Early Eras & Exploration (TEKS 8.1A, 8.2A)
This European nation colonized North America primarily to expand the fur trade and build friendly trading relationships with Native Americans along the Mississippi River and Canada.
What is France?
Signed aboard the Mayflower in 1620, this document established the concept of self-government and majority rule for the Plymouth colony.
What is the Mayflower Compact?
Colonists protested British taxes like the Stamp Act with this famous slogan because they had no voice in the British Parliament.
What is "No taxation without representation"?
Fought in Massachusetts in April 1775, these opening shots of the American Revolution are known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World."
What are the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
Rocky soil, cold winters, and natural harbors caused this colonial region to rely on fishing, shipbuilding, trade, and lumber rather than farming.
What is the New England Colonial Region?
The three primary motives for European exploration and colonization are commonly summarized by these "Three G's.
What is God, Gold, and Glory?
Established in Virginia in 1619, this was the first representative assembly (legislature) in the American colonies.
What is the House of Burgesses?
This economic system required colonies to send cheap raw materials to the mother country and buy back expensive manufactured goods.
What is mercantilism?
This 1777 battle in New York became the turning point of the war because it convinced France to sign an alliance with the Americans and was a major victory.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
Rich soil, warm climate, and long growing seasons in the Southern colonies led directly to the growth of this agricultural (farming) system based on cash crops like tobacco and rice.
What is the plantation system?
This era of U.S. history includes the establishment of Jamestown in 1607, Plymouth in 1620, and the growth of the 13 American colonies.
What is the Colonization Era?
Distance from Great Britain, the need for local order, and Britain's policy of salutary neglect led directly to the growth of this political practice in the 13 colonies.
What is representative government (or self-government)?
Issued by King George III following the French and Indian War, this law forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflicts with Native Americans.
What is the Proclamation of 1763?
General George Washington led his troops through a harsh, freezing winter of suffering, disease, and training at this Pennsylvania camp in 1777–1778.
What is Valley Forge?
The expansion of cash crop production in the South created a high demand for labor, leading directly to the expansion of this forced trade network across the Atlantic Ocean.
What is the Transatlantic Slave Trade?
While Spain sought gold and Catholic conversions, this nation established colonies mainly for religious freedom and economic opportunities like cash-crop agriculture.
What is England (or Great Britain)?
Signed in England in 1215, this historical document limited the power of the King and influenced the U.S. principle of limited government.
What is the Magna Carta?
Passed to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, these acts closed Boston Harbor and forced colonists to quarter (house) British soldiers.
What are the Intolerable Acts (or Coercive Acts)?
Fought in Virginia in 1781, this was the final major battle of the Revolution, where British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington.
What is the Battle of Yorktown?
Settled by Roger Williams (Rhode Island), Lord Baltimore (Maryland), and William Penn (Pennsylvania), these three colonies were founded primarily for this reason.
What is religious freedom / escaping religious persecution?
This major event in 1776 marks the transition from the Colonial Era into the Revolutionary Era.
What is the signing/adoption of the Declaration of Independence?
Written by Thomas Hooker in 1639, this document expanded voting rights beyond church members and is considered the first written constitution in America.
What are the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut?
The Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (prohibiting the quartering of troops) directly addresses this grievance listed in the Declaration of Independence.
What is housing/quartering British soldiers in private homes without consent?
Signed in 1783, this agreement officially ended the war, forced Britain to recognize U.S. independence, and set the western U.S. border at the Mississippi River.
What is the Treaty of Paris of 1783?
This patriot written-works author famously wrote, "Remember the Ladies," urging her husband John Adams to protect women's rights when founding the new nation.
Who is Abigail Adams?