Origins of American Government and Independence Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards covering the roots of constitutional democracy, major acts and events leading to the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Magna Carta

The first example of rule of law that limited the power of the king for the first time for certain rights, establishing that no one is above the law.

Petition of Right

An English constitutional document associated with Charles I that placed limits on the powers of the monarch.

Civic virtue

A set of ideas about government that highly values citizen participation and putting the good of the republic over one's own needs or interests.

Separation of powers

The constitutional principle that government power must be divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

New England Confederation

An alliance between Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and New Haven that served as one of the first forms of colonial unity.

Stamp Act (1765)

A British parliamentary act that imposed a tax on all legal documents and paper goods in the American colonies.

Boston Massacre (1770)

A confrontation in which British soldiers fired into a group of colonial protesters, killing 5 people.

Committees of Correspondence (1772)

A system of organized secret letters employed throughout the colonies to create an information network and build unity.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

A protest where a group of colonists disguised as Native Americans boarded 3 British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

Intolerable Acts (1774)

A series of punitive British laws that closed Boston Harbor, ended all forms of self-rule in Massachusetts, and required the quartering of British troops in private homes.

First Continental Congress

A gathering of colonial delegates from all colonies except Georgia that sent a Declaration of Rights to King George III, seeking an end to taxation rather than independence.

Olive Branch Petition

A document sent by delegates of all colonies at the Second Continental Congress representing a last attempt for reconciliation with Britain.

Thomas Paine

The author of Common Sense, a political pamphlet that inspired widespread colonial support for independence.

Four parts of the Declaration of Independence

The Preamble, the Declaration for natural rights, the List of Grievances, and the Resolution for independence.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Structural defects including states not participating in Congress, inability to tax or borrow more money, no military, no judicial branch, and no national currency.

Shays' Rebellion

An uprising led by Daniel Shays over the imprisonment of farmers suffering from debt.