Key Terms Flashcards
Checks and balances
The provisions in the u.s constitution that prevent any branch of the u.s government form dominating the other two branches
Congress
National legislative branch; made up of House of Reps. And Senate
Senate
Upper house of the national legislature
Bill of rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, added in 1791 and consisting of a formal list of citizens’ rights and freedom
Republic
A government in which the citizens rule through elected representatives
Articles of confederation
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.
Federalism
A political system in which a national government and constituent units, such as state governments, share power
Common Sense
A pamphlet by Thomas Pain, published in 1776, that called for separation of the colonies from Britain
John Locke
English philosopher who believed people had natural rights to life, liberty, and property
Triangular trade
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.
Middle passage
The voyage that brought enslaved Africans to the west indies and later to north America
Enlightenment
An 18-century intellectual movement that emphasized the use of reason and the scientific methods as means of obtaining knowledge
French and Indian War
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
Proclamation of 1763
An order in which Britain prohibited its American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Jamestown
First permanent English settlement in North America
popular sovereignty
System in which the residents vote to decide an issue.
Columbian Exchange
The transfer beginning with Columbus first voyage of plants, animals, and diseases between the western hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere
Nomadic
Having no fixed home, moving from place to place per season and availability of food and water
Loyalists
A colonist who supported the British government during the American revolution
Patriots
A colonist who supported American independence from Britain
Louisiana Purchase
The 1803 purchase by the united states of Frances Louisiana territory extending from the Mississippi river to the Rocky Mountains from $15 million
Monroe Doctrine
A policy of u.s opposition to any European interference in the affairs of the Western hemisphere, announced by resident Monroe in 1823
judicial review
The supreme court’s power to declare an act of congress unconstitutional
Missouri Compromise
A series of agreements passed by congress in 1820-1821 to maintain the balance of power between slave states and free states
Trail of Tears
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
manifest destiny
The 19th century belief that the united states would inevitably expand westward to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican territory
American System
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
Federalist
A supporter of the constitution and of a strong national government
Anti-Federalist
An opponent of a strong center government
Fundamentalism
A protestant religious movement grouned in the belief that all the stories and details in the bible are literally true
Great Awakening
A revival of religious feeling in the American colonies during the 17302 and 1750s
Great Plains
The vast grassland that extends through the central portion north American, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains
Confederacy
The confederate states of America a confederation formed in 1861 by the southern states after their secession from the union
Two-party system
A political system dominated by two major parties
