Civics LT 1.1. Study Guide

Royal Colony

mostly under the control of the king/queen of England through a royal governor

Proprietary Colony

privately owned, most were gifts from King Charles II, such as Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York

Joint-Stock Company

English merchants from the Virginia Company and the Plymouth Company and obtain land from the king to create colonies in America

This companies sold shares of stock to investors who were hoping to make a profit from colonization

Mercantilism

economic system of major trading nations where the government plays a large economic role

Goal = more EXPORTS than IMPORTS

What was the Triangular Trade?

a trade route that existed between Europe, Africa, and the American colonies

Slave Trade

economic trade of African slaves to the colonies of North America and South America

Middle Passage

voyage that slaves took across the Atlantic Ocean

Indentured Servants

Europeans who could not afford to pay their way to the colonies and agreed to allow someone else to pay their way and would work as a servant for them until they had paid off their debt

Religious Dissenters

Christians who separated themselves from the Church of England (Anglican Church) traveled to America and founded their own communities

What were some types of religious dissenters that escaped the Anglican Church?

Puritans, Catholics, Quakers

Bacon’s Rebellion

Virginia settlers attack Native Americans because the VA government refused to protect the colonists. Settlers refused to stop attacking the natives, as ordered by the VA government which furthered the fighting. Once he dies, most of the settlers stop the fighting but many natives had already been killed

1st Continental Congress

1774 meeting in Philadelphia of colonial representatives that send a letter to King George III demanding that he restore the rights of colonists

2nd Continental Congress

1775 meeting of representatives in Philadelphia; group spent months debating what actions to take concerning British rule; about half agree that independence from Britain was the best solution

“Shot Heard ‘Round the World”

in April of 1775 in the towns of Lexington and Concord British soldiers marched through to arrest rebel leaders. “The Redcoats are Coming” happened during this event to alert colonists that the British were coming. A shot was fired from one side but the British responded with a volley of shots killing and wounding 18 colonists

Declaration of Independence

written by Thomas Jefferson in the continental congress in 1776, this document listed the abuses of the king seen by the colonists and announced the colonies independence from Britain

Treaty of Paris

Britain acknowledges the U.S. as a free and independent nation

Borders of the U.S.:

• Canada (Great Britain) became the northern border

• Mississippi River (Spain) was the western border

• Florida (Spain) was the southern border

• Atlantic ocean was the eastern border

George Washington

general of the colonial army during the revolution

head of Constitutional Convention

1st president

Benjamin Franklin

colonial representative

helped write the Constitution

John adams

2nd president

Thomas Jefferson

author of Declaration of Independence

3rd president

Articles of Confederation

first Constitution of the U.S.

loose alliance of independent states

Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation

• Lack of power and money

  • Congress had no power to collect taxes

  • Congress had no power to regulate trade

  • Congress had no power to enforce laws

• Lack of central power

  • No single leader (president)

  • No national court system

  • Too much power to the states

• Rules too rigid

  • 9 of 13 states had to approve laws

  • Articles could not be changed without the consent of ALL 13 states

Shays’ Rebellion

hundreds of Massachusetts farmers led by Daniel Shays rebelled against the government in responded to raised taxes

the federal government had no power to put down the rebellion and the Massachusetts militia had to end the rebellion

the event showed the weaknesses of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation, and citizens began to call for a stronger national government

Land Ordinance of 1785

stated new territory would be surveyed and plotted before being available for sale

congress offered 640 acres for $640 ($1 per acre)N

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

created to organize and govern new western territories and create a process for new territories to become states

once a territory had a population of 6,000 they could draft a constitution and apply a statehood

The Settling of New Land

the U.S. had to develop a land policy for the settling of new territory west of the Appalachian Mountains