Us history Unit 0

Constitution

the document that established the U.S. government and created three branches of government

Pilgrims

English Separatists who came to America in 1620 seeking religious freedom and founded Plymouth Colony

Great Compromise

an agreement that created a two-house Congress with representation based on population in the House and equal representation in the Senate

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher who believed people have natural rights and government gets its power from the people

Great Awakening

a religious revival in the American colonies during the 1730s and 1740s that emphasized personal faith

Native American contacts with Europeans

interactions involving trade

Federalism / Three Branches of Government

federalism divides power between federal and state governments

The Enlightenment

intellectual movement emphasizing reason

Declaration of Independence

document adopted in 1776 declaring the colonies independent from Britain and stating that people have unalienable rights

Geography of the 13 Colonies

the colonies were divided into New England

Puritans

English Protestants who wanted to reform the Church of England and settled mainly in New England

Articles of Confederation

the first U.S. government that created a weak central government and gave most power to the states

Thomas Paine

writer of Common Sense who encouraged colonists to support independence from Britain

Alexander Hamilton

Founding Father who supported a strong federal government and helped establish the nation's financial system

John Hancock

president of the Continental Congress who famously signed the Declaration of Independence with a large signature

Thomas Jefferson

primary author of the Declaration of Independence and supporter of natural rights and individual liberty

George Washington

commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and first U.S. president

Popular Sovereignty

the idea that government gets its power from the people

Unalienable Rights

rights that cannot rightfully be taken away

First Engagement of the Revolutionary War

Lexington and Concord

Loyalists

American colonists who remained loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution

Subsistence Farmers

farmers who grew mainly enough food to support themselves and their families

1860 Election Campaign

presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln won while opposing the expansion of slavery into the territories

James Buchanan

15th U.S. president whose presidency was marked by growing tensions over slavery and Southern secession

Abraham Lincoln

16th U.S. president who opposed the expansion of slavery and led the Union during the Civil War

Southern Advantages

advantages the Confederacy had during the Civil War

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's 1863 order declaring enslaved people in areas rebelling against the Union to be free

King Cotton Strategy

Confederate belief that Britain and France would support the South because they depended on Southern cotton

Consequences of Victory at Vicksburg

the Union gained control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two

Jefferson Davis

president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War

New York City Draft Riots of 1863

violent riots caused by opposition to the Civil War draft and increased tensions over class and slavery

General Winfield Scott

Union general who developed the Anaconda Plan to blockade the South and control the Mississippi River

1. Understand the slavery issue in regard to its relation to the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence established ideals of equality, liberty, and unalienable rights, but slavery contradicted those ideals because enslaved people were denied the very rights the Declaration claimed belonged to all people. This contradiction became increasingly important as Americans debated whether slavery could continue in a nation founded on the principle that “all men are created equal.”

Understand the points of view in Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis in regards to how both view the Union of the United States, one from the presidency and one from the confederate point of views.

1. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis had opposing views of the Union. Lincoln believed the United States was one nation and that the Union needed to be preserved. He rejected the idea that states could simply secede from the country. Jefferson Davis, however, supported the secession of the Southern states and became president of the Confederacy. From the Confederate perspective, Southern states had the right to leave the Union and govern themselves. Their opposing views of the Union were a major cause of the conflict that became the Civil War.