Key Terms

Question 1

Checks and balances

Answer 1

The provisions in the u.s constitution that prevent any branch of the u.s government form dominating the other two branches

Question 2

Congress

Answer 2

National legislative branch; made up of House of Reps. And Senate

Question 3

Senate

Answer 3

Upper house of the national legislature

Question 4

Bill of rights

Answer 4

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, added in 1791 and consisting of a formal list of citizens’ rights and freedom

Question 5

Republic

Answer 5

A government in which the citizens rule through elected representatives

Question 6

Articles of confederation

Answer 6

A document, adopted by the second continental congress in 1777 and finally approved by the states un 1781, that outlined the form of government of the new United States.

Question 7

Federalism

Answer 7

A political system in which a national government and constituent units, such as state governments, share power

Question 8

Common Sense

Answer 8

A pamphlet by Thomas Pain, published in 1776, that called for separation of the colonies from Britain

Question 9

John Locke

Answer 9

English philosopher who believed people had natural rights to life, liberty, and property

Question 10

Triangular trade

Answer 10

The transatlantic slave trade, that operated from the late 16th to early 19th centuries, carrying slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods between west Africa, Caribbean or American colonies and the European colonial powers, with the northern colonies of British North.

Question 11

Middle passage

Answer 11

The voyage that brought enslaved Africans to the west indies and later to north America

Question 12

Enlightenment

Answer 12

An 18-century intellectual movement that emphasized the use of reason and the scientific methods as means of obtaining knowledge

Question 13

French and Indian War

Answer 13

A conflict in north America, lasting from 1754 to 1763, that was a part of a worldwide struggle between France and Britain and that ended with the defeat of France and the transfer of French Canada to Britain

Question 14

Proclamation of 1763

Answer 14

An order in which Britain prohibited its American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Question 15

Jamestown

Answer 15

First permanent English settlement in North America

Question 16

popular sovereignty

Answer 16

System in which the residents vote to decide an issue.

Question 17

Columbian Exchange

Answer 17

The transfer beginning with Columbus first voyage of plants, animals, and diseases between the western hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere

Question 18

Nomadic

Answer 18

Having no fixed home, moving from place to place per season and availability of food and water

Question 19

Loyalists

Answer 19

A colonist who supported the British government during the American revolution

Question 20

Patriots

Answer 20

A colonist who supported American independence from Britain

Question 21

Louisiana Purchase

Answer 21

The 1803 purchase by the united states of Frances Louisiana territory extending from the Mississippi river to the Rocky Mountains from $15 million

Question 22

Monroe Doctrine

Answer 22

A policy of u.s opposition to any European interference in the affairs of the Western hemisphere, announced by resident Monroe in 1823

Question 23

judicial review

Answer 23

The supreme court’s power to declare an act of congress unconstitutional

Question 24

Missouri Compromise

Answer 24

A series of agreements passed by congress in 1820-1821 to maintain the balance of power between slave states and free states

Question 25

Trail of Tears

Answer 25

The marches in which the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from Georgia to the Indian territory in 1838-1840, with thousands of the Cherokee dying on the way

Question 26

manifest destiny

Answer 26

The 19th century belief that the united states would inevitably expand westward to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican territory

Question 27

American System

Answer 27

A pre-civil war set of measure designed to unify the nation and strengthen its economy by means of protective tariffs, a national bank, and such internal improvements as the development of a transportation system

Question 28

Federalist

Answer 28

A supporter of the constitution and of a strong national government

Question 29

Anti-Federalist

Answer 29

An opponent of a strong center government

Question 30

Fundamentalism

Answer 30

A protestant religious movement grouned in the belief that all the stories and details in the bible are literally true

Question 31

Great Awakening

Answer 31

A revival of religious feeling in the American colonies during the 17302 and 1750s

Question 32

Great Plains

Answer 32

The vast grassland that extends through the central portion north American, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains

Question 33

Confederacy

Answer 33

The confederate states of America a confederation formed in 1861 by the southern states after their secession from the union

Question 34

Two-party system

Answer 34

A political system dominated by two major parties