U.S. HISTORY: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EARLY
AMERICA TO THE CIVIL WAR AND ITS HISTORY
SUMMARY GUIDE
Halfway Covenant.
A Puritan church document; In 1662, the Halfway Covenant allowed partial membership
rights to persons not yet converted into the Puritan church; It lessened the difference between
the "elect" members of the church from the regular members; Women soon made up a larger
portion of Puritan congregations.
Salem Witch Trials
in the 1680's and 1690's adolescent girls of Salem, Massachusetts, accused several West
Indian servants of voodoo lore, and hundreds of people (mostly women) of witchcraft
(exercising of satanic powers), ending with 19 being put to death, and the girls who had been
the accusers, admitting that they fabricated their story. This was one of the many examples of
hysteria and chaos that broke out due to the tensions that built in Puritan communities.
King Phillip's War
War between the Native American tribes of New England and British colonists that took
place from 1675-1676. The war was the result of tension caused by encroaching white
settlers. The chief of the Wampanoags, King Philip leads the natives. The war ended Indian
resistance in New England and left a hatred of whites.
James Oglethorpe
Founder and governor of the Georgia colony1733. He ran a tightly-disciplined, military-like
colony. Slaves, alcohol, and Catholicism were forbidden in his colony. Many colonists felt
that Oglethorpe was a dictator, and that (along with the colonist's dissatisfaction over not
being allowed to own slaves) caused the colony to break down and Oglethorpe to lose his
position as governor.
Mercantilism
,an economic system (Europe in 18th C)under which nations sought to increase their wealth
and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they
bought
Navigation Acts
A series of British regulations which taxed goods imported by the colonies from places other
than Britain, or otherwise sought to control and regulate colonial trade. Increased British-
colonial trade and tax revenues. The Navigation Acts were reinstated after the French and
Indian War because Britain needed to pay off debts incurred during the war, and to pay the
costs of maintaining a standing army in the colonies.
Salutary Neglect
British colonial policy during the reigns of George I and George II. relaxed supervision of
internal colonial affairs by royal bureaucrats contributed significantly to the rise of American
self government
French Indian War
The war in North America between France and Britain for territory and power between 1754
- 1763. Involved land to the west of the colonies. The French recruited local Indians to help
fight for them.
George Washington
He had led troops (rather unsuccessfully) during the French and Indian War, and had
surrendered Fort Necessity to the French. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army, and was much more successful in this second command.
Joint-stock companies
an association of individuals in a business enterprise with transferable shares of stock, much
like a corporation except that stockholder are liable for the debts of the business.
Limited Risk Takers*** Funded Trip
, Virginia Company of London
A joint-stock company that received a charter from King James I of England for a settlement
in the New World. Like most joint-sock companies of the day, this was intended only to
endure for only a few years, after which its stockholders hoped to liquidate it for a profit.
Virginia Company as a profit-earning venture. Starvation was the major problem; about 90%
of the colonists died the first year, many of the survivors left, and the company had trouble
attracting new colonists. They offered private land ownership in the colony to attract settlers,
but the Virginia Company eventually went bankrupt and the colony went to the crown.
Virginia did not become a successful colony until the colonists started raising and exporting
tobacco.
Jamestown
The first successful settlement in the Virginia colony founded in May, 1607. Harsh
conditions nearly destroyed the colony but in 1610 supplies arrived with a new wave of
settlers. The settlement became part of the Virginia Company of London in 1620. The
population remained low due to lack of supplies until agriculture was solidly established.
Jamestown grew to be a prosperous shipping port when John Rolfe introduced tobacco as a
major export and cash crop.
John Smith
(1580-June 21, 1631) was an English soldier, sailor, and author. He is remembered for his
role in establishing the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown,
Virginia, and his brief association with the Native American girl Pocahontas during an
altercation with the Powhatan Confederacy and her father, Chief Powhatan. He was a leader
of the Virginia Colony (based at Jamestown) between 1607 and 1609, and led an exploration
along the rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay.
Helped found and govern Jamestown. His leadership and strict discipline helped the Virginia
colony get through the difficult first winter
Bacons Rebellion
an uprising in 1676 in the Virginia Colony, led by Nathaniel Bacon. It was the first rebellion
in the American colonies in which discontented frontiersmen took part; to gain more land
from the indians
AMERICA TO THE CIVIL WAR AND ITS HISTORY
SUMMARY GUIDE
Halfway Covenant.
A Puritan church document; In 1662, the Halfway Covenant allowed partial membership
rights to persons not yet converted into the Puritan church; It lessened the difference between
the "elect" members of the church from the regular members; Women soon made up a larger
portion of Puritan congregations.
Salem Witch Trials
in the 1680's and 1690's adolescent girls of Salem, Massachusetts, accused several West
Indian servants of voodoo lore, and hundreds of people (mostly women) of witchcraft
(exercising of satanic powers), ending with 19 being put to death, and the girls who had been
the accusers, admitting that they fabricated their story. This was one of the many examples of
hysteria and chaos that broke out due to the tensions that built in Puritan communities.
King Phillip's War
War between the Native American tribes of New England and British colonists that took
place from 1675-1676. The war was the result of tension caused by encroaching white
settlers. The chief of the Wampanoags, King Philip leads the natives. The war ended Indian
resistance in New England and left a hatred of whites.
James Oglethorpe
Founder and governor of the Georgia colony1733. He ran a tightly-disciplined, military-like
colony. Slaves, alcohol, and Catholicism were forbidden in his colony. Many colonists felt
that Oglethorpe was a dictator, and that (along with the colonist's dissatisfaction over not
being allowed to own slaves) caused the colony to break down and Oglethorpe to lose his
position as governor.
Mercantilism
,an economic system (Europe in 18th C)under which nations sought to increase their wealth
and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they
bought
Navigation Acts
A series of British regulations which taxed goods imported by the colonies from places other
than Britain, or otherwise sought to control and regulate colonial trade. Increased British-
colonial trade and tax revenues. The Navigation Acts were reinstated after the French and
Indian War because Britain needed to pay off debts incurred during the war, and to pay the
costs of maintaining a standing army in the colonies.
Salutary Neglect
British colonial policy during the reigns of George I and George II. relaxed supervision of
internal colonial affairs by royal bureaucrats contributed significantly to the rise of American
self government
French Indian War
The war in North America between France and Britain for territory and power between 1754
- 1763. Involved land to the west of the colonies. The French recruited local Indians to help
fight for them.
George Washington
He had led troops (rather unsuccessfully) during the French and Indian War, and had
surrendered Fort Necessity to the French. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army, and was much more successful in this second command.
Joint-stock companies
an association of individuals in a business enterprise with transferable shares of stock, much
like a corporation except that stockholder are liable for the debts of the business.
Limited Risk Takers*** Funded Trip
, Virginia Company of London
A joint-stock company that received a charter from King James I of England for a settlement
in the New World. Like most joint-sock companies of the day, this was intended only to
endure for only a few years, after which its stockholders hoped to liquidate it for a profit.
Virginia Company as a profit-earning venture. Starvation was the major problem; about 90%
of the colonists died the first year, many of the survivors left, and the company had trouble
attracting new colonists. They offered private land ownership in the colony to attract settlers,
but the Virginia Company eventually went bankrupt and the colony went to the crown.
Virginia did not become a successful colony until the colonists started raising and exporting
tobacco.
Jamestown
The first successful settlement in the Virginia colony founded in May, 1607. Harsh
conditions nearly destroyed the colony but in 1610 supplies arrived with a new wave of
settlers. The settlement became part of the Virginia Company of London in 1620. The
population remained low due to lack of supplies until agriculture was solidly established.
Jamestown grew to be a prosperous shipping port when John Rolfe introduced tobacco as a
major export and cash crop.
John Smith
(1580-June 21, 1631) was an English soldier, sailor, and author. He is remembered for his
role in establishing the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown,
Virginia, and his brief association with the Native American girl Pocahontas during an
altercation with the Powhatan Confederacy and her father, Chief Powhatan. He was a leader
of the Virginia Colony (based at Jamestown) between 1607 and 1609, and led an exploration
along the rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay.
Helped found and govern Jamestown. His leadership and strict discipline helped the Virginia
colony get through the difficult first winter
Bacons Rebellion
an uprising in 1676 in the Virginia Colony, led by Nathaniel Bacon. It was the first rebellion
in the American colonies in which discontented frontiersmen took part; to gain more land
from the indians
