United States History I Honors Review Sheet for Mid-Term Exam 2025

TERMS:

 Mercantilism: an economic system in which nations seek to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and establishing favorable trade

• influenced British interests to colonize in America

• Provided raw materials

Battle of Bunker Hill: 1500 British troops attacked

• Americans did not have much ammunition so the men ordered

  • “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”- Israel Putnam

    • until very close

• British assaulted, so Americans shot back

• Americans turned away two assaults but their ammunition ran out during the third assault

  • when their ammunition ran out- they used their rifles as clubs

    • because no bayonet (connected to front of rifles)

    • Result:

      • British captured the entire area but over

        • 1000 British soldiers were killed or wounded, including a number of officers

      • Americans casualties numbered near 400

      • Importance- gave Washington time to prepare troops, and showed them that they could fight

House of Burgesses:  first example of "representative government" in America

Whiskey Rebellion: Washington’s second term – congress passed an import tax on goods, but Hamilton wanted more. 

• He pushed through a tax on a product’s manufacture or sale, specifically on whiskey

• Whiskey was the main source of cash for many farmers, and this tax made hem furious 

  • Farmers refused to pay this tax, and even threatened to secede from the Union 

• Washington was able to put this rebellion down without a shot being fired

Democracy: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Battle of Yorktown: Final major battle in Revolutionary War

• Lord Cornwallis refused an order from Gen. Clinton to send part of troops to NY, instead he retreated to Yorktown

  • Mistake like in Saratoga

• Surrounded by combined French and colonial force led by Washington, General Rocambaeu, and Lafayette and moved to Yorktown

  • Admiral De Grasse sailed 30 ships into Chesapeake Bay

• Cornwallis’s army was trapped by land and sea

  • Forced to surrender 10/17/1781 after three weeks

• After Yorktown and several France victories in the West Indies Britain sued for peace

Boston Massacre:start of everything, fight that broke out between colonists and British soldiers on March 5, 1770, and 5 colonists died, Crispus Attickus was killed

•  Samuel Adams used the Boston Massacre to turn people away from the British, by portraying it as the British’s wrong

Anti-Federalist: Opponents of the Constitution, demanding a Bill of Rights.

• disagreed with indirect form of voting

• disagreed with length of office

• wanted the addition of a bill of rights

Federalist: Advocates for the Constitution and strong federal government

• Thought Articles were not strong enough  

• Hamilton, Jay, Madison

Alien Acts: increased residency requirements for citizenship from 5 years to 14 years, the president could deport or imprison foreigners, against Republicans 

Nullification: belief that a state has the right to void a federal law that they believe to be unconstitutional, within borders

• Kentucky and Virgina attempted to nullify the alien and sedation acts

Sedation acts: made it a crime to publish or speak out against the government (could be fined or imprisoned if you did)

• Jay’s Treaty: not well received by Americans with England

• British agreed to evacuate their military posts on American soil

• pay damages for seized ships

• US would pay all debt owed to British merchants before Revolutionary War

• US would also compensate all loyalists for confiscated land

  • South hates because most of that money was owed to England was from southern states

XYZ Affair: Adams wanted to avoid war with France so sent delegation to negotiate peace treaty,  shady French Diplomates (x-y-z)

• demanded $250,000 bribe as well as a loan of several million dollars only way to discuss treaty 

  • American delegation refused and returned to US

• Once word got out about attempted bribe Americans wanted to go to war

Pickney Treaty: Thomas Pickney (good), with Spain

• US was given access to Mississippi RIver as well as the right deposit cargo in New Orleans

• Spain also agreed to a boundary line between the US and Spanish territory the west favorable to the US

• Spain got a friend!

Shay’s Rebellion: Massachusetts farmers, led by Daniel Shays, protested low farm prices and high state taxes, government did nothin about it

• Highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles and spurred the call for a stronger central government.

• Led to constitutional convention

Great Compromise: solved the issue of representation

• Sherman, Bicameral legislature—House of Representatives (population-based) and Senate (equal representation).

• House

  •  elected by people, 2 years, # population

• Senate 

  • would be elected by legistlature 6 year terms, equal representation 2 per state)

“Common Sense”: a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that inspired people in the Thirteen Colonies to declare and fight for independence from Great Britain in the summer of 1776, No longer be loyal to king

3/5 compromise: agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention that determined how slaves would be counted for purposes of representation and taxation. It decided that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted when apportioning seats in the House of Representatives and for tax purposes.

National Bank: Jefferson disagreed with the Bank:

• Strict Constructionist -- literal interpretation of Constitution

• Hamilton was a Loose Constructionist -- used the flexible interpretation of the Constitution, so wanted bank

Mayflower Compact: States that the purpose of the Pilgrim’s government in America would be to frame 

• A landmark of American democratic government 

  • On the Mayflower, as the Puritans were coming to the new world, they made an agreement that any type of constitution they came up with would be based off of majority rule 

Congress: makes laws, House (population based) and Senate (2 per state) legislative 

• both houses must agree on a bill before it goes to the President- he can veto it or sign it into law

  • Congress can override a presidential veto with 2/3 vote

  • members of congress can be impeached and removed

checks and balances: Executive banch has most

• Executive: enforces laws, negatiates treaties, and commands military

  • can appoint cabinet officials, federal judges, foreign ambassadors.

    • Senate approval for appointments and treaties (treaties by ⅔)

  • Can be impeached if committed crime

    • house will accuse President of a crime

    • house must get a majority vote to impeach

      • once President had been impeached then he case goes to the Senate for trial

        • if the Senate votes by a 2/3 vote to remove president is gone (removes)

          • Jackson, Trump (2x), Clinton all impeached 

• Legislative: both houses must agree on a bill before it goes to the President- he can veto it or sign it into law

  • Congress can override a presidential veto with 2/3 vote

  • members of congress can be impeached and removed

• Judicial: courts can check power of both the President and Congress by declaring a law unconstitutional

  • Judges are appointed by president, can be impeached 

    • after a law has been ruled unconstitutional the congress can pass an amendment to the constitution changing laws

  • Judicial review: power to strike down laws that are passed, and in case a law is found unconstitutional

19^th Amendment: 19. women’s right to vote

political parties:  America’s first political parties were split in two.

• Democratic-Republicans 

  • Supported the vision of a strong state government

  • Favored popular government – sided with Jefferson 

• Federalists 

  • Strong central government 

  • Sided with Hamilton 

Electoral College: system for electing the president via state-appointed electors (indirect)

Boycott: the refusal to purchase products from Britain.

Jamestown: the first permanent English colony in North America, founded in Virginia in 1607.

• Named after King James I of England 

• Flourished because of the help of John Smith 

• The laws were made by colonists elected to the House of Burgesses. 

  • The House of Burgesses was the first example of "representative government" in America.

Tories: Americans who stayed loyal to Britain

Pontiac’s Rebellion: Pontiac - led a Native American rebellion against Britain - called Pontiac’s Rebellion 

• Proclamation of 1763 came because of

Hessians: From Germany

• George III hired 10,000 Hessian merchants to suppress the rebellion 

Constitution: ratified in 1789, first ten are bill of rights, 27, written because articles werent good enough, writeen by Madison

• Supreme law of the land

reserved powers: states (eg. establish schools)

delegated powers: federal (eg. declare war, print money)

concurrent powers: shared (eg. tax, build roads)

salutary neglect: English policy of relaxing enforcement of regulation in colonies, hoping for economic loyalty

Federalist Papers: series of 85 essays written to support the new Constitution and explain why it was a good idea

• Hamilton, Madison, Jay

Tariff: a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports.

Navigation Acts: series of laws passed by Parliament to block colonial trade because it was a threat to mercantilism

Committees of Safety: each colony had a committee which would…

• Train militia 

• Collect funds and supplies 

• Gather information 

• Disrupt activities of the King’s representatives 

Proclamation of 1763:  order in which Britain prohibited its American colonists from settling west of Appalachian Mountains

Stamp Act:  Grenville, actual stamp put on all taxed item

• made colonists pay for special stamps that were required to be put on every document, dice, newspaper, playing cards, and almanac in efforts to pay off the debt from the French and Indian War 

Boston Tea Party: the dumping of 18,000 pounds of tea into Boston harbor by colonists in 1773 to protest the Tea Act.

Second Continental Congress: approved Declaration and it served as the only government during war 

• one month after L&C

• Georgia did not attend 

• John Dickinson still wanted to negotiate

Constitutional Convention : Delegates met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles but decided to draft a new constitution at Constituional Convention 

• VA, NY, PA, MA against Constitution because senate was equal population in Senate

• February: 12 attended- 

  • Rhode Island did not because knew representation would change to population 

  • To revise Articles 

• May 25: Convention began, with George Washington presiding.

  • Decided- Articles would have to be eliminated

    • new central government would have to be given the power to tax

    • new central government would have to be given the power to enforce laws

    • new central government would have to be given the power to provide for the national defense (draft soldiers)

    • countries would have to have a written constitution

    • Elected exuective

• September 17: Constitution signed by 39 delegates, sent to 13 states to vote on

  • Edmund Randolph, George Mason, Elbridge Gerry left the convention because they thought the new national government was being given too much power

  • Alexander Hamilton left because he thought that the national government was not being given enough power

  • to be accepted the constitution would have to be ratified by 9/13 states

    • but they wanted all the support

Committee of Five: Declaration of Independence was worked on by this committee.

• Consisted of Jefferson, Franklin, John Adams, Livingston, and Sherman 

• Main author: Jefferson 

• Was officially adopted by the Continental Congress of July 4th, 1776

Amendment: to change,  Two methods to propose:

1. By Congress (2/3 vote).

2. By a Constitutional Convention (2/3 of delegates).

   1. Ratification requires approval by 3/4 of the states.

Albany Congress: colonies decided to have a meeting calling all colonies to prepare in case of war with French and Natives after conflict in Ohio Valley 

• in order to defeat all 13 would be needed

• seven showed up, meaning six weren’t cooperating

  • New Hampshire

  • Massachusetts

  • Connecticut

  • Rhode Island

  • Pennsylvania

  • Maryland

  • New York

  • Irquios league 

• colonial governments didn’t go because they did not want to give up power

Albany Plan of Union: Author was Ben Franklin

• “Join or Die” 

• Used to try to unite the colonists, but they turned it down because that meant the colonies would have to give up their individual powers 

• Britain wasn’t doing very well at this point in the war, was defeated by the French and started to lose hope 

excise tax: a tax on the production, sale, or consumption of goods produced within a country.  

Cabinet:  the group of department heads who serve as the president’s chief advisers.

Virginia Plan: Madison, bicameral legislature based on population, executive and judicial branches elected by legislature

• Legislative:

  • HR would be elected directly and # based off of population

  • Senate would be elected by HR # would also be population

• Cheif Executive

  • 7 year term, elected by HR

• Judicial

  • Elected by HR 7 year term

1st Continental Congress: drew up declaration for colonist rights, met in Philadelphia , 12 colonies showed up showing unity among the colonies (Georgia not)

• What to do about Intolerable Acts

  • Because of tea party

• Two Groups

  • Moderates: disagree with British, but do not break away

    • Led by John Dickinson and Joseph Galloway

  • Radicals: force Britain to either repeal the acts, or they need to become independent

• Joseph Gallway’s Plan:

  • Create union of colonies under British authority

    • Parliament could pass legislation but had to be vetoed by council of Americans

• “Summary View of Rights of British America”

  • Written by Thomas Jefferson

    • All colonies were independent states but loyal to King and no Parliament

• Declaration and Resolves & Suffolk Resolution was passed

• All trade with Britain come to an end

Ratification: action of signing a treaty 

• Federalists: Supported ratification (Hamilton, Madison, Jay).

• Anti-Federalists: Opposed due to lack of a Bill of Rights and concerns about centralized power.

Olive Branch Petition: adopted by Congress George, to be sent to the King as a last attempt to prevent formal war from being declared

writs of assistance: documents authorizing unrestricted searches

• Ships in port can just be searched

Jeopardy: due process of law- right of the accused

• a person does not have to testify against themselves in court. jeopardy also protects you ( cannot try a person for same crime again)

Minutemen: civilian soldiers that prepared in the colonies in New Eastern towns that were assembled after the First Continental Congress that had to always be ready to fight in battle

strict construction: a literal interpretation of a statute or document by a court, Jefferson

loose construction: a broad interpretation of a statute or document by a court, Hamilton

Sons of Liberty: founder was Samuel Adams, created to speak out against stamp act

Articles of Confederation: A loose alliance of states with a one-branch Congress.

• Powers of Congress: Declare war, sign treaties, manage Native relations, and operate a postal system

• Weaknesses: Lacked power to tax, draft soldiers, and enforce laws.

• Needed all 13 states to ratify  

• Could deal with Natives, appoint military offices, and declare war

  • COULD NOT TAX

  • Northwest Ordinance, won war, and Land Ordinance was esatblished under this

    • Successes: Guided the nation through the Revolutionary War.

    • Challenges: Inability to address state disputes or economic issues effectively.

Election of 1800:

• Federalists:

  • John Adams

  • Charles Pinckney

• Republicans:

  • Thomas Jefferson

  • Aaron Burr

• Resulted in a tie between Jefferson and Burr.

• The election was decided by the House of Representatives.

• Thomas Jefferson was chosen as President.

• Aaron Burr became Vice President.

 The 12th Amendment (1804)

• Passed to address issues in previous elections.

• Key Change: Electors now cast separate ballots for President and Vice President.

• FederalistLost control of:

  • Presidency

  • House of Representatives

  • Senate

• The Supreme Court remained under Federalist control with lifetime appointments.

Judiciary Act of 1801

• Adams' final act as President:

  • Created 16 new circuit courts.

  • Reduced Supreme Court judges from 6 to 5.

  • Appointed John Marshall as Chief Justice.

John Marshall's Legacy

• Strengthened the Supreme Court's power.

• Established Judicial Review (declaring laws unconstitutional).

Bill of Rights: 1791 adoption of bill of rights

• Made because Constitution lacked limits of government power

• First 10 amendments ensuring individual liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and due process.

  • framers of the Constitution realized that the document would have to adjust to the future so they created the amendment process

    • Amendments are used to change the constitution

  • proposed in a constitutional convention

    • every state will send delegates in order to pass the amendment would have to receive 2/3 vote of the delegates, then ratified by 3/4 of the states

  • many delegates want to clarify a list of individual liberties that the government could not violate

• James Madison wrote up the Bill of Rights

• Bill of Rights:

1. Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition

2. right to bear arms- well-regulated militia

3. no lodging of troops in private homes without consent

4. no unreasonable search and seizure

5. due process of law- right of the accused

• a person does not have to testify against themselves in court. jeopardy also protects you ( cannot try a person for same crime again)

6. right to a speedy trial and the right to an attorney

7. jury trials for civil cases

8. forbids judges from setting excessive bail and protects us from cruel and unusual punishment

9. people have rights that are not listed in this document

10. powers not delegated to federal government reserved for states

elastic clause: Meaning can be stretched out

• Based on Section 8, Clause 18

  • Congress can make laws that are not specifically listed in the Constitution, but are still needed to fulfill its duties.

New Jersey Plan: Paterson, unicameral legislature with equal state representation, similar to the Articles- Only one branch, national government would be given power to tax

Proclamation of Neutrality: US would stay out of conflict with Europe, Washington

Funding: Payment of debts, such as government bonds, at face value.

• Hamilton’s bond proposal

Treaty of Paris 1763:  ending French and Indian War

• France had to surrender Canada to British

• France had to give up all land west of Mississippi River

• Spain had to surrender Florida to Britain in return Spanish received French lands west of Miss. River

  • Spain fought with French to weaken the enemy, Britain

• as a result of this treaty France is finished as new world empire

Treaty of Paris 1783: Signed on November 30, 1782, went into effect 2 months later

• Congress ratified April 19, 1783

  • Because Anniversary of the first shots at Lexington and Concord

    • American Revolution may have led to French

• Britain agreed to US independence

  • All British lands from Atlantic coast to the Mississippi was ceded to the US

    • Evacuate military outposts

PEOPLE:  

Israel Putnam: American General who decided to fortify Breeds and Bunker hills.  Fire whites in eyes

Alexander Hamilton: Federalist leader; supported a strong central government. Left the convention, believing the new government lacked power.

• Very close to Washington

John Dickinson: Quakers from PA, Moderates, thought needed to talk out with British, leader of Moderates

John Burgoyne: Attack from the north - army under the control of this General

• Battle of Saratoga

John Locke:  Natural rights

• Preamble - explained the philosophical principles behind the act of declaring independence

Benjamin Franklin:  American statesman; he was a philosopher, scientist, inventor, writer, publisher, first U.S. postmaster; and member of the committee to draft the Constitution.

• Diplomat sent to France to negotiate treaty into the war, Treaty of Paris 1783

• Drew 1st political cartoon “join or die” cut up snake

Paul Revere: drew drawing of Boston Massacre

• British are coming

George Washington: The first president of the US, established Fort Necessity and his attack on small French army started French and Indian War. elected president of the Constitutional convention, wanted strong national government

• gained respect for US among nations when President 

• Gave hamilton secretary of treasury 

• Trenton

Thomas Jefferson: wrote pamphlet “Summary View of the Rights of America”, brought up at 1st Continental Congress

• Stated all colonies were independent states but loyal to King and Parliament had no power

• First secretary of state, author of declaration of independence

  • HATES HAMILTON

William Pitt: British Secretary of States and turned the tide of war, did this by: pay colonists to fight and provide them with supplies,replacing older officers with younger, captured Quebec

George III: King of England who was angered at the colonists from their destruction, and asked Parliament to pass Coercive Acts to punish the colonists

Pontiac: Ottawa chief who united Great Lakes to halt advance of European settlements, helped attack British forts in Pontiac’s Rebellion

George Mason: VA, left the convention – thought the national government was being given too much power.

John Jay:  Federalist, favored the ratification of the Constitution. 

• Wrote The Federalist  along with Hamilton and Madison

James Madison: Father of the Constitution, proposed Virginia Plan and wrote Bill of Rights

Patrick Henry: preferred death to being enslaved by British, Virginia, a radical 

Samuel Adams:  founder of The Sons of Liberty who spoke out against the Stamp Act from the British as a political activist, wanting to cease the selling of these stamps, from Massachusetts

• Radical

  • Plan at 1st Continental was defeated thanks to him by close margin

John Adams: defended the British soldiers of the Boston Massacre in court, believed everyone deserves a fair trial

• Radical at 1st Continental

  • From Massachusetts

• First vice president 

• Didn’t work on Articles because England ambassador

Thomas Paine: Wrote Common Sense, published in January 1776

Molly Pitcher: carried pitchers of water to soldiers in the field 

• Also fought in the battle of Monmouth after her husband fell in the war 

William Penn:  founder of Pennsylvania, promoting religious tolerance and democratic principles.

Sir Edmund Andros:  Governor of the Dominion of New England , he angered colonists by enforcing unpopular policies, Navigation Acts

George Grenville: Chancellor of Exchequer, chosen to serve in attempt to lower debt from French and Indian War

• Knew colonies needed to be more profitable

  • Colonies costing more than making

    • Spending $140 mil since F&I war (only $8mil)

• Passed

  • Sugar Act

  • Currency Act

  • Stamp Act