Unit 1: Beginning of American History
Chapter 1: Roots of the American People
Vocabulary
Glacier - A thick sheet of ice
Irrigation – To water crops by channeling water from rivers or/and streams
Surplus – Excess quantity that is left over - EXTRA
Civilization – Advanced cultures that have developed cities, science and industry
Culture- ways of life
Culture area – regions in which groups of people have a similar way of life
Kayak – small boats made with skins
Potlatch – ceremony at which the hosts showers their guests with gifts
Adobe – sun-dries brick
Clan – groups of families that were related to one another
Sachem – tribal chief
Muhammad – Muslim ruler
Mansa Musa – Muslim ruler who’s pilgrimage became famous - he was known as the
richest and most noble king
Navigation – the science of locating the position and plotting the course of ships
Zheng He – Chinese explorer
Monotheism – the idea that there is only one God
Jesus – Jewish teacher some believed he was the Savior chosen by God
Salvation- everlasting life
Direct democracy - is a form of gov’t in which an assembly of ordinary citizens makes
decisions
Republic – a form of gov’t in which people choose representatives to govern them
Feudalism –a system in which a ruler grants parts of his lands to lords
Martin Luther – German monk who demanded that the Catholic Church reform
Henry the Navigator – set up a school for sailors that used compasses and astrolabes to
find longitude and latitude
Vasco de Gama – first Portuguese sailor to sail around the southern tip of Africa
Chapter 2: Europe Looks Outward
Vocabulary
Christopher Columbus
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Ferdinand Magellan
Strait
Circumnavigate
Conquistador
Hernando Cortes
Moctezuma
Plantation
Encomienda
Bartolome de Las Casas
Mission
Peninsular
Mercantilism
John Cabot
Northwest Passage
Henry Hudson
Samuel de Champlain
Coureuer de bois
Jaques Marquette
Alliance
Chapter 3: Colonies Take Root
Vocabulary
John Smith
Representative government
Pilgrim
Squanto
John Winthrop
Toleration
Roger Williams
Ann Hutchinson
Thomas Hooker
John Wheelwright
Town Meeting
Metacom
Proprietary Colony
Royal colony
William Penn
Backcountry
Nathaniel Bacon
Lord Baltimore
James Oglethorpe
Debtor
Plantation
Chapter 4: Life in the Colonies
Vocabulary
Legislature
Bill of rights
Habeas corpus
Freedom of press
Libel
Extended family
Apprentice
Gentry
Middle class
Indentured servant
Triangle trade
Racism
Slave code
Public school
Dame school
Ann Bradstreet
Phillis Wheatly
Benjamin Franklin
Jonathan Edwards
Natural rights
Divine right
Separation of powers