Flashcards: Documents of US History
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Created by:
JeffBrewton on February 4, 2009
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Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Magna Carta | Contained the ideas of due process of law and the right to a fair and speedy trial. It also declared that the king must abide by laws like all other citizens |
| English Bill of Rights | Limited the English monarchs by forcing them to share their power with Parliament |
| Mayflower Compact | Declared that the 41 males who signed it agreed to accept majority rule and participate in a government in the best interest of all members of the colony |
| Treaty of Paris 1783 | Formally ended the American Revolution. British recognized American independence and conceded land east of the Mississippi River |
| Declaration of Independence | Adopted on July 4, it established the 13 colonies as independent states, free from rule by Great Britain |
| Articles of Confederation | The nation's first constitution—gave the states most of the power. Did not include an executive branch or court system and did not give Congress the power to levy taxes. |
| Strengths of the Articles of Confederation | 1. Governed the nation during the Revolutionary War 2. Negotiated the Treaty of Paris 3. Passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 4. Passed the Northwest Ordinance |
| Weakness of the Articles of Confederation | 1. Lacked power to enforce laws 2. Lacked power to levy taxes 3. Lacked power to regulate trade among the states 4. Required all 13 states to approve changes to the Articles |
| Northwest Ordinance | One of the most significant achievements of the Articles of Confederation. It established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could become states. |
| Washington's Farewell Address | He advised the country to stay away from political parties, and to stay neutral in foreign affairs. |
| Monroe Doctrine | Told Europe not to interfere in affairs within the U.S. or in the development of other countries in the Western Hemisphere, and the US would stay out of European affairs. |
| Federalist Papers | A series of 85 essays which explained the new U.S. Constitution (and why a strong central government was important) and asked states to ratify it |
| Great Compromise | Balanced representation between large and small states by establishing a bicameral legislature. The Senate would have 2 representatives from each state. The House of Representatives would have representatives based on each state's population. |
| 3/5ths Compromise | Decided that each slave would count as 3/5ths of a person to determine representation and taxation |
| Marbury v. Madison | The judgment by the Supreme Court which established the principle of judicial review, the power of the judiciary to declare a law unconstitutional |
| U.S. Constitution | Outlines the set up and powers of the government. It separates the powers into three branches. It is the supreme law of the land. |
| Bill of Rights | First 10 amendments to the Constitution. Protects individual rights of U.S. citizens including freedom of religion, speech, press, bear arms, and assemble peaceably. |
| Emancipation Proclamation | Declared all slaves in rebellious Confederate states would be free on Jan. 1, 1863 |
| Gettysburg Address | Said that a civil war threatens the spirit of liberty and morality held by citizens of a democracy |
| 13th Amendment | Forbids slavery and freed all slaves without compensating slave owners |
| 14th Amendment | Protected civil rights by declaring that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. (except Indians) were citizens with equal rights regardless of their race |
| 15th Amendment | Granted all men the right to vote regardless of race or previous condition of servitude |
| Gadsden Purchase | 29,670 square miles in southern AZ and NM that the U.S. purchased from Mexico for $10 million |
| protective tariffs | Taxes on imported goods to raise money for the government and raise the price on imported goods. This protects the price of domestic (American-made) products |
| tariff policies | federal government put high taxes on imported goods to protect Northern industry but this hurt Southerners who relied on imports |
| Nullification Crisis | Congress passed a high tariff which angered southerners who dealt directly with British merchants. Planters favored freedom of trade and believed in the authority of their states over the federal government. South Carolinians declared the federal tariff null and void and threatened to secede. |
| Dred Scott v. Sandford | A Supreme Court decision which increased sectionalism because it said that African Americans were not citizens and the Missouri Compromise was not constitutional |
| Fundamental Orders of Connecticut | a set of laws that were established in 1639 by a Puritan congregation who had settled in the Connecticut Valley and that expanded the ideas of representative government |
| Lincoln's first inaugural address | He said 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 second inaugural address | He said 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. |