Ch. 5-6 Flashcards
3/5’s Compromise
Compromise between northern and southern delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention to count enslaved persons as 3/5’s of a free person in deciding proportional representation in the House of Representatives and taxation by the federal government.
Alien & Sedition Acts
1798 security acts passed by the Federalist-controlled congress. The Alien Act allowed the president to imprison or deport noncitizens; the Sedition Act placed significant restrictions on political speech.
Antifederalists
Opponents of ratification of the Constitution, they were generally from more rural and less wealthy backgrounds than the Federalists
Aristocracy
Members of the highest class of society, typically nobility who inherited ranks & titles
Articles of Confederation
Plan for national government proposed by the Continental Congress in 1777, ratified March 1781. The Articles of Confederation gave the national government limited powers, reflecting widespread fear f centralized authority, and were replaced by the Constitution in 1789.
Bank of the United States
Chartered in 1790 and jointly owned by private stockholders and the national government. Alexander Hamilton argued that the bank would provide stability to the American economy, which was chronically short of capital, by making loans to merchants, handling government funds, and issuing bills of credit.
Battle of Bunker Hill
1775 American Revolution battle in which British troops narrowly defeated patriot militias, emboldening patriot forces.
Battle of Fallen Timbers
(1795) Final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States for control of the Northwest Territory (present-day Ohio)
Battle of Long Island
1776: First major engagement of the new Continental army against 32,000 British troops. Washington’s army was defeated and was forced to retreat to Manhattan Island
Battle of Saratoga
Key Revolutionary War battle fought at Saratoga, NY. Patriot voctory in 1777 provided hope that the colonists could triumph and increased the chances of formal French support
Battle of Yorktown
10/19/1781. Decisive battle in which the surrended of British forces effectively sealed the patriot victory in the American Revolution
Bill of Rights
The 1st 10 amendments to the Constitution, officially ratified by 1791. The amendments safeguarded fundamental personal rights, including freedom of speech and religion, and mandated legal procedures, such as trial by jury.
Boston Massacre
Inflammatory description of a deadly clash between a mob and British soldiers on March 5, 1770, that became a symbol of British oppression for many colonistst
Boston Tea Party
Dramatic attempt by Boston leaders to show colonial contempt for the Tea Act; Sons of Liberty, dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped British tea into Boston Harbor; triggered similar actions across the colonies
Capitalism
An economic system based on private ownership of property and the open exchange goods between property holders on th “free market”. European colonization of the Americas, and in particular, the discovery of vast bullion deposits, helped bring about Europe’s transition to capitalism.
Citizenship
An individual’s relatoinship to the state, wherein citizens swear allegiance to that state, and the state in return is obligated to provide rights to those citizens
Civil liberties
Individual rights regarding freedom that are created by a constitution and a political regime
Civil Rights
Idividual rights regarding equality that are created by a constitution and a political regime
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
British Parliament’s retalitation against the Boston Tea Party that was meant to coerce Boston colonists by reducing the colony’s rights to self-governance. Closed the port of Boston until residents paid for the damaged property and moved Massachusetts court cases against royal officials back to England in a bid to weaken colonial authority.
Colonialism
An imperialist system of physically occupying a foreign territory using military, economic institutions, or settlers
Colonization
The process of settling and controling an already inhabited area for the economic or strategic benefit of the colonizer
Colony
Geographic area in one nation under control by another nation and typically occupied at least partly by settlers of that other nation
Committees of Correspondance
First called by Samuel Adams; formed in Boston, spread throughout the colonies to share information about British abuses of power, particulaly in response to the Sugar Act
Conservatism
A political ideology that is skeptical of change and supports the current order (status quo)