history march exam

Sectionalism

a rivalry or tension that develops between people who are loyal to their section or region of the country

Mayflower Compact

1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony

Master narrative

an incomplete, biased view of history that depicts all non-white citizens as immigrants, or the idea that one must be of European descent in order to be considered an American citizen

Colonists

people from England who settled in North America

Racist

any idea that suggests something is wrong or right, superior or inferior, better or worse about a racial group

Antiracist

any idea that suggests that racial groups are equals/people who love you because you're like you

Segregationist

people who think there is something wrong with Black people and try to get away from them

Assimilationist

believe there is something wrong with Black people as a group and that they can be changed for the better; people who try to transform Black people

Gomes Eanes de Zurara

first to publish racist ideas and defend black human ownership during the 1400s and inspired others to create more theories about African inferiority

Climate Theory

African origin theory that suggested that the heat in Africa made those who were born there less developed than other humans

Curse Theory

African origin theory that speculated that Ham violated Bible code and all of his descendants were cursed to be dark and symbols of trouble

John Cotton and Richard Mather

2 Puritans who spread spread Aristotle's beliefs of human hierarchy to the religious and educational systems in America; changed Aristotle's ideas to state that Puritans were superior to other groups; made it so Greek and Latin texts containing racist ideas were indisputable

White privileges

powers given to Whites to abuse Africans and made them exempt from crimes that Africans were punished for; created by Elite colonists to force division between Blacks and whites

Cotton Mather

elite colonist, grandson of John Cotton and Richard Mather, embellished recent suspicions about witchcraft in his book and provoked 1692 Salem Witch Hunt

Slave Codes

laws established after the slave population increased that stripped Africans of rights/opportunities and limited interaction between races

Ronald Takaki

writings focus on "different mirror", many underrepresented narratives + racial struggles

- mentioned the "sambo" smiling slave (!!!)

Howard Zinn

writings focus on social and economic class struggles

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

A rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon that raided American Indian villages and burned Jamestown after Governor Berkeley refused to take action against Native Americans

Declaration of Independence (written 1776)

Document created by Thomas Jefferson that outlined the reasons why America was justified to break political ties with Britain and become an independent nation

Natural Rights

Rights that people are born with and can never be taken away by anyone or any form of government:

Life, liberty, right to property, and the pursuit of happiness

Henry Clay

Known as the "Great Compromiser"; senator who pushed for compromise between the North and South and worked with Stephen Douglas; major figure in the passing of both the Missouri Compromise (1820) and Compromise of 1850

Social Contract

An agreement between the government and the people; the concept that a government gets power from the people to secure their rights, but the people can alter the government when it is not accomplishing this

Articles of Confederation (1781-89)

Form of government created after the Revolutionary War that allowed the states to be mostly independent and gave the central government little control

Shays's Rebellion (1786-87)

A revolt of Massachusetts farmers that attacked the state governments in a protest against high taxes, heavy debt, and rebelled against the state gov'ts for seizing farms from farmers who were unable to repay debt

Daniel Shays

leader of Shays's Rebellion

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

A law passed by Congress that set up a government in Northwest territory: guaranteed basic rights to white settlers, outlawed slavery, + provided a process for territory to become a state, created Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of MinnesotaF

Constitutional Convention (1787)

Meeting of delegates from most states that set out to revise the Articles of Confederation, but ultimately decided to create a new constitution

Virginia Plan

A proposal for a three-branch government with a two-house legislature, number of representatives were given to states based on their population; favored by larger states

New Jersey Plan

A proposal for a three-branch government with a one-house legislature, each state is given one vote; favored by smaller states

Great Compromise (1787)

Compromise of the VA and NJ Plans: proposed a 3 branch government with a 2-house legislature; House of Representatives replicates structure of VA Plan and Senate replicates structure of NJ Plan

House of Representatives

Lower House

Representatives elected by citizens

Representation is based on population

435 members

2 year term, no term limit

Senate

Upper house

Members originally elected by state legislatures

Members currently elected by citizens

Each state has two senators

100 members

6 year term, no term limit

3/5 Compromise

A compromise that counted slaves as 3/5 of a person for taxation and representation purposes

Roger Sherman

credited with the Great Compromise

Democracy

a system of government in which the people directly vote on issues

Presidential Power to Pardon

the ability of the president to absolve citizens of crimes

Republic

a system of government in which people vote to elect representatives to represent their interests

Veto

the ability of the President to reject a bill passed by Congress

Civic Republicanism

the tradition of encouraging citizen participation to promote the common good or the well-being of the community

Self-government

the concept that citizens can govern some aspects of their lives without intervention from the government

Enlightenment

belief that people could improve society through the use of reason

Separation of Powers

the concept in which a government is divided into three branches, each branch with its own tasks and abilities

Federalists

supporters of the Constitution

Antifederalists

people who opposed the Constitution

Federalist Papers (written 1787-88)

a series of essays that advocated for the ratification of the Constitution

Federalist 51

James Madison

part of the Federalist Papers

addresses the checks and balances of government

advocates separation of powers

Authors of the Federalist Papers

John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison

James Madison

"Father of the Constitution", federalist leader, VA delegate at the Constitutional Convention, co-proposer of the Virginia Plan, co-author of the Federalist Papers

"Objections to the Proposed Constitution..."

Antifederalist argument that the Constitution gives the government too much power and will result in corruption

Constitution

an agreement that describes how an organization is governed

Magna Carta (1215)

An English document that influenced capitalism in America and inspired the Framers of the Constitution to limit government powers, and protect people's rights to property + trial by jury

English Bill of Rights (1689)

An English document that inspired the Framers of the Constitution to create court systems, weapon laws, and regular elections

Thomas Jefferson

Founding father, author of the Declaration of Independence, initially tried to criticize slavery in the Declaration, publicized himself as an antiracist yet owned slaves

George Mason

Antifederalist, opposed to signing the Constitution, author of Objections to the Proposed Constitution

John Locke

Enlightenment philosopher who influenced the free enterprise system, emphasized the importance of natural rights, and was the first to write about the Social Contract

Charles-Louis Montequieu

Enlightenment philosopher who inspired the 3-branch government system and is credited with the idea of separation of powers

Edmund Randolph

co-proposer of the Virginia Plan, refused to sign the Constitution

King George III

King of England during the American Revolution, tyrannical dictator who oppressed his citizens and stripped them of religious freedom

George Washington

Commander during the Revolutionary War, VA delegate, president of the Constitutional Convention, first U.S. president, Constitution was written with him in mind as president

William Patterson

Credited with the New Jersey Plan

List of Grievances

A list of complaints about King George III stated in the Declaration of Independence that justified America's need for independence

Philis Wheatley

poet who challenged racist ideas on education of Black citizens

Popular Sovereignty

the idea that the people have the highest power and give the government its power

Limited Government

the idea that the government only has the powers that it is given in the Constitution and that government officials must follow the law

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches

Federalism

the idea that the Constitution balances a national (federal) government with the state governments; the federal government is "higher" than the state governments, but state governments have powers reserved for them

Republicanism

the idea that people do not directly vote on issues; they vote for representatives to govern on their behalf

Individual Rights

Basic liberties and rights of all citizens that are protected in the Bill of Rights

Bill

a draft of a proposed law presented to Congress to vote on

Override veto

the ability of the Senate and the House of Representatives to override the President's veto of a bill (2/3 of both houses must vote in favor of passing the bill)

How does a bill become a law?

- proposed in either HOR or senate

- goes to committee

- if passed by simple majority in HOR goes to another committee

- then goes to senate

- if passed in both houses by simple majority goes to pres

- pres can either veto it or pass it

- if vetoed congress can override by a 2/3 majority in both houses

How does an amendment get ratified to the Constitution?

1. proposed by congress

2. 2/3 majority in each house to propose

3. if that is achieved goes to state legislature which has to pass it by a 3/4 majority

Electoral College

a system for electing the U.S. President aside from the popular vote: electors from each state vote in favor of the candidate who represents the majority of the popular vote within that state, the candidate with the most electoral votes wins

Judicial Review

the power of the Supreme Court justices to determine whether acts or laws passed by the President are constitutional

Elastic Clause

Clause in the Constitution that allows Congress to address future law-making needs that could not have been predicted in 1787

Supreme Court

the highest federal court in the American judicial system; made up of 1 chief justice and 8 associate justices

Bicameralism

a two-house legislature

Executive Branch

the branch of government that carries out/enforces laws