The making of America: over view. Flashcards
gaining independence, how america is run, people in america.
gaining independence: how many British colonies were there in America?
13.
gaining independence: what were americans angry about in terms of british rule?
not equal to british citizens. colonies were seen as inferior. had to pay expensive taxes and they had no political representation and also didn’t know what the tax money was used for and couldn’t vote against its use.
gaining independence: who wrote the declaration of independence?
thomas jefferson.
gaining independence: what did the declaration of independence state?
1) americans have inalienable rights- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
2) all men are created equal. ‘ we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.’
3) individuals have civic duty to defend these rights for themselves and others.
gaining independence: how long did the revolutionary war last for?
7 years.
gaining independence: how many years did the founding fathers work to create the constitution and between which dates?
1783-1789.
6 years.
how is America run: what does congress do and how are members of congress chosen?
pass laws. people elected from each state.
how is America run: what can the president do and how long can they stay in office for and why?
propose and block laws.
elected every four years to stop an individual from gaining to much power.
how is America run: what does the supreme court do?
interpret laws.
how is America run: what are the areas of america called?
territories and states.
what do states have for their own and what can they do?
governor, government, elected by the people in the state, own laws- can’t go against congress, vote in national elections, send representatives to congress.
how is America run: why were the territories not states yet?
not enough people/ not stable enough.
people in America: which group had lived in america before white people?
native americans.
people in America: what did white settlers want to do with the native american population?
settler colonialism- replace original population and take over their land and replace with new white settlers.
people in America: what was the third social group?
African americans.
people in America: what role did most african americans have at this time?
slaves.
people in America: what did jefferson say about african americans and native americans?
african americans: inferior- referring to their intelligence.
native americans: nobel- should still take their land away.
who were the first three presidents of the USA?
george washington.
john adams.
thomas jefferson.
why were there more slaves in the south?
southern states were hotter so had a better climate for growing things such as cotton and tobacco so used slaves to work on these plantations.
what was jefferson’s relationships with slaves?
had 600 slaves in total overall.
impregnated his slave sally hemmings who worked on his plantation in Monticello.
enslave their kids.
didn’t free her or the children on his death bed?
some of the children escaped as they were seen as light skinned enough to be passed as white.
how are the british distinguished in paintings?
red coats.
what was the slogan for the revolution?
taxation without representation.
what happened in 1778 to do with fighting the war?
france allied with them. (enters Lafayette.)
what happened in 1781 to do with fighting the war?
battle of Yorktown.
british surrendered.
what dates did the war last between?
1775 until 1783.
when was the constitution made between?
1783-1789.
how is the senate members chosen?
chosen by state.
how did the constitution come about: how, when, where, who, what did it say?
Philadelphia. 17th. 1787.
13 main states came together.
every state can operate like independent countries.
when was the constitution revised?
1788.
what did the new constitution state?
greater powers to federal government.
3 branches- executive, legislative, judicial.
