US-History (regent)

• Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

  • Most influenced U.S. foreign policy throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th century
  • Helped the U.S. maintain its foreign policy of neutrality during much of the 1800s
• Natural harbors

  • Contributed to the development of commerce
• Appalachian Mountains


  • Served as the western boundary for British colonial settlements prior to the Revolutionary War
• Proclamation Line of 1763

  Border established by Great Britain in order to avoid conflicts between American colonists and Native Americans
• Early colonial settlements

  • Jamestown (1607)
  • Plymouth (1620)
  • New Amsterdam (1625)
• New England Colonies


  • Influenced by good harbors, abundant forests, rocky soil, and a short growing season
  • Geographic factors influenced the economy of New England by promoting the growth of trade and manufacturing
  • Developed villages with town-hall meetings
  • Had small farms, commercial fishing, and the first American college
• Southern Colonies


  • The climate and topography of the southeastern U.S. had a major impact on the history of the U.S. before 1860 because the region provided agricultural products that were processed in the North and in Europe
  • Developed plantations (large farms that used slave labor) because of fertile land and a long growing season
• Great Plains


  • The relatively flat, grassy region of the U.S. between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains
  • The states with the largest percentage of land used for agriculture are located in areas with relatively flat terrain
  • Known for producing grain crops (aka food)
• Triangular Trade

  Led directly to the increased importation of enslaved Africans to the Western Hemisphere (colonies)
• British Mercantilism


  • Economic policy used by the British in which the American Colonies served as a source of raw materials and a market to sell goods
  • British buy raw materials from the colonies and sell them finished products
  • Limited manufacturing in America
  • Limited colonies' trade with other nations
• Salutary Neglect

  • Period of time when the British ignored the colonies because they only wanted to benefit from the economic prosperity of the colonies
  • Led to the development of independent colonial trade practices
• French and Indian War

  • Caused by disputed land claims in the Ohio River valley between the French and the British (the French and Indians were on the same side)
  • War led to the end of the period of Salutary Neglect, because of the British need to tax the American colonists in order to pay for the war
  • This increase in taxes became one of the major causes of the Revolutionary War (war for American independence from Great Britain)
• Early colonial efforts in self-government

  • Virginia House of Burgesses
  • Mayflower Compact
  • Town Hall Meetings
• Albany Plan of Union (1754)


  • Early attempt to unify American colonies but under British rule
  • Many colonies objected to it because colonial assemblies did not want to give up their individual power
• Declaration of Independence


  • States the colonial grievances against British rule (a list of reasons for separating from Great Britain)
  • Written by Thomas Jefferson who was most influenced by the writers of the Enlightenment
  • Is described as a statement of democratic principles rather than a framework for government
  • Takes ideas from John Locke's theory of natural rights-power to govern belongs to the people ("consent of the governed")
  • Contributed to the political development of the U.S. by presenting a clear statement of the social contract theory of government- the fundamental purpose of government is to secure the natural rights of the people
  • If a government denies its people certain basic rights, that government can be overthrown
  • Similar to the Bill of Rights because both documents support limitations on governmental power and stress the importance of individual liberty
• No Taxation Without Representation


  Many colonists believed they could not be taxed by the British because they had no representatives in the British government, which means that the British did not have consent of the governed
• Thomas Paine


  Published Common Sense which was influential in persuading American colonists to support colonial independence from Britain
• Response to Mercantilist Policies


  • Committees of Correspondence
  • Non-importation Agreements
  • Boston Tea Party
• Major Events Leading to Revolutionary War

  • Sugar and Stamp Acts
  • Quartering Act
  • Townshend Acts
  • Boston Massacre
• Revolutionary War begins shortly after the signing of the Declaration of Independence
• American Colonies win the war and independence with the help of familiar land and foreign aid (France)
• At the end of the Revolutionary War the Mississippi became the western boundary of the U.S.
• Articles of Confederation


  • First form of government used by the U.S. after independence from Britain
  • First plan of union for the original 13 states
  • Many Americans distrusted a strong central government because of their experiences under the rule of Great Britain
  • They wanted to limit the central government's opportunities to infringe upon the people's liberties so they established a decentralized (power is broken up and divided among many groups, not unified) political system in which the state governments had all the power
  • Largely unsuccessful at solving many major problems because most power remained with the state governments
  • Congress depended on the states for men and money to support an army
  • National (aka Federal) government could not enforce its laws
  • Congress constantly overrode the President's vetoes
  • States had the power to collect taxes, coin money, and control trade
  • It provided a system for governing the Western territories and a process for admitting new states to the union
• Shays' Rebellion (1786)


  • Significant because it convinced many Americans of the need for a stronger national government
  • Exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
  • Led to a call for the Constitutional Convention
• Great Compromise


  • Settled a dispute over how the states would be represented in the national legislature aka Congress
  • Delegates from states with small populations supported the idea of equal representation for the states in the national legislature
  • Delegates from states with large populations supported the idea of representation based on the size of population
  • Solution- Created a bicameral legislature (two houses that write and vote on laws)
  • One house would be based on population (House of Representatives) and the other house would have equal representation for all states (Senate)
• Three-Fifths Compromise


  • Solution to the problem of how to determine the number of representatives in the House of Representatives (branch of Congress) from states with large slave populations
  • Determined that 3/5 of the slave population would be counted for representation in the House
• Other Major Compromises


  • Slave Trade
  • Taxation
  • Election of President
• U.S. Constitution vs. Articles of Confederation

  • Constitution strengthened the power of the Federal (aka national) Government
  • Constitution granted Congress sole control over interstate and foreign commerce (trading between different states and trading with other countries)
  • Constitution created three separate, independent branches of government
  • Constitution gave the Federal (national) Government the power to collect taxes
  • Both provided a national legislature (lawmaking body)
  • Both provided some form of cooperation between states
• Federalists


  • Group that supported ratification (make into a law) of the U.S. Constitution
  • Wanted a strong national government to provide order
  • Published the Federalist Papers which encouraged ratification of the Constitution
• Anti-Federalists


  • Group that was against ratification of the Constitution
  • They believed it would threaten the rights of individual citizens
  • Did not want the national government to have too much power
  • Only agreed to ratify the Constitution after the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution
• Bill of Rights


  • First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution
  • Main purpose is to protect civil liberties and protect the people from government abuse
  • Similar to the Declaration of Independence because both stress the importance of individual liberty
  • Unreasonable Search and Seizure- Protects U.S. citizens from being jailed or searched for no reason
  • 14th amendment extends the protections of the Bill of Rights to include actions of state governments (states must also obey the Bill of Rights)
  • Major Rights- Right to assemble peacefully, freedom of speech, protection against unreasonable search and seizure, etc.
  • Separation of church and state (religion is separate from the government) is established in the 1st Amendment
• John Peter Zenger


  • Arrested by governor of New York (1733) for printing an article that criticized the governor
  • Was found to be not guilty because the article was based on fact
  • Led to a strengthening of freedom of press
• Enlightenment Influence on the U.S. Constitution

  • Idea of sovereignty of the people came from social contract philosophers of the Enlightenment period
  • Sovereignty is derived from the consent of the governed (only the citizens give the government the power to rule)
  • Consent of the governed concept comes from enlightenment philosophers
  • Limitations on the power of government were influenced by the ideas of John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu (checks & balances, three branches of government)
• Democracy


  • A government for the people by the people
  • A democracy must have citizen participation in government
  • The most essential feature of democratic government is a free and open election process
• Republican Government


  Described as one in which representatives are elected by the people
• Division of Power


  • The framers of the Constitution included the concepts of federalism, checks &balances, and separation of powers in the document because they feared a government with unlimited power
• Federalism

  • A constitutional principle that establishes limits on the powers of the government (the state and Federal government share different powers so neither can become too powerful)
  • Reserved Powers- Powers only granted to the state governments by the Constitution
  • Delegated Powers - Powers only granted to the Federal Government by the Constitution
  • Concurrent Powers- Powers shared by the federal and state governments
• Structure of the Federal Government

  • Legislative Branch- AKA Congress (House of Representatives and Senate)
  • Executive Branch- The President of the U.S. and his cabinet
  • Judicial Branch- Federal Courts and Supreme Court
• President's Roles


  • Chief Legislator- It is the President's role to ask executive department staff to propose and support legislation
  • Chief Executive- President is highest military official (Commander & Chief)
  • Chief Diplomat- President meets and negotiates with other foreign rulers
  • From time to time, the President must inform Congress and the nation about the state of the Union (condition of the country)
• Marbury v. Madison


  • Heard under Chief Justice John Marshall
  • Established judicial review
  • Strengthened the Judiciary branch (Supreme Court) of the U.S.
  • First time a Federal law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court