| Term | Definition |
|---|
| 1607 | Jamestown - the first permanent English |
| July 4th, 1776 | The Declaration of Independence |
| 1787 | Constitution was written |
| 1803 | Louisiana Purchase - President Thomas Jefferson purchased it from Napolean, and France |
| 1861 | Civil War begins with the firing on Ft. Sumter |
| 1863 | Emancipation Proclamation |
| 1865 | End of the Civil War - Lee surrendered the Confederated Army to Grant at Appomattox Court House |
| Lexington and Concord | First Shots/Battle of the American Revoloution - the "Shot Heard Round the World" |
| Battle of Saratoga | Turning point of the American Revolution - Convinced the French to join the War on the side of the Americans |
| Battle of Yorktown | Last major battle of the American Revolution - Washington's troops defeated the British and forced them to surrender |
| Fort Sumter | First shots of the Civil War |
| Battle of Gettysburg | Turning point in the Civil War for the North - The South was forced to retreat and never invaded the North again |
| Siege of Vicksburg | This Victory by the North cut the South in two and gave the North control of the Mississippi River |
| Appomattox Court House | Where Lee surrendered the Confederate Army to Grant. It ended the Civil War |
| Mercantilism | an economic theory that a country's strength is measured by the amount of gold it has, that a country should sell more than it buys and that the colonies exist for the benefit of the Mother Country |
| Abolitionist | A person who wanted to end slavery |
| tariff | a tax on goods brought into a country (imported) |
| protective tariff | a tax placed on goods from another country to protect the home industry |
| Sectionalism | loyalty to a state or section instead of to the whole country |
| Manifest Destiny | the belief that the US should own all of the land between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean |
| Temperance Movement | a campaign against the sale or drinking of alcohol |
| Representative Government | a system of government in which voters elect representative to make laws for them |
| Republic | a nation in which voters choose representatives to govern them |
| House of Burgesses | the first representative assembly in the new world |
| The Three Branches of Government | Legislative - (make the laws - Congress) Judicial - (interpret the laws - Supreme Court) Executive - (enforces the laws - President) |
| Checks and Balances | a system in which each branch of the government has the power to check, or control, the actions of the other branches |
| Free Enterprise | Freedom of private businesses to operate competitively for profit with minimal government regulation |
| Federalism | sharing of power between the states and the national government |
| Separation of Powers | system in which each branch of government has it's own powers |
| Popular Sovereignty | the practice of allowing each territory to decided for itself whether or not to allow slavery |
| Amend | to Change |
| Unalienable rights | Rights that cannot be taken away - Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness |
| Tyranny | a cruel and unjust government |
| Democracy | a form of government that is run for and by the people, giving people the supreme power |
| Ratify | to approve by vote |
| Judicial Review | the right of the Supreme Court to judge laws passed by Congress and determine whether they are constitutional or not |
| Civil Disobedience | the refusal to obey a government law or laws as a means of passive resistance because on one's moral conviction or belief |
| Federalists | supporters of the Constitution who favored a strong national government |
| Antifederalists | people opposed to the Constitution, preferring more power be given to the state governments than to the national government |
| Nullification | the idea of a state declaring a federal law illegal |
| Primary Sources | the original records of an event including: eyewitness reports, records created at the time of an event, speeches, letters by people involved in the event, photographs and artifacts |
| Secondary Sources | the later writings and interpretations of historians and writers. Often secondary sources provide summaries of information found in primary sources |
| Industrial Revolution | the era in which a change from household industries to factory production using powered machinery took place |
| Magna Carta | signed in 1215 by King John, it was the first document that limited the power of the King |
| English Bill of Rights | Protected the rights of English citizens and became the basis for the American Bill of Rights |
| Declaration of Independence | a document written by Thomas Jefferson, declaring the colonies independence from England |
| Article of Confederation | the first American constituion. It was a very weak document that limited the power of the Congress by giving states the final authority over all decisions |
| Constitution of the United States | sets out the laws and principles of the government of the United States. |
| George Washington's Farewell Address | He advised the nation: 1. to stay away from premenant alliances with foreign nations 2. stay away from political parties |
| Monroe Doctrine | a forgeign policy by President James Monroe saying: 1. the western hemisphere was closed to colonization by European nations 2. the US would not interfere in European affairs |
| Treaty of Paris 1763 | ended the French and Indian War, and kicked the French out of North America |
| Treaty of Paris of 1783 | ended the American Revolution and forced Britain to recognize the US as an independent nation |
| Northwest Ordinance | a policy of establishing the principles and procedures for the orderly expansion of the US |
| Mayflower Compact | the agreement signed in 1620 by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, to consult each other about laws for the colony and a promise to work together to make it succeed |
| Federalist Papers | a series of essays written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, defending the Constitution and the principles on which the government of the US was founded |
| Common Sense | a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine to convince colonists that it was time to become independent from Britain |
| Bill of Rights | the first ten amendments to the Constitution and detailed the protection of individual liberties |
| Gettysburg Address | a short speech given by Abraham Lincoln to dedicate a cemetery for soldiers who died at the Battle of Gettysburg. It is considered to be a profound satement of American ideals |
| Emancipation Proclamation | issued by Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, it set all slaves in the Confederate states free |
| Linconln's 1st Inaugural Address | Lincoln stated that he did not want to abolish slavery and he did not want to go to war, but the North would defend federal property in the South |
| Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address | Lincoln said in this speech, that the Civil War was about Slavery and that the war was being fought to make sure that the equality of enslaved Americans was recognized |
| The Great Compromise | A combination of the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan, it created 2 houses in Congress 1. House of Representative - representation based on population 2. Senate - representation would be equal for each state |
| Sam Adams | a member of the Sons of Liberty who started the Committe of Correspondence to stir public support for American independence |
| Ben Franklin | an inventor, statesman, diplomat, signer of the Declaration of Independence and delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He created the Albany Plan of Union and was a diplomat to France as well. |
| King George III | The King of England who disbanded the colonial legislatures, taxed the colonies, and refused the Olive Branch Petition leading to the final break with the colonies |
| Thomas Jefferson | wrote the Declaration of Independence; became the3rd President of the US and purchased the Louisiana Territory, which doubled the size of the US |
| Thomas Paine | wrote pamphlets like Common Sense and The Crisis to encourage American independence and resolve |
| George Washington | the leader of the Continental Army who became the first President of the US |
| Andrew Jackson | the leader of the original Democratic Party and known as the "People's President or Common Man's President". He was also responsible for the Trail of Tears, which forced the Cherokee Native Americans to move from Georgia to Indian Territory. |
| John C. Calhoun | proposed the Doctrine of Nullification to try to keep South Carolina from leaving the Union |
| Henry Clay | proposed the American System, Missouri Compromise, and the Compromise of 1850 |
| Daniel Webster | a Massachusetts Congresman and Senator who spoke for the North and supported the Compromise of 1850 in order to preserve the Union |
| Jefferson Davis | The President of the Confederacy during the Civil War |
| Ulysses S. Grant | the General of the Union Army and was responsible for winning the Civil War for the North |
| Robert E. Lee | General of the Confederate Army |
| Abraham Lincoln | 16th President of the US and President during the Civil War. He was assassinated 5 days after the Civil War ended with the Confederates surrender at Appomattox Court House |
| Patrick Henry | a passionate patriot who became famous for his speeches in favor of American Independence. His most famous quote. "Give me liberty or give me death!" |
| James Madison | Considered to be the father of the Constitution and the 4th President of the US |
| Frederick Douglass | a former slave who became the best-known African-American abolitionist. |
| James Monroe | 5th President of the US and author of the Monroe Doctrine, which shut down the western hemisphere to European expansion or interference |
| Harriet Tubman | an escaped slave who became the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad and helped over 300 slaves escape to freedom in the North |
| Elizabeth Cady Stanton | organized the Seneca Falls Convention creating the Women's rights Movement in the US |
| 1st Amendment | states the "Congress shall make no law" restricting freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition |
| 2nd Amendment | the right to bear arms, and the rights of states to organize militias, or armies |
| 3rd Amendment | forbids the governement to order citizens to allow soliders to, live in their homes (quartering of troops) |
| 4th Amendment | requires that warrants be issued if property is to be searched or seized (taken) by the government |
| 5th Amendment | protects an accused person from having to testify against him or herself (self-incrimination); bans double jeopardy, and guarantees that no person will suffer the loss of life, liberty, or property without due process |
| 6th Amendmnt | guarantees the right to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury; the right to a lawyer; the right to cross examine witnesses; and the right to force witnesses at a trial to testify |
| 7th Amendment | guarantees the right to a jury trail in civil suits |
| 8th Amendment | prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail or fines |
| 9th Amendment | the people have rights other than those specifically mentioned in the Constitution |
| 10th Amendment | powers not given to the federal government belong to the states |
| 13th Amendment | abolished slavery |
| 14th amendment | guarantees citizenship and rights to all people born or naturalized in the US |
| 15th Amendment | guarantees the right to vote to all citizens regardless of race |
| Marbury v. Madison | a Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review |
| Dred Scott v. Sandford | the Supreme Court decision that said slaves were property and not citizens |
| Cotton Gin | an invention by Eli Whitney that made it easier to clean cotton and in effect, increased the need for slaves and cotton plantations in the South |
| Steamboat | invented by Robert Fulton, it revolutionized transportation and trade in the US |
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