Midterm Review Flashcards
Differences between North and South
North (and east): Industry, typically federalist (Hamiltonian, supported strong central government, against slavery, pro-tariffs—strengthened domestic industry by making people more likely to buy domestic products, opposed westward expansion—more farmland in the west=more Dem-Reps, supported the national bank, loose interpretation of the constitution)
South (and west): Agriculture, typically Anti-Federalist/Dem-Rep (Jeffersonian, supported weak central government—more power to the states, pro-slavery, against tariffs—exported goods to Europe and imported good from Europe, pro-westward expansion because there was a lot of farmland and people that moved there tended to become Dem-Reps, opposed the national bank—they believed it only supported northern industry, strict interpretation of the constitution)
Thomas Paine- Common Sense
He supports American Independence. His argument was so compelling because he was British. He’s never even been to the colonies. (Even British people are agreeing that their government is abusing the colonies)
Boston Massacre
(The question is identifying the picture) The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a “patriot” mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry.
Declaration of Independence- significance- especially focusing on the second stanza
Jefferson uses Locke’s ideas to help write the Declaration of Independence. Ex. Government’s job is to secure the people’s natural rights. Locke promotes the social contract theory- that the government needs to protect the rights of the people and in return, the people will obey the laws. (Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”
The Federalist Papers- purpose
Supported the ratification (passing) of the Constitution. (“John Jay got sick after writing five, James Madison wrote 29, Hamilton wrote the other 51!”)
Constitutional Principles- especially Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Federalism
(Brief background of the Constitution: The Articles of Confederation were the rules of America/the government with only the legislative branch. The Articles were weak due to Congress having no respect or support from the state governments and could not do much—after Britain, people were reluctant to put their trust in a strong central government. The Constitution was then made as a replacement. It outlines the powers of the 3 branches of government. The constitution was not supported by the anti-federalists. In order to gain their support, the Bill of Rights was created in order to secure the people’s rights and prevent government abuses.)
Federalism: The division of power in the US. Power is split up between the national government and the state governments. —If you support the principle of Federalism, you want more power to the state governments (Anti-Federalists are pro-federalism. The only powers the national government should have are written in the constitution. If something is not written in the constitution it is expected that the states have that power. (Anti Federalists like Federalism, Federalists don’t like Federalism—-basically the opposite) —The 10th amendment: All powers not written in the constitution are reserved to the states.
Checks and Balances: Each branch is independent from one another (it does not need another branch to act) (In England, the Prime Minister is not only the lead of the executive, but also a member of Parliament—they cannot act without Parliamentary consent…This is unlike America where the president can do a lot without congressional approval) Each branch is independent, but they also keep the other branches from becoming too powerful/ in check (hence “checks and balances”)—-Ex. Lawmaking: Congress can pass a law, however it is not a law until the President approves it. Usually the President signs the bill, however in rare circumstances, the president can veto the bill (it’s not dead, but it goes back to Congress, which can override it if it has a ⅔ majority in Congress) Presidential veto: checking Congress—Congress overriding it: Congress checking the president ——If the people believe their rights are being violated, they can sue and the courts can check both Congress and the President.
Separation of Powers: The 3 branches of government —to split the power so that not one branch has all the power. If power is decimated/less concentrated, there is less of a chance of abuse (it’s not impossible, but it’s unlikely) One branch may be corrupt, but the other two will balance it better as opposed to the entire government being abusive.
Hamilton’s Financial Plan- why federalists supported it vs. why Democratic-Republicans (Jeffersonians) opposed it
Assumption of Debt:
(the federal government pays off federal debt and all state debt—Hamilton believes this will increase the nation’s credit.)
The issue: Some states, like Virginia, already paid off their debt and thought it wouldn’t be fair to pay off other states’ debt via taxes. (Taxes were raised for this) —Virginia is a Dem-Rep state. To satisfy them, the capital of the U.S. was moved to Washington D.C. (closer to them—it was originally in New York)
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Establishing a National Bank (main conflict between them)
Excise Tax (placed a tax on non-essential goods like whiskey)
Not really a conflict between Dem-Reps and Federalists, but it did anger whiskey farmers and drinkers, causing a rebellion. This rebellion was quickly crushed by Washington.
George Washington- Farewell Address- Isolationism/Neutrality
Established our traditional foreign policy of isolationism and neutrality- want to avoid wars. Becomes our traditional foreign policy objective for 100 years. (He did not want alliances because it would get us involved in other nation’s problems—we are economically weak, divided politically and teetering on failure and we didn’t want to be further weakened. —–This did not include trade) (He also created the presidential cabinet and the two-term tradition)
The Louisiana Purchase- significance/results
The Louisiana Purchase happened under Jefferson’s presidency. He successfully bought the territory from Napoleon of France. However, he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to buy it (he believed in the strict interpretation of the constitution and it didn’t explicitly say if he could do this. He did it anyway and became a loose-interpreter.) He did this for many reasons (selfish reasons and for the country). The land was mainly farmland, and therefore anyone who moved there became farmers, and typically farmers were Dem-Reps, just like Jefferson. —This purchase doubles the size of the U.S. and allows it to have access to the Mississippi River (major for trade) and the very important port city of New Orleans.
Eli Whitney- Cotton Gin’s significance both on cotton production and the growth of slavery
Slavery rapidly spread in the U.S. after the cotton gin was invented (1793). This was a machine that made producing cotton quicker and easier, which in turn, unfortunately, saw the demand for slavery rise throughout the 19th Century in the U.S.
The gin improved the separation of the seeds and fibers but the cotton still needed to be picked by hand. The demand for cotton roughly doubled each decade following Whitney’s invention. So cotton became a very profitable crop that also demanded a growing slave-labor force to harvest it.
Missouri Compromise- details, significance, results
Many Americans move out west, and the west becomes divided into states, one of them being Missouri. There was a debate over whether new states should be slave (slavery is legal), or free (slavery is illegal). A lot of this had to do with politics….in other words, how many slave states vs. free states would there be…and how would that impact representation in Congress. So, in the Missouri Compromise, Missouri would be a free state, Maine would be a free state (it was created in the north for this reason—used to be a part of Massachusetts), and territory north of Missouri (36 30 line), would be free. This demarcation line determined that the southern western territory would be slave states and the north would be free.
U.S. Policy towards American Indians from early-mid 19th Century- Indian Removal Act 1830
This law made Indian removal official U.S. policy. The most notorious example of Indian Removal is known as the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee Indian Nation was forced to move off of their ancestral lands in Georgia, to reservations in modern day Arkansas and Oklahoma. In the process, approx 5000 Indians were killed.
Cherokee v. Georgia:
The Cherokee Indian Nation was forced to move off of their ancestral lands in Georgia, to reservations in modern day Arkansas and Oklahoma. In the process, approx 5000 Indians were killed. The Cherokee fought back…not in battle, but in Court. The case gets appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Court rules in favor of the Cherokee (Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia 1832).
Abolition- Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison
Frederick Douglass: The most famous of the abolitionists…wrote and published slave narratives, talking about his time as a slave. Was the editor of the North Star, an abolitionist newspaper. Gave speeches opposing slavery, all over the world.
William Lloyd Garrison: White abolitionist; preacher; editor of the Liberator, another abolitionist newspaper. —-Most white abolitionists’ ideas were out of religion, but not all. Garrison was a minister who ran a church in Boston.
Seneca Falls Convention- Declaration of Sentiments- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, etc. fought for women’s rights. (Many of them were also abolitionists) —They wanted property rights for women (in the eyes of the law in most states, women were treated as property. Therefore, they could not gain the property that they lived in if their husbands died. After the death of their husband the property often went to the husband’s brother and the woman and her children would become homeless). They also fought for women’s suffrage. Most famous event of the early women’s rights movement, in 1848, was the Seneca Falls Convention. At the convention, Stanton and Mott deliver the Declaration of Sentiments. It was based on the Declaration of Independence…but included women as well as men as being deserving of natural rights. —–”We hold these truths to be self-evident that all MEN AND WOMEN are created equal”. The DoI also has a list of abuses the king did to America. In the DoS the abuses were from men.
