US History 1 Honors Midterm Review Guide

Colonization

the colonization of the west by European powers.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer, sailed under the Spanish flag, credited with discovering America.

Amerigo Vespucci

Italian explorer, sailed under the Portuguese flag.

Juan Ponce de Leon

Spanish explorer looking for the Fountain of Youth explores Florida.

Columbian Exchange

trading of goods between the old and new world.

Middle Passage

refers to the time slaves spent on the ship in the Atlantic during the slave trade.

Slavery in the colonies

slavery rose as tobacco became more and more demanded and resulted in the breakup of many families.

Roanoke Colony

referred to as the lost colony.

Jamestown

first permanent English settlement in the new world.

Plymouth

first European settlement in New England.

Pilgrims

Puritans that sailed to Plymouth on the Mayflower to escape religious persecution in England.

Mayflower

the ship the pilgrims came on.

Pocahontas

daughter of Powhatan chief tries to make peace between the two sides, marries John Rolfe.

Bacon's Rebellion

rebellion led by Nathanial Bacon against Virginia Governor William Berkley for how he ran the colony.

Roger Williams

left Massachusetts colony and founded Rhode Island.

Virginia House of Burgesses

Government style of Virginia, serves as a model for Congress.

Mayflower Compact

Document that set up the government of Massachusetts.

New Netherlands

Colonies of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware that were all owned by the Dutch.

The 13 Colonies

ruled by the British, broken up into 3 parts, New England, Middle, and Southern.

Massachusetts (Founding, Purpose)

1620, Puritans/Pilgrims, religious tolerance.

Pennsylvania (Founding, Purpose)

1682, William Penn, religious freedom for Quakers, Latin for woodlands.

Delaware (Founding, Purpose)

originally Swedish then Dutch and finally British in 1664.

Maryland (Founding, Purpose)

1633, Lord Baltimore, religious freedom for Catholics, named for Queen Henrietta Maria.

Virginia (Founding, Purpose)

1607, John Smith and John Rolfe, founded at Jamestown, struggled with Powhatans Wars, named for Elizabeth 1.

Georgia (Founding, Purpose)

1732, James Olgethorpe, haven for debtors, buffer colony to protect from Spanish Florida.

John Winthrop

first governor of Massachusetts.

John Smith

founder/settler of Jamestown.

John Rolfe

married Pocahontas.

Tobacco

cash crop of the colonies.

Indentured Servitude

pay off debts by working for a master (sort of like slavery) after a certain amount of time they gain their freedom.

The French and Indian War

fought between Britain, France, and Natives, fought over the Ohio River Valley, British win expelling France from the New World.

Proclamation of 1763

forbade any settlement by colonists west of the Appalachian Mountains.

What the countries gained after the French and Indian War

Britain gained control of Canada and most of the United States.

New territory gained as a result of the French and Indian War

British control of the Ohio River Valley.

The American Revolution

1775-1781 (Fighting) 1783 (Treaty), fought over taxes and the tyrannical rise of the British Government, the US gained their independence.

King George III

King of England that raises the taxes on the colonists.

Colonial Protests

boycotting, Boston Tea Party.

British Advantages

had a superior army, weaponry, money, and manpower.

No taxation without representation

rallying cry of the colonists against Britain.

Sons of Liberty

group that planned and carried out the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Massacre

a street brawl between the American colonists and the British soldiers, 5 colonists got killed.

Boston Tea Party

American colonists frustrated at Britain for imposing taxation without representation. Dumped 342 chests of tea imported by the British East India Company into Boston Harbor.

Quartering Act

All colonists must quarter (house) British soldiers.

Stamp Act

A tax on newspapers and legal and commercial documents.

Declaratory Act

Parliament has the power to pass laws on the colonies in all cases whatsoever.

Townshend Act

Tax on British goods including: paint, paper, lead, glass, and tea.

Tea Act

Created a monopoly in the American colonies for tea; it allowed the British East India Company to sell its tea at a lower price charged by colonial competitors.

Intolerable Acts

4 laws passed on Boston after the Boston Tea Party: Closed the port/harbor of Boston to all trade, Ordered a full regiment of British troops to be garrisoned or stationed within Boston, Ordered that any British soldier charged with a crime would be returned to England for trial, Forbade public assemblies of colonists.

John Dickinson

Dominated talks at the First Continental Congress.

Shot heard round the World

First shot of the American Revolution fired at Lexington.

Lexington and Concord

The first battles of the revolution, Lexington was a win for the British, while Concord was a win for the colonists.

Green Mountain Boys

Vermont militia that aided in the taking of Fort Ticonderoga.

Siege of Boston

The entrapment of British forces in Boston.

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army.

Battle of Bunker Hill

A win for the British at Breed's Hill but showed the colonists could fight; 'don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.'

Olive Branch Petition

Final attempt by colonists to avoid going to war with Britain; colonists pledged their loyalty to the crown.

Thomas Paine

Author of Common Sense and the Crisis.

Common Sense

Was written by Thomas Paine, it proclaimed that the time had come to declare independence from England.

Declaration of Independence

July 4, 1776; declares independence from Britain, act of treason: all men are created equal; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, inspired by John Locke and Thomas Paine.

Ben Franklin

One of the members of the Declaration committee that was one of the biggest advocates for independence.

Committee members

John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman.

Valley Forge

Winter of 1777 to 1778, Washington's militia becomes a professional army.

Baron Von Steuben

Prussian commander that trained the American soldiers at Valley Forge.

Washington Crosses the Delaware

On Christmas night 1776 on way to Trenton.

Battle of Trenton

Surprise attack against the Hessians, win for the colonists, convinces soldiers to reenlist.

Hessians

German mercenaries.

Battle of Monmouth

A stalemate or a tie, after the botched attack by Charles Lee.

Battle of Saratoga

Turning point of the war, France and Spain join the colonists in the fight against the British.

Guerilla Warfare

Hit and run tactics.

Battle of Yorktown

The final battle of the war; the British were surrounded by the French and Continental groups; Washington was helped by Lafayette and Rochambeau.

Treaty of Paris

Officially ends the war in 1783, two years after the battle of Yorktown, Article 1 grants freedom and independence to America.

Republic

A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.

Federalism

Government style in which one area is governed by at least 2 sets of government (i.e, state and federal governments).

Articles of Confederation

First constitution of the US.

Shays' Rebellion

Armed uprising in Western Massachusetts in opposition to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades, showed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Convention

Was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government under the Articles of Confederation, resulting in a new Constitution.

Checks and Balances

Process of keeping one branch of government from becoming too powerful.

Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan proposed a very powerful bicameral (2 house) legislature.

Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan proposed a very powerful bicameral (2 house) legislature. Representation in both houses of the legislature would be determined proportionately.

New Jersey Plan

Closer to the initial call for the Convention: drafting amendments to the Articles of Confederation to fix the problems in it. Under the New Jersey Plan, the existing Continental Congress would remain, but it would be granted new powers, such as the power to levy taxes and force their collection.

Ratify

sign or give formal consent to (a treaty, contract, or agreement), making it officially valid.

Compromise

an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.

The Great Compromise

Created by Roger Sherman, Bicameral legislature. Upper house equal representation, lower house representation based on population.

Three-Fifths Compromise

The compromise solution was to count three out of every five slaves as people for this purpose.

Federalists

Federalists believed in the Constitution and a strong central government (Hamilton and James Madison).

Anti-Federalists

Opposed ratification of the Constitution (Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee).

Federalist Papers

written by Hamilton, Madison and Jay to advocate for the ratification of the Constitution.

James Madison

Father of the Constitution wrote the Bill of Rights to appease Anti-Federalists.

The Bill of Rights

First ten amendments, basic rights of the people.

The First Amendment

freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and assembly.

The Second Amendment

right to bear arms.

The Fourth Amendment

unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause or a warrant.

The Eighth Amendment

no cruel or unusual punishment.

The Thirteenth Amendment

abolished slavery.

Nineteenth Amendment

Women the Right to Vote.

Article I

Legislative Branch.

The House of Representatives

based on population, led by the Speaker of the House (Mike Johnson).

The Senate

equal representation, led by the President pro tempore if the VP is not available.

How does a Bill become a Law?

Starts in either house, goes through committee, voted on floor (simple majority) goes to the other house simple majority vote, president signs or vetoes bill.

Article II

Executive Branch.