US History Midterm Study Guide

jamestown

first successful english settlement in north america; 1607; had trouble due to the fact that settlers didn't make camps right away, and rather searched for gold; saved by the powhatan natives and john smith's leadership

indentured servitude

type of labor in which a person agrees to work for a period of 4-7 years in exchange for passage to North America, food, and shelter

puritans

a denomonination of christianity that felt the need to reform the church from within; some from this group decide to break away from the church completely

pilgrims

a puritan subgroup that fled to holland; took the mayflower to plymouth rock, massachusetts, and create the second settlement in north america

separatists

group of puritans that chose to break away completely; a more famous and more specific category of this group would be the pilgrims

predestination

the religious concept that one's fate is already determined by God and that nothing can be done to change one's fate

peter stuyvesant

duke of new netherlands (later becomes new york)

new jersey

new colony formed after the duke of york gives a piece of the newly won new netherlands colony to the duke of jersey

quakers

this denomination of separatist was persecuted in england; as a result William Penn forms the colony of Pennsylvania

philadelphia

first capital city of the united states before the capital moved to new york

mercantilism

a strategy in which nations can increase power through two ways: obtain as much gold and silver as possible from from the colonies a country owned, or establish a favorable balance of trade

middle passage

part of the triangular trade in which African slaves were brought from their homeland to the Americas

enlightenment

an intellectual movement that points back to the renaissance; stresses the use of logic and reason; prime example of great enlightenment thinker would be ben franklin

great awakening

an intellectual movement that called for a return to religion; seeks to revive the intensity and dedication of the original puritan vision

french and indian war

war between the between the british and france; the native americans aided the french cause; from 1754-1763; involved disputes over the ohio river valley

george washington

this man was the leader of a militia group from virginia involved in the french and indian war; leader of the US army during the revolutionary war; first president of the united states

treaty of paris 1763

treaty that ends the french and indian war; all of france's land including Canada and all land east of the mississippi river was given to britain; france and native americans lose

proclamation of 1763

a decree that warned colonists not to cross line west of the Appalachian mountains, so as to avoid conflicts with the native americans

stamp act

first direct tax given by parliament on the colonies; requires a special stamp be placed on goods

sons of liberty

a famous secret resistance group led by samuel adams ; pre-revolutionary war; oganized demonstrations, protests, harrassment, etc.

sam adams

leader of the sons of liberty

committees of correspondance

in response to great britain's taxes on the colonists, these were formed as a communication link for all thirteen colonies

dorothea dix

woman who instituted prison and mental health reforms

paul revere

most famous of the men who alerted colonists of the british soldiers' coming to lexington and concord

john adams

man who at the second continental congress suggested that each colony set up its own government and that the colonies should declare themselves independent; second president of the united states

declaration of independence

a document drawn up to declare the colonies as independent; adopted on july 4, 1776

patriots

supporters of colonial independence

torries

loyalists; those in the colonies who remained loyal to britain

battle of trenton

battle of the revolutionary war in which george washington crosses the delaware river and suprises the hessians on december 25, 1776

hessians

german mercenaries paid by great britain; hired and paid soldiers

battle of saratoga

battle of the revolutionary war in which the continental army takes on General John Burgoyne's british army in the wilderness of new york; Burgoyne was forced to surrender; crucial battle that convinces France to help the colonies with the war

battle of yorktown

the final battle of the revolutionary war in which british general cornwallis surrenders and the united states wins the war

treaty of paris 1783

treaty that granted independence to the united states and set the country's borders; ends the revolutionary war

republicanism

the idea that governments should be based on the consent of the people

articles of confederation

new type of government proposed by congress; the first government system of the united states; within this government there were two levels of government (state and federal) that share fundamental powers; this government system ultimately fails

james madison

one of two men that calls for the annapolis convention; proposes the virginia plan (involving population representation); fourth president of the united states

alexander hamilton

one of the two men to call for the annapolis convention; secretary of treasury in george washington's cabinet; advocated a strong central government led by a prosperous upper class; establishes Bank of United States; leader of the federalist party; dies in a duel

delegated powers

powers granted to the national government according to the constitution

reserved powers

powers kept by the states

federalism

a type of government that shares power between the states and central government

northwest ordinance of 1787

a decree that split land into territories and set requirements for them to become states; must appoint governor and judges, have 5,000 residents and write constitution, could apply to congress for statehood once population reaches 60,000

checks and balances

a system created to prevent one branch of government from seizing too much power; three different types of this include vetoing, 2/3 vote, and declaring something to be unconstitutional

legislative; judicial; executive

the three branches of government are:

james madison

father of the constitution

electoral college

way to elect president so that the people don't hold too much power in elections

federalists

supporters of the constitution

antifederalists

people who opposed the constitution

bill of rights

a document that contains the first ten amendments to the united states constitution

first amendment

amendment that granted the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom to place petitions

second amendment

amendment in the bill of rights that grants the right to bear arms

fourth amendment

amendment that grants protection from unreasonable search and seizure

fifth amendment

amendment that grants the right of due process- the right to know what one is being charged with

sixth amendment

amendment that grants the right to a trial by jury in public and in the same city or town the crime was committed in

seventh amendment

amendment that grants the right to a trial by jury

eighth amendment

amendment that grants protection from excessive bail, excessive fines, or other cruel punishment.

thomas jefferson

key player in creation of the declaration of independence; george washington's secretary of state; advocated a strong state and local government with regular people in control; head of the democratic republican party; third president of the united states

bank of the united states

financial institution where the federal government could put its money; prints and handles taxes and other government funds; instituted by alexander hamilton

federalist party

one of the first political parties whose members shared alexander hamilton's views; advocated business and commerce and upper class government rule

democratic republican party

one of the first political parties whose members shared the views of thomas jefferson; advocated agriculture; mainly in the south and west

tariff

a tax on imported goods

pinckney's treaty

treaty involving a negotiation with spain; spain gives up all land east of the mississippi and agrees to open the mississipppi river to the US for trade

genet affair

scandal in which a french diplomat to america was the houseguest of thomas jefferson as he actively recruited americans to fight in france

jay's treaty

treaty in which john jay goes to london to negotiate with british over occupied forts; britain agrees to abandon its forts

sectionalism

the idea of putting one's region ahead of one's country

XYZ affair

affair in which john marshall is to negotiate with the french foreign minister to avoid war; instead is met by three unknown men who say he is not allowed to meet with the minister unless he pays $250,000

nullification

a concept in which the states have the right not to follow an unfair law passed by government

judiciary act of 1801

the last act of john adams' presidency; addition of midnight judges and appointment of john marshall as chief justice

marbury vs madison

argument that leads to the institution of judicial review

judicial review

the ability of supreme court to declare an act of congress to be unconstitutional; a cornerstone of US law

louisiana purchase

the purchase of land from france that doubles the size of the united states; 1803; bought for $15 million

lewis and clark

two of the most famous explorers who went and explored the land of the louisiana purchase; led by Sacajawea

james monroe

one of the men involved in the dealing of the louisiana purchase; fifth president of the united states

john calhoun

a warhawk; one of the big three who contributed numerous compromises in US history; one of the leaders of the Whig party; andrew jackson's vice president

treaty of ghent

treaty that declares an armistice for the war of 1812; does not address impressment or other controversial matters

battle of new orleans

battle in war of 1812, american side led by andrew jackson; victory that protects this vital port city

industrial revolution

a massive change in social and economic organization resulting from the replacement of hand tools by machines and the development of large-scale production

new england

area of the US where the industrial revolution was most prevalent; grew into a manufacturing head for the country

eli whitney

invented the cotton gin which makes cotton easier to grow

henry clay

a warhawk who proposes the American System; also proposes the Missouri Compromise of 1820; a leader of the Whig party

American System

a proposition by henry clay that 1) establishes a protective tariff; 2) renews the Bank of the US; 3) supports development of transportation systems

era of good feelings

a name for the time period during James Monroe's presidency

monroe doctrine

a speech given to congress and directed to the world warning europe not to interfere with the affairs of the western hemisphere, and at the same time the US would not get involved in European affairs

adams onis treaty

agreement in which spain gives up florida

john quincy adams

secretary of state under james monroe; believed in rising above sectionalism; sixth president of the US

Missouri Compromise of 1820

a compromise proposed by henry clay in which 1) missouri enters the union as a slave state; 2) maine enters the union as a free state; 3) the compromise line is established (36, 30)

spoils system

the replacement of government officials with friends and supporters; established by andrew jackson

andrew jackson

war hero of 1812 at battle of new orleans; seventh president of the united states; orders indian removal act; gets rid of the bank of the united states

market revolution

a trend in which people began to buy and sell goods rather than making them for themselves; changes the US economy and people's daily lives

capitalism

an economic system in which private businesses and individuals control the means of production

manifest destiny

the belief that it was the US's destiny to expand to the Pacific Ocean; ordained by God; coined by John O' Sullivan

fort laramie treaty

treaty after the Black Hawk War that provided various native american groups with a 400 mile peace of land east of the Rocky Mts to live in peace in exchange for ceasing attacks on civilians

mormons

religious group that traveled west to escape persecution; founded by joseph smith, but the movement west was led by brigham young

zachary taylor

war hero of the Mexican-American War; sent to Rio Grande to enforce texas' borders; also invades mexico in 3-prong attack; 12th president of the US

james polk

11th president of the US; expansionist who calls for the annexation of Oregon Territory; president during Texas Revolution

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

treaty that ends the Mexican-American War; establishes Texas' borders; New-Mexico and California territories are ceded to the Union; US pays $15 million for what today is CA, NM, TX, NV, AZ, UT, and WY

California

this territory provides a deal of controversy when it is ready for statehood; lies on both sides of the Compromise line and wishes to enter as a free state

Compromise of 1850

compromise that admits CA as a free state but also enforces stricter fugitive slave act; also establishes the concept of popular sovereignty

popular sovereignty

a new method for future states in which the people in that territory vote for whether they wish to be a free state or a slave state

Dred Scot

a slave who lived with his master for 5 years in IL and WI territory; sues for his freedom; ruled not to be a citizen and thus is private property; ruling eliminates 36 30

John Brown

crazy man who invades Harpers Ferry and calls for slaves to rise up; attacks the arsenal