Term Meaning
The land bridge that connected Asia and North America during the
Beringia Ice Age
Wampanoags A Native American tribe that lived in what is now New England
“Indian” or Native The indigenous peoples of North America, also known as American
American Indians
Arawak people A Native American tribe that lived in the Caribbean
Christopher An Italian explorer who is credited with "discovering" America in
Columbus 1492
A plant that was widely cultivated in the Americas and became a
tobacco major cash crop in the colonies
The oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement
St. Augustine in the United States, located in Florida
Spanish conquerors who colonized much of Central and South
conquistadores America in the 16th century
1492 The year Columbus "discovered" America
A period of widespread disease and death among Native American
Great Dying populations following European contact
Roanoke colony (lost An English colony established in the late 16th century in what is now
colony) North Carolina, which disappeared without a trace
The first successful English colony in North America, established in
Jamestown 1607 in Virginia
People who agreed to work for a set number of years in exchange
indentured servants for passage to the colonies
A group of English Protestants who sought to "purify" the Church of
Puritans England
A group of English Puritans who founded Plymouth Colony in
Pilgrims Massachusetts in 1620
Mayflower The ship that brought the Pilgrims to America
A governing document signed by the Pilgrims before disembarking
Mayflower Compact from the Mayflower
A Native American who helped the Pilgrims survive their first winter
Squanto in America
,Term Meaning
An annual holiday in the United States celebrating a feast between
Thanksgiving Pilgrims and Native Americans in 1621
A series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of
Salem Witch Trials witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts in the late 17th century
Dutch East India A Dutch trading company that played a major role in the colonization
Company of the Americas and Asia
An English explorer who sailed for the Dutch East India Company
Henry Hudson and discovered the Hudson River in New York
New Amsterdam A Dutch settlement that later became New York City
Patroon A system of land grants used by the Dutch to encourage settlement
(Patroonship) in the colonies
métis A person of mixed European and Native American ancestry
A French colony in North America that included much of present-day
New France Canada and the central United States
Louisiana A French colony in the southern United States
Young women sent from France to the colonies to marry and start
King’s Daughters families, with the goal of increasing the population of New France
The region of the northeastern United States that includes
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New
New England Hampshire, and Maine
The region of the eastern United States that includes New York, New
Middle Colonies Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware
,Lecture 2
Term Meaning
The British colonies in North America that declared their independence in 1776;
they included Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York,
Thirteen colonies Pennsylvania, and Georgia
Seven Years’ War
(French and Indian A global war fought between 1756 and 1763, primarily between the British
War) Empire and its allies against the French Empire and its allies
“No Taxation without A slogan used by American colonists to protest British taxation without
Representation” representation in the British Parliament
An act passed by the British Parliament in 1773 that granted a monopoly on tea
Tea Act sales in the colonies to the British East India Company
A political protest that occurred in 1773 in which American colonists, led by the
Sons of Liberty, destroyed a shipment of tea sent by the British East India
Boston Tea Party Company
A line drawn by the British government in 1763 to separate American Indian
Proclamation Line lands from those of the American colonists
Patriots American colonists who supported the Revolution against British rule
American A war fought between 1775 and 1783 in which the Thirteen Colonies won
Revolutionary War independence from Great Britain
A convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met in 1774 and 1775
Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance to British rule
Declaration of A document adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, declaring the
Independence Thirteen Colonies to be independent of Great Britain
, Term Meaning
The political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence and/or helped
establish the United States as a nation; notable examples include George
Founding Fathers Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams
4th of July A federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the
(Independence Day) Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776
American colonists who remained loyal to the British crown during the American
Loyalists Revolutionary War
The first President of the United States and a key military commander during the
George Washington American Revolutionary War
A Founding Father of the United States, known for his work as a statesman,
Benjamin Franklin scientist, and writer
A Founding Father of the United States who served as the second President of
John Adams the United States
The treaty signed in 1783 that officially ended the American Revolutionary War
Treaty of Paris and recognized the independence of the United States
War of 1812 A war fought between the United States and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815
Impressment The practice of forcibly enlisting sailors into a navy or merchant fleet
The national anthem of the United States, written by Francis Scott Key during the
Star Spangled Banner War of 1812
A Founding Father of the United States who wrote the Declaration of
Thomas Jefferson Independence and served as the third President of the United States
, Lecture 3
Term Meaning
A political party in the United States during the late 18th and early 19th
centuries that supported a strong federal government and a loose
Federalist (Party) interpretation of the Constitution
A political party in the United States during the late 18th and early 19th
Democratic-Republican centuries that supported states' rights and a strict interpretation of the
Party Constitution
The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, which protect
Bill of Rights individual liberties and limit the power of the federal government
An amendment to the United States Constitution that protects the right to
Second Amendment bear arms
The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from France by the United States in
Louisiana Purchase 1803
The belief in the United States in the 19th century that it was destined to
Manifest Destiny expand across the continent
A foreign policy doctrine introduced by President James Monroe in 1823 that
warned European powers against interfering in the affairs of the Western
Monroe Doctrine Hemisphere
A group of Native American tribes in the southeastern United States who
Five Civilized Tribes adopted many aspects of European-American culture
The forced relocation of Native American tribes, including the Cherokee,
Trail of Tears from the southeastern United States to Indian Territory in the 1830s
The 1835-1836 rebellion of colonists in Texas against the Mexican
Texas Revolution government that resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Texas
