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Marbury v. Madison (1803)
This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review
Shay's Rebellion (1786)
This MA conflict caused criticism of the Articles of Confederation; weak govt; increased calls for a Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles
3/5ths Compromise
allowed slaves to be counted as 3/5ths of a person towards representation and taxation
14th Amendment (1868)
Grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the US"; it forbids any state to deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws." It also allowed for the "incorporation doctrine" which means the application of the national Bill of Rights to the states.
The American System, 1815
Henry Clay's economic plan for America. Government adopted tariffs and national bank, but rejected call for internal improvements (said it was unconstitutional)
Pinckney's Treaty (1795)
Agreement with Spain that opened the Mississippi River to American navigation and granted Americans the right of deposit in New Orleans; Spain agreed to the treaty because it feared that Jay's Treaty included an Anglo-American alliance.
John C. Calhoun
(1830s-40s) Leader of the Fugitive Slave Law, which forced the cooperation of Northern states in returning escaped slaves to the south. He also argued on the floor of the senate that slavery was needed in the south. He argued on the grounds that society is supposed to have an upper ruling class that enjoys the profit of a working lower class.
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
An agreement between Portugal and Spain which declared that newly discovered lands to the west of an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean would belong to Spain and newly discovered lands to the east of the line would belong to Portugal.
The Era of Good Feelings
A name for President Monroe's two terms, a period of strong nationalism, economic growth, and territorial expansion. Since the Federalist party dissolved after the War of 1812, there was only one political party and no partisan conflicts. (Amarican Nationalism/Culture develops)
Paul Revere's "Bloody Massacre"
Painting of the Boston Massacre that united colonists to fight Britain.
Andrew Jackson's Presidency
1828-1836
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
Written by John Q. Adams, this doctrine stated that Europeans could not intervene in the Western Hemisphere in exchange, the U.S. would not interfere with existing European colonies and wars. If Europe intervened, the U.S. would interpret this as dangerous to U.S. national security and take appropriate action.
Seward's Folly
Secretary of State William Seward's negotiation of the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. At the time everyone thought this was a mistake to buy Alaska the "ice box" but it turned out to be the biggest bargain since the Louisiana purchase
Exodusters
African Americans who migrated from the South to the West after the Civil War
Jay's Treaty (1794)
Agreement that provided England would evacuate a series of forts in U.S. territory along the Great Lakes; in return, the United States agreed to pay pre-Revolutionary War debts owed to Britain. The British also partially opened the West Indies to American shipping. The treaty was barely ratified in the face of strong Republican opposition.
Olive Branch Petition
On July 8, 1775, the colonies made a final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). It was rejected by Parliament, which in December 1775 passed the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies.
The Nullification Crisis
A sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by the Ordinance of Nullification, an attempt by the state of South Carolina to nullify a federal law - the tariff of 1828 - passed by the United States Congress.
The Great Awkening (1730-1740)
Religious movement in the colonies which stressed religious emotion was more important than outward religious behavior
Sharecropping
A system used on southern farms after the Civil War in which farmers worked land owned by someone else in return for a small portion of the crops.
Dred Scott Case
A Missouri slave sued for his freedom, claiming that his four year stay in the northern portion of the Louisiana Territory made free land by the Missouri Compromise had made him a free man. The U.S, Supreme Court decided he couldn't sue in federal court because he was property, not a citizen.
Adams-Onis Treaty (1819)
Spain ceded Florida to the United States and gave up its claims to the Oregon Territory
Manifest Destiny
A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent, from the Atlantic the Pacific. (President Polk)
Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
Decision that established the precedent that the Supreme Court could rule a state law unconstitutional
Cohens V. Virgina (1821)
Ruled that state court decisions are subject to review by the Supreme Court.
Gibbions v Ogden (1824)
Supreme Court case ruling that gave Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
The Supreme Court upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the federal bank using the Constitution's supremacy clause. The Court's broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers
The Enlightenment
A movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions.
New England Colonies
The term for the colonies of Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Made to seperate from issues of corrupt political offiicles
A Royal Colony
A colony under the direct control of a monarch
Proprietor Colony
A colony given to an individual by the king of England
Self-governing Colony
Colony allowed to self-govern. (Connecticut, Rhode Island)
Joint Stock Colony
Colony controlled by a business (jamestown controlled by the london company)
The Whig Party
An American political party formed in the 1830s to oppose President Andrew Jackson and the Democrats, stood for protective tariffs, national banking, and federal aid for internal improvements and favored the idea of a weak president and a strong Congress.
The Free-soil Party
a political party formed in 1848 to oppose the extension of slavery into U.S. territories
The Know-nothing Party
Political party of the 1850s that was anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant
Willaim Henry Harrison
Elected President in 1840 but died just a month after his inauguration and was a renowned soldier and popular national figure.
Lincoln's Spot Resolution
Offered in House of Representative by Abraham Lincoln (Whig) requested Polk to provide congress with the exact location "the spot" upon which blood was spilt on American soil, as Polk had claimed in 1846 when asking congress to declare war on Mexico.
Peter Zenger Trial
Newspaper publisher; put on trial for criticizing the government; established precedence that government can be criticized if accusations are true. Freedom of the press.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798)
Statements authored secretly by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Resolutions asserted the right of states to veto federal legislation.
The Freeman's bureau
Created in 1865 to help freedmen adjust. Provided education, hospitals, etc. Resented by white South.
The Republican Party
1854 - anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats, Free Soilers and reformers from the Northwest met and formed party in order to keep slavery out of the territories
The Democratic Party
One of the two major U.S political party; founded in 1828 by Andrew Jackson to support a decentralized government and state's rights and slavery
Commonwealth v. Hunt
(1842) a landmark ruling of the MA Supreme Court establishing the legality of labor unions and the legality of union workers striking if an employer hired non-union workers.
Albany Plan of Union
plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the Crown
Triangle Trade System
the trading system between the Americas, England and Africa; Africa would give slaves and rum to the Americas, including the West Indies; America would offer timber, tobacco, fish, and flour; England would mainly process and ship back
12th Amendment (1804)
Changes procedure for electing President and Vice-President
The Corupt Bargain
Ocurred in electon of 1824. When the house of representatuves chose John Quincy Adams as president instead of Andrew Jackson his supporters said it was a corupt bargain.(Henry Clay caused)
Second Great Awakening
A second religious fervor that swept the nation. It converted more than the first. It also had an effect on moral movements such as prison reform, the temperance movement, and moral reasoning against slavery.
Wilmot Proviso
1846 proposal that outlawed slavery in any territory gained from the War with Mexico
The Compromise of 1877
Deal that settled the 1876 presidential election contest between Rutherford Hayes (Rep) & Samuel Tilden (Dem.); Hayes was awarded presidency in exchange for the permanent removal of fed. troops from the South--> ended Reconstruction
Compromise of 1850
(1) California admitted as free state, (2) territorial status and popular sovereignty of Utah and New Mexico, (3) resolution of Texas-New Mexico boundaries, (4) federal assumption of Texas debt, (5) slave trade abolished in DC, and (6) new fugitive slave law; advocated by Henry Clay and Stephen A. Douglas
Battle of Saratoga (1777)
A multistage battle in New York ending with the surrender of British general John Burgoyne. The victory ensured the diplomatic success of American representatives in Paris, who won a military alliance with France.