| A | B |
|---|
| Declaration of Independence | Document written by Jefferson, gives reasons for breaking with British & lists our rights |
| Articles of Confederation | First plan of government for the new U.S., was weak & replaced |
| Constitution | Second plan of government, created federal system & strong national govt. |
| Federal system | Where power is divided between national & state governments |
| Bill of Rights | 1st 10 Amendments, outlines are basic rights & freedoms |
| Checks & Balances | System where each branch of govt. is equal & is able to control the other branches |
| Executive Branch | Carries out the laws |
| Legislative Branch | Writes the laws |
| Judicial Branch | Interprets the meaning of the laws & Constitution |
| James Madison | "Father of the Constitution", 4th President, author of some Federalist Papers |
| States | Independent territories that have their own govt. US has 50 of them |
| Preamble | Beginning of Constitution, lists the goals, starts with "We the People..." |
| Congress | Both houses of the Legislative branch |
| Ratify/Ratification | To accept, approve/process of approving |
| Federalists | Those who supported the passage of the Constitution and a loose interpretation |
| Anti-Federalists | Those who didn't support the Constitution without a Bill of Rights |
| House of Representatives | Part of Congress, has 435 members, based on population |
| Amendment | Any addition or change to the Constitution |
| Senate | Part of Congress, has 100 members, 2 from each state |
| Star Spangled Banner | Poem written about a battle during War of 1812, became national song |
| George Washington | 1st President, set the standards for Presidential behavior |
| President | Head of the executive branch, elected every four years |
| Thomas Jefferson | 3rd President, leader of Democratic-Republicans, purchased Louisiana Territory |
| Alexander Hamilton | Leader of Federalists, creator of national bank, was shot in a duel |
| Andrew Jackson | 7th President, was called both Common Man & King, signed Indian Removal Act into law |
| Louisiana Purchase | Land bought from France, doubled the size of the U.S. |
| Bank of the U.S. | Established by Hamilton to solve national debts & regulate currency |
| Democratic-Republicans | Part that favored liberty over security & believed in a strict interpretation |
| Supreme Court | Highest court in the judicial branch, has 9 justices |
| War of 1812 | Fought against British over freedom of seas, White House was burned, ended with Battle of New Orleans |
| Trail of Tears | Path taken by natives to Indian territory, many died on the way |
| Indian Removal Act | Law that forcefully removed Natives from Southern states to the west |
| Oregon Trail | Main trail taken to the west through the South Pass |
| California Trail | Trail that broke off from Oregon Trail to go to San Francisco, used during Gold Rush |
| Santa Fe Trail | Trail that connected Mexican territory with the US so people could trade |
| Mormon Trail | Used by those going to Utah to practice their religion freely |
| Alamo | Fort attacked by Mexicans during beginning of Texas Revolution, everyone killed |
| Texas Revolution | When Texans revolted from Mexico to gain their independence |
| Lewis & Clark | Sent by Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Territory |
| Mexican-American War | Fought over the boundary of U.S. & Texas, U.S. won & took a lot of land |
| California Gold Rush | When thousands went looking for gold |
| 49'ers | Nickname to those going to California to look for gold |
| Cash Crop | Crop grew specifically to make a profit, ex: Cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, rice, corn |
| Slavery | Practice of using people for work, not paying them, can buy & sell them |
| Plantation | Large farms in the South that used slaves to grow cash crops |
| Abolition | The movement to end slavery in the U.S. for moral reasons |
| Frederick Douglass | Famous runaway slave who wrote & spoke out against slavery |
| Harriet Tubman | Conductor on the Underground Railroad, freed almost 300 slaves |
| Uncle Tom's Cabin | Book by Harriet Beecher Stowe about southern slavery |
| Underground Railroad | System of trails, paths, safe houses used to smuggle slaves to the North & Canada |
| Missouri Compromise | Agreement that limited slavery to the North, kept balance between slave & free states equal in Congress |
| Compromise of 1850 | California is allowed to become a free state, but also created new Fugitive Slave Act |
| Fugitive Slave Act | New federal law that forces Northerners to return runaway slaves |
| Dred Scott Decision | Supreme Court Decision that said blacks are not citizens & slave owners can take slaves anywhere in the U.S. |
| John Brown | Abolitionist who fought in Kansas & Virginia to free the slaves, believed God told him to |
| Harper's Ferry Raid | Attack by John Brown to get weapons to lead a slave revolt in the South |
| Kansas-Nebraska Act | Law created by Stephen Douglas to create new territories where the people would vote on slavery |
| Bleeding Kansas | The fight between abolitionists & pro-slavery people in Kansas |
| Bleeding Sumner | When Senator Brooks attacked Senator Sumner with a cane in Congress over a speech |
| Popular Sovereignty | Idea that people in a territory would vote on the issue of slavery |
| Republican Party | New party focused on limiting the spread of slavery to the territories |
| Abraham Lincoln | 16th President, leader of Republicans, said nation couldn't be both free & slave |
| Election of 1860 | When there was 4 candidates for President, nation divided over slavery, Lincoln won |
| Secession/Secede | The act of breaking away or leaving the Union |
| Fort Sumter | Where Confederates attacked first in South Carolina, starting Civil War |
| Confederacy | Name given to the 11 states that seceded from the Union |
| Jefferson Davis | President of the Confederacy |
| Anaconda Plan | Union plan to surround the South, capture Richmond & Mississippi & control the Border States |
| General Ulysses S. Grant | General of the Union army, won many battle, defeated Lee |
| General William T. Sherman | General of the Union army, Grant's best general |
| General Thomas Jackson | General of the Confederacy, was Lee's best general |
| Rebels | Nickname for the people in the South fighting against the US government |
| Yankees | Nickname for the people in the North |
| Union | Nickname given to the states that didn't secede |
| General Robert E. Lee | Confederate General who couldn't be beaten in Virginia |
