US HISTORY REVIEW REGENTS 2

Mayflower Compact

A document written by the Pilgrims establishing themselves as a political society and setting guidelines for self-government

Virginia House of Burgesses

First representative government in the colonies

Mercantilism

Economic system where raw materials were sent to the mother company to be manufactured into goods and purchased by the colonies

Common Sense

1776: a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that claimed the colonies had a right to be an independent nation

John Locke

1632 to 1704: he believed that people had natural rights to life, liberty and property

Declaration of Independence

1776: a statement issued by the Second Continental Congress, explaining why the colonies wanted independence from Britain

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

U.S. Constitution

A document written by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that established a national government in the United States

Bicameral Legislature

a lawmaking body with 2 houses - the Senate and the House of Representatives

Virginia Plan

The idea that representation in legislature should be based on population; giving the larger states an advantage

New Jersey Plan

"Small state plan" at the Constitutional Convention that claimed each state should represented equally in the legislature

Great Compromise

A compromise that proposed two houses of Congress: one in which representation is based on population (House of Representatives), and another in which all states have an equal number of representatives (Senate)

3/5 Compromise

Each slave would count for 3/5 of a person for taxation and representation purposes

Legislative Branch
(Senate & House of Representatives)

Branch of government that makes the laws

Executive Branch
(President)

Branch of government that enforces the laws

Judicial Branch
(Supreme Court)

Branch of government that decides if laws are carried out fairly

Federalists

A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures

Anti-federalists

People who opposed the constitution/strong federal government

Bill of Rights

a statement of fundamental rights and privileges (especially the first ten amendments to the Constitution)

Unwritten Constitution

Political practices that are followed, but are not part of the actual Constitution. Examples include political parties, judicial review, and the Presidential Cabinet.

22nd Amendment

Created a 2-term limit on presidents

Alien and Sedition Acts

Acts passed by federalists giving the government power to imprison or deport foreign citizens and prosecute critics of the government

Thomas Jefferson

An American Founding Father who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and later served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809

Marbury V. Madison

Established concept of judicial review, first time supreme court declared something 'unconstitutional'

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Separation of Powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law

Reserved Powers

Powers that belong to the state governments

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

Elastic Clause

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which allows Congress to make all laws that are "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers of the Constitution

George Washington's Farewell Address

He advised the nation to stay away from permanent alliances with foreign nations and to stay away from political parties

Missouri Compromise

"Compromise of 1820" over the issue of slavery in Missouri. It was decided that Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine entered as a free state and all states North of the 36th parallel were free states and all South were slave states.

Compromise of 1850

North-South agreement that added California as a free state, NM and Utah based on popular sovereignty

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 - Created Nebraska and Kansas as states and gave the people in those territories the right to chose to be a free or slave state through popular sovereignty

Popular Sovereignty

Notion that the people of a territory should determine if they want to be a slave state or a free state

Sectionalism

Loyalty to one's own region of the country, rather than to the nation as a whole such as the North and South before and during the Civil War

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Powerful novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that made Americans aware of the harsh and inhumane conditions of slavery

Abolitionist Movement

the movement concentrated on ending slavery in the United States

Dred Scott Decision

Supreme Court case which ruled that slaves are not citizens but are property, affirmed that property cannot be interfered with by Congress, slaves do not become free if they travel to free territories or states

Differences between North and South

NORTH: more factories that created weapons, tents, uniforms, preserved foods, did not have slavery. SOUTH: agricultural and grew cash crops, few factories, used slaves, had ports for shipping goods

Lincoln's Election

Republicans nominate him, he wins 40% of vote and wins enough electoral votes (none in south). The south becomes so angry that the lower south secedes and creates the Confederate States of America

Secession

Act of formally withdrawing from the Union such as when South Carolina seceded after Lincoln's election

Grant/Lee

Grant commanded the Union Army and Lee commanded the Confederate Army

Battle of Gettysburg

1863- General Lee led the Confederate troops into Pennsylvania. He surprised the units in Gettysburg and the battle was the most crucial and bloodiest of the war. The victory at Gettysburg belonged to Lincoln and the Union. Turning point; last offensive attack of the South

Emancipation Proclamation

Order issued by President Lincoln that freed the slaves in areas rebelling against the Union

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union

Radical Republican

After the Civil War, a group that believed the South should be harshly punished and thought that Lincoln was sometimes too compassionate towards the South

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery

14th Amendment

Declared that all persons born in the US were citizens, that all citizens were entitled to equal rights, and their rights were protected by due process

15th Amendment

Citizens cannot be denied the right to vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States, A Southerner form Tennessee, as V.P. when Lincoln was killed, he became president. He opposed radical Republicans who passed Reconstruction Acts over his veto. The first U.S. president to be impeached, he survived the Senate removal by only one vote.

Black Codes

Laws denying most legal rights to newly freed slaves; passed by southern states following the Civil War

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites

Plessy V. Ferguson

Supreme Court ruling that separate but equal facilities are constitutional

Freedmen's Bureau

1865 - Agency set up to aid former slaves in adjusting themselves to freedom. It furnished food and clothing to needy blacks and helped them get jobs.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacy organization that intimidated blacks out of their newly found liberties

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. The arrangement was not much better than slavery.

Poll Tax

A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote

Literacy Test

A test administered as a prerequisite for voting, often used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote

Grandfather Clause

Law that excused a voter from a literacy test if his father or grandfather had been eligible to vote on January 1, 1867

Compromise of 1877

Ended Reconstruction. Republicans promise 1) Remove military from South, 2) Appoint Democrat to cabinet (David Key postmaster general), 3) Federal money for railroad construction and levees on Mississippi river

Manifest Destiny

A notion held by 19th-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent, from the Atlantic the Pacific.

Northwest Ordinance

1787 law that set up a government for the Northwest Territory and a plan for admitting new states to the Union

Oregon Territory

Territory of Oregon, Washington, and portions of what became British Columbia, Canada; land claimed by both U.S. and Britain and held jointly under the Convention of 1818

Louisiana Purchase

1803 purchase of the Louisiana territory from France. Made by Jefferson, this doubled the size of the US.

Andrew Jackson

The seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), who as a general in the War of 1812 defeated the British at New Orleans (1815). As president he increased the presidential powers.

Homestead Act

1862: Provided free land in the West to anyone willing to settle there and develop it. Encouraged westward migration.

Indian Removal Act

1830: a congressional act that authorized the removal of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River

Trust

A group of corporations that unite in order to reduce competition and control prices in a business or an industry

Industrialists

person whose wealth comes from the ownership of industrial businesses and who favors government policies that support industry

Robber Barons

Negative term used to describe large businessmen of the late 1800's because of the fact that they used ruthless practices to destroy competition and took advantage of workers

Captains of Industry

A name given company owners such as Carnegie and Rockefeller by people who believed they steered the economy into prosperity

Railroads

Were essential to westward expansion because they made it easier to travel to and live in the west

John Rockefeller

Captain of industry that created a monopoly in oil refineries

Andrew Carnegie

Captain of industry in charge of steel production

J.P. Morgan

Banker that controlled 2/3 of the rail roads and eventually merged into the steel industry. Bought Carnegie's steel company and formed US Steel Company.

Social Darwinism

The belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle

Laissez-Faire

Hands off approach to government intervention in business

Labor Unions

An organization formed by workers to strive for better wages and working conditions

Strikes

Workers refuse to work until owners improve conditions

Collective Bargaining

Process by which a union representing a group of workers negotiates with management for a contract

Corporations

businesses that are owned by many investors who buy shares of stock

Socialism

A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production

Monopolies

Corporations that gain complete control of the production of a single good or service

Philanthropist

Lover of humanity; person active in promoting human welfare

Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)

an 1890 law that banned the formation of trusts and monopolies in the United States

Old Immigrants

came from Northern and Western Europe

New Immigrants

came from Southern and Eastern Europe; were viewed as inferior by old immigrants

Nativism

A policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born ones

Urbanization

An increase in the percentage and number of people living in urban settlements

Samuel Gompers

He was the creator of the American Federation of Labor. He provided a stable and unified union for skilled workers.

Theodore Roosevelt

26th President of the United States, known for: conservationism, trust-busting, safe food regulations, "Square Deal," Panama Canal, "big stick" policy

Treaty of Paris

agreement signed by British and American leaders that stated the United States of America was a free and independent country

Philippines

After decades of nationalist resistance against the Spanish (and violent repression of activists) this Pacific Island nation proudly declared independence in 1898. But the Spanish had handed control over to the USA, who had no plans to recognize their independence.

Panama Canal

a ship canal 40 miles long across the Isthmus of Panama built by the United States (1904-1914)

Monroe Doctrine

an American foreign policy opposing interference in the Western hemisphere from outside powers

Roosevelt Corollary

Roosevelt's 1904 extension of the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the United States has the right to protect its economic interests in South and Central America by using military force

Platt Amendment

Allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba and gave the United States control of the naval base at Guantanamo Bay

William Taft

27th president of the U.S.; he angered progressives by moving cautiously toward reforms and by supporting the Payne-Aldrich Tariff; he lost Roosevelt's support and was defeated for a second term

Dollar Diplomacy

Foreign policy idea by Taft to make countries dependent on the U.S. by heavily investing in their economies

Woodrow Wilson

28th president of the United States, known for World War I leadership, created Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Clayton Antitrust Act, progressive income tax, lower tariffs, women's suffrage (reluctantly), Treaty of Versailles, sought 14 points post-war plan, League of Nations (but failed to win U.S. ratification), won Nobel Peace Prize