Chapter 2: Roots of the U.S. Constitution and Related Voting Rights History

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, events, and concepts from the notes on voting rights, the founding era, and the origins of the U.S. Constitution.

Twenty-Sixth Amendment (1971)

Amendment guaranteeing the right to vote for U.S. citizens 18 years of age and older in all national elections; ratified in 1971, making 18-year-olds eligible to vote nationwide after prior court and legislative actions left local voting ages variable.

Oregon v. Mitchell (1970)

Supreme Court decision holding that Congress could not set a uniform national voting age for state and local elections; allowed states to set their own ages for those elections, creating the two-age registration problem prior to the 26th Amendment.

Albany Plan of Union

Early proposal (1754) by Benjamin Franklin for a unified colonial government; rejected by the colonies but influenced later federal structures such as the Articles of Confederation.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that a nation’s wealth is built by exporting more than it imports and by strong government control of trade; Britain enforced strict trade controls on the colonies under this system.

Sugar Act (1764)

British law imposing duties on sugar and other goods to raise revenue in the colonies, contributing to colonial protests.

Stamp Act (1765)

Tax requiring stamps on paper items; sparked widespread protest and the Stamp Act Congress; central grievance of “no taxation without representation.”

Quartering Act (1765)

Law requiring colonists to provide housing and provisions for British troops stationed in America.

Stamp Act Congress (1765)

Gathering of representatives from nine colonies in New York to articulate Crown grievances and argue that Parliament lacked authority to tax without colonial representation.

Sons of Liberty

Loose network of colonial protestors who organized resistance to British policies, including boycotts and demonstrations.

Daughters of Liberty

Women’s group supporting colonial resistance through manufacturing, spinning, and boycott efforts.

Boston Massacre (1770)

Clash in which British soldiers killed five colonists, including Crispus Attucks; became a powerful propaganda tool fostering anti-British sentiment.

Tea Act (1773)

Act granting a monopoly to the East India Company to sell tea in the colonies, undercutting colonial merchants and prompting resistance.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Colonists dumped taxed tea into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act and monopoly arrangements.

Coercive Acts / Intolerable Acts (1774)

British punitive measures against Massachusetts, including the Boston Harbor blockade and reinforced Quartering Act, escalating colonial tensions.

Committees of Correspondence (1772)

networks across the colonies to share information about British actions and coordinate responses.

First Continental Congress (1774)

Decentralized assembly of delegates from twelve colonies in Philadelphia; produced resolutions opposing the Coercive Acts and a Declaration of Rights and Resolves; planned boycott.

Olive Branch Petition (1775)

Petition to King George III requesting an end to hostilities; rejected by the King, signaling a move toward open conflict.

Lexington and Concord (1775)

First armed conflicts of the American Revolution; the shot heard 'round the world; Minutemen fought British forces as war began.

Second Continental Congress (1775)

Continental Congress that managed the war effort; named George Washington commander-in-chief; drafted the Olive Branch Petition and ultimately supported independence.

Common Sense (1776)

Pamphlet by Thomas Paine advocating independence; widely read and influential in swaying public opinion toward breaking from Britain.

Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution (1776)

Resolution proposing that the United Colonies are free and independent states, and that connection with Britain be dissolved; sparked debate and moved toward independence.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Document drafted by the Committee of Five led by Thomas Jefferson; proclaimed the colonies’ independence from Britain; adopted July 4, 1776.

Committee of Five

Group (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston) charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson

Primary author of the Declaration of Independence and a member of the Committee of Five; later third U.S. president.

Bill of Rights (1791)

First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing fundamental rights and addressing Anti-Federalist concerns; ratified in 1791.

Articles of Confederation

The first U.S. constitution establishing a loose confederation of states with a weak central government; replaced by the current Constitution due to its weaknesses.