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The America
The Beginning of the USA
Term | Definition |
---|---|
James Madison | our fourth President who was in office during the War of 1812 |
Thomas Jefferson | a President who was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase and Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom |
George Washington | a President who was leader of the Continental Congress |
James Monroe | a President who warned European nations not to interfere in Latin America |
John Adams | a President who had the two-party system emerge when he was in office |
Senate | House of Representatives |
Congress | the name of the United States’ legislature |
Monroe Doctrine | a document written by a President that warned European nations not to interfere with Latin America |
George Mason | wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights |
Benjamin Banneker | an astronomer and surveyor who helped complete the design for Washington D.C. |
Articles of Confederation | our first constitution which failed because of a weak national government, Congress having no power to tax, no common currency, no executive or judicial branches, and giving each state one vote regardless of size |
Constitutional Convention | meeting in which state delegates met in Philadelphia and decided not to revise the Articles of Confederation, but to write a new constitution |
Legislative Branch | the branch of government responsible for making laws |
Judicial Branch | the branch of government responsible for interpreting the law to ensure it is constitutional |
Executive Branch | the branch of government responsible for enforcing or carrying out the law |
Federalism | a system of government in which power is shared between the states and national governments |
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom | this was written by Thomas Jefferson and guaranteed religious freedoms |
Louisiana Purchase | bought from France and more than doubled the size of the United States |
Great Compromise | decided the issue of votes each state would have in the Senate and House of Representatives |
Delegate | a general term that is used when talking about a representative sent to engage in government business |
Ratify | to approve or vote in favor of |
Amendment | A change in the Constitution |
Virginia Declaration of Rights | this was written by George Mason and was a model for the Bill of Rights |
Bill of Rights | the first ten amendments to the Constitution that guarantee our basic freedoms such as speech, press, assembly, religion, petition, and right to bear arms |
War of 1812 | this conflict caused European nations to have respect for the United States |
U.S. Constitution | The supreme law of the United States that states the structure and function of the United States government and divides powers between the state and national governments |