Vocabulary Words American History

Vocabulary * Latitude: distance north or south of the equator. * Longitude: distance east or west of the prime meridian. * Mercantilism: the way England made money off of the colonists. * Religious Toleration: The basic idea that a society should be tolerant (accepting) of all religious beliefs.

* Quarter: to provide with lodging or shelter.

* Loyalists: American colonists who remained loyal to Britain.

* Boycott: to refuse to buy items from a particular country.

* Patriots: American colonists who were determined to fight the British.

* Unalienable Rights: rights rights that cannot be surrendered.

* Minutemen: companies of civilian soldiers who boasted that they could be ready on minute’s notice.

* Militia: a group of civilians trained to fight in emergencies.

* Repeal: to cancel on act or law.

* Ratify: to approve.

* Representative government: a type of government in which citizens elect someone to vote for them on political issues.

* Constitutional Government: a government that is run by the rules set down in a specific plan.

* Plantation System: the large self-sufficient farms of the southern colonies that grew.

* Executive branch: the branch of government that enforces the law.

* Legislative branch: the branch of government that makes the laws.

* Judicial branch: the branch of government that judges the laws to be fair.

* Checks and balances: a system in which the three branches of government have the power to check, or control, the actions of the other branches.

* Separation of powers: system in which each branch of government has its own powers.

* Federalism: the sharing of power between the states and national government.

* Bill of rights: the 1st ten amendments to the US Constitution; a document that lists the freedoms a government promises to protect

* Amendment: a formal written change to a document.

* Federalist: someone who supported a strong national government and the Constitution.

* Anti-federalist: someone who opposed a strong national government, against the Constitution unless it included a bill of rights.

* Republic: nation in which voters choose representatives to make laws for them * Democracy: a form of government in which the people rule.

* Unicameral: a one-house legislature.

* Bicameral: a two-house legislature.

* Navigation Acts: a series of English laws to regulate trade between the mother country and her colonies.

* Charter: a document issued by a sovereign power granting certain rights or privileges to a group or individual.

* Colonization: the creation of colonies (settlements) to keep claim to land and make money for the mother country.

* Indentured Servant: a person that would sign a 5 to 10 year contract to be a servant in order to pay off debts or receive passage to the colonies.

* Cash Crop: a crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower.

* Self-determination: government of a political unit by its own people.

* Subsistence farming: is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families.

* Burgesses: a person with municipal authority or privileges, in particular.

* Limited government: a limited government is a government that cannot interfere with personal liberties and individual rights much because it is against the law.

* Unlimited government: is a government that has one dictator that makes up all the laws and the citizens have no power over the dictator.

Dates * 1492: Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean to the new world * 1607: Jamestown, Virginia became the 1st successful English colony in the new world. * 1620: Plymouth, Massachusetts became the 2nd successful colony in the new world. * 1776: The declaration of independence was signed. * 1787: The Constitutional Convention.
Identify
* Christopher Columbus: found the new world. * Northwest Passage: Water route to Asia through North America sought by European explorers. * Navigation Acts: A series of English laws to regulate trade between the mother countries and her countries. * John Smith: Arrived in 1608 to govern the colonist in Jamestown. * Puritans: The puritans wanted to change the Church of England and make it better. * Pilgrims: Wanted a totally separate religion from the Church of England. * Catholics: They had to practice their religion in secret. * Quakers: Believed that all people had the inner light of god within them. * William Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania in 1697. * Mayflower: was the ship that in 1620 transported 102 English Pilgrims, including a core group of Separatists, to New England. * King George III: King of England lost the American Colonies. * Virginia House of Burgesses: The 1st elected representative legislature in the World. * Sam Adams: Founder of the Sons of Liberty. * Abigail Adams: Wrote letters to her husband to tell him to put woman’s rights in the new government. * John Adams: 2nd president of the United States was in the 1st and 2nd continental congress. * George Washington: Leader of the Continental Army, 1st president of the United States. * Benjamin Franklin: Founding father of the United States. * General Cornwallis: British Army officer. * Thomas Jefferson: Democratic Republican. * Thomas Paine: Writer of “Common Sense”. * “Common Sense”: Thomas Paine was the writer. * Marquis de Lafayette: Served in the Continental Army, donated supplies. * Wentworth Cheswell: In the army, “Black Paul Revere”. * Mercy Otis Warren: She wrote books on independence. * James Armistead: Slave, volunteered to be in the army, spy. * Bernardo de Galvez: Helped write Treaty of Paris, captured Fort Chardlette, royal services, helped protect New Orleans port, Governor of Cuba. * Crispus Attucks: Died at Boston Massacre, slave, died March 5, 1770, born in the United States. * Patrick Henry: “As for me, give me liberty or give me death”, strong anti-federalist, served in the first and second continental congress. * John Paul Jones: “I have not yet begun to fight”, sailor, US Navy. * Treaty of Paris 1783: Congress signed the Paris Peace Treaty with England, in which the US added land east of the Mississippi River to its territory. * John Locke: “Life, Liberty, & Property”, liked religious freedom. * Baron Charles de Montesquieu: French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment. * Alexander Hamilton: Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. * George Mason: Anti-Federalist, Proposed Bill of Rights in the constitution, slave owner, puritan. * James Madison: Won a seat in the US house of Representative, born in 1751, federalist. * Great Compromise: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branch, house of representatives. * Three-Fifths-Compromise: Delegates agreed to count 3 out of every 5 slaves for both population and taxes. * Bill of Rights: Is the name for the 1st ten amendments in the United States constitution.

Identify * Proclamation of 1763: Forbid colonists to move beyond the Appalachian Mountains; many colonists chose to ignore the proclamation and move west anyways. * Sugar Act: Listed specific goods that could be exported to Britain; mild protest, but most colonists not directly affected. * Stamp Act: Required a stamp on all legal documents; colonists formed the Stamp Act congress to organize boycotts, protest * Writs of Assistance: Custom officers would be able to search ships at will; colonists tried bribing custom officers, some chose violence against the officials. * Townshend Acts: “Luxury items” would be taxed; colonists signed a non-importation agreement, refusing to even import the items. * Quartering Acts: Colonists would be required to quarter for British Troops; colonists felt deep resentment toward the hated “red coats”, eventually led to the Boston Massacre. * Tea Act: England arranged to sell tea directly to colonists, this had damaging effects on merchants; Sons of Liberty snuck onto British ships and dumped cargo of tea into Boston Massacre, (Boston Tea Party) * Intolerable Acts: “No Town Meetings”; colonists decided it’s time to act- First Continental Congress is formed to decide what to do.
Significance
* French and Indian War: Was a war from 1754-1763 between Great Britain and France over territorial possessions in North America. * Lexington and Concord: It was the first shots of the American Revolution. * Bunker Hill: Colonists retreated, British had many losses; British Won. * Saratoga and Yorktown: In Saratoga British were surrounded by Americans and surrendered; in Yorktown British were trapped.
Concepts

* Five Themes of Geography: Location, Place, Human/Environment Interaction, Movement, Regions * Native Americans learned to plant and raise maize. The harvest provided a steady, reliable source of food. Once they were producing more than enough food, the population also began to grow. * The Columbian Exchange was a widespread exchange between the New and Old World of animals, plants, culture and human populations (including slaves). * The Iriquois League or Iriquois Confederacy became a model for colonists who used the idea of a federation when they were threatened. * The Europeans were searching for trade routes, wealth, sailing technology, and they wanted to spread their religion, Christianity. * E: Economical reasons S: Social and Religious reasons P: Political reasons * Many groups came to America in hopes of finding religious freedom. They were tired of being persecuted back in their homeland. Some of the groups which left England included the Separatists, Quakers, Puritans, and Catholics. * New England Colonies: It is colder than the other 2 colonial regions, there are mostly hills and rocky soil, trees and furs were plenty, and trade, business, and working on small farms summed up most of the jobs.
Middle Colonies: Has rich soil, a decent growing season, iron ore, grains were a major crop, exported agricultural products, and natural resources. Because of the major crop grown in the Middle Colonies, grain, many people who lived there were farmers.
Southern Colonies: It is the warmest of the 3 regions, hilly and covered with forests, has rich farm land, and forests. Rice, indigo, and tobacco were major crops. Many people were great planters and yeoman farmers. Slave Labor was popular in this region. * Mercantilism was the way England made money off of the colonies, buy raw materials from the colonies cheap and sell manufactured goods to the colonies for a profit. The Navigation Acts was series of English laws made to regulate trade between the mother country and her colonies (this affected Triangular Trade). * The Triangular Trade was named for the three portions of the journey that formed a triangle. On the first leg, merchants transported rum, guns, and other supplies from New England to West Africa. In Africa, these goods were traded for slaves. On the second leg of the trip the traders carried slaves from Africa to the West Indies. After selling the slaves, the traders would use their profits to purchase more molasses. The final leg of the trip had exports from the New England colonies being shipped to the West Indies. The New Englanders would then exchange these goods for sugar and molasses and return back to their colonies. * Magna Carta: had the idea of limiting the power of the king. English Bill of Rights: In these rights citizens demanded protection and limitation from the king. Mayflower Compact: This compact had the idea of giving Pilgrims the right to self-govern in the Plymouth Colony. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut: These orders allowed the sovereign power to rest with the people. Land Ordinance of 1785: Established guidelines for organized settlement of the Northwest Territory.
Northwest Ordinance: Established guidelines for admitting new states into the Union. * New England Colonies : Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire
Middle Colonies: New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania
Southern Colonies: Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Maryland * Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Writs of Assistance, Quartering Acts, Townshend Acts, Tea Act, and Intolerable Acts. * 1st Continental Congress: delegates voted to ban all trade with Britain until the Intolerable Acts were repealed, for each colony to establish a colonial militia, and to meet again in 7 months.
2nd Continental Congress: delegates decided who would command the Colonial Army and wrote the Olive Branch Petition for peace. * Fundamentals of the Declaration of Independence: Reason for separation from England, people have unalienable rights, and their power to rule comes from “the consent of the governed”. * Articles of Confederation- Weaknesses: only had the power to declare war, make treaties, manage Indian affairs, maintain an army and navy, coin and borrow money, regulate weights and measures, and establish a postal service.
Strengths: Created 4 important legislations: Treaty of Paris 1783, Land Ordinance of 1785, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and Establishment of Departments. * Constitutional Convention of 1787: Addressed the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation.
Compromises: The Great Compromise: A bicameral legislature consisting of two houses