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Unit 2 Keywords
Keywords for Unit 2
51
History
9th Grade
09/11/2014

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Term
Amendment
Definition
A change to the U.S. Constitution, made by passing a bill by a 2/3's majority in both houses of the legislature and being ratified by 3/4's of the states
Term
Anti-Federalists
Definition
People who opposed ratification of the federal Constitution in 1787; most feared it created too strong a central government
Term
Articles of Confederation
Definition
1777 agreement establishing a loose association of states while guaranteeing individual state sovereignty; replaced by the United States Constitution in 1789
Term
Bicameral
Definition
Having two legislative chambers
Term
Boston Massacre
Definition
A riot in on March 5, 1770, in which soldiers fired into a crowd of rioting colonists, killing five
Term
Boston Tea Party
Definition
A protest on December 1773 in which colonists dumped chests into a harbor to protest tax on tea, and the grant of a monopoly on this business to the East India Company
Term
Boycott
Definition
To refuse, either individually or as a group, to do business with a person or entity, usually as a means of protest
Term
Checks and Balances
Definition
A system under which each of the three branches of government limits the powers of the other two branches
Term
Coercive Acts
Definition
1774 laws passed by the British Parliament in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party; the laws closed Boston Harbor, stripped Massachusetts of its charter, abolished town meetings, increased the power of the appointed royal governor, and required colonists to quarter British troops
Term
Committee of Correspondence
Definition
A group organized by Samuel Adams in Massachusetts in 1772 to promote communication among colonies about British threats to colonial liberty and to plan resistance to those threats
Term
Connecticut Compromise
Definition
An agreement at the 1787 Constitutional Convention that established the system of representation in which each state would have two representatives in the Senate and representation in the House based on population
Term
Constitutional Convention
Definition
1787 meeting in Philadelphia at which something was drafted; 55 delegates from 12 states—all states except Rhode Island attended
Term
Continental Army
Definition
American Revolutionary War army formed by the Second Congress in 1775 and led by George Washington
Term
Continental Congress
Definition
A meeting of delegates from the colonies during the Revolutionary War
Term
English Bill of Rights
Definition
1689 document proclaiming the basic rights and freedoms of the British people
Term
Executive Branch
Definition
The part of the U.S. government charged with implementing and enforcing the laws and headed by the president and departments heads
Term
Federalist Papers
Definition
A series of political essays in support of the Constitution written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton; originally published in newspapers
Term
Great Compromise
Definition
An agreement at the 1787 Constitutional Convention that established the system of representation in which each state would have two representatives in the Senate and representation in the House based on population
Term
Green Mountain Boys
Definition
Vermont militia led by Colonel Ethan Allen known for capturing Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution
Term
Guerrilla Warfare
Definition
A strategy of fighting in which a small, unconventional force attacks a larger one using hit-and-run tactics
Term
Habeas Corpus
Definition
A Latin phrase meaning you must have (or produce) the body
Term
Inflation
Definition
General rise in prices attributed to an increase in the supply of currency or credit relative to the supply of goods and services
Term
Intolerable Acts
Definition
1774 laws passed by the British Parliament in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party; the laws closed Boston Harbor, stripped Massachusetts of its charter, abolished town meetings, increased the power of the appointed royal governor, and required colonists to quarter British troops
Term
Judicial Branch
Definition
A part of government charged with interpreting the laws; consists of the U.S. Supreme Court and the lower federal courts
Term
Legislative Branch
Definition
A part of government charged with making the laws; the Congress
Term
Minutemen
Definition
Organized militias of citizen-soldiers in the colonies just before the Revolutionary War
Term
New Jersey Plan
Definition
A proposal during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to strengthen the Articles of Confederation and preserve what was then a unicameral legislature
Term
Northwest Territory
Definition
The area near the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River
Term
Olive Branch Petition
Definition
A formal request from the Continental Congress submitted to King George III in 1775, offering concessions and urging peace and reconciliation between the American colonies and England
Term
Patriots
Definition
Supporters of American independence from Britain
Term
Pontiac's Rebellion/War
Definition
A war in which the Ottawa leader attempted to drive British settlers out of Native American lands in the Great Lakes region, the Ohio River valley, and the Mississippi River valley
Term
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Definition
A legislation providing for a political structure and the eventual formation of states near the Ohio River
Term
Popular Sovereignty
Definition
The idea that government gets its power and authority from the people who are governed; specifically, the idea that the people of the individual territories should decide whether that territory would be a slave or free state
Term
Privateers
Definition
Ships licensed by the Continental Congress and used to conduct raids on British supply ships during the American Revolution
Term
Proclamation of 1763
Definition
A decree by the British officials banning colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
Term
Quartering Act
Definition
A legislation that required colonists to pay for housing, food, and drink of British soldiers in North America
Term
Quorum
Definition
The minimum number of people that must be present at a meeting for a vote to be considered valid
Term
Redcoats
Definition
A disparaging term for British soldiers in the American colonies
Term
Separation of Powers
Definition
The U.S. constitutional division of power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as a safeguard against domination by any one branch
Term
Shay's Rebellion
Definition
incident in which a band of debt-ridden farmers they took over an armory in Massachusetts in 1787; state troops defeated the rebels but the conflict highlighted the weaknesses of the nation's government under the Articles of Confederation
Term
Sons of Liberty
Definition
Groups of planters, merchants, and lawyers in the American colonies who protested British taxes
Term
Stamp Act
Definition
British legislation that required colonists to pay for special stamps on most printed documents; the law was extremely unpopular in the American colonies
Term
Sugar Act
Definition
British legislation that lowered tariffs on molasses in the colonies but increased enforcement, allowing smugglers to be tried in military courts in Nova Scotia rather than by colonial juries
Term
Tariff
Definition
A tax on imports or exports
Term
Three-Fifths Compromise
Definition
A Constitutional agreement between slaveholding and non-slaveholding states providing that, for purposes of taxation and representation
Term
Tories
Definition
Colonists who remained loyal to the British crown during the American Revolution
Term
Townshend Acts
Definition
1767 legislation taxing imports into the American colonies
Term
Treaty of Paris of 1783
Definition
An agreement ending the American Revolution and establishing British recognition of American independence
Term
Unicameral
Definition
Having only one legislative chamber
Term
Veto
Definition
The power to make invalid a legislative act; the U.S. Constitution gives the president power over Congress but allows Congress to override a presidential decision with a two-thirds vote
Term
Virginia Plan
Definition
A 1787 idea to replace the Articles of Confederation with a much stronger federal government divided into three branches with the right to veto any state law
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