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Liberty and Lawmaking: Words from Revolutionary America

Word List with 57 words
By Dictionary.com

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Words in This List

brigade

noun

a convoy of canoes, sleds, wagons, or pack animals used to supply trappers in the 18th- and 19th-century Canadian and U.S. fur trade

royal colony

noun

a colony administered by a royal governor and council appointed by the British crown, and having a representative assembly elected by the people

indentured servant

noun

a person who came to America placed under contract to work for seven years; including redemptioners, victims of persecution, convicts, and paupers

charter colony

noun

a colony, as Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island, chartered to an individual, trading company, etc., by the British crown

middle passage

noun

the part of the Atlantic Ocean between the west coast of Africa and the West Indies: the longest part of the journey formerly made by slave ships

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proprietary colony

noun

certain colonies that were granted to an individual or group by the British crown and that were granted full rights of self-government

taxation without representation

noun

a phrase that reflected the resentment of American colonists at being taxed by a British Parliament to which they elected no representatives

planter

noun

a colonist or new settler, who was often a farmer

triangular trade

noun

pattern of colonial commerce: slaves bought in African with New England rum were brought to the West Indies, traded for sugar which was sent to NE to be made into rum

Virginia plan

noun

a plan unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, in which proportional representation would exist in each house of legislature

Boston Massacre

noun

a riot in Boston on March 5, 1770, arising from the resentment of toward British troops quartered in the city, in which the troops fired on the mob

Stamp Act

noun

for raising revenue in the American Colonies, a plan requiring stamps and stamped paper for official documents and commercial writing

Continental Congress

noun

legislative congresses during and after the Revolutionary War: the latter issued the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation

Albany Congress

noun

a meeting of delegates from seven American colonies, in 1754 at Albany, New York, at which Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for unifying the colonies

New Jersey plan

noun

a plan, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a single legislative house with equal representation for each state

Connecticut Compromise

noun

a compromise adopted at the Constitutional Convention in which states had equal representation in the Senate, proportional representation in the House

Louisiana Purchase

noun

a treaty with France in 1803 purchasing for $15m land extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico

Sugar Act

noun

a law passed by the British Parliament in 1764 raising duties on refined sugar imported by the colonies, giving British sugar growers a monopoly

Townshend Acts

noun

acts of the British Parliament in 1767 that placed duties on tea, paper, lead, paint, etc., imported into the American colonies

writ of assistance

noun

a writ issued by a superior colonial court authorizing officers of the British crown to summon aid and enter and search any premises

Tea Act

noun

an act of the British Parliament in 1773 that created a monopoly unfair to American tea merchants

Whiskey Rebellion

noun

a revolt of settlers in western Pennsylvania in 1794 against a federal tax on whiskey

Sons of Liberty

noun

any of several patriotic secret societies that opposed the Stamp Act and thereafter supported moves for American independence

Pequot War

noun

a 1637 war between Connecticut with British soldiers and friendly tribes against the Pequot Indians, defeat resulted in dispersion of the Pequot tribe

Lost Colony

noun

a settlement of British colonists whom Walter Raleigh sent to Roanoke Island in 1587 and of whom no trace was found after 1591

Jay's Treaty

noun

the 1794 talks for England and the U.S. which began limited trade relations, England gave up its forts and a commission was set up for border disputes

Democratic-Republican party

noun

a political party opposed to the Federalist party

Continental Army

noun

the Revolutionary War Army, authorized by the Continental Congress in 1775 and led by George Washington

redemptioner

noun

an emigrant from Europe to America who obtained passage by becoming an indentured servant for a specified period of time

Merry Mount

noun

a settlement in Mt. Wollaston, Quincy, Mass. 1625?28, noted for its rejection of Puritan standards of behavior

Muster Day

noun

the annual day for enrollment in the militia of all able men aged 18 to 45, according to a law established in 1792 in effect until after the Civil War

Natchez Trace

noun

a road begun in 1806 between Natchez, Miss., and Nashville, Tenn., about 500 mi. (800 km) long

liberty pole

noun

a pole or tree located in a market square or green used by the Sons of Liberty as a symbol of protest against British rule where protests were held

Antifederal party

noun

the party that opposed the adoption of the proposed Constitution before 1789 and after that favored its strict construction

Anti-Masonic party

noun

a former political party (1826?35) that opposed Freemasonry in civil affairs

Barbary Coast Wars

plural noun

wars fought along the coast of North Africa 1801?15 over the harassment of U.S. ships despite payment of tribute money to the piratical Barbary States

New Haven Colony

noun

a settlement founded in 1638 by John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton at Quinnipiac, now New Haven, Conn

Antifederalist

noun

a member or supporter of the Antifederal party

Anti-Mason

noun

a member of the Anti-Masonic party or a supporter of its principles

Creek War

noun

an uprising in 1813?14 of the Creek Indians against settlers in Alabama, who ceded two-thirds of their land to the U.S. after defeat

Essex Junto

noun

a group of extreme Federalist party members from Essex county, Massachusetts

farewell address

noun

a statement by President Washington published in 1796 to announce that he would not run for a third term and included his views on future U.S. policy

federal

adjective

pertaining to the Federalist party or, during the Civil War, pertaining to the Union government

federalism

noun

advocacy of the federal system of government or the principles of the Federalist party

federalist

noun

a member or supporter of the Federalist party

Nonintercourse Act

noun

the 1809 act of Congress prohibiting all shipping and trade between the United States and British- or French-controlled ports

Seminole Wars

noun

a series of conflicts 1818?19 between forces under Andrew Jackson and the Seminole Indians in Spanish-controlled eastern Florida

war hawk

noun

congressmen from the South and West, led by Henry Clay and John Calhoun, who wanted war against Britain in the period leading up to the War of 1812

war party

noun

a group of American Indians prepared for war

Boston Tea Party

noun

a raid on three British ships in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, as a protest against British taxes on tea and the East India Company

burgess

noun

a representative in the popular branch of the colonial legislature of Virginia or Maryland

Committee of Correspondence

noun

organized in 1772 by Samuel Adams to keep colonists informed of British anticolonial actions and to plan colonial resistance or countermeasures

Whig

noun

a member of the patriotic party during the Revolutionary period; or a member of a political party formed in opposition to the Democratic party 1834-55

Old Spanish Trail

noun

an overland route from Santa Fe, N. Mex., to Los Angeles, Calif., first marked out in 1776 by Spanish explorers and missionaries

Wilderness Road

noun

a 300-mile (500-km) route from eastern Virginia into Kentucky explored by Daniel Boone in 1769 and used by early settlers moving west

Freemason

noun

a skilled stoneworker possessing secret signs and passwords; later, a member of a society which included members not connected with the trade

plantation

noun

a large farm in a tropical or semitropical country, on which cotton, tobacco, coffee or sugar cane is cultivated, usually by indentured or slave labor