2014 United History
Semester 1 Test Review
Jamestown
• The first permanent English settlement in North America, started as a business
venture to sell raw materials back to England
• Tobacco- this cash crop saved Jamestown and made the colony of Virginia
wealthy. Tabaco cultivation was labor intensive and made the Virginia agricultural
economy dependent on slavery.
House of Burgesses
• The first legislative
assembly in North
America, it represents
the first form of
self-government in the
colonies.
Powhatan
• Native Americans who lived for
centuries in Virginia.
• English colonist forced them
from their land and used it for
Tobacco growing.
• These actions led many
Powhatan’s to flee Virginia and
established bad relations
between colonists and Native
Americans
Bacon’s Rebellion
• A revolt by the poor English
colonist and slaves against
the wealthy in Jamestown.
• The rebels wanted better
protection and action taken
against the Native
Americans so poorer
colonists could have Native
American land.
Development of Slavery
• Begun in 1619 in the colony
of Virginia to replace
indentured servants
• African slaves are thought to
be better equipped to
handle the work and heat of
the plantation system
• Part of the Columbian
Exchange
New England Colonies
• Established by the Puritans to
escape religious persecution in
England
• Religion- Puritans did not tolerate
religions that did not follow their
teachings.
• In 1686 the entire region was
combined into one colony
because the King believed they
were not following Parliament,
becomes the Massachusetts Bay
Colony.
Rhode Island and the Salem Witch Trials
• Roger Williams- founder of
Rhode Island, he founds
colony under the ideas of
religious freedom and
peaceful relations with
Native Americans
• Salem Witch Trials- caused
by the oppression of
women, and hardline
Puritan views on the world,
over 25 people are killed or
jailed for witchcraft without
any proof.
King Phillip’s War
• Led by Metacom (King
Phillip), Native Americans
attack the Puritans over the
loss of their land
• Brutal war with massacres
on both sides
• This ended Native American
control of New England
Half-Way Covenant
• This provided half-way
membership in the Puritan
church to the children of
church members
• Church leaders hoped this
would get more of the
children to join the Puritan
church
Town Hall Meetings
• Mainly in New England in
small towns
• White males 21 and over
who owned property
voted on political issues
for each town
• Helps form the idea of
political representation in
the colonies
Mid-Atlantic Colonies
• Originally not a part of the
English colonies
• Controlled by the Dutch
• Separated the English
Northern and Southern
colonies
New York
• Originally settled by the Dutch
and called New Amsterdam
• England takes this colony
without a single shot and
renames it New York
• New York became the center
for trade in the America’s.
Pennsylvania
• Founded by William Penn a
Quaker
• This colony was tolerant of all
religions
• The colony of Delaware will
split from Pennsylvania
Quebec
• Founded by the French,
claims all of inner North
America west of the
colonies
• Leads to the founding of
New Orleans and the
territory of Louisiana
• French have better relations
with Native Americans
Mercantilism
• Is the economic theory that
a mother country needs
large supplies of silver and
gold to be rich.
• Gold/Silver- acquired by
selling manufactured goods.
• Colonies in mercantilism
provided raw materials for
manufacturing and bought
the finished products.
The Columbian Exchange
• The large scale exchange
of plants, people, diseases,
and animals between the
Old World and the New
World
• Sometimes referred to as
the Triangle Trade.
Middle Passage/African Culture
• The 90-120 day voyage
African slaves endured
from Africa to the
America’s.
• Millions died from disease
and starvation during the
voyage
• African dance and music
maintained under slavery,
differing cultures blend
together in the America’s
The Great Awakening
• Great Awakening- religious
movement of the 1730’s
and 1740’s. It is different
because of its passion.
• Begun as an attack on the
Puritan Church, challenges
all religious authority
French and Indian War
• War between France and Great
Britain over the control of
North America, Britain wins
• This war bankrupted Great
Britain, they need money to
pay for it, TAXES
• They believed the colonists
should pay for it since it was
over the colonies in North
America
Proclamation of 1763
• Law passed that banned
colonists from moving west
beyond the Appalachian
Mountains
• Passed to prevent further
wars with Native Americans
• This angered colonists and is
one reason for the American
Revolution
Stamp Act
• A tax on all printed
materials passed by Great
Britain they need this
symbol to show they paid
the tax
• Passed to help pay for the
French-Indian War
Sons of Liberty
• This group of Patriots was
formed in 1765 and urged
colonial resistance to the
Stamp Act using any means
available… even violence.
• Committees of
Correspondence- formed to
resist the new taxes passed
by Great Britain
Boston Tea Party
• Colonists dumped tons of tea
into Boston Harbor to protest
the Stamp Act
Intolerable Acts
• A series of laws passed to
punish the colonists for the
Boston Tea Party
• This led to increased anger
against Britain and the First
Continental Congress
Thomas Paine
• Wrote Common Sense, an
argument that said it just made
common sense for the colonists
to revolt against King George
John Locke
• He believed in natural
rights- “life, liberty, and
property”
• He influenced Thomas
Jefferson and the
Declaration of
Independence
Montesquieu
• He believed in the idea that government should have three
parts- Legislative, Executive, and Judicial
• His writings influenced the writing of the Constitution and
creation of the United States government
Declaration of Independence
• Written primarily by Thomas
Jefferson, he was influenced
by John Locke’s ideas (natural
rights) in 1776
• It declares the reasons why
the colonists will revolt and
invokes the ideas of Social
Contract.
Benjamin Franklin
• He represents the idea of social
mobility (you can start poor
and become rich or important)
in America
• He becomes the ambassador to
France during the American
Revolution and convinces them
to support the colonists during
the war
• American Statesman/signed the
Constitution/Founding Father
The American Revolution
• This was the first successful
colonial independence
movement against a European
power, England 1775-1783.
• Great Britain vs. American
colonies
George Washington
• Commander of the
Continental Army
• His leadership skills held the
army together during the
war
• Started a training program
to turn the colonial militia
into the Continental Army
(professional).
Marquis de Lafayette
• French soldier and friend of
Washington
• He trained the soldiers at
Valley Forge turning them
into a well trained fighting
force
• He helped Washington beat
the British at Yorktown
Valley Forge
• Washington led his troops
here for the Winter of
1777, becomes a symbol of
sacrifice for a cause
• The Continental Army
under Lafayette train and
emerge stronger and better
prepared to fight the
British
Crossing the Delaware
• Turning point of the American Revolution, Washington
leads his men on a surprise attack of the Hessian soldiers
• Washington wins at Trenton and Princeton, boosted the
morale of the colonists fighting in the Revolution
Lord Cornwallis
• Leader of the British forces
during the American
Revolution
• He will surrender to
Washington after the Battle
of Yorktown
Battle of Yorktown
• Final battle of the American
Revolution, French and
American forces trapped
the British with no where to
run
• Treaty of Paris 1783- This
officially ended the
American Revolution and
gave the United States
territory all the way to the
Mississippi River.
Articles of Confederation
• First constitution of the United
States
• Weakness- didn’t have a
legislative or executive branch of
government, represented the
colonists fear of a strong
national government
• National Government could nottax, regulate commerce, or print
money
Northwest Ordinance
• This provided an organized
way for a territory to become
a state
• The one successful item
accomplished under the
Articles of Confederation
Shays’ Rebellion
• Uprising of farmers in
Massachusetts in 1786,
feared losing land due to
taxes
• Showed the weakness of the
federal government without
the ability to tax it couldn’t fix
the economy
• Led to the calling of the
Constitutional Convention
Constitutional Convention
• Held at Independence Hall
in Philadelphia,1787.
• Goal- create a plan for a
more powerful national
government and revise the
Articles of Confederation.
• Outcome wrote the
Constitution
Great Compromise
• This deal used parts of Virginia
Plan and New Jersey Plan
• Created bicameral Congress with
one house based on population
(House of Representatives) and
one giving equal representation
to every state (Senate).
Slavery and the Constitution
• Three-Fifths Compromiseagreement to count slaves as
3/5 a white person for
representation in the
government
• Slavery was allowed o
continue under the
Constitution for 20 more
years
Federalist Papers
• Written by Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison,
and John Jay
• They argued that a strong
government was needed to
protect the Union
Anti-Federalist
• They opposed the adoption of
the Constitution without a Bill of
Rights to protect the freedoms
of Americans against the federal
government.
Bill of Rights
• The first ten amendments of
the Constitution
• These amendments guarantee
the rights of individuals and
protects those rights from the
government