US History Regents Vocabulary

Natural Rights

The idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property

John Locke

This English philosophe argued that all men were born with natural rights and that a government's purpose was to protect these rights

Colonial Self Government

Representive bodies such as colonial assemblies were a common feature of the government structure

Mayflower Compact

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

New England Town Meetings

Democratic style of government. Towns and cities grew around gathering places, and allowed mass participation in politics.

House of Burgesses

The first representative assembly in the American Colonies

Peter Zenger's Trial

Arrested in 1794 for printing false stories of the governor of New York, Zenger won case which was a landmark victory for freedom of the press in America

Albany Plan

Proposal by Benjamin Franklin to create one government for the 13 colonies

Slave Trade

The business of capturing, transporting, and selling people as slaves

Salutary Neglect

Idea that the colonies benefited by being left alone, without too much British interference

Taxation Without Representation

The colonists were angry because they had to pay taxes to England but they did not get to have a representative in the English Parliament.

Declaration of Independence

The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence.

Articles of Confederation

The document that created the first central government for the United States; it was replaced by the Constitution in 1789

Constitutional Convention

Meeting of delegates in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, which produced the new U.S. Constitution

Virginia Plan

Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population

New Jersey Plan

The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population

Great Compromise

Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and representation based on population in the other house.

3/5 Compromise

The decision at the Constitutional convention to count slaves as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of deciding the population and determining how many seats each state would have in Congress

Ratification of the Constitution

Changing the constitution to meet needs of society

Federalist

A member of a former political party in the United States that favored a strong centralized federal government

Antifederalist

Name given to those who were against the ratification of the Constitution

Federalist Papers

Series of essays that defended the Constitution and tried to reassure Americans that the states would not be overpowered by the federal government.

Bill of Rights

A statement of fundamental rights and privileges (especially the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution)

Popular Sovereignty

People hold the final authority in all matters of government

Limited Government

Basic principle of American government which states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away

Separation of Powers

The division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government

Legislative Branch

The branch of government that makes the laws.

Senate

The upper house of the United States Congress

House of Representatives

Lower house of congress based on state population

Executive Branch

the branch of government that carries out laws

Electoral College

the body of electors who formally elect the United States president and vice-president

Chief Executive

The president

Chief Diplomat

the role of the president in recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, and effecting executive agreements

Commander In Chief

term for the president as commander of the nation's armed forces

Judicial Branch

The branch of government that interprets laws

Checks & Balances

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

Presidential Veto

a president's authority to reject a bill passed by Congress; may only be overridden by a two-thirds majority in each house

2/3 Override

When the president vetoes a bill it is sent back to congress, all of congress votes together if 2/3 vote to pass it, it becomes a law.

Elastic Clause

the part of the Constitution that permits Congress to make any laws "necessary and proper" to carrying out its powers

Necessary & Proper Clause

Constitutional clause that gives congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" for executing its powers

Amendment Process

the way in which changes are added to the Constitution

Federalism

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

Delegated Powers

Powers specifically given to the federal government by the US Constitution, for example, the authority to print money.

Implied Powers

powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution

Concurrent Powers

powers that are shared by both the federal and state governments

Reserved Powers

Powers not specifically granted to the federal government or denied to the states belong to the states and the people

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.

Cabinet

persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers

Lobbyists

people who represent special interest groups in government

Political Parties

groups of people who organize to help elect government officials and influence government policies

Judicial Review

the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments unconstitutional

Washington's Farewell Address

Warned Americans not to get involved in European affairs, not to make permanent alliances, not to form political parties and to avoid sectionalism.

Hamiltons Financial Plan

The government would take the debt of the nations and the states debt, make a national bank, and tax higher (which was the only one that did not pass thru congress)

National Bank

Hamilton's big idea; fiercely opposed by Jefferson and Democratic-Rep. The bank would regulate money and draw investors; showed that the constitution could be construed in many a way.

Whiskey Rebellion

a 1794 protest over a tax on all liquor made and sold in the United States

Alien and Sedition Acts

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

XYZ Affair

A 1797 incident in which French officials demanded a bribe from U.S. diplomats

Federalist Party

wanted a strong federal government and supported industry and trade

Democratic Republicans

political party which favored states rights and weaker national government

Marshall Court

Chief Justice John Marshall; established the power of the federal government over the states; supremacy clause; supported by McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden

Chief Justice John Marshall

a Federalist whose decisions on the U.S. Supreme Court promoted federal power over state power and established the judiciary as a branch of government equal to the legislative and executive

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin

machine that separates the seeds from raw cotton fibers, helped keep southern states the land of slavery

War of 1812

a war (1812-1814) between the United States and England which was trying to interfere with American trade with France

Monroe Doctrine

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

American System

it advocated a strong banking system, protective tariffs and internal improvements

Spoils System

the system of employing and promoting civil servants who are friends and supporters of the group in power

Tariff of Abominations

Tariff passed by Congress in 1828 that favored manufacturing in the North and was hated by the South

Bank War

Andrew Jackson's attack on the Second Bank of the United States

Indian Removal Act

removed indians from southern states and put them on reservations in the midwest

Trail of Tears

The tragic journey of the cherokee people from their home land to indian territory between 1838 and 1839, thousands of cherokees died.

Abolition

Movement to end slavery

John Brown's Raid

an arsenal was taken over in Harpers Farry Virginia to give weapons to give to slaves in hopes to start a rebellion.

Convention at Seneca Falls

feminists met in 1848 in new york where staunton read the declaration of sentiments.

Declaration of Sentiments

declared that all "people are created equal"; used the Declaration of Independence to argue for women's rights

Uncle Toms Cabin

a novel published by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 which portrayed slavery as brutal and immoral

Northwest Ordinance

Enacted in 1787, it is considered one of the most significant achievements of the Articles of Confederation. It established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could eventually join the Union on an equal footing with the original 13 states.

Louisiana Purchase

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

Adams Onis Treaty

Agreement in which Spain gave up all of Florida to the United States

Mexican Cession

Lands sold by Mexico to the US following the Mexican War

Gadsden Purchase

purchase of land from mexico in 1853 that established the present U.S.-mexico boundary

Missouri Compromise

an agreement in 1820 between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States concerning the extension of slavery into new territories

Compromise of 1850

agreement over slavery by which California joined the Union as a free state and a strict fugitive slave law was passed

Kansas Nebraska Act

An act made to decide if the Kansas-Nebraska territory would be slave or free by popular sovereignty. The dispute strengthened the rift between the north and south states.

Bloody Kansas

Riots in Kansas before their election, fighting between slave owners and abolitionists

States' Rights

the belief that an individual state may restrict federal authority

Sectionalism

loyalty to one's own region of the country, rather than to the nation as a whole

Slavery

work done under harsh conditions for little or no pay

Secession

formal separation from an alliance or federation

Suspension of Habeas Corpus

Lincoln suspended this writ, which states that a person cannot be arrested without probable cause and must be informed of the charges against him and be given an opportunity to challenge them. Throughout the war, thousands were arrested for disloyal acts. Although the U.S. Supreme Court eventually helped the suspension edict to be unconstitutional, by the time the Court acted the Civil War was nearly over.

Emancipation Proclamation

issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, it declared that all slaves in the rebellious Confederate states would be free

Lincoln's Plan for Reconstruction

10% of citizens take loyalty oath gains readmission to union

Radical Republican Plan for Reconstruction

To ratify the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment passed, military rule in the south

Tenure of Office Act

1866 - enacted by radical congress - forbade president from removing civil officers without senatorial consent - was to prevent Johnson from removing a radical republican from his cabinet

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Johnson was impeached for the charge of High Crimes and Misdemeanors on February 24, 1868 of which one of the articles of impeachment was violating the Tenure of Office Act. He had removed Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, from office and replaced him with Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas

Scalawags

southern whites who supported republican policy throught reconstruction

Carpetbaggers

northern whites who moved to the south and served as republican leaders during reconstruction

13th, 14th & 15th Amendment

end slavary, citizenship, right to vote for all males (blacks became included from these)

Scandalous Grant Administration

reconstruction symbolized corruption, greed, legislatures taxed and spent heavily, white southerners regained control of state governments

Election of 1876

Ended reconstruction because neither canidate had an electorial majority. Hayes was elected, and then ended reconstruction as he secretly promised

Black Codes

Southern laws designed to restrict the rights of the newly freed black slaves