Ms. Flatt and Ms. Wall's US History GA EOCT

French Alliance

French support for America was personified in the Marquis de Lafayette. He commanded American troops and fought battles in many states. He also returned to France for a time to work with Franklin and the French king on how to win American independence.

Eighth Amendment

Prohibits excessive bails, fines, and punishments

House of Burgesses

The House of Burgesses was the first European-type legislative body in the New World.

Compromise of 1850

• the state of New Mexico would be established by carving its borders from the state of Texas. • New Mexico voters would determine whether the state would permit or prohibit the practice of slavery. • California would be admitted to the Union as a free state. • all citizens would be required to apprehend runaway slaves and return them to their owners. Those who failed to do so would be fined or imprisoned. • the slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, but the practice of slavery would be allowed to continue there.

Results of War of 1812

A major result of the War of 1812 was the end of all U.S. military hostility with Great Britain. Never again would Britain and the United States wage war over diplomacy, trade, territory, or any other kind of dispute. America's army and navy were firmly established as worthy opponents of any European military force. The U.S. military's achievements in the War of 1812 also served to heighten nationalist sentiments.

Nat Turner

African American preacher Nat Turner believed his mission on Earth was to free his people from slavery. Seeing an 1831 solar eclipse as a message from above, he led a slave rebellion on four Virginia plantations. About 60 whites were killed, and Turner was captured, tried, and executed. To stop such uprisings, white leaders passed new laws to limit the activities of slaves and to strengthen the institution of slavery.

The Declaration of Independence

After it explains the philosophical and legal reasons for seeking independence from Britain, the declaration has its longest section, which gives numerous examples of how King George III violated the rights of the colonists. Finally, the declaration offers a discussion of the Americans' many unsuccessful attempts to get relief from Britain and ends with the conclusion that the only way for Americans to have their rights restored is to restore them themselves by declaring independence from Britain and by controlling their own government.

Public School

All children should be required to attend free schools supported by taxpayers and staffed by trained teachers. This movement established education as a right for all children and as a state and local issue it improved the quality of schools by requiring trained teachers.

Eli Whitney

American inventor Eli Whitney best illustrates the rise of industrialism with his invention of the cotton gin and his development of interchangeable parts for muskets. Whitney invented

Slavery

Another divisive and controversial issue that confronted delegates to the Constitutional Convention was slavery. Though slavery existed in all the states, southern states depended on slave labor because their economies were based on producing cash crops. When it became clear that states with large populations might have more representatives in the new national government, states with large slave populations demanded to be allowed to count their slaves as a part of their population. Northern states resisted. Both sides compromised by allowing the states to count three-fifths of their slaves when calculating their entire population. Also, to protect the practice of slavery, states with large numbers of slaves demanded that the new government allow for the continuation of the slave trade for 20 years and that northern states return runaway slaves to their owners. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention agreed to these demands.

Interchangable Parts

Another industrial improvement Whitney developed was interchangeable parts. Prior to industrialization, a broken mechanism or machine had to be discarded and replaced because all its parts had been handmade by skilled workers to fit only that mechanism. Whitney introduced the practice of manufacturing identical parts so only the broken part would need to be replaced to repair the whole machine. He applied this process to making muskets. If one piece of the musket's mechanism broke, the owner could continue to use the musket after that piece was replaced with a matching piece. Interchangeable parts made it possible for semiskilled workers to mass-produce mechanical products.

American Nationalism

As a people, Americans in Jackson's day believed in Manifest Destiny. They believed their nation was different from, and superior to, other nations because most Americans of that time shared the Protestant religion and English language, ancestry, and culture. They believed it was their duty to expand the hold of their religion, language, ancestry, and culture all the way to the Pacific Ocean to remake all of North America as the Founding Fathers had remade its Atlantic coast. Altogether, these beliefs comprise American nationalism.

Crossing the Delaware

As a snowstorm pounded Washington and his soldiers, they crossed the Delaware River to stage a surprise attack on a fort occupied by Hessian mercenaries fighting for the British. This victory proved Washington's army could fight as well as an experienced European army.

Growth of the African Population

As tobacco farmers and other cash-crop farmers prospered, they greatly expanded the size of their farms. There were never enough workers available to plant, grow, and harvest the crops, so farmers turned to African slaves to do this work. Many white colonists believed every black person was a savage who needed to be taken care of by white people. When the Virginia Company founded Jamestown in 1607, there were no African slaves in British North America. By 1700, however, there were thousands of African slaves throughout the British colonies. The vast majority of these slaves were located in the southern colonies, where they supplied the labor required to support the region's agriculturally based economy.

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass, a former slave, worked for Garrison and traveled widely, giving eloquent speeches on behalf of equality for African Americans, women, Native Americans, and immigrants. He later published autobiographies and his own antislavery newspaper.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin, along with George Washington, is the best known of America's Founding Fathers. Franklin was born into a poor Boston family in 1706. At age 12, he became an apprentice to one of his brothers, who was a printer. At age 17, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia to start a life of his own choosing, independent from his family. A few months later he sailed to London to gain more experience in the printing business. He returned to Philadelphia in 1726 as an experienced printer, writer, and businessman. These are just some examples of how, throughout his life, Franklin sought ways to improve himself (individualism) and to rise in society (social mobility). Over his 84- year life, Franklin succeeded in making himself one of the world's leading authors, philosophers, scientists, inventors, and politicians.

Westward Expansion

Between 1800 and 1860, the United States more than doubled in size and the number of states expanded from 16 to 33. There were three primary motivations for America's westward growth: 1. the desire of most Americans to own their own land; 2. the discovery of gold and other valuable resources; and 3. the belief that the United States was destined to stretch across North America (Manifest Destiny).

Colonial Resistance

Britain's American colonists believed the king and Parliament were violating their rights as Englishmen. Among the rights they felt were being violated were protection from taxation without representation, the right to a trial by a jury of their peers, protection from searches without warrants, and protection from having troops quartered on their property.

American Victory

Britain's plan to counter the French-American alliance was to have General Charles Cornwallis move the war to the southern states to try to separate those colonies from revolutionary forces in the North. He immediately succeeded in a series of British victories, but the Americans were able to prevent a complete victory in the South. Cornwallis pursued the Americans into Virginia but met with heavy resistance. Wishing to maintain communications with Great Britain by sea, the British general retreated to the coastal town of Yorktown. His forces were attacked by the combined French and American armies and a French fleet. Cut off from any reinforcements, Cornwallis was forced to surrender, and the American Revolution came to an end in North America.

Abolition

By 1820, although racial discrimination against African Americans remained, slavery had largely ended in the North. Many Northerners and some Southerners took up the cause of abolition, a campaign to abolish slavery immediately and to grant no financial compensation to slave owners. As most slaves were held in southern states, abolition was a significant issue that led to growing hostility between Northerners and Southerners. Prominent abolitionists included African Americans, whites, men, and women.

States-Rights

Calhoun and the advocates of sectionalism argued in favor of states' rights--the idea that states have certain rights and political powers separate from those held by the federal government and that the federal government may not violate these rights. The supporters of sectionalism were mostly Southerners. Their opponents were afraid that if each state could decide for itself which federal laws to obey, the United States would dissolve into sectional discord or even warfare.

Quebec

France, like its European rival, Great Britain, settled colonies to secure the valuablenatural resources of North America and export them to Europe. Quebec was the first permanent French settlement in North America. The French instructed their colonists to spread the Catholic faith in the New World. The British encouraged their colonists to establish Protestantism, but the British were more interested in the wealth of natural resources the colonists could send back to Britain. Still, the reason many British colonists moved to the New World was for the opportunity to establish societies tolerant of, and built on, their own religious beliefs.

The Great Awakening

Christian worship changed in the northeastern colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. Ministers said people would feel God's love only if they admitted their sins. People were told that each believer should seek his or her own personal and emotional relationship with God, and that doing this was more important than the Puritan idea of congregations gathering together to hear intellectual sermons. These ministers attracted enormous audiences and often traveled from colony to colony to preach to anyone who wanted to listen, regardless of what church he or she might belong to. Christianity grew, although established churches lost members to the new way of Christian worship. Some preachers said American society had become as corrupt as the English society the colonists' ancestors had escaped. As a result, some people started saying that America needed to cut its ties with Britain to keep its religion pure.

New England

Communities were often run using town meetings, unless the king had established control over the colony. In colonies that the king controlled, there was often an appointed royal governor and a partially elected legislature. Voting rights were limited to men who belonged to the church, and church membership was tightly controlled by each minister and congregation. As more and more children were born in America, many grew up to be adults who lacked a personal covenant (relationship) with God, the central feature of Puritanism. In response, Puritan ministers encouraged a "Half-way Covenant" to allow partial church membership for the children and grandchildren of the original Puritans.

Tenth Amendment

Declares that powers not given to the national government belong to the states or to the people

Ninth Amendment

Declares that rights not mentioned in the Constitution belong to the people

Third Amendment

Declares that the government may not require people to house soldiers during peacetime

Separation of Powers

Despite the fact that most delegates to the Constitutional Convention believed the government designed by the Articles of Confederation had to be replaced, many still feared strong central governments. To reassure people that the new government would not be too powerful, the framers of the Constitution created a limited government with divided powers. The framers were greatly influenced by the ideas of the famed French political thinker Charles de Montesquieu. The rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the Constitution limited the power of the government.

Wilmot Proviso

During the Mexican-American War, Congress debated whether slavery would be allowed in New Mexico and California if these territories were acquired from Mexico. The antislavery position was outlined in a proposal called the Wilmot Proviso, but the House of Representatives failed to approve it, and the issue of whether to allow or prohibit slavery in new states remained unresolved.

George Washington

George Washington was elected the first president of the United States. He established important patterns for future presidents to follow. Developments that altered the course of the history of the U.S. government took place during his administration. Washington favored nonintervention in Europe and avoided siding with France against Great Britain. Instead, the United States persuaded Britain to forgive many pre-Revolutionary debts and to drop certain restrictions on American trade with British colonies in the Americas. This ushered in an era of booming trade with Britain.

First Amendment

Guarantees freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press, and the right to petition the government.

Fifth Amendment

Guarantees that no one may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

Sixth Amendment

Guarantees the right to a trial by jury in criminal cases

Second Amendment

Guarantees the right to possess firearms

Seventh Amendment

Guarantees the right to trial by jury in most civil cases

Massachusetts Charter

In 1686, the British king canceled the Massachusetts charter that made it an independent colony. To get more control over trade with the colonies, he combined British colonies throughout New England into a single territory governed from England. The colonists in this territory greatly disliked this centralized authority. In 1691, Massachusetts Bay became a royal colony.

Causes of the War of 1812

In 1812, America declared war on Great Britain, which was already at war with France. Among the causes of this war, four stand out. First, Americans objected to restrictions Britain was enforcing to prevent neutral American merchants from trading with the French. Second, Americans were outraged by the British policy of impressment. Under this policy, thousands of American sailors were forced against their will to serve in the British navy after their merchant ships were captured at sea. Third, Americans suspected the British were giving military support to Native Americans so they would fight to keep Americans from settling lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. Fourth, Americans wished to drive the British out of North America altogether by conquering Canada while the British army was fighting the French in Europe.

Monroe Doctrine

In 1823, President James Monroe warned the nations of Europe not to meddle in the politics of North and South America. When a group of European countries planned to help one another recapture American colonies that had gained independence, Monroe announced that the United States would prevent European nations from interfering with independent American countries. Further, Monroe said the United States would remain neutral in wars between European nations and their American colonies, but, if battles took place in the New World, the United States would view such battles as hostile actions against the United States. In summary, the Monroe Doctrine defined an aspect of U.S. foreign policy to which America still holds today.

Mexican-American War

In 1845, the United States took Texas into the Union and set its sights on the Mexican territories of New Mexico and California. U.S. annexation of Texas and other factors led to war in 1846. During the conflict, the United States occupied much of northern Mexico. When the United States eventually won the war, this region was ceded to the United States as a part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

In 1854, Congress again took up the issue of slavery in new U.S. states and territories. This time, the territories were Kansas and Nebraska, and Congress approved the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and gave the settlers in all new territories the right to decide for themselves whether theirs would be a free or a slave state. This made a proslavery doctrine, popular sovereignty (rule by the people), the law of the United States.

African American Culture

In America, slaves attempted to "make the best" of their lives while living under the worst of circumstances. Slave communities were rich with music, dance, basket weaving, and pottery making. Enslaved Africans brought with them the arts and crafts skills of their various tribes. Indeed, there could be a hundred slaves working on one farm and each slave might come from a different tribe and a different part of Africa.

Common Sense

In January 1776, patriot philosopher Thomas Paine published Common Sense. This small pamphlet had a big effect on colonists and moved many Americans to support independence from Great Britain. Colonists were persuaded by the logic of Paine's arguments, which included that the Atlantic Ocean was too wide to allow Britain to rule America as well as an American government could, that it was foolish to think an island could rule a continent, and that the idea of Britain being America's "mother country" made Britain's actions all the worse because no mother would treat her children so badly.

Salem Witch Trials

In the 1690s, the famous Salem witch trials took place. In a series of court hearings, over 150 Massachusetts colonists accused of witchcraft were tried, 29 of which were convicted and 19 hanged. At least six more people died in prison. Causes of the Salem witch trials included extreme religious faith, stress from a growing population and its bad relations with Native Americans, and the narrow opportunities for women and girls to participate in Puritan society.

Louisianna Purchase

In the early 1800s, President Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to negotiate the purchase of the important port city of New Orleans. At the time, the French ruler Napoleon controlled New Orleans and much of the land west of the Mississippi River. In 1803, Napoleon agreed to sell to the United States not only New Orleans but also the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million. As a result, the United States nearly doubled in geographic area.

National Infrastructure

In this period, many families moved west of the Appalachian Mountains to claim land in the new American territories stretching to the Mississippi River. Their travel was difficult, taking a week to cross the distance a car might drive today in a few hours. In response, private companies built the young nation's roads and waterways. These roads were often turnpikes, or toll roads, which travelers paid a fee to use. In turn, these fees were used to pay for upkeep of the new roads. Where roads could not be built, barges were used on rivers to carry people and goods--as long as the rivers flowed in the same direction that the settlers and merchants wanted to travel. Soon a new invention, the steamboat, enabled people to buy a ticket from private companies that operated the boats and to travel upstream as easily as downstream. Lastly, in the wilderness where rivers did not run and roads could not be built, government leaders joined businesspeople to build canals--artificial rivers. These shallow waterways were for barges, not steamboats, and had pathways alongside on which horses or mules pulled the barges.

Popular Political Culture

Jackson's presidential campaigns caused an increase in public participation in politics, and things got rough. Jackson's side accused his opponent of flattering European royalty and of misusing public funds. The opponent accused Jackson of unfaithfulness in his marriage, of massacring Native Americans, of illegally executing convicted soldiers, and of dueling. These accusations were publicized in songs, pamphlets, posters, and lapel buttons. A voter could find all these at the first-ever campaign rallies and barbecues.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore Louisiana and the western lands all the way to the Pacific Ocean. On their 16-month expedition, Lewis and Clark charted the trails west, mapped rivers and mountain ranges, wrote descriptions and collected samples of unfamiliar animals and plants, and recorded facts and figures about the various Native American tribes and customs west of the Mississippi River.

King Phillip's War

King Phillip's War (1675-1676) was an early and bloody conflict between English colonists and Native Americans. It was named after the leader of the Native Americans. King Phillip's Native American name was Metacom. Many colonists died in the war, but it caused such a heavy loss of life among the Native American population that large areas of southern New England became English settlements.

The Continental Army

Life was hard for the common soldier in the Continental Army. Enlistments lasted from one to three years, and the states differed in how well and how often they paid their soldiers, housed them when they were not on the march, and supplied them with food, clothing, and equipment. These issues undermined morale, as did the army's stern discipline, the chances of being wounded or killed, and British victories. On Christmas night 1776, Washington led his troops to a victory that was a turning point for America and the revolutionary War.

Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny was the name given to the idea that the United States would naturally occupy the territory between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The word manifest means "obvious," and the word destiny means "fate." According to Manifest Destiny, the obvious fate of the United States was to expand "from sea to shining sea." There were strong economic motivations behind this belief, as well as racism regarding Native Americans and Mexican people. It became a popular political belief in the United States during the early 19th century.

Transatlantic Trade

Mercantilism also inspired Parliament to control transatlantic trade with its American colonies. All goods shipped to or from British North America had to travel in British ships, and any goods exported to Europe had to land first in Britain to pay British taxes. Some goods could be exported to Britain only. These restrictions were designed to keep the colonies from competing against Britain. Some Americans responded by becoming smugglers.

Mercantilism

Mercantilism inspired the British government to view its American colonies as sources of wealth that would make Britain wealthier and stronger. The more land the British could colonize in America, the less land in the New World there would be for France and other European countries. The more American goods the British could sell to other countries, the less money those countries would have for themselves. Great Britain would get stronger, and its European rivals would get weaker.

Slavery as a Major Political Issue

Most white Southerners opposed abolition. White writers and public speakers argued slavery was a necessary part of life in the South. The southern economy, they said, was based on large-scale agriculture that would be impossible to maintain without slave labor. They also boasted that southern white culture was highly sophisticated and said it was made possible by the plantation economy. Another proslavery argument claimed slaves were treated well and lived better lives than factory workers in the North. In fact, some whites said they provided better lives for slaves than free blacks were able to provide themselves. When settlers in the slaveholding Missouri Territory sought statehood, proslavery and antislavery politicians made slavery a central issue in national politics.

Committees of Correspondence

Much of the planning for the First Continental Congress was carried out by committees of correspondence. These committees were formed because American patriots could not communicate publicly. One committee would exchange written communications with another committee within or between the colonies. Committees of correspondence were the first organization linking the colonies in their opposition to British rule.

Powhatan

Native Americans had lived for centuries on the land the English settlers called Virginia. A notable Native American chieftain in the region was Powhatan.

Virginia

Native Americans had lived for centuries on the land the English settlers called Virginia. A notable Native American chieftain in the region was Powhatan. Soon after the English settlers arrived, they forced the Native Americans off their own land so it could be used by the settlers for agricultural purposes, especially to grow tobacco. Their actions caused many Native Americans to flee the region and seek new places to live. However, all the colonists did not own land. Poor English and slave colonists staged an uprising against the governor and his landowning supporters. In what is called Bacon's Rebellion, the landless rebels wanted harsher action against the Native Americans so more land would be available to the colonists. The rebellion was put down, and the Virginia House of Burgesses passed laws to regulate slavery so poor white colonists would no longer side with slaves against rich white colonists.

The Great Compromise

One great issue facing the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was how differentsized states could have equal representation in the new government. States with large populations supported a plan to create a legislative branch in which representatives were assigned based on each state's population. States with smaller populations supported a plan to create a legislative branch in which all states were equally represented. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention settled the issue of representation in Congress by approving the Great Compromise. This compromise helped "save" the Constitution by settling the dispute between states with large populations and states with small populations. The compromise called for the creation of a legislature with two chambers: a House of Representatives, with representation based on population, and a Senate, with equal representation for all states.

Mid-Atlantic Colonies

Pennsylvania, located between New England and Virginia, was a colony founded by the religiously tolerant Quakers led by William Penn. Farther north, New York was settled by the Dutch, who called it New Amsterdam. In 1664, the British conquered the colony and renamed it New York. A diverse population kept alive this center of trade and commerce founded by the Dutch, whom the British invited to remain there. With members of various British and Dutch churches, New York also tolerated different religions. New York's harbor and river systems significantly contributed to its economic growth and importance. New York's convenient location along water trade routes allowed farmers to easily ship wheat and other agricultural goods to markets in America and in Europe, as well as to import manufactured goods from markets abroad. This allowed New York to grow into a major commercial hub and one of the biggest cities in the British colonies.

Temperance

People should drink less alcohol, or alcohol should be outlawed altogether. This movement increased the size of Protestant religious organizations and their influence in western and rural sections of the country. Women played an important role, which laid the foundation for the women's movement.

Bacon's Rebellion

Poor English and slave colonists staged an uprising against the governor and his landowning supporters. In what is called Bacon's Rebellion, the landless rebels wanted harsher action against the Native Americans so more land would be available to the colonists. The rebellion was put down, and the Virginia House of Burgesses passed laws to regulate slavery so poor white colonists would no longer side with slaves against rich white colonists.

Separation of Powers

Powers were divided in two ways within the new government. First, power was divided between national and state governments. Second, the power of the executive branch was weakened because it was shared with the legislative and judicial branches. For example, the legislature can override a presidential veto of a bill, and the Supreme Court can rule that a bill signed by the president is unconstitutional. To further safeguard against an abuse of power, the Constitution gave each branch of government a way to check and balance the power of the other branches. An example of these checks and balances would be the president's power to veto laws passed by Congress.

Jacksonian Democracy

President Andrew Jackson and his supporters shared a political philosophy later referred to as "Jacksonian Democracy." It sought a stronger presidency and executive branch, and a weaker Congress. Out of respect for the common man, it also sought to broaden public participation in government, so it expanded voting rights to include all adult white males, not just landowners. Another principle of Jacksonian democracy was that politicians should be allowed to appoint their followers to government jobs as a way of limiting the power of elite groups. Jacksonians also favored Manifest Destiny and greater westward expansion of the United States.

Kansas- Nebraska Act

Pro- and antislavery groups hurried into Kansas in attempts to create voting majorities there. Antislavery abolitionists came from eastern states; proslavery settlers came mainly from neighboring Missouri. Some of these Missourians settled in Kansas, but many more stayed there only long enough to vote for slavery and then returned to Missouri. Proslavery voters elected a legislature ready to make Kansas a slave state. Abolitionists then elected a rival Kansas government with an antislavery constitution, established a different capital city, and raised an army. Proslavery Kansans reacted by raising their own army. The U.S. House of Representatives supported the abolitionist Kansans; the U.S. Senate and President Franklin Pierce supported the proslavery Kansans. Violence between the two sides created warlike conditions. Popular sovereignty had failed.

Fourth Amendment

Protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures

Half-Way Covenant

Puritan ministers encouraged a "Half-way Covenant" to allow partial church membership for the children and grandchildren of the original Puritans.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island was founded by religious dissenters from Massachusetts who were more tolerant of different religious beliefs.

Abolition

Slavery should be abolished and it should not be allowed in new states. This movement made slavery and its expansion an important political issue. Women played an important role, which laid the foundation for the women's movement.

The Stamp Act

The Stamp Act required the colonists to print newspapers, legal documents, playing cards, and so forth, on paper bearing special stamps (similar to postage stamps). Buying the stamped paper was the equivalent of paying a tax. Some colonists formed groups called the Sons of Liberty to stop distribution of the stamped paper. Nine colonies sent representatives to the Stamp Act Congress, which sent a formal protest to the king.

Proclamation of 1763

Tensions increased with the Proclamation of 1763, by which Americans were forbidden from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains, in an effort to limit their conflicts with Native Americans.

1783 Treaty of Paris

The 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary War. The United States won its independence from Great Britain and gained control of land stretching to the Mississippi River. Britain ceded Florida to Spain and certain African and Caribbean colonies to France.

Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation were written during the American Revolution. They reflected Americans' fear of a powerful national government. As a result, the Articles created a government that had no executive branch and that lacked the power to tax, regulate commerce, or establish a national currency. The Articles gave individual states more power than the national government had. As a result, conflicts among the states threatened the existence of the nation.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in American history. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft and then made revisions suggested by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and others. Because the declaration addressed a worldwide audience, its language was made simple and direct so people everywhere would understand and sympathize with the colonists' cause. The text borrowed phrases from the influential writings of English philosopher John Locke. This helped convince readers that American independence was supported by the ideas of a famous philosopher.

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

The Federalist papers, the promise of the Bill of Rights, and the efforts of Federalists convinced a majority of voters to support the Constitution. It was eventually ratified and became the basis for all law, rights, and governmental power in the United States.

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War resulted from a long-simmering rivalry between Great Britain and France and their competition for territory in North America. The French and Indian War broke out in 1754 when Great Britain challenged the French for control of the land that is now Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Native Americans tended to support the French because, as fur traders, the French built forts rather than permanent settlements. Great Britain eventually won the war.

The Grimke Sisters

The Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angelina, were southern women who lectured publicly throughout the northern states about the evils of slavery they had seen growing up on a plantation. Their public careers began when Garrison published a letter from Angelina in his newspaper.

The Intolerable Acts

The Intolerable Acts closed the port of Boston as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. These acts also allowed British officials accused of major crimes to be tried in England and forced the colonists to house British troops on their property. Colonists called for the First Continental Congress to protest these actions and formed colonial militias to resist enforcement of these acts.

The Treaty of Paris (1763)

The Treaty of Paris (1763), which ended the French and Indian War, forced France to turn over control of Canada to Great Britain. France also surrendered its claim to all land east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of the city of New Orleans. Additionally, the treaty gave the British government control of all of Britain's American colonies. The colonists objected to the loss of control over their own affairs, and some Americans began to think about an American revolution. Tensions grew when Parliament passed laws to tax the colonists to pay for the cost of keeping a large standing army in North America that would protect both Britain's possessions and the American colonists from attacks.

Northwest Ordinance

The election of 1796 was a bitter contest between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, with Adams winning by a small margin. Like Washington, Adams set examples that influenced future presidents as well as the course of American history. However, his administration was plagued by conflicts with France and Great Britain that crippled the nation's economy, and he received harsh political criticism from supporters of Vice President Jefferson. To aid Adams, Congress passed laws that increased citizenship requirements so that Jefferson could not receive support from the immigrant community. Congress also tried to stop the criticism with attempts to limit the speech and press rights of Jefferson's followers. Jefferson and Madison then argued that states could refuse to enforce federal laws they did not agree with. This was the beginning of the states' rights concept.

Presidency of John Adams

The election of 1796 was a bitter contest between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, with Adams winning by a small margin. Like Washington, Adams set examples that influenced future presidents as well as the course of American history. However, his administration was plagued by conflicts with France and Great Britain that crippled the nation's economy, and he received harsh political criticism from supporters of Vice President Jefferson. To aid Adams, Congress passed laws that increased citizenship requirements so that Jefferson could not receive support from the immigrant community. Congress also tried to stop the criticism with attempts to limit the speech and press rights of Jefferson's followers. Jefferson and Madison then argued that states could refuse to enforce federal laws they did not agree with. This was the beginning of the states' rights concept.

Compromise of 1850

The expansion of U.S. territory and population growth in the West continued to fuel political tensions between free states and slave states over the extension of slavery. Many members of Congress became increasingly concerned that the issue of slavery threatened the survival of the nation. Those who favored slavery and those who opposed slavery therefore agreed to five laws that addressed these concerns. Collectively, the five laws are known as the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 eased sectional tensions over slavery for a short time. In the next few years, however, aspirations for a more permanent solution to the issue of slavery faded.

New England

The first New England colonies were established by the Puritans in present-day Massachusetts. Most of the colonists came with their whole family to pursue a better life and to practice religion as they saw fit. As a result of strict religious beliefs, the Puritans were not tolerant of religious beliefs that differed from their own.

Virginia Company

The first permanent English colony in North America was Virginia. It was a business venture of the Virginia Company, an English firm that planned to make money by sending people to America to find gold and other valuable natural resources and then ship the resources back to England. The Virginia Company established a legislative assembly that was similar to England's Parliament, called the House of Burgesses. The House of Burgesses was the first European-type legislative body in the New World. People were sent from England to work for the Virginia Company. They discovered no gold but learned how to cultivate tobacco. Tobacco quickly became a major cash crop and an important source of wealth in Virginia. It also helped to create major social and economic divisions between those who owned land and those who did not. Additionally, tobacco cultivation was labor-intensive, and the Virginia colony's economy became highly dependent on slavery.

Mercantilism

The founders of the British colonies were greatly influenced by an economic theory known as mercantilism. This theory held that Earth had a limited supply of wealth in the form of natural resources, especially gold and silver, so the best way to become a stronger nation was to acquire the most wealth. Because the world's wealth was thought to be limited, the more one country had, the less any other country could have. Consequently, as a nation became stronger and wealthier, its enemies became poorer and weaker.

The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution is the name given to the period in the 19th century when powerdriven machines operated by semiskilled or unskilled workers replaced hand tools operated by skilled laborers, altering the quality of work for many people.

Erie Canal

The most famous canal built in this era was the Erie Canal, which connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. It was opened in 1825 after eight years of digging by thousands of laborers, mostly immigrants. It stretches 363 miles from Lake Erie to the Hudson River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean at New York City. The Erie Canal served as a turnpike for barges where a road could not easily be built, and greatly lowered transportation costs. This not only opened up western New York and regions further west to increased settlement, but also helped unite new regions with the Atlantic states.

Shay's Rebellion

The political weakness of the United States and its potential for collapse left it vulnerable to attack by foreign countries and convinced many influential Americans to support a Constitutional Convention. Political leaders were further motivated by Shays's Rebellion, which they felt set a precedent for mob rule. Daniel Shays led more than a thousand farmers who, like him, were burdened with personal debts caused by economic problems stemming from the states' Revolutionary War debts. Shays and his men tried to seize a federal arsenal in Massachusetts. This was just one of many protests that debt-ridden farmers made during this period. Without the power to tax, America's weak government could not repair the national economy. Responding to Shays's Rebellion, George Washington supported the establishment of a stronger central government. In May 1787, he was elected president of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where he and the Founding Fathers created a federalist form of government for the United States.

The Middle Passage

The sea voyage that carried Africans to North America was called the Middle Passage because it was the middle portion of a three-way voyage made by the slave ships. First, British ships loaded with rum, cloth, and other English goods sailed to Africa, where they were traded for Africans originally enslaved by other Africans. Then, in the Middle Passage, the slaves would be transported to the New World. The crew would buy tobacco and other American goods using profits they made from selling the slaves in the colonies, and they would ship the tobacco and goods back to Britain. This process was repeated for decades. It was said that people in the colonial port cities could smell the slave ships arriving before they could see them. The slaves were packed like bundles of firewood. About two of every ten slaves died during the passage.

Missouri Compromise

The state constitution proposed by Missouri allowed slavery. Because half the states in the union allowed slavery while the other half did not, statehood for Missouri would upset the U.S. Senate's equal balance between proslavery and antislavery senators. This issue was resolved when Congress passed the Missouri Compromise. Under the compromise, Maine would be admitted to the Union as a free state, Missouri would be admitted as a slave state, and slavery would be prohibited in the northern part of the Louisiana territory, except for Missouri. Once again, half the states would allow slavery while the other half would not, and the Senate would retain its equal balance between proslavery and antislavery senators--until the next state asked to enter the Union.

Virginia

Virginia's rich soil, temperate climate, coastal harbors, and river systems aided the colony's growth, especially the Jamestown settlement. Easy access to commercial waterways allowed colonists to export tobacco and other natural resources to England, as well as to import much-needed manufactured goods from English markets. The trans-Atlantic trade made it possible for the colony to prosper and expand.

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

To counter these claims, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and others wrote a series of articles that supported ratification of the Constitution and explained the intent behind its major provisions. These articles were known as The Federalist papers, so supporters of the Constitution were known as Federalists. To overcome the anti-Federalist argument that the Constitution failed to include a statement of states' rights and individuals' rights, Madison created the Bill of Rights, which would be added to the Constitution after the Constitution was ratified.

Rise of New York City

Until 1790, New York City was the capital of the United States. In the early 1800s, civic development turned this colonial town into a great economic center established on a grid of city blocks. By 1835, the population had grown so large that New York City outpaced Philadelphia as the largest U.S. city. Trade grew when the Erie Canal made the city's harbors the link between European merchants and the great agricultural markets across the Appalachians from New York City. The city was home to the biggest gathering of artisans and crafts workers in the United States, and its banking and commercial activities would soon make it the leading city in all of North America.

Nullification Crisis

Vice President John C. Calhoun argued with President Andrew Jackson about the rights of states to nullify (cancel) federal laws they opposed. Trouble, known as the Nullification Crisis, resulted when southern states sought to nullify a high tariff (tax) Congress had passed on manufactured goods imported from Europe. This tariff helped northern manufacturers but hurt southern plantation owners, so legislators nullified the tariff in South Carolina. Calhoun, a South Carolinian, resigned from the vice presidency to lead the efforts of the southern states in this crisis. His loyalty to the interests of the southern region, or section, of the United States, not to the United States as a whole, contributed to the rise of sectionalism.

Valley Forge

Washington and his troops spent the winter of 1777-1778 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. They spent six months there. The army's problems with wages, housing, food, clothing, and equipment were at their worst. Disease spread throughout the camp, increasing the suffering of the 12,000 men. As conditions worsened, almost 4,000 soldiers were too weak or ill to fight. Yet that winter Washington ordered an intense training program- similar to a modern boot camp—that turned the Continental Army into a capable and self-assured infantry.

French Alliance

Washington and his troops spent the winter of 1777-1778 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. They spent six months there. The army's problems with wages, housing, food, clothing, and equipment were at their worst. Disease spread throughout the camp, increasing the suffering of the 12,000 men. As conditions worsened, almost 4,000 soldiers were too weak or ill to fight. Yet that winter Washington ordered an intense training program—similar to a modern boot camp—that turned the Continental Army into a capable and self-assured infantry.

Political Parties

Washington was the most influential and popular figure in the United States. He increased the prestige of his administration by making Thomas Jefferson his secretary of state and Alexander Hamilton his secretary of treasury. Despite their talents and reputations, Jefferson and Hamilton had significant differences of opinion about the legitimate power of the United States government. Jefferson believed that the national government must limit its power to those areas described by the Constitution, while Hamilton wanted to expand the power of the government to stabilize the nation and its economy. When Washington announced he would not seek a third term as president, the two men and their supporters attacked one another and competed to replace him. Things got so bad that, in his farewell address, Washington warned about the dangers of political parties (factions).

Whiskey Rebellion

Washington's new government persuaded Congress to pass taxes on liquor to help pay the states' debt from the Revolutionary War. The tax hit the small whiskey-makers in western settlements particularly hard because they made liquor using excess crops of grain in order to make it easier to transport. The Whiskey Rebellion resulted when, up and down areas west of the Appalachians, armed violence broke out as farmers frightened and attacked federal tax collectors. George Washington led a large militia force into the western counties and put down the rebellion. Washington's response showed his constitutional authority to enforce the law and that if Americans did not like a law, the way to change it was to petition Congress peacefully.

George Washington and The Continental Army

When the American Revolution began, George Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army. He displayed extraordinary leadership abilities in the role. Washington reorganized the army, secured additional equipment and supplies, and started a training program to turn inexperienced recruits into a professional military.

William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison, a writer and editor, was an important white abolitionist. He founded regional and national abolitionist societies and published an antislavery newspaper that printed graphic stories of the bad treatment received by slaves.

Women's Suffrage

Women's rights were few in the early 1800s. Women did not have the right to vote (suffrage) and often lacked legal custody of their own children. Most men--and most women, too--believed this was fitting and proper. One exception was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She was an outspoken advocate for women's full rights of citizenship, including voting rights and parental and custody rights. In 1848, she organized the Seneca Falls Conference--America's first women's rights convention--in New York. Delegates adopted a declaration of women's independence, including women's suffrage. Historians often cite the Seneca Falls Conference as the event that marked the beginning of organized efforts by women in the United States to gain civil rights equal to those of men.

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

Writing the Constitution was just the first step in creating the new government. Before the Constitution could take effect, the states had to accept, or ratify, it. As soon as the contents of the Constitution were published, a group of influential people spoke out against it. These people came to be known as the anti-Federalists. They believed the government created by the Constitution would be too powerful and would eliminate the power of the states. They also argued that the Constitution did not describe the rights guaranteed to the states and to each citizen.