Colonial America Key Terms Quiz

Key Terms and Concepts

• Virginia Resolves: Resolutions passed by the Virginia House of Burgesses in response to the Stamp Act, highlighting colonists' concerns about losing self-government.
• Triangular Trade: A system of trade connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas, involving the exchange of raw materials, manufactured goods, and enslaved people.
• Mercantilism: An economic policy designed to strengthen a nation's wealth through exporting more than importing and controlling resources, often using colonies.
• Navigation Acts: British laws restricting colonial trade to benefit England, enforcing mercantilist policies.
• Salutary Neglect: A British policy of lax enforcement of colonial laws, giving the colonies considerable freedom.
• French and Indian War (Seven Years' War): A conflict between Britain and France, involving Native American groups, over North American territory.
• Proclamation of 1763: British law prohibiting westward colonial expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountains, post-French and Indian War.
• Albany Plan of Union (1754): Benjamin Franklin's proposal for colonial unity for defense during the French and Indian War.

Important Events and their Significance

• Albany Plan of Union (1754): Proposed colonial unity for defense, though not adopted; it foreshadowed future colonial unity against British policies.
• Proclamation of 1763: Restricted westward colonial expansion, angering colonists who sought new land.
• Stamp Act (1765): Imposed a direct tax on colonists for documents and paper; sparked protests and "no taxation without representation" sentiments.
• Declaratory Act (1766): Britain asserted its right to tax the colonies, which further fueled colonial resentment.
• Townshend Acts (1767): Placed taxes on imported goods (tea, glass, paper); led to boycotts and increased colonial resistance.
• Boston Massacre (1770): British troops killed colonists during a protest, escalating anti-British sentiment.
• Boston Tea Party (1773): Colonists protested the Tea Act by dumping tea into Boston Harbor, leading to the Intolerable Acts.
• Intolerable Acts (1774): A series of harsh laws punishing Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party; unified the colonies.
• First Continental Congress (1774): Representatives from 12 colonies met to discuss a unified response to British actions; a crucial step in coordinated colonial resistance.
• Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775): British attempts to seize colonial weapons led to the commencement of hostilities; marking the start of the Revolutionary War.

Key Figures

• Pocahontas: Mediated between Jamestown colonists and the Powhatan, improving relations.
• George Washington: Early military leader in the French and Indian War, contributing to its escalation.

Labor and Economy in Virginia

• Tobacco: The primary colonial crop; its cultivation drove demand for labor.
• Labor Force Shift: A transition from indentured servitude to enslaved Africans for labor, particularly on tobacco plantations.

Colonial Resistance Strategies

• Sons of Liberty: Protested British policies through boycotts, protests, and acts of defiance.
• Daughters of Liberty: Supported the resistance by boycotting British goods and producing homemade alternatives.

Study Tips

• Understand the sequence and significance of events leading to the American Revolution.
• Analyze the roles of important figures.
• Understand the economic impacts of tobacco cultivation and the evolving labor system.