(Modified 8-22-13 AEN….. N. Clark created)
Early American History Glossary (2013-2014)
#1
*Colony – group of people who settle in a distant land but are still ruled by the government
of their native land.
Proprietary Colony – English colony in which the king gave land to proprietors in
exchange for a yearly payment.
Royal Colony – colony under the direct control of the English crown.
*Jamestown – first permanent English settlement in North America.
Joint-Stock Company – business in which investors pool their wealth in order to turn a
profit. An example is the Virginia Company that founded Jamestown.
*Puritans – group of English Protestants who settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
*Mayflower Compact – a 1620 agreement for ruling the Plymouth Colony, signed by the
pilgrims before landing at Plymouth.
*Plymouth – colony founded by separatists (from the Puritan faith) in Massachusetts. They
called themselves pilgrims.
Reformation – The religious and social movement in the 16th century in Europe that began
as an effort to change or reform the Roman Catholic Church and ended with founding of
Protestantism.
Pilgrims – Separatists (people who wanted to separate from the Anglican Church) who
journeyed to the colonies during the 1600s for religious freedom.
*5 Most Important Dates in Early American History
1607
Jamestown founded in the colony of Virginia
1776
Declaration of Independence signed in Philadelphia
1787
U.S. Constitution written in Philadelphia and ratified by all the states in 1789
1803
Louisiana Purchase by Thomas Jefferson doubles the size of the U.S.
1861-1865 U.S. Civil War between the Northern and Southern states
#2
*New England Colonies – English colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
and New Hampshire where economy was dependent on fishing, trade, and ship building
Bacon’s Rebellion – a revolt against the colonial government in Virginia led by Nathaniel
Bacon. The rebels, who lived in the western part of the colony, were angry over the
easterners dominating the government and believed they were not being protected from the
Native Americans.
Democracy – a form of government where people vote directly or through elected
representatives.
*Fundamental Orders of Connecticut – the first written constitution (rulebook for
government) in America. It described in detail how the government of Connecticut would
be organized.
*House of Burgesses – representative assembly (legislature) in colonial Virginia --- the
first in North America.
*Representative Government – political system in which voters elect representatives to
make laws for them.
*Middle colonies – English Colonies of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and
Pennsylvania where the economy was dependent on grain, cattle, and iron. Also called the
“breadbasket” colonies.
*Southern Colonies – English Colonies of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Georgia where the economy was dependent on cash crops like rice, indigo
and tobacco.
*Indentured Servant – person who agreed to work without wages for a period of time in
exchange for passage to the colonies.
Cash Crop – crop sold for money at market. (i.e. cotton, tobacco)
#3
*Free-Enterprise – system in which the government plays a limited role in the economy.
*Triangular Trade – colonial trade route between New England, the West Indies, and
Africa.
Import – trade products brought into a country.
Export – trade products sent to markets outside a country.
*Slave – a person who is forced to work for another for free.
*Act of Toleration – a law passes in the colony of Maryland in 1649 that granted
Protestants and Catholics the right to worship freely. The colony’s Protestant majority
repealed the act in 1692.
*First Great Awakening – religious movement in the English colonies in the early 1700s.
*Magna Carta – signed in 1215, this English constitution contains two basic ideas:
Monarchs themselves have to obey the laws, and citizens have basic rights.
*English Bill of Rights – adopted by the British in 1689, this document further protected
the rights of Englishmen. It was used as a model for our Bill of Rights.
*Limited Government – belief that members of government should have to follow certain
rules. Often a constitution is used to specify the powers and responsibilities of government.
*Town Meetings – Held in Plymouth Colony, these meetings were considered the purest
form of democracy because all freemen in the town were allowed to vote on issues facing
the town.
*Mercantilism – theory that a nation’s economic strength came from protecting and
increasing its home economy by keeping strict control over its colonial trade.
#4
COLONY
DATE
1. Virginia
1607 - Jamestown
2. Massachusetts
1620 – Plymouth
FOUNDER
Virginia Company
REASON
FOUNDED
Economic
William Bradford
(Pilgrims)
………………………. .....……………….
1630 – Massachusetts John Winthrop
Bay
(Puritans)
Religious Freedom
for Pilgrims – 1620
3. New Hampshire
1623
John Mason
Economic
4. Maryland
1632
Lord Baltimore
(George Calvert)
Religious freedom
for Catholics
5. Connecticut
1636
Thomas Hooker
6. Rhode Island
1636
Roger Williams
Political Freedom
(Hooker believed
government should
be limited by a
constitution)
Religious freedom
(Williams believed
in separation of
church and state or
government)
Economic
7. Carolinas
1663
(Eventually divided
into North and
South Carolina)
8 Proprietors
Puritans – 1630
8. New York
1624 – Dutch
Dutch West India
Company
9. Pennsylvania
1682
William Penn
Religious freedom
for Quakers
10. Delaware
1701
Swedish settlers
Economic
11. New Jersey
1702
Lord Berkely
Economic
12. Georgia
1732
James Oglethorpe
Social (safe-place
for debtors),
Economic,
Religious freedom,
barrier between
English Colonies
and Spanish-held
Florida
Economic (English
saw the success the
Dutch were having
………………………. ……………………….. and forced them
1664 - English
English – Duke of
out)
York