US History Mid Terms MMS

The economic system of Europe in the 1500's and 1600's,which favored a balance of exports over imports and included the belief that colonies should benefit the home country by supplying raw materials and providing markets for finished goods.

Mercantilism

first permanent English settlement established by Virginia Company

Jamestown

Jamestown, Virginia, first permanent English settlement established by Virginia Company. John Smith helped them through the "starving time" by enacting military rule. John Rolfe introduced tobacco, which also helped them succeed.

1607

An aversion to the Church of England. Lead by Parson Richard Clyfton, these Separatists thought the Church of England had lost its way; so much so that they believed the Church was beyond repair.

Pilgrims

a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries, including, but not limited to, English Calvinists.

Puritans

are members of a family of religious movements collectively known as the Religious Society of Friends.

Quakers

Established Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers, believed in religious freedom and opposed warfare, wanted fair treatment for Native Americans. Attracted different ethnic groups because of their tolerant attitudes.

William Penn

refers to a period of cultural and biological exchanges between the New and Old Worlds. Exchanges of plants, animals, diseases and technology transformed European and Native American ways of life.

Colombian Exchange

A system of trading steps in colonial times in which each step exchanged one item for a more valuable one. One trade route might begin in New England with rum and iron sent to Africa, in exchange for slaves (middle passage) sent to the West Indies, where they were exchanged for sugar and molasses, which would go back to New England to make rum.

Triangular Trade

The business or process of procuring, transporting, and selling slaves, especially black Africans to the New World prior to the mid-19th century

Slave Trade

The cornerstone of English justice, signed in 1215 declaring the same law bound the king and government as other citizens of England.

Magna Carta

Drafted by the Pilgrims in 1620, it declared that the 4l males who signed it would abide by majority rule and follow the voluntary government set up for Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Mayflower Compact

Jamestown, Virginia. First representative government in the colonies and used as a model by other colonies

Virginia House of Burgesses

First written constitution in the American colonies that set a precedent for written constitutions in the colonies.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Passed in 1689 to limit the power of the monarchy and to establish a system of government in which the people and the parliament share power with the monarchy.

English Bill of Rights

the highest legislature, consisting of the sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons.

Parliament

A government in which power is held by the people and exercised through the efforts of representatives elected by the people

Representative government

White men that owned land were allowed to vote.

Voting Rights

an early English philosopher who lived during the time of the Glorious Revolution. He was a natural rights philosopher who believed in the protection of individual rights including life, liberty and property. He believed that the people create government .He argued if that government does not protect the people's rights; the people have a right to revolt.

John Locke

German immigrant who printed a publication called The NEW YORK WEEKLY JOURNAL. This publication harshly pointed out the actions of the corrupt royal governor, WILLIAM S. COSBY. It accused the government of rigging elections and allowing the French enemy to explore New York harbor.

John Peter Zenger Trial

series of laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between Britain and its colonies. They began in 1651 and ended 200 years later.

Navigation Acts

a crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower.

Cash Crop

System of large-scale agriculture in the Southern colonies. Production is a cash crop such as rice, tobacco, cotton, and indigo and depends on slave labor.

Plantation System

Movement in the 1730's and 1740's in response to the strict teachings of the Puritans. The Great Awakening preached personal salvation by good works and encouraged men and women to take an active role in their own personal salvation.

First Great Awakening

Armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginian settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor Berkley

Bacon's Rebellion

the most devastating war between the Native Americans in New England. This war is named for King Phillip, son of Massoit and chief of Wampanoag.

King Phillips War

A war between England and France for control of the Ohio Valley that began in the colonies in 1754. In 1763 the Treaty of Paris gave the British all lands east of the Mississippi River and eliminated France as a rival in North America.

French and Indian War

Proposal created to unify government for the 13 colonies suggested by Ben Franklin in July 1754 in New York.

Albany Plan of Union

Well known cartoon created by Ben Franklin and published first in the Pennsylvania Gazette. It encouraged the colonies to join as one and fight.

"Join or Die" Political Cartoon

Known for his many inventions, writing Poor Richard's Almanac, the Albany Plan, his famous Join or Die cartoon, the Declaration of Independence. He also served as an envoy to France during the American Revolution. He helped draft the Treaty of Paris at the end of The Revolutionary War, and was the oldest member at the Constitutional Convention.

Benjamin Franklin

1783, negotiation between the U.S and Great Britain, ended Revolutionary war and recognize independence; writers are John Adams, Ben Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson and Henry Laurens

Treaty of Paris

war that was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of elements of Native American tribes primarily from the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, and Ohio Country who were dissatisfied with British postwar policies in the Great Lakes

Pontiac's Rebellion

King George III issued a proclamation that forbade colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. In so doing, he hoped to placate Native Americans who had sided against him during the recently concluded Seven Years' War.

Proclamation of 1763

the first official form of popular representation founded in the American colonies prior to the Revolutionary War

Colonial Assembly

King George III forced soldiers into others houses so he did not have to pay for the soldiers. The people had to supply them with food shelter and clothes.

Quartering Act

The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed.

Stamp Act

a series of taxes and laws imposed upon the colonists. Placed a tax on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea.

Townshend Act

Its principal overt objective was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to help the struggling company survive.

Tea Act

American Patriots' name for a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea party. They were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in throwing a large tea shipment into Boston harbor.

Intolerable Acts

served as general search warrants that did not expire, allowing customs officials to search anywhere for smuggled goods without having to obtain a specific warrant.

Writs of Assistance

was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773.

Boston Tea Party

a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775-76 that inspired people in the Thirteen Colonies to declare and fight for independence from Great Britain in the summer of 1776.

Common Sense

Document adopted by the Second Continental Congress calling for the thirteen colonies to be free and independent. The document was written to explain to the world why the colonies were breaking away from Great Britain and to emphasize the power of the people to control their own government. Thomas Jefferson is given credit for most of the writing of the document.

Declaration of Independence

Those rights listed in the Declaration of Independence that cannot be taken away: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Unalienable Rights

July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress formally approved the Declaration of Independence.

1776

Crowned King during the French and Indian War. He took an aggressive policy with the colonists during the American Revolution. He struggled with mental illness and was not considered an effective leader.

King George III

His famous "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses clearly marked him as a man opposed to the tyrannical policies of England. Later refused to attend Constitutional Convention because he feared a strong central government.

Patrick Henry

an organization of dissidents that originated in the North American British colonies. The secret society was formed to protect the rights of the colonists and to take to the streets against the abuses of the British government.

Sons of Liberty

One of the most important rebels in the events leading to the American Revolution. He strongly opposed the taxation policies of England and helped organize the Sons of Liberty, the Committees of Correspondence and later supported the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.

Sam Adams

His pamphlet, Common Sense, inspired the colonists towards the idea of complete freedom from England and its monarchy. It encouraged people to want to break the ties and fight for independence. During a dark time in the war his pamphlet The American Crisis inspired the soldiers and encouraged enlistments in the Continental Army

Thomas Paine

First saw military duty during the French and Indian War and later became Commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolution. His leadership and success as the American General made him a natural choice as the nation's first President.

George Washington

writer of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson

French aristocrat who between 1776 and 1779 played an important role in the American Revolution. He became one of George Washington's most trusted advisors and helped win the battle at Yorktown to end the Revolutionary War.

Marquis de Lafayette

Considered the founder of the U.S. Navy. His famous quote, "I have not yet begun to fight", occurred when he commanded the Bonhomie Richard and defeated the British Serapes in battle.

John Paul Jones

the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge, near Boston.

Lexington and Concord

marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War.

Saratoga

General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War

Yorktown

The nation's first written plan of government was weak because the Congress lacked the power to tax, to regulate trade, or to control coining money. The states held most of the power. Instead of revising this plan a new constitution was written in 1787.

Articles of Confederation

This law established a system for governing the western territories so they could join the Union as equals to the original 13 states. When there are 60,000 inhabitants they could write a state constitution, which had to provide for a representative government and it prohibited slavery in the states applying for statehood.

Northwest Ordinance

an uprising that occurred in Massachusetts when William Shays infiltrated a navy weapon ship and used the guns on it to fight

Shays' Rebellion

Men or boys that were 18 years or older and owned land

Voting Right in 1780s

55 Delegates met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles, but instead they drafted, debated, compromised and wrote a new constitution.

1787

At this meeting to revise the Articles of Confederation the discussions were kept secret. Arguments over representation in Congress were solved by the Great Compromise, which provided for a bicameral legislature. There was a concern that the new government was too powerful and had no bill of rights to protect the citizens. These debates led to the development of Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Delaware was the first to ratify the Constitution, New Hampshire was the 9th to make it official, eventually all 13

approved once the Bill of Rights was approved.

Philadelphia Convention of 1787or Continental Convention

a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch. The plan was drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Virginia Plan

(also widely known as the Small State Plan or the Paterson Plan) was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787.

New Jersey Plan

one of the most important compromises reached during the drafting of the United States Constitution in 1787. The delegates were trying to figure out how each state would be represented in Congress.

Great Compromise

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia that year accepted a plan offered by James Madison determining a state's representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The issue of how to count slaves split the delegates into two groups.

Three Fifths Compromise

This term applies to individuals who played a major role in declaring U.S. independence, fighting the Revolutionary War, or writing and

adopting the U.S. Constitution. Includes Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and James Madison.

Founding Fathers

Citizens are obligated to be active, loyal, supportive members of

the community. Those with civic virtue take a more active role in improving the community and the experiences of others.

Civic Virtue

As a delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention he

delivered many speeches but then refused to sign the Constitution because it did not include a Bill of Rights.

George Mason

"Father of the Constitution" and author of the Bill of Rights. He

supported a strong central government that became the platform for the Federalist Party. Elected President in, 1808, he presided through the War of 1812 and escaped Washington D.C. in August 1814, when the British invaded and set the public buildings afire.

James Madison

These are a series of 85 essays written by James Madison,

Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to explain the new government under the Constitution and to convince states to ratify it.

Federalists Papers

Those favoring ratification of the Constitution and adoption of a strong federal government and those who opposed, feared the power of the national government. They wanted more protections for the rights of the states and the individual.

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

helped guarantee that the Anti-Federalists would vote in favor of the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists were concerned because the Constitution did not list any specific rights that were to be protected.

Role of Bill of Rights in Ratification

He was the Aide-De-Camp (personal assistant) to George Washington during the American Revolution. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 from New York. As a proponent of a strong central government, he was one of the authors of The Federalist Papers (essays that promoted the ratification of the Constitution). He was the first Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington, where he worked to pay off the country's war debts through his financial plan which included the assumption of state debts and creation of a national bank. He was the founder of the Federalist Party which is considered the first political party.

Alexander Hamilton

One of the foundations of the American system of government is the use of a written constitution defining the values and principles of

government and establishing limits of power. In over 200 years there have only been 27 amendments but it also adapted to the needs of generations of Americans through customs, traditions, and interpretations.

United States Constitution

is the distribution of power between a federal government and the states within a union.

Federalism

Everyone, including all authorities, must obey the laws. Constitutions and other laws, this defines the limits of those in power so they cannot take advantage of their elected or appointed positions.

Limited Government

This is a philosophy of limited government with elected

representatives serving at the will of the people. Says that the only legitimate government is one based on the consent of the governed.

Rupublicanism

The U.S. Constitution outlines the powers of the three branches. The legislative branch is the congress, which makes the laws. The

executive branch is the president, who carries out the laws with the help of the cabinet and agencies. The judicial branch consists of the courts, which interpret and apply the laws.

Separation of Powers

The U.S. Constitution authorizes each branch of government to share its powers with the other branches and thereby check their

activities and power. The President can veto legislation passed by Congress, but Congress can override the veto. The Senate confirms major appointments made by the President and the courts may declare acts passed by Congress as unconstitutional.

Checks and Balances

Many opposed the Constitution in 1787 because they believed it

did not offer adequate protection of individual rights. The Bill of Rights was created to correct this. As public opinion changes, more amendments have been added to free the slaves and protect their rights and to extend voting rights to women.

Individual Rights

This is the concept that political power rests with the people,

who express themselves through voting and participating in government. In the 1850s people in the territories would vote to decide if their state would be free or slave.

Popular Sovereignity

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States

Preamble

review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act.

Judicial Review

a statement in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.

Elastic Clause

a clause within Article VI of the U.S. Constitution which dictates that federal law is the "supreme law of the land".

Supremacy Clause

The first ten amendments to the Constitution were ratified in 1791.