Benchmark Flashcards
1st state to ratify the constitution
Delaware
XYZ affair
Worsened relations between France and US
Monroe Doctrine
Americas off limits to European expansion
Dorothea dix
Prison and mental institution reform
Migration to North America
Native Americans migrated to the Americas from Asia by walking across beringiq (Bering strait)
Diversity of native Americans
Tribes differed because of location, climate, and available resources
Significance of Vikings
Vikings were the first European people to travel to the americas (as far as we know)
Colombian exchange
- the exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the old world (Asia, Europe) and the new world (Americas)
- affected every society on earth, new diseases caused death-new crops were grown all over the world
Significance of Jamestown
- Jamestown was the first permanent British settlement in the Americas
- founded to make $$$
Why did the pilgrims and puritans come to the Americas?
Religious freedom
Who fought in the French and Indian war?
- French vs. British
- Native Americans fought on both sides
No taxation without representation
- Colonists were against taxation because of principle
- Colonists had no representation in Parliament, so they felt Parliament had no right to tax them (taxed without their consent)
Thomas Jefferson and the American Revolution
Thomas Jefferson’s greatest contribution to the American Revolution was writing the Declaration of Independence
Battle of Saratoga
- turning point battle of the revolutionary war
- colonists won and signed formal alliance with France
Battle of Yorktown
- the last battle of the revolutionary war
- the colonists won the battle, ending British hopes of winning the war
Articles of confederation
- the first constitution of the United States
- created after the Declaration of Independence was signed
Biggest weakness of articles
- central government had no power to tax
- America had no money, no respect and no power
Father of the Constitution
- James Madison
Constitutional convention held in secret … Madison kept records in a diary
Did not want interference from the public
Big vs small states
- the biggest feud at the constitutional convention was between big states and small states
- big states wanted to be represented based on population
- small states wanted representation to be equal for every state
3/5 compromise
Established slaves as 3/5 of a person for population and representation purposes
Checks and balances
- power that one branch has over another
- created so that one branch of government does not gain too much power
Why a bill of rights?
The constitution had nothing protecting the rights of individual Americans
Judicial review
The supreme courts ability to declare a law unconstitutional
Precedents of Washington’s presidency
- set behavioral examples for future presidents
- severed only 2 terms
Alien and sedition acts
- law that restricted freedom of speech and the press
- passed after the XYZ affair
Louisiana purchase
- land purchase from France that doubled the size of the U.S for a cheap price
Lewis and Clark expedition
- a journey to explore the newly acquired Louisiana territory
- Lewis and Clark collected plant and animal specimens and sent them back to president Jefferson
Who fought the war of 1812?
U.S. vs. Britain
Main issues that caused the war of 1812
- impressment of American sailors
- British inciting Indians on the frontier
- British forts in American territory
Missouri compromise
- eased tensions between free / slave states
- made Missouri a slave state and established a free / slave line located at the bottom border of Missouri (36 30’)
Political importance of Andrew Jackson
- Andrew Jackson spread democracy to the common, white man and got more people involved in politics
Spoils system
- the belief that an elected official should give government jobs to their friends / supporters
