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AP US History Period 3 (1754-1800) Flashcards

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7434288789Seven Years' (French and Indian) Warfought between the colonies of British America and New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France, as well as Native American allies0
7434288790"No Taxation Without Representation."a phrase, generally attributed to James Otis about 1761, that reflected the resentment of American colonists at being taxed by a British Parliament to which they elected no representatives and became an anti-British slogan before the American Revolution; in full, "Taxation without representation is tyranny.".1
7434288791Enlightenmenta philosophical movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century. The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on reason as the primary source of authority andlegitimacy, and came to advance ideals such as liberty, progress, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional governmentand ending the perceived abuses of the church and state2
7434288792Benjamin FranklinOne of the founding fathers, famous for presence in the American Enlightenment. earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies.3
7434288793The Patriot MovementMovement or push toward independence in the colonies. Those that supported colonial independence were referred to as "Patriots" while those that were loyal to the British crown were called "Loyalists."4
7434288794Colonial MilitiasGroups of able-bodied colonialist men without proper military training that banded together to revolt against British tyrannny.5
7434288795The Continental Armyformed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies, created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their revolt against the rule of Great Britain. Commanded by General George Washington (Commander-in-Chief)6
7434288796George WashingtonGeneral, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Later named the first President of the United States.7
7434288797Thomas Paine's Common SensePublished in 1776. Pamphlet that challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. Used "Common Sense" and plain language to appeal to the average colonist. First work to ask for independence outright.8
7434288798The Declaration of Independencethe statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies,[2] then at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer under British rule.9
7434288799Republican MotherhoodPredominant conception of women's roles before, during and after the American Revolution: the "Republican Mother" was considered a custodian of civic virtue responsible for upholding the morality of her husband and children. Though this idea emphasized the separation of women's and men's roles, it did weight heavily the influence of the mother on the family and advocated for this influence to be taken seriously.10
7434288800Legislative BranchThe branch of government tasked with writing laws.11
7434288801Judicial BranchThe branch of government tasked with interpreting laws.12
7434288802Executive BranchThe branch of government tasked with enforcing laws.13
7434288803The Articles of ConfederationAn agreement among all thirteen original states in the United States of America that served as its first constitution. Drafted by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress, ratified in late 1777. Later replaced by the Constitution of the United States of America.14
7434288804Constitutional ConventionTook place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although the Convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention from the outset of many of its proponents, chief among them James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, was to create a new government rather than fix the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the Convention. The result of the Convention was the creation of the United States Constitution, placing the Convention among the most significant events in the history of the United States.15
7434288805Federalisma system of government in which entities such as states or provinces share power with a national government.16
7434288806Separation of PowersInspired by Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws, the idea of a constitutional government with three separate branches of government. Each of the three branches would have defined abilities to check the powers of the other branches.17
7434288807The Federalist Papersa collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution.18
7434288808Alexander HamiltonFounder of the Federalist Party, Co-author of The Federalist Papers, First Secretary of the Treasury19
7434288809James MadisonCo-Author of the Federalist Papers, hailed as "the Father of the Constitution," Fourth President of the United States20
7434288810Bill of Rightsthe collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people.21
7434288811Democratic-Republican Partyformed by Thomas Jefferson and others who believed in an agrarian-based, decentralized,democratic government. The party was established to oppose the Federalists who had supported and pushed through the ratification of the US Constitution.22
7434288812National Identityone's identity or sense of belonging to one state or to one nation. It is the sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, language and politics.23
7434288813The Northwest Ordinancecreated the Northwest Territory, the first organized territory of the United States, from lands beyond the Appalachian Mountains, between British North America and the Great Lakes to the north and the Ohio River to the south.established the precedent by which the Federal government would be sovereign and expand westward with the admission of new states, rather than with the expansion of existing states and their established sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation.24
7434288814French Revolutiona period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799, and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during the later expansion of the French Empire. The Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, experienced violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon that rapidly brought many of its principles to Western Europe and beyond.25
7434288815Popular Sovereigntythe principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives (Rule by the People), who are the source of all political power.26
7434288816Public VirtueSacrificing one's self-interest for the public good.27
7434288817insurrectionRebellion against political authority.28
7434288818mercantilismThe economic theory that all parts of an economy should be coordinated for the good of the whole state; hence, that colonial economics should be subordinated for the benefit of an empire.29
7434288819depreciateTo decrease in value, as in the decline of the purchasing power of money.30
7434288820protective tariffsTaxes places on imported goods, often to raise prices and thus protect domestic producers.31
7434288821admiralty courtsIn British law, special administrative courts designed to handle maritime cases without a jury.32
7434288822virtual representationThe political theory that a class of persons is represented in a lawmaking body without direct vote.33
7434288823nonimportation agreementA pledge to boycott, or decline to purchase, certain goods from abroad.34
7434288824dutyA customs tax on the export or import of goods.35
7434288825propagandaA systematic program or particular materials designed to spread certain ideas; sometimes but not always the term implies the use of manipulative or deceptive means.36
7434288826boycottAn organized refusal to deal with some person, organization, or product.37
7434288827inflationAn increase in the supply of currency relative to the goods available, leading to a decline in the purchasing power of money.38
7434288828mercenaryA professional soldier who serves in a foreign army for pay.39
7434288829indictmentA formal written accusation charging someone with a crime.40
7434288830dictatorshipA form of government characterized by absolute state power and the unlimited authority of the ruler.41
7434288831neutralA nation or person not taking sides in a war.42
7434288832civilianA citizen not in military service.43
7434288833confiscateTo seize private property for public use, often as a penalty.44
7434288834envoyA messenger or agent sent by a government on official business.45
7434288835rabbleA mass of disorderly and crude common people.46
7434288836isolationistConcerning the belief that a country should take little or no part in foreign affairs, especially through alliances or wars.47
7434288837hereditaryPassed down from generation to generation.48
7434288838blockadeThe isolation of a place by hostile ships or troops.49
7434288839privateerA private vessel temporarily authorized to capture or plunder enemy ships in wartime.50
7434288840disestablishTo separate an official state church from its connection with the government.51
7434288841emancipationSetting free from servitude or slavery52
7434288842abolitionistfavoring the end of slavery53
7434288843ratificationThe confirmation or validation of an act (such as the constitution) by authoritative approval.54
7434288844aliensForeigners; also, persons resident in but not citizens of a country.55
7434288845townshipin America, a surveyed territory six miles square; the term also refers to a unit of social government, smaller than a country that is often based on these survey units.56
7434288846territoryIn America, government an organized political entity not yet enjoying full equal terms of a state.57
7434288847annexTo make a smaller territory or political unit part of a larger one.58
7434288848quorumThe minimum number of persons who must be present in a group before it can conduct valid business.59
7434288849anarchyThe theory that formal government is unnecessary and wrong in principle; the term is also used generally for lawlessness or anti-governmental disorder.60
7434288850bicameralReferring to a legislative body with two houses61
7434288851censusAn official count of population; in the United States, the federal census occurs every ten years.62
7434288852public debtThe debt of a government or nation to individual creditors, also called the national debt.63
7434288853cabinetThe body of official advisers to the head of a government; in the United States, it consists of the heads of the major executive departments.64
7434288854fiscalConcerning public finances-expenditures and revenues.65
7434288855exciseA tax on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of certain products.66
7434288856stockThe shares of capital ownership gained from investing in a corporate enterprise; the term also refers to the certificates representing such shares.67
7434288857despotismArbitrary or tyrannical rule.68
7434288858impressmentTo force people or property into public service without choice.69
7434288859assimilationThe merging of diverse cultures or peoples into one.70
7434288860witch-huntAn investigation carried on with much publicity, supposedly to uncover dangerous activity but actually intended to weaken the political opposition.71
7434288861compactAn agreement or covenant between states to perform some legal act.72
7434288862nullificationIn American politics, the assertion that a state may legally invalidate a federal act deemed inconsistent with its rights or sovereignty.73

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