1-50: The American colonies Flashcards
Five Nations
The federation of tribes occupying northern New York: the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Senecca, the Onondaga, and the Cayuga. The federation was also known as the “Iriquois,” or the League of Five Nations, although in about 1720 the Tuscarora tribe was added as a sixth member. It was the most powerful and efficient North American Indian organization during the 1700s. Some of the ideas from its constitution were used in the Constitution of the United States.
Crops in the Middle Colonies
The middle colonies produced staple crops, primarily grain and corn.
New York and Philadelphia as urban centers
New York became an important urban center due to its harbor and rivers, which made it an important center for trade. Piladelphia was a center for trade and crafts, and attracted a large number of immigrants, so that by 1720 it had a population of 10,000. It was the capital of Pennsylvania from 1683-1799. As urban centers, both cities played a major role in American Independence.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
1629 - King Charles gave the Puritans a right to settle and govern a colony in the Massachusetts Bay area. The colony established political freedom and a representative government.
Cambridge Agreement
1629 - The Puritan stockholders of the Massachusetts Bay Company agreed to emigrate to New England on the condition that they would have control of the government of the colony.
Puritan migration
Many Puritans emigrated from England to America in the 1630s and 1640s. During this time, the population of the Massachusetts Bay colony grew to ten times its earlier population.
Church of England (Anglican Church)
The national church of England, founded by King Henry VIII. It included both Roman Catholic and Protestant ideas.
John Winthrop (1588-1649), his beliefs
1629 - He became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and served in that capacity from 1630 through 1649. A Puritan with strong religious beliefs. He opposed total democracy, believing the colony was best governed by a small group of skillful leaders. He helped organize the New England Confederation in 1643 and served as its first president.
Separatists, non-separatists
Non-separatists (which included the Puritans) believed that the Church of England could be purified through reforms. Separatists (which included the Pilgrims) believed that the Church of England could not be reformed, and so started their own congregations.
Calvinism
Protestant sect founded by John Calvin. Emphasized a strong moral code and believed in predestination (the idea that God decided whether or not a person would be saved as soon as they were born). Calvinists supported constitutional representative government and the separation of church and state.
Congregational Church, Cambridge Platform
The Congregational Church was founded by separatists who felt that the Church of England retained too many Roman Catholic beliefs and practices. The Pilgrims were members of the Congregational Church. The Cambridge Platform stressed morality over church dogma.
