APUSH vocab Unit 1-4

Question 1

Columbian Exchange

Answer 1

The killing of Native American people was known as the Columbian Exchange and was the cause of European conquerors bringing fatal diseases with them and infecting the Native people.

Question 2

Conquistadores

Answer 2

Men and women who came from the environment out of which many Jews were driven out of who were wanted material wealth and where steadfast in their religious beliefs. These people were willing to do anything that was said to have been given permission by G-d or the Crown. These people brought European culture to the wildest parts of the New World.

Question 3

Encomienda System

Answer 3

A means of controlling the greedy Conquistadores. The crown rewarded the leaders of the conquest with a native village as a labor force.

Question 4

Protestant Reformation

Answer 4

This was a Europe wide movement aimed at reforming the practices and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. As England became more and more protestant they began the consider Spain their biggest threat.

Question 5

Joint Stock Company

Answer 5

The settlement of the New World was an extremely expensive endeavor. No single person could get enough money to do it no matter how rich. The solution was the Joint-stock Company. This was a business organization in which people could invest without being scared to lose their money. A person could purchase a stock at a price and after some time they could get their money back and a portion of the companies profit. More and more people started to invest which allowed for the creation of the new colony of Virginia.

Question 6

Captain John Smith

Answer 6

Virginia would have died if it hadn’t been for Smith. He traded with the local Native Americans and mapped Chesapeake bay. While Smith was in control, everyone was forced to work and this kept them alive.

Question 7

Tobacco

Answer 7

Tobacco became the solution to Virginia’s financial problems. The Crop was easy to grow and when John Rolf developed a milder variety that Europeans enjoyed smoking it was a source of good income.

Question 8

Headright System

Answer 8

Colonists who paid for their own voyage over to America were granted a 50-acre plot of land by the Sandy company. This was theirs to cultivate. They only had to pay an annual rent. They received additional headrights for bringing servants with them. This allowed for wealthy planters to get huge estates and a dependent workforce. Even after the company disappeared, this system continued and so did the idea that is was alright to exploit other people for personal gain and wealth.

Question 9

Indentured servants

Answer 9

Indentured servants were people who agreed to work for a person for a number of years in exchange for transport to America. They were promised that after they had worked off their debt they would receive a small bit of land. They were often cheated out of this however and became landless. Whenever they could, planters bought able-bodied workers, usually males. This meant that there were way more men in the colonies than women. This meant that it was very hard to start a family if the man lived long enough to get out of his indentured servitude. These servants were considered property and masters could treat them however they wished.

Question 10

Mayflower Compact

Answer 10

41 men signed the Mayflower Compact after landing in New England instead of Virginia. This agreement bound them to live under their own laws in a civil society.

Question 11

Puritans

Answer 11

The Puritans emerged in 17th century England as a result of the Protestant reformation. They were committed to creating institutional change. They accepted Calvinist ideas that some people were destined to salvation and some were damned by G-d. They believed that they were chosen by G-d to fight sin in the world.

Question 12

Roger William and Anne Hutchinson

Answer 12

They were the most serious challengers to Puritan beliefs. They preached against the common beliefs of the church and due to the fact, that Anne Hutchinson was a woman her speech started very misogynistic responses from the male leaders of the colonies.

Question 13

Family structure, New England

Answer 13

The Family was important, all the important things happened within the family. Work, Education, traditions, religion
Families did not live in isolation.
The ‘g-dly’ family was ruled by the father
The wife shared responsibility for raising the children.
Wife had to leave all the important decisions to the husband
Longer life expectancy allowed for grandparents to be ‘invented’ which created real patriarchs
The life cycle started with marriage
Women often brought money to the household and men brought land

Supply of labor, lots of lands, ties to the European market.
Women worked on family farms
They had servants but they weren’t being exploited.- it was a system where both people get a benefits kind of like an internship.

Question 14

Social Structure and Hierarchy , New England

Answer 14

Replicated a social order they had known in England
Women often brought money to the household and men brought land
The household was primarily a place of work
They usually fell in love with their neighbors
They barely ever moved away from home
Tribalism
Education was considered a family responsibility
A majority of men could read
A wife had no control over the property
Generally, men and women did what they thought G-d had decided was right for their gender.
Colonies didn’t attract noblemen nor paupers- they were happy that the poor stayed away but the rich seamed natural leaders and they were forced to choose leaders from other backgrounds
There was a self-created hierarchy but no one liked it
No harsh authority, independence to govern themselves while still having leaders

Question 15

Economic basis, New England

Answer 15

Supply of labor, lots of lands, ties to the European market.
Women worked on family farms
They had servants but they weren’t being exploited.- it was a system where both people get a benefits kind of like an internship.

Question 16

The Chesapeake Region, Family structure

Answer 16

People died too early so family life was hard
The Family was important, all the important things happened within the family. Work, Education, traditions, religion
Families did not live in isolation.
They didn’t come to America with families.
The young people lost years in which they could have had children due to indentured servitude and then they died way too early
Children didn’t have grandparents and often didn’t have parents either
A lot of children grew up with people they weren’t even related too
Not a lot of women

Question 17

The Chesapeake Region, Social Structure and Hierarchy

Answer 17

Had a more defined social hierarchy because there were so many slaves and they were considered the bottom and the bottom and all the landowners and tobacco farmers got rich. Then there were all the indentured servants who were in the middle

Question 18

The Chesapeake Region, Economic basis

Answer 18

Tobacco
Demand for servants and slaves
Tobacco needed a lot of people to cultivate but no free people wanted to work in tobacco farming which meant they needed slaves.

Question 19

Foundation of American slavery

Answer 19

Slavery began because the white planters needed a workforce and they couldn’t get enough white indentured servants to do the work. They saw how well the system worked in Spanish and Portugees territory. At first, the status of black slaves was unclear. Somewhere slaves for life and others could buy their freedom but few became planters. There weren’t many slaves until the status of slaves was clear. They were declared slaves for life. Unlike the Portugees ad Spanish, the English colonists didn’t just justify the use and imprisonment of slaves for the need of the workforce. They also used racist rhetoric, calling black slaves savages, and saying they were less than. This allowed for the spread of slavery. After they were declared slaves for life and that their children and their children would be slaves the Royal Africa company started to deliver directly to the American colonies and more slaves came to the colonies, it was during this time that racism, a new world concept was created. Blacks were slaves because they were black.

Question 20

Slave identity and culture

Answer 20

Where there was a dense population of black slaves they were able to establish and uphold their own traditions and identities. In smaller communities, the black slaves were forced to take on aspects of English culture because of the frequent contact with whites. The slaves accepted Christianity but transformed it into an expression of religious feeling. They incorporated music and folk art.

Question 21

Stono Uprising

Answer 21

September 1739. The most serious slave rebellion of the colonial period was when 150 South Carolina blacks murdered several white planters with guns and ammunition they had taken. The rebellious slaves were soon recaptured and most of them were killed. This incident increased biased and racism and reminded all the white planters that the slaves wanted to be free.

Question 22

Mercantilism

Answer 22

The economic relationship between the mother country and the colonies where the mother country got goods from the colonies for little money and the colonies had to buy the products from the mother country. By implementing the navigation acts, mercantilism encouraged the development of agriculture but stopped local manufacturing and industry. This idea also suggests that the more trade the better for the country. It makes the argument that there should be more export into other countries from the colonies, not just England. This idea also suggests that England should conduct more exports than imports and grow richer at the expense of other European states. This paved the way for England’s first empire.

Question 23

Navigation Acts

Answer 23

This was the most important imperial legislation before the American Revolution. It put taxes/ customs on goods from America. It was supposed to keep England’s competitors out of the colonies ports

Question 24

Bacon’s Rebellion

Answer 24

Bacon wanted to protect the colony against the Native Americans by force but governor Berkeley denied him permission to create a militia to march against the Native Americans. The two men fought against each other trying to rally public support. Bacon ended up taking his followers on a warpath to kill the Native Americans. His followers burned Jamestown to the ground. In reaction to this, the king sent over an army to stop him but by the time they arrived, Berkeley had gotten his power back. Berkeley was then called back to England and was succeeded but very corrupt men. This rebellion drove slave owners to harsher forms of slavery.

Question 25

Metacomet’s War (King Philip’s war)

Answer 25

King Philip was the chief of the Wampanoag people. He openly declared war against the colonists and was joined by the Narragansetts. They attacked villages and killed hundreds. After many deaths on both sides, the conflict ended with the Native Americans defeated and the people of Massachusetts shaken. The defeated Native Americans were forced off their land and either had to become refugees or try and integrate into white society.

Question 26

Salem Witch Trials

Answer 26

The village of Salem in Massachusetts had always been full of very religious people and had often seen unrest. The Salem witch trials started when several girls in the village started acting strange and blaming witches. There were many accusations and a panic going through the town and spreading through Massachusetts. There was a special court that came together to deal with the accusations in Salem. The problem was that they were accepting spectral evidence. This resulted in 19 people hanged and 1 pressed to death. Many more were imprisoned. Prominent congressional ministers put an end to the trails and after the nightmare in Salem witchcraft stopped being a crime. These trials were significant in that they taught a lesson in governing to the colonies.

Question 27

Colonial Diversity

Answer 27

As the colonies grew they also became more diverse. Different groups started to immigrate to America. The Scots-Irish came fleeing oppression and the Germans in search of a better life, joined the English and the black slave community. The new diversity did not please everyone, however. The Germans and the Scots-Irish both preferred to live with people of the same nationality and often kicked other people out of their neighborhoods. The English could not understand the reasons for continuing to speak german in America. The new immigrants flocked to the backcountry where they found themselves out of reach of the authority of the colonial governors. Most of the time these backcountry communities liked to be left alone. The religious needs of these communities needed to be met and very quickly they formed their own religious and moral character that lasted long after the colonial period.

Question 28

The Middle ground- positives and negatives for American Indians

Answer 28

The Middle grounds was is the phrase that is now used to describe the interactions between the Native Americans and the Europeans. It describes open and creative interactions that benefited both sides. The goal of the Indian conference was to maintain independence.
Positives: The Indians relied on white traders to provide essential metal goods and weapons. The Native Americans took advantage of rivalries whenever possible and used them to their advantage.
Negatives: The use and purchasing of European goods slowly destroyed traditional structures of Native American life. As the market expanded, individuals started to trade on their own which gave the Europeans more opportunities for organized assaults and weakened the Native Americans’ defenses.

Question 29

Enlightenment impact on American thinkers

Answer 29

The enlightenment was an intellectual revolution. In the colonies, this encouraged many people to pursue sciences. The enlightenment was appealing to people because of its focus on experimental sciences and it’s a more optimistic view of human nature. Many enlightenment thinkers began to record different scientific facts and patterns. The thinkers encouraged their fellows to try and solve the problems around them through logic and science. The enlightenment provided the philosophical bases for the revolution.

Question 30

Benjamin Franklin

Answer 30

Benjamin Franklin was interested in useful knowledge and devoted his life to improving American life. He invented the lightning rod and a stove that is still used today. He is now a symbol of progress. Franklin supported and encouraged the spread of reason.

Question 31

Economics and Colonial Consumerism

Answer 31

As the population in America grew so did the economy. The new generation in England started to have enough money to buy goods from America. Americans also began to buy items made in England. Factory items made in England were available to most people replaced homemade things from America. This created a consumerist culture.

Question 32

The Great Awakening

Answer 32

The Great Awakening was a series of Protestant revivals. Jonathan Edwards, the local minister in Northampton reawakened people’s beliefs in religion. This had the effect that young people came to church and devoted themselves to religion. The followers of the Great Awakening formed several schools of higher learning and taught that people should speak up and not stay quiet. This created a conflict between the different Protestant sects and made people more aware of the larger community outside of their town.

Question 33

Difference between Colonial and English governing systems

Answer 33

Colonial: in the colonies, there were royal governors who had extreme power. They had the right to veto legislation and were in command of the military in each province. They had more power in the colonies than the king had in England. The governors were advised by a council of wealthy colonists that were chosen by the Board of Trade in London. As most colonists had a fair amount of wealth, this council represented the community well.
English: the English constitution was not a written document. The way the government in England was split up was in three parts. The first being the king at the top and then the house of lords and then the house of commons. The idea was that all of the classes in England would be represented but that was not the reality. The king often organized followers that would sit in the house of commons and support him.

Question 34

Colonial Assemblies

Answer 34

The Colonial Assemblies were a group of elected colonists. They worked tirelessly to preserve the liberties of the colonies. They were responsible for changing the language of the law and standardizing laws that had been different from place to place.

Question 35

French and Indian War (Seven Years War) causes and results

Answer 35

The British had been fighting the French on and off for control over North America. They finally wanted to drive out the French completely. The British won the war and took control of the North American continent. The Colonies were made to work together and also were brought into closer contact with Britain. They were made aware that they were part of the empire.