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Democracy
a form of government were the supreme power is with the people
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Republic
a state or nation where the ruler is not a monarch or another who rules by birth
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Monarchy
a state or nation where the supreme power rests with the monarch
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Limited Government
a type of government where its power and functions are restricted and regulated by law
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Magna Carta
the "great charter" of English liberties, forced on King John by barons in 1215
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English Bill of Rights
bill passed by Parliment in 1689 which gave certain rights to all people
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John Locke
English philospher who came up with many ideas that formed the basis of the Constitution
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natural rights
a political theory that all individuals have the same basic rights granted them by God or nature
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social contract theory
republican theory in which people give up some rights to the government in order to preserve order
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mercantilism
commercialism, gain wealth through exports and less imports
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The French and Indian War
a series of wars between the British and the French, along with thier indian allies
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Proclamation of 1763
law passed at the end of the French and Indian War that prevented colonists from settling west of the Apalachin mountians
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Quarting Act
law passed in 1765 that forced the colonists to provide the basic needs for the British troops stationed in America
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Stamp Act
passed in 1765, placed a tax on all documents, when paid documents would receive a stamp
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"No Taxation Without Representation"
colonists rally cry, believed since they had no representative in Parliament to speak for them that they should not be taxed
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Declaratory Act
law passed in 1766 after Stamp Act was repealed, gave Parliament the power to govern and make taxes for the colonies
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Townshend Acts
new series of laws that passed taxes on paint, lead, paper,tea, and glass
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Boston Tea Party
1776 - Boston colonists dressed as Indians boarded three ships in Boston Harbor and dumped several hundred chests of tea into the harbor in retaliation for the tax on tea
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Coercive Acts
Series of laws passed to punish Mass. for the Boston Tea Party - also known as intolerable acts
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Intolerable Acts
coercive acts - series of laws passes to punish Mass. for Boston tea party, included closing Boston
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First Continental Congress
collection fo delegates from all colonies except GA, met in 1774 to decide response to Intolerable Acts
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Second Continental Congress
convention of representatives from all colonies that met in 1775, after shots of Revolution, that managed the war effort
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Declaration of Independance
the document signed by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 that declared the colonies free from the rule of England
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George Washington
United States political leader and general who later became the first President of the country
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The Battle of Saratoga
Battle of the American Revolution taking place in New York colony in 1777 where British troops surrendered to American troops - later causing France and Spain to wage war on Britian
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Battle of Yorktown
1781 battle between the American, their French allies, against the British were the Americans again won
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Egalitarianism
belief in the equality of all people
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State Constitutions
documents that after the revolution took the place of the royal charters
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French Revolution
revolution that began in 1789 to overthrow the absolute monarchy
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Articles of the Confederation
type of "first Constitution" drafted in 1777 during the Revolutionary War
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Shay's Rebellion
an armed uprising in Massachusettes of poor farmers angered by the rising taxes
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the virginia Plan
idea proposed by James Madison at the Philedelphia convention that coined the idea of representation for states based on population
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New Jersey Plan
plan proposed in response to the virgina plan for a government with equal representation so all states had equal representation
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the Great Compromise
plan accepted in 1787 that was a combination of the Virginia and the New Jersey plans, proposed a bi-cameral legislature with one based on population and the other house of equal representation
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3/5 Compromise
compromise reached between Northern and Southern states at the Philidelphia Convention were 3/5 of the population of slaves would be counted when determining the population of a state
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Slave trade Compromise
made in 1787 - slave trade would continue for 20 years after and then national government could ban
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Bill of Rights
collection of the first ten amendments to the Constitution proposed in 1789 that guaranteed basic rights and liberties
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Federalists
member of the Federalist political party
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Anti-federalist
supporter of the anti-federalist political party
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Strict Interpretation
belief in the fact that the federal government has only the powers specifically granted it by the constitution
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Loose Interpretation
the belief in the fact that the federal government has all the powers on specifically denied it by the Constitution
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Federalist Papers
series of essays supporting the ratification of the US Constitution written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
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Alexander Hamilton
one of the lesser known founding fathers who later served as the first Secretary of the Treasury
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Thomas Jefferson
third President of the US, clashed with Hamilton, strong believer in human rights, main drafter of Declaration of Independance
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Whiskey Rebellion
uprising in Pennsylvania in 1794 due to high tax on whiskey
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Political Parties
political organization that seeks to hold power in a government and supports certain views
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Democratic-Republican
founded in 1792, also known as the Jefferson-Republican party, opposed the Federalist Party
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Naturalization Act
passed in 1798, increased the amount of time it took for immigrants to become citizens from five to fourteen years, later repeled
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Alien Act
gave federal government authority to deport aliens that threatened national security
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Sedition Act
law that forbid the unloyal or bad talk about the US
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Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
political statements where VIrginia and Kentucky refused to abide by the Alien and Sedition Acts since they believed them to be unconstitutional
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Doctrine of Nullification
stated that individual states had the right to declare null and void laws that were unconstitutional
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Popular Soveignty
allowed settlers to decide if their territories would be slave or free
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Separation of Powers
legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government are kept separate so each can check the other and prevent abuse of power
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Checks and Balances
system like separation of power where each branch can check the others from getting too powerful
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federalism
being in favor of a strong central government
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Delegated Powers
the powers of Congress expressly given in the Constitution
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Reserved Powers
powers reserved for the people, not the federal government
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Concurrent Powers
powers held by both the state and federal govenment
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Article 1
part of the Constitution, states the powers of Congress
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Article 2
part of the Constitution, creates and gives the executive branch of the federal government it's power
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Article 3
creates and gives power to the judicial branch of the federal govenment
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House of Representatives
lower part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government
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Senate
the higher part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government
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Electoral College
group of people who elect the President
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Impeach
to challenge the honesty of an elected official
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Judiciary Act of 1789
created lower courts under the Supreme Court
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Midnight Judges
all judges appointed in a single Act by John Adams were given this name because he appointed them late the night before his predecessor came into office
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Marbury v. Madisn
court case that enables Supreme Court to veto acts of Congress that were un constitutional
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