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Pequot War
A armed conflict between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the English colonists of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their Native American allies. The significance of the war was that the Pequots lost and their potential as a contender for land in the east was basically eliminated. -
Navigation Acts
A series of laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between Britain and its colonies for 200 years. These laws were significant because formed the basis for British overseas trade for nearly 200 years. -
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King Philip's War
An armed conflict between Native Americans and English colonists and their Native American allies. It was signicant because the colonists' trials, without significant English government support, gave them a group identity separate and distinct from that of subjects of the king. -
Pueblo Revolt
An uprising of most of the Pueblo people against the Spanish colonizers in present day New Mexico. This revolt was signifcant becasue it was the most successful indian revolt in the West. The Pueblo Revolt killed 400 Spanish and drove the remaining 2,000 settlers out of the province but, twelve years later, the Spanish returned and reoccupied New Mexico with little opposition. -
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Salem Witch Trials
A series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. This event was important because it was one of the nation's most notorious cases of mass hysteria, and has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations, and lapses in due process. -
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Seven Years' War
In America, it was a war between the British and the French. The war was ended by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. It was significant because it was one of the first true world wars and Britain started to rise as the world's foremost power. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was enforced in hopes of raising revenues that would help offset Britain's military expenses in North America. The act was important because it vastly complicated the requirements for shipping colonial goods, and it also disregarded many traditional English protections for a fair trial. -
Stamp Act
The law obliged colonists to purchase and use special stamped paper for newspapers, customs documents, various license, college diplomas, and legal forms used for recovering debts, buying land, and making wills. The law was important because it did little to ease Britain's financial crisis. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act led parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. It was important because it told the colonists that London still ruled them, angering the colonists. -
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Quartering Act
The Quartering Act forced colonists to provide British soldiers with any needed accommodations or housing. The act also required colonists to provide food for any British soldiers in the area. The act was significant because it ended up falling lightly in most colonies, but New York was hit hard because a lot of soldiers were stationed there. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of laws that taxed glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea imported to the colonies from England. As a result, there was widespread protest in the American colonies. The acts were important because the British government continued in its attempt to tax the colonists without their consent and the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution followed. -
First Continental Congress
A meeting of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was important because congress didn't desire independence yet, but they wrote the Declaration of Independence and drew up a list of grievances. -
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Revolutionary War
The war between Great Britain and thirteen of its North American colonies, which had declared themselves the independent United States of America. The biggest significance of the American Revolution was that it established the United States of America as an independent nation. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was similar to the First Continental Congress. At the Second Continental Congress the list of grievances were resent to the king. The congress was significant because it took measurres to raise money for an army and navy, and it appointed George Washington as general of the Continental Army. -
Declaration of Independence
Statement adopted by the Continental Congress meeting which announced that the thirteen colonies, regarded themselves as a thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. This document is significant because it contains the goals of our nation, contains the complaints of the colonists against the British king, and it contains the arguments the colonists used to explain why they wanted to be free of British rule. -
Virginia Declaration of Rights
The Virginia Declaration of Rights was written by George Mason and was used by James Madison when he was framing the Bill of Rights. The Virginia Declaration of Rights was significant because it established premise of basic human rights that can't be violated by governments. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were a set of laws and rules written after the Revolutionary War. The Articles of Confederation established loose union of soveriegn states and had no federal executive or judicial branch. The document was significant because it the power of the national government, reserved most power for the states, and established a single chamber legislative with each state having only one vote. -
Peace of Paris
The Peace of Paris was an important factor in the conclusion of peace negotitations with Britain. The Americans decided to negotitate separately with the British. The Peace of Paris was significant because U.S. political independence was recognized, Florida was given to Spain, and the Mississippi River was recognized as the western border of the U.S. -
Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom
The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom was a document written by Thomas Jefferson that involved allowing people to practice their own religion without prosecution. The document was important because it ended official relationship between the church and the state, and it established the principal of religious liberty. -
3/5 Compromise
Compromise reached between delegates from southern states and from northern states over wheteher, and if so, how slaves would be counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxing purpoes. This was significant because the effect given to the southern states was a third more seats in Congress and a third more electoral votes than if slaves had been ignored. -
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XYZ Affair
Dispute between Republican France and the U.S. over France wanting money from America to avoid war. This event was important because it led to the Quasi-War. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was when Thomas Jefferson bought the territory between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains from France. The purchase was important because it doubled the size of the United States. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an effort by Congress to defuse the sectional and political rivalries triggered by the request of Missouri. It was important because it agreed to admit Maine as a free state, to pave the way for Missouri's admission as a slave state, and to prohibit slavery in the remainder of the northern part of the LA Purchase territory. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a U.S. foreign policy regarding domination of the American continent. It was significant for announcing three key principles: that unless American interest were involved, U.S. policy was to abstain from European wars; that the "American Continents" weren't "subjects for future colonization by any European power"; and that the U.S. would construe any attempt at European colonization in the New World as an "unfriendly act."
