6 Most Important Dates in Early American History

1. 6 Most Important Dates in Early American History • 1607 Jamestown founded in the colony of Virginia • 1620 Pilgrims land and founded Plymouth colony • 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. Vocabulary List #1 Colonization

3. Group of people who settle in a distant land but are still ruled by the government of their native land Colony Maryland

4. English colony in which the king gave land to proprietors in exchange for a yearly payment Proprietary Colony

5. Colony under the direct control of the English crown Royal Colony

6. Jamestown 1607; the first permanent English settlement in North America

7. Joint-Stock Company Business in which investors pool their wealth to turn a profit. An example is the Virginia Company that founded Jamestown Investors wait for news about the South Sea Company, a joint stock company formed in London in 1711.

8. Puritans Group of English Protestants who settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritans in the 1700's

9. Mayflower Compact 1620 agreement for ruling the Plymouth Colony, signed by the pilgrims before landing at Plymouth

10. Pilgrims Separatists (people who wanted to separate from the Anglican Church) who journeyed to the colonies during the 1600s for religious freedom

11. Plymouth 1620, Colony founded by separatists in Massachusetts. They called themselves pilgrims

12. 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

13. STOP

14. Vocabulary List #2 Colonization #2

15. New England Colonies English colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire; economy was dependent on fishing, trade, and ship building

16. Bacon’s Rebellion Revolt against the colonial government in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon. Citizens in the western part of the colony, were angry over the easterners dominating the gov and believed they were not being protected from the Native Americans. Nathaniel Bacon confronting Governor Berkeley

17. Democracy A form of government where people vote directly or through elected representatives

18. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut The first written constitution (rulebook for government) in America. It described in detail how the gov of Connecticut would be organized. Thomas Hooker

19. House of Burgesses First representative assembly (legislature) in North America; created in colonial Virginia . Held its first meeting at Jamestown Church in the summer of 1619. Its first order of business: setting a minimum price for the sale of tobacco.

20. Representative Government Political system in which voters elect representatives to make laws for them.

21. 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

22. 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.

23. Indentured Servant Person who agreed to work without wages for a period of time in exchange for passage to the colonies

24. Cash Crop Crop sold for money at market. (i.e. cotton, tobacco)

25. Vocabulary List #3 Life in the 13 Colonies

26. Free-Enterprise System in which the government plays a limited role in the economy.

27. Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Colonial trade route between New England, the West Indies, and Africa.

28. Import Trade products brought into a country US Oil Imports

29. Export Trade products sent to markets outside a country.

30. Slave A person who is forced to work for another for free

31. Act of Toleration A law passed in the colony of Maryland in 1649 that granted Protestants and Catholics the right to worship freely. Lord Baltimore commending his people to wisdom, justice and mercy

32. First Great Awakening Religious movement in the English colonies in the early 1700s

33. Magna Carta English constitution in 1215 with two basic ideas: Monarchs have to obey the laws, and citizens have basic rights. King John signing the Magna Carta

34. English Bill of Rights British document in 1689, that protected the rights of Englishmen. It was used as a model for our Bill of Rights

35. 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

36. 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.

37. Mercantilism Idea that a nation’s economic strength came from protecting and increasing its home economy by keeping strict control over its colonial trade

38. Vocabulary List #5 Road to Revolution

39. French and Indian War A war between England and France from 1754 to 1763. Both sides had Native American allies, with the British Colonies helping the British.

40. George Washington LT. Col. during the French and Indian War; became a hero when he led British survivors to safety in the battle at Fort Duquesne.

41. Proclamation of 1763 law passed after the French and Indian War by King George III forbidding colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains

42. King George III King of Great Britain leading up to and during the American Revolution.

43. Navigation Acts Laws passed by the English Parliament in the 1650s; regulated trade between England and its colonies

44. Boycott Refusal to buy certain goods and services

45. Sugar Act 1764 Law passed by Parliament in 1764 placing a tax on sugar, molasses, and other goods shipped to the colonies; called for harsh punishment of smugglers.

46. Stamp Act 1765 1765 law that placed new duties on legal documents and taxed newspapers, almanacs, playing cards, and dice

47. Non-Importation Agreements X Agreements made by merchants in the colonies not to import British goods.

48. Stamp Act Congress Meeting called to organize the colonies resistance to the Stamp Act passed by the British Parliament

49. Tariff/Tax/Duty Tax on foreign goods brought into a country. Problems started between Great Britain and the 13 Colonies when Britain started collecting taxes in the colonies.

50. Townshend Acts Laws passed in 1767 that taxed goods such as glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea.