Triangular Trade

Molasses Act  In 1733 bowing to pressure from influential British West Indian planters, Parliament passed the Molasses Act aimed at squelching North America trade with the French West Indies.

Arminianism  Named after the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, who preached that individual free will, not divine decree, determined a person’s eternal fate, and that all humans, not just the “elect,” could be saved if they freely accepted God’s grace.

Great Awakening  In the 1730s and 1740 the Great Awakening swept through the colonies.  Participating ministers, most notably Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, placed an emphasis on direct, emotive spirituality.

George Whitefield Using a different style of evangelical preaching on America, he touched off a conflagration of religious ardor that revolutionized the spiritual life of the colonies Whitefield trumpeted his message of human helplessness and divine omnipotence

Jonathan Edwards Edwards ignited the Great Awakening in Northampton, Mass. Edwards proclaimed with burning righteousness the folly of believing in salvation through good works and affirmed the need for complete dependence of God’s grace

Old Lights  Orthodox clergyman who rejected the emotionalism of the Great Awakening in favor of a more rational spirituality

New Lights  Ministers who took part in the revivalist, emotive religious tradition pioneered by George Whitefield during the Great Awakening

Poor Richard’s Almanac  – Widely read annual pamphlet edited by Benjamin Franklin. Best known for its proverbs and aphorism emphasizing thrift, industry, morality, and common sense.

Zenger Trial  New York libel case against John Peter Zenger established the principle that truthful statements about public officials could not be prosecuted as libel

Royal Colonies  Colonies where governors were appointed directly by the King. Though often competent administrators, the government frequently ran into trouble with colonial legislatures, which resented the imposition of control from across the Atlantic.

Proprietary Colonies  Colonies – Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware – under the control of local proprietors, who appointed colonial governors.