to protect public interest and keep the national economy in balance
What do the Mayflower Compact, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, Magna Carta, and Virginia House of Burgesses have in common?
The Mayflower Compact, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, Magna Carta, and Virginia House of Burgesses are all steps in the growth of representative government.
Explain the three parts of triangular trade.
The trading of products and slaves among Europe, Africa, and the Americas, which included the Middle Passage.
Name the 5 Southern colonies.
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
What was the first permanent English settlement? When was it founded? What important crop did John Rolfe bring to Jamestown?
Jamestown: 1st permanent English settlement founded by the Virginia Company (Virginia Company of London).
1607: The year Jamestown was founded
John Rolfe brought tobacco to Jamestown.
What is the significance of the Virginia House of Burgesses?
First elected representative assembly in the colonies
Southern Colonies Climate
Warm climate and longer growing seasons
Southern Colonies Economy
Agriculture/Cash Crops: Tobacco, Rice, Indigo
Indentured servants: Signed a contract to work for 4-7 years for those who paid for their journey to America
Southern Colonies reasons for settlement
VA, NC, SC: Money
GA: Colony for debtors, acted as a buffer between Spanish Florida and the English colonies
MD: Served as a colony for English Catholics
Who founded Georgia? Why?
James Oglethorpe founded Georgia as a colony for debtors and a buffer between Spanish Florida and the English 13 colonies.
Who founded Maryland? Why?
George Calvert founded Maryland as a safe haven for English Catholics
Toleration Act of 1649:
Made it a crime to restrict the religious rights of any Christian
First law supporting religious rights in the colonies (MD)
Name the 4 New England colonies.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire
Where did the Pilgrims settle?
The Pilgrims settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts
Explain the significance of the Mayflower Compact, which was created by the pilgrims. What year was it created?
The Mayflower Compact was a legal contract in which the passengers on the Mayflower agreed to have fair laws to protect the general good.
Established the idea of majority rule
First attempt at self-government in the New World
The Mayflower Compact was created in 1620.
Where did the Puritans settle? Who led the Puritans and referred to the colony as a “city upon a hill?” What was the center of Puritan communities? Why did Puritan communities emphasize education?
The Puritans settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
John Winthrop led the Puritans and referred to the colony as a “city upon a hill.”
Religion was the center of Puritan communities. Puritan communities also emphasized education because they wanted their children to be able to read the Bible.
New England Way: Strong emphasis on religion, duty, and hard work
New England Colonies Climate
Cold climate, rocky soil
New England Colonies Economy
Fishing, shipbuilding, whaling, skilled craftspeople
Practiced subsistence farming: Farming just enough to live on
New England Colonies reasons for settlement
Religious Freedom
Who founded Connecticut?
Thomas Hooker founded Connecticut.
What is the significance of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut?
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut: First written constitution in the New World
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was a set of laws that were established in 1639 by a Puritan congregation who settled in Connecticut. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut expanded the idea of representative government. For example, they gave non-church members the right to vote.
Describe Anne Hutchinson’s role in Rhode Island.
Anne Hutchinson was kicked out of Massachusetts and settled in Rhode Island. She believed that a person’s relationship with God did not need ministers, the Bible, etc. She is seen as a symbol of the struggle for religious freedom.
Name the 4 Middle Colonies.
New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey
Middle Colonies Climate
Warm summers, cold winters, medium growing season
Middle Colonies Economy
Agriculture: Breadbasket colonies (Staple crops: wheat, rye, grains)
Shipping, harbors, lumber
Middle Colonies Reasons for Settlement
Religious Freedom & Economic Opportunities
Who founded New York?
Duke of York founded New York.
Who founded Pennsylvania? Why? What did Pennsylvania’s government look like?
William Penn founded Pennsylvania for the Quakers.
Pennsylvania’s Government:
Penn limited his own power and established an elected assembly.
He promised religious freedom to all Christians.
Explain the significance of the Magna Carta. What year was it created?
The Magna Carta was written in 1215. It limited the power of the King for the first time and established that the King is not above the law (rule of law or limited government).
English Bill of Rights
This Act reduced the powers of the English Monarch, which protected the rights of the people.
Glorious Revolution
King James II was overthrown and William & Mary become king & queen. William and Mary accepted the English Bill of Rights.
What is the Legislative body in England comprised of two houses, which will serve as a model for the American system?
Parliament is the legislative body in England comprised of two houses, which served as a model for the American system.
ho was John Peter Zenger? What did his case lead to?
John Peter Zenger was a printer/publisher who was put on trial in 1733 for saying negative things about the governor of New York. His case led to the creation and protection of freedom of the press.
Who was John Locke? How does he influence colonial leaders?
John Locke was a philosopher who believed that people had natural rights, such as equality and liberty. His ideas eventually influenced colonial leaders by protecting the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (unalienable rights).
What was the Enlightenment?
A movement that began in Europe in the 1700s as people began examining the natural world, society, and government (emphasis on logic & reason). It is also known as the “Age of Reason.”
What was the First Great Awakening?
A religious movement that became widespread in the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s.
Who proposed the Albany Plan of Union? What did the Plan attempt to do? Was it a success? How did the “Join or Die” cartoon depict the Albany Plan of Union?
Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union.
Albany Plan of Union: First formal attempt to unify the colonies. It failed.
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French & Indian War. What did the Treaty of Paris of 1763 include?
Britain received Canada from France.
Britain gained all French lands east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans.
Britain received Florida from Spain.
List the effects of the French & Indian War.
Relations between the British and the colonists got worse.
Pontiac’s Rebellion -> Proclamation of 1763
Britain attempted to pay its war debt from the French & Indian War by taxing the colonists
Who issued the Proclamation of 1763, and why? What did the Proclamation of 1763 state/ban? Why did the Proclamation of 1763 upset the colonists?
King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763 as a response to the increasing tensions between the colonists and Native Americans (Pontiac’s Rebellion).
The Proclamation of 1763 banned settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The Proclamation of 1763 upset the colonists because they had expected to move onto the newly acquired western lands that they received from France in the Treaty of Paris of 1763.
List the main causes of the American Revolution
French & Indian War (Debt, Proclamation of 1763)
Taxes without representation in Parliament
Salutary neglect
Writs of assistance
Sugar Act
Passed by Parliament in 1765, which set duties on molasses and sugar imported by colonists. The tax was imposed to raise money in the colonies.
Quartering Act
An Act that required the colonists to house and supply British soldiers
Stamp Act
A law passed by Parliament that raised tax money by requiring colonists to pay for an official stamp whenever they bought paper items, such as newspapers, licenses, and legal documents
Declaration Act
Gave the King the authority to create laws “in all cases whatsoever”
Townshend Acts
Placed a tax on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea
Tea Act
The Tea Act gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea in the colonies.
Intolerable Acts/Coercive Acts
Boston Harbor was closed until the colonists paid for the ruined tea
The charter of Massachusetts was canceled
A new quartering act was put in place
A large amount of land was given to Quebec
General Thomas Gage became the new governor of Massachusetts
Royal officials accused of crimes were sent to England for trial
What were the Committees of Correspondence? Who founded the committees of correspondence?
Committees of Correspondence were groups in each town and colony whose members shared ideas and information about new British laws and ways to challenge them.
Samuel Adams founded the committees of correspondence.
What happened at the Boston Massacre? Who was the one of the most famous casualties at the Boston Massacre?
The Boston Massacre was an incident in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists, killing five people, including Crispus Attucks.
Who were the Sons of Liberty? Who founded the Sons of Liberty?
The Sons of Liberty were formed to help organized protests and resistance against British policies. The members sometimes used violence (tarring & feathers, attacking the homes of customs officials).
Samuel Adams founded the Sons of Liberty.
Boycott
To stop buying products from a group as a way to protest
Which Act led to the Boston Tea Party? What happened at the Boston Tea Party? King George III responded by passing the
The Tea Act led to the Boston Tea Party.
Boston Tea Party: A rebellion and protests led by the Sons of Liberty, in which boxes of tea were thrown into the Boston Harbor.
King George III responded by passing the Intolerable/Coercive Acts.
