founding of us Flashcards
Enligtenment
age of reason
• time when people started using
observation & science to determine how
things work
Declaration of
Independence
America’s letter telling England that we
were going to start our own country
Natural Rights
• life, liberty, pro• governments are created to protect natural
rights, if they don’t, people can start a new
Social Contract
• governments are created to protect natural
rights, if they don’t, people can start a new
government
• enlightenment ide
Sovereignty
the right to rule
Popular Sovereignty
the right to rule comes from the people
• synonym–democracy
Grievance
a reason for a complaint
Northwest Ordinance
• document created to govern the
Northwest Territory
• established several precedents for the US
Constitution
Territory
• an piece of land that is controlled by the
U.S., but that is not a state
Northwest Territory
• big piece of land that the US acquired after
the revolution
• what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Wisconsin, & Michigan
Bill of Rights
• List of protections from the government
written into the US Constitution
• 1st 10 amendments to the US Constitution
Amendment
a change to a written document
• there are 27 Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution
13th Amendment
Ended Slavery
Constitution
a list of what the government can and
cannot do
Democracy
government run by the people
• based on majority rule