US History Midterm Review

European Age of Exploration

The term "Age of Exploration" refers to the timeperioid when people from Europe explored the world from the 1400's-1700's

The conquistadores

Spanish 'conqueror' or soldier in the New World. They were searching for the 3-G's: gold, God, and glory.

Joint Stock Companies

businesses formed by groups of people who jointly make an investment and share in the profits and losses

The Mayflower Compact can be best described as

a promising step toward genuine self-government

The Middle Passage refers to

the slaves' perilous journey to America across the Atlantic Ocean

Mercantilist System

Economic theory that colonies exist to benefit the "Mother Country" in which trade controlled in that colonies could only trade with Britain and use British ships

Triangular Trade System

Complex trading system that developed in this era between Europe, Africa, and the colonies; Europeans purchased slaves in Africa and sold them to the colonies, raw materials from the colonies went to Europe, while European finished products were sold in the colonies.

French and Indian War (Seven Years' War)

Nine-year war between the British and the French in North America. It resulted in the expulsion of the French from the North American mainland and helped spark the Seven Years' War in Europe.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

powerful pamphlet telling the colonists to break free. British were trying to destroy colonies' natural rights. Government is there to protect life liberty and property. Power came from people, not kings. Colonies don't benefit from British Empire.

"All men would be tyrants if they could"

Abigail Adams

Bacon Rebellion supported mainly by

Armed rebellion in Virginia against Governor William Berkeley, who had the support of the British government. Forces from England came to Virginia to suppress the resistance and reform the colonial government to one that was more directly under royal control.

Navigation Acts

Acts passed in 1660 passed by British parliament to increase colonial dependence on Great Britain for trade; limited goods that were exported to colonies; caused great resentment in American colonies.

Task system of slavery

A way of organizing slave labor. Masters and overseers of rice and indigo plantations generally assigned individual slaves a daily task, and after its completion, slaves could spend the rest of the day engaged in pursuits of their own choosing.

Indentured Servants

Colonists who received free passage to North America in exchange for working without pay for a certain number of years.

servitude, slavery

Refers to the phenomena following Bacon's Rebellion, when white landowners in the American colonies began importing black slaves instead of white indentured servants to prevent further revolts (blacks, unlike whites, could not own weapons). This marks the beginning of the racialization of the American labor market.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Ended French and Indian War, France lost Canada, land east of the Mississippi, to British, New Orleans and west of Mississippi to Spain

The Proclamation of 1763

A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalacian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east.

Stamp Act of 1765

required colonists to pay for an official stamp when buying paper items

Townshend Acts (1767)

*Provisions:*Imposed a tax - to be paid at American ports - on items produced in Britain & sold in the colonies, including paper, glass, lead, paint, & tea. Suspended the New York Assembly for refusing to provide British troops with supplies. Established an American Board of Customs & admiralty courts to hear cases of smuggling. Issued Writs of Assistance. *Historical Significance:* Led to a boycott of British goods, the Circular Letters, John Dickinson's "Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer," and unrest in Boston.

John Locke

English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; also said people have natural rights to life, liberty and property.

"Give me liberty or give me death"

From a speech by Patrick Henry urging American colonies to revolt against England.

Battle of Bunker Hill

First major battle of the Revolutions. It showed that the Americans could hold their own, but the British were also not easy to defeat. Ultimately, the Americans were forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition, and Bunker Hill was in British hands. However, the British suffered more deaths.

Alliance with France

Critical diplomatic, military, and economic alliance between France and the newly independent United States in their fight for independence against Britain.

Victory at Saratoga

American victory, a major turning point in the war. It ended the British threat to New England, it boosted American spirits. Important: it convinced France to become an ally of the United States.

Battle of Yorktown

Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781.

Treaty of Paris 1783

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River

Articles of Confederation weaknesses

Lacked Executive and Judicial branches, lacked power to tax and regulate trade

Articles of Confederation strengths

Kept the colonies united during the Revolution

Organized the Northwest Territory

Northwest Territory

a region of the United States bounded by the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the Great Lakes. The region was given to the United States by the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Shay's Rebellion

In Massachusetts, the government wanted to pay off its debt quickly. They decided to raise revenue by raising taxes over sixty percent and enforcing the payment of debts and taxes harshly. A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of angry farmers. The rebellion convinced thousands of needing a strong national government

Elastic Clause (Necessary and Proper Clause)

The clause in Article I, Section 8, that grants Congress the power to do whatever is necessary to execute its specifically delegated powers.

Delegates

A person who is chosen or elected to represent a person or group

Structure of the Articles of Confederation

neglected the principle "separation of powers" because it did not create a separate judicial branch

Federalism

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

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption.

concurrent powers

Powers held jointly by the national and state governments.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments to the Constitution; major source of civil liberties; applies to states via selective incorporation doctrine; promised to Anti-Federalists to secure ratification of Constitution

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Electoral College System

The system responsible for electing the president. The number of delegates in each state is the sum of their representatives and senators. This system was instituted because the Framers feared that direct election of the president would lead to mob rule.

Unlike Hamilton, Jefferson believed that the nation's economy should be based on

Farming / Agriculture

Legislative Branch

Branch of government that makes the laws

Judicial Branch

Branch of government that decides if laws are carried out fairly.

"Turning Point of the Revolutionary War"

The Battle of Saratoga because it convinced France to officially join the American cause against Great Britain, leading to millions of dollars in supplies and eventual victory at Yorktown.

bundle of compromises

This referred to the fact that the Constitution was trying to please everybody. (Great Compromise; 3/5 compromise; method of electing president; regulation of slave trade)

Bill of Rights, 1791

The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed to assuage the fears of Anti-Federalists

3/5 Compromise

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

New Jersey Plan

A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new congress

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