DYR Test

Klondike Gold Rush

This 1896 event was caused by the discovery of gold in Canada. This led the federal government to move the economy to a gold standard under the McKinley administration.

Marbury v. Madison

This Supreme Court case established the right of Judicial Review which is the Supreme Court's right to declare laws or acts of Congress unconstitutional.

13th Amendment

This amendment of the Constitution abolished slavery in the U.S.

15th Amendment

This amendment of the Constitution allowed for voting rights for African Americans.

14th Amendment

This amendment of the Constitution allows for due process of law for citizens of the U.S.

American Exceptionalism

This concept describes the view that America is unique among all nations. This idea was first established by Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. The five characteristics of this concept are liberty, populism, individualism, egalitarianism, and laissez-faire economics.

Articles of Confederation

This document was the first formal government of the United States. It gave few powers to the federal government and vested most of the power (like taxation) to the states. It eventually will be "revised" at the Constitutional Convention.

Declaration of Independence

This document was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. It outlines the natural rights of man, lists grievances of the American colonists towards the King of England (George III), and justifies why the colonies were seeking independence. It has also been used as a validation for civil rights groups because of the phrase "all Men are created equal".

U.S. Constitution

This document, written in 1787, created a stronger national government over the states. It is considered the "supreme law of the land" and is still governing the U.S. today.

Barbed Wire:

This invention was used by ranchers and resulted in ending the "open frontier".

Barrios

This is the name given to ethnic enclaves that were formed by groups in order to try and retain their culture.

Elastic Clause

This is the name given to the clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) in which broad constructionists point to in order to make a loose interpretation of the Constitution. This is also known as the "Necessary and Proper Clause".

Populism

This movement brought about a larger political voice to the people. It; focused on the interests of farmers and laborers.

Separation of Powers

This phrase describes a constitutional principle in which each branch of government has their own powers that only they can exercise. For example, the Legislative Branch makes laws, the Executive Branch enforces laws, and the Judicial Branch interprets laws.

Checks & Balances

This phrase describes a constitutional principle that prevents one branch of government from gaining too much power over the other branches. For example, the Legislative Branch makes laws but the Executive Branch can veto them.

Republicanism

This phrase describes a system where people vote for elected representatives to run the government.

Limited Government

This phrase describes the idea that the power of government is restricted by the Constitution. In essence it means that no one is above the law.

"E Pluribus Unum"

This phrase in Latin means "out of many, one". It was adopted by the United States as a motto to refer to the fact that the U.S. was formed as a cohesive single nation as the result of the 13 smaller colonies joining together.

Popular Sovereignty

This phrase means to let the people of a territory decide (especially in regards to slavery).

Primary Sources

This phrase refers to a document or physical object which was written or created during the time period being studied. Some examples are diaries, autobiographies, or interviews.

Secondary Sources

This phrase refers to items of evidence that are one or more steps removed from an event. Some examples are biographies, historical mini-series, or textbooks.

"In God We Trust"

This phrase was originally taken from Francis Scott Key's poem Defence of Fort M'Henry which eventually will be put to music and become The Star-Spangled Banner. It was used to distinguish the U.S. from nations that restrict religions. Today it can be found on U.S. coins and currency.

Dawes Act

This piece of Congressional legislation aimed to Americanize and assimilate Native Americans into society. It broke up Native American reservations and pressed ownership of land.

Homestead Act

This piece of Congressional legislation gave free land to settlers in order to quickly populate the West after the Civil War.

Cross of Gold

This speech was given by William Jennings Bryan as he was accepting the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1896. In the speech, Bryan argued against the gold standard and for bimetallism.

Monroe Doctrine

This speech, given in front of Congress in 1832, became a powerful American foreign policy statement. It warned nations not to interfere with the newly independent nations in the Western Hemisphere.

Reconstruction

This time period was a period of rebuilding of the nation after the Civil War. During this period, Southern states were readmitted into the Union and civil rights amendments were added to the Constitution.

War of 1812

This war began because Great Britain was impressing American sailors. It resulted in the spark of the Industrial Revolution in America due to the British blockade.

Civil War

This war, which occurred from 1861-1865, was fought by the North (Union) because they wanted to reunify the U.S. The South (Confederacy) fought because they felt states' rights were being violated.

Federalism

This word describes a political system in which the federal government shares power with state governments.