| A | B |
|---|
| Articles of Confederation | he constitution of the thirteen original American states adopted in 1781 and replaced in 1788 by the U.S. Constitution. |
| Boston Massacre (1770) | British troops opened fire at a crowd of colonists and killed seven Americans. |
| Boston Tea Party (1773) | Colonists tossed British tea into Boston harbor to show their hatred of the tax on tea. |
| confederation | A form of political organization in which states combine for certain purposes, such as defense, but retain their individual sovereignty. The United States was a confederation from 1776 to 1788. |
| Continental Congress | Twelve of the Thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia in 1774 to from a unified government. |
| Declaration of Independence | A document, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, in which the thirteen colonies stated their reasons for freeing themselves from British rule. |
| Declaratory Act (1766) | This act stated Parliament had the right to pass laws for the colonies in "all cases whatsoever." |
| English Bill of Rights | An act passed by Parliament in 1689 which limited the power of the monarch. It established Parliament as the most powerful branch of the English government. |
| factions | Groups, according to James Madison, that seek to promote their own special interests at the expense of the common welfare. |
| feudalism | A system of government in which the monarch shared power with the nobility who received services from the common people. |
| Glorious Revolution (1688) | The struggle that overthrew King James 11 and established Parliament's supremacy in the English government. |
| indentured servant | A person who agreed to work for another for a set period of time in return for passage to America. |
| Intolerable Acts (1774) | This act limited local government in Massachusetts and closed the Boston harbor. |
| legislative supremacy | Most power in a government is given to the legislature. |
| loyalists | Americans who supported Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. |
| magistrates | Judges in the colonial governments in America. |
| Magna Carta | A contract between King John and his nobles signed in 1215. The agreement established that the king must obey the law and it protected certain rights of the people. |
| monarchy | A form of government in which political power is held by a single hereditary ruler such as a king or queen. |
| natural rights | life, liberty, and Property |
| nobility | The English upper class, consisting of the titled aristocracy, represented by the House of Lords in Parliament. |
| Northwest Ordinance of 1787 | One of the great accomplishments of the government under the Articles of Confederation. This law provided for the settlement of the western lands and for their admission into the Union. |
| Parliament | In 1258 the nobles forced the king to create a new council to advise the monarch. |
| popular sovereignty | The idea that the people have the ultimate power and that government is based upon the consent of the people. |
| Quartering Act (1765) | This act required colonists to allow British soldiers to stay in their homes. |
| representative government | A system of government in which power is held by the people and exercised by elected representatives. |
| rule of law | Both the government and the governed must obey the law |
| self-evident | easy for any one to understand. |
| Shays' Rebellion | An uprising by Massachusetts farmers in 1786 that convinced many people the Articles of Confederation needed to be changed. |
| Stamp Act (1765) | This act taxed every legal document, newspaper, pamphlet, deck of cards, and dice |
| unalienable rights | Natural rights that cannot be taken away. |
