| A | B |
|---|
| Anarchy | Lack of or no government. |
| Autocracy | Government by the nobility (wealthy). |
| Theocracy | Government ruling on behalf of a set of religious ideas or beliefs. |
| Oligarchy | Government by the elite, wealthy, & privaleged. |
| Monarchy | Government power is passed through a family (King or Queen). |
| Totalitarian | Government by single party which forces people to do certain actions. |
| Dictatorchip | Rule by a single non-elected leader who usually controls the army. |
| Democracy | The majority of the people have a say in who runs the country. |
| Federalism | Government with power divided between a nation and a state. |
| Representative Democracy | Government led by representatives who are chosed for a period of time. |
| Northern Colonies | Colonies of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, & Rhode Island |
| Middle Colonies | Colonies of New York, Delware, New Jersey & Pennsylvania |
| Southern Coloines | Colonies of Virginia, Maryland, Georgia & the Carolinas |
| Jamestown | First English settlement in New World (1607). |
| Plantation System | Large southern farms using slaves as free labor. |
| Mercantilism | Theory that a country should sell more than it buys. |
| Religious dissenters | People determined to escape religious persecution in England. |
| Pilgrims | Religious dissenters who established Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. |
| Puritans | Religious group that established Massachusetts Bay colony with strict religion. |
| Catholics | Group of people who settled in Maryland. |
| Quakers | Religious dissenters who settled in Pennsylvania. |
| Town Meetings | Evidence of direct democracy practices in New England. |
| Suffrage | The Right to vote. |
| Favorable Balance of Trade | Economic situation where a country exports (sells) more than it imports (buys). |
| Exports | Goods sold to other countries. |
| Imports | Goods bought from other countries. |
| Writs of assistance | British search warrants allowing soldiers to search colonial homes, buildings & ships. |
| Proclamation of 1763 | Royal decree prohibiting colonist to settle west of the App. Mountains. |
| Stamp Act | First internal tax forcing colonist to have a stamp on all printed material. |
| Stamp Act Congress | Colonial assembly planning a united resistance to the Stamp Act |
| Declaratory Act | Parliament reaffirmed their right to tax the colonies. |
| Albany Plan of Government | Ben Franklin's attempt to unite the New England Colonies. |
| Sons of Liberty | Organization of colonial patriots helping enforce boycotts. |
| Boycott | Refusal to buy or purchase products. |
| Boston Massacre | British soldiers fired upon unarmed crowd killing 5 colonist. |
| Committees of Correspondence | Organized opposition to British policies through communication network. |
| "shot heard around the world" | The beginning of the Revolutionary War. |
| Boston Tea Party | Colonist protest Tea Act by dumping tea in Boston Harbour. |
| Intolerable Act | Set of taxes that crossed the line in the eyes of the colonist. |
| Declaration of Independence | Document claiming our freedom to the world. |
| Common Sense | Pamplet urging colonist for complete separation from England. |
| Salutary Neglect | Long term neglect of the colonies by England. |
| Navigation Acts | Set of laws that sought to benefit the English merchants. |
| Magna Carta | Document limiting King's power for the first time. |
| Parliament | England's legislative body. |
| Legislature | A group of people that make laws. |
| Common law | Making laws based on court decisions. |
| Precedents | Previous court cases. |
| Mayflower Compact | Pilgrims signed creating a direct democracy in Plymouth. |
| House of Burgesses | First representative democracy in the New World. |
| Social Contract Theory | Idea that the government must protect the people or they can replace it. |
| Natural Rights | Rights people are born with; also called unalienable rights. |
| Limited Government | The idea that power of the government should not be absolute. |
| Land Ordinance, 1785 | Divided western land into townships, with income from each going to education. |
| Northwest Land Ordinance of 1787 | The establisment of states around the Great Lakes area. |
| Shay's Rebellion | Rebellion of Mass. farmers which uncovered the weakness of the government under the Articles of Confederation. |
| Virginia Plan | The large states plan for legislative representaion to be based on population. |
| New Jersey Plan | The small states plan for legislative representation to be equal. |
| The Great Compromise | Created the Senate & House of Representatives, a bicameral legislature. |
| The Three-Fifths Compromise | Each 5 slaves count as 3 people for representation and taxes. |
| The Electoral College | An elected body chosen to elect the President and Vice-President. |
| Bicameral | Two house legislature. |
| Compromise | Two sides given in to reach a mutual agreement. |
| Federalist | Political Party in favor of the new Constitution. |
| Anti-Federalist | Political Party against the Constitution and power concentrated at the national level. |
| Separation of Powers | Founding Fathers creation of 3 Branches to ensure no one branch became to powerful. |
| Checks & Balances | Allowing each branch to have power of the other. |
| The Legislative Branch | The branch that makes laws. |
| The Executive Branch | The branch the enforces or carries out the law. |
| The Judicial Branch | The branch that interprets the law. |
| Bill of Rights | The first 10 Amendment which guaranteed American certain unalienable rights. |
| Eminent Domain | The Government may take your property as long as the pay you for it. |
| Double Jeopardy | A suspect cannot be tried for the same crime twice. |
| Due Process | The overall trial process must be fair. |
| Self-Incrimination | A suspect does not have to testify against himself. |
