STAAR Facts
2013 Social Studies
COLONIAL ERA
• Northern (New England)
Colonies: Connecticut, Rhode
Island, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Maine
• Cold climate, rocky soil;
known for trade, shipbuilding,
fishing
• Plymouth, Massachusetts
founded in 1620 by Pilgrims
for religious tolerance
COLONIAL ERA
• Middle Colonies (New
York, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, Delaware)
• Fertile soil, milder
climate, known as the
“breadbasket” colonies
• Pennsylvania founded in
1680 by William Penn for
Quakers; ideas of
tolerance & quality
COLONIAL ERA
• Southern colonies (Maryland,
Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia)
• Warm climate, pleasant soil,
farming and agriculture
• Jamestown, VA founded in 1607
by VA Company; colony saved by
tobacco farming
• Georgia founded in 1733 as
debtor’s colony
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS
• Mayflower Compact:
Pilgrims pledged to
obey law of colony
• House of Burgesses:
1st representative
government in
colonies, Virginia
1619
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS
• Fundamental Orders
of Connecticut: 1st
written constitution
in America
• Representative
Government:
Citizens elect
representatives
FRENCH & INDIAN WAR
• 1754-1763
• George
Washington
gained
prominence
• England had
more land to
control
• War costs
plunged England
into debt
FRENCH & INDIAN WAR
• Proclamation of 1763:
colonists could not
settle beyond
Appalachian Mountains
• Treaty of Paris of 1763:
ended French & Indian
War; kicked French out
of North America
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
George Washington:
Commander of the
Continental Army during
the American Revolution.
1st President of the U.S.
His farewell address
warned against foreign
alliances & political
parties.
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
Thomas Jefferson:
Author of the
Declaration of
Independence
3rd President of the
U.S.
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
Benjamin Franklin:
• Publisher & inventor
• Respected statesman
who guided colonies
toward
independence
• Convinced France to
support America
during Revolution
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
• Samuel Adams:
Patriot, member of the
Sons of Liberty,
organized Committees
of Correspondence
• Patrick Henry: Patriot,
“Give me liberty or
give me death!”
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
• Thomas Paine:
Author of Common
Sense; convinced
colonists to support
the revolution
against Britain
• King George III: Ruler
of Great Britain
during the American
Revolution
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
• Abigail Adams: Wife of
John Adams, famous
for letters about
women’s rights,
“Remember the ladies”
• Mercy Otis Warren:
Writer who wrote plays,
poems, and essays for
independence from
Britain
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
• James Armistead:
slave who enlisted as
a Patriot spy; Marquis
de Lafayette helped
him earn his freedom
• Crispus Attucks:
former slave, 1st
civilian shot at Boston
massacre
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
• John Paul Jones:
American Revolution
naval hero
• Haym Solomon: helped
finance the
Revolutionary War
• Wentworth Cheswell:
town leader, interested
in the betterment of
America
REVOLUTIONARY ERA
• Marquis de Lafayette:
French officer who helped
train American soldiers to
fight against British;
secured the help of
France during the war
• Bernardo de Galvez:
governor of Louisiana
territory, helped U.S. buy
Spanish weapons,
gunpowder, and supplies
CAUSES OF REVOLUTION
• Proclamation of 1763
• Colonies taxed to pay for
French & Indian War
• “No taxation without
representation!”
• Tax acts, including
Stamp, Sugar, and Tea
• Boston Massacre
• Boston Tea Party
• Intolerable Acts
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
• Lexington & Concord: 1st
battle; “shot heard ‘round
the world”
• Battle of Saratoga: turning
point; French entered war
as allies to Patriots
• Battle of Yorktown: British
defeat that ended war
• Treaty of Paris 1783: British
recognized American
independence
REVOLUTION ERA VOCAB
• Tariff: tax on imports &
exports
• Mercantilism: nation’s
power depended on its
wealth; “more money,
more power”
• Grievance: wrongdoing by
England & King George
• Tyranny: cruel & unjust
government
REVOLUTIONARY ERA VOCAB
• Loyalists: Americans who
supported Great Britain
• Patriots: Americans who
favored independence
from Britain
• Declaration of
Independence: written by
Thomas Jefferson, lists
grievances against King
George lll
• Unalienable rights: rights
that cannot be taken away
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
• 1st Constitution (1781)
• 1st form of government
established by the 13
states
• Replaced by the U.S.
Constitution because it
had a weak central
government (no court
system, no power to
tax, no executive
branch)
Influences of U.S. CONSTITUTION
Magna Carta 1215: limited
the king’s powers; provided
trial by jury
English Bill of Rights 1687:
cruel & unusual punishment
forbidden, right to bear arms
Declaration of Independence
1776:Unalienable rights of
life, liberty, pursuit of
happiness
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
• 1787: delegates from
13 states drafted the
Constitution in
Philadelphia, PA
• Delegates included:
John Adams, Alexander
Hamilton and James
Madison who authored
the Constitution
U.S. CONSTITUTION VOCAB
• Preamble: introduction
of the Constitution that
states its purpose
• Northwest Ordinance
of 1787: established
orderly expansion of
western territory &
way for states to join
Union
• Ratify: to approve
U.S. CONSTITUTION VOCAB
Federalist Papers:
1787-1788: Essays
written to encourage
ratification of the
Constitution.
Authors included
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison, and
John Jay.
CONSTITUTIONAL COMPROMISES
Great Compromise:
Determined state
representation in U.S.
Congress: All states get 2
votes in Senate; number
of seats in the House of
Representatives depends
on the state population.
• Virginia and New
Jersey Plans
CONSTITUTIONAL COMPROMISES
Three-Fifths
Compromise:
Slavery
• Each slave
counts as 3/5ths
a person for
taxation and
representation
U.S. CONSTITUTION PRINCIPLES
• Separation of Powers:
divides powers of
government into 3 branches
– Legislative, Executive and
Judicial
• Federalism: Power is shared
between states & national
government
• Republicanism: people vote
to elect representatives to
run government
U.S. CONSTITUTION PRINCIPLES
• Individual Rights: basic liberties
of all citizens guaranteed by Bill
of Rights
• Checks & Balances: no branch
of government becomes too
powerful
• Limited Government: “No one is
above the law”
• Popular Sovereignty: People
hold supreme power
• Democracy: government that
gives power to the people
BILL OF RIGHTS
• 1ST 10 amendments
of the Constitution
• Protects individual
rights & liberties
• Bill of Rights was
necessary for some
states to ratify the
Constitution
COURT CASES
• Marbury v. Madison
(1803): established
judicial review. The
Supreme Court has the
authority to decide
whether a law is
constitutional
• McCullough v.
Maryland: federal
government overrides
state governments
COURT CASES
• Dred Scott v. Sanford:
Scott, a slave, was
considered property,
not a citizen, and was
not granted freedom
• Gibbons v. Ogden:
regulated interstate
commerce, or trade
between states
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Era of change from household
industries to factory
production using machines.
Inventions include Cotton Gin,
Steamboat
• Urbanization: population
moves from farms to cities
• Protective Tariff: tax on
goods from another country
to promote American
economy
CAUSES OF WAR OF 1812
• Impressment of
sailors
• Britain interfered with
U.S. trade
• British attacked
American ships
• British encouraged
Indians to attack
Americans on the
frontier
WAR OF 1812
• British attack and set
fire to Washington D.C.
• Francis Scott Key
writes The StarSpangled Banner while
watching battle of Fort
McHenry in Baltimore
• Andrew Jackson wins
Battle of New Orleans
WAR OF 1812 OUTCOME
The MONROE
DOCTRINE states
the U.S. will not
interfere with
existing European
colonies in the
Americas but will
fight any new ones.
JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY
Andrew Jackson was
“Peoples’ President,”
beginning of
Democratic Party.
He favored states’
rights and opposed a
strong central
government.
JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY
• Indian Removal Act:
policy that removed
Cherokee from
eastern homeland
• Trail of Tears: forced
removal of Cherokee
from homes to
resettle in Oklahoma
• Bank of U.S. forced to
close; government
funds withdrawn
WESTWARD EXPANSION
Manifest Destiny: belief
that the U.S. should
expand from Atlantic to
Pacific Oceans; land
acquisition through the
1860s
Louisiana Purchase (1803), Texas
(1845), Mexican Cession (1848),
Utah Territory (1850), Gadsden
Purchase (1853), Oregon
Territory (1859)
WESTWARD EXPANSION
• The Louisiana
Purchase (1803)
effectively doubled the
size of the United
States at that time.
• During President
Jefferson’s term, he
purchased the territory
from France for $15
million.
WESTWARD EXPANSION
• Railroads encouraged
settlement in the west
and created thousands
of jobs
• Sectionalism: strong
sense of loyalty to a
state or section
• Mormons: religious
group that moved west
and settle in Utah to
escape religious
persecution.
STATES’ RIGHTS
Belief in local government
close to the people; each
state should be able to
decide issues for themselves
• Plantation System:
economic system where
slaves provided labor
necessary to plant &
harvest cash crops
• Nullification: idea that a
state can declare a federal
law illegal
IMPORTANT PEOPLE
• Henry Clay: Called the
“Great Compromiser,”
from the West
• Daniel Webster:
Opposed slavery, from
the North
• John C. Calhoun:
Supported slavery, from
the South
NULLIFICATION CRISIS
Argument
between South
Carolina &
federal
government
over role of
national
government
• SC opposed high tariff
started by federal govt.
• SC claimed states had
right to reject any law
that was to state’s
disadvantage
• Federal govt. threatened
to send in military
• Henry Clay helped reach
compromise
MISSOURI COMPROMISE
• Maine enters
U.S. as a free
state; Missouri
enters as a
slave state
• 36/30 latitude
line divided
free and slave
territories
COMPROMISE OF 1850
• California admitted as a
free state
• Mexican Cession lands
would decide slavery
issue with popular
sovereignty
• Border set between
Mexico & Texas
• Fugitive Slave Act of
1850
REFORMERS: Abolitionists
• Harriet Tubman:
conductor on the
Underground
Railroad
• Frederick Douglas:
influential speaker
and writer
• Sojourner Truth:
spoke about her
experiences as a
slave
REFORMERS: Women’s Suffrage
• Suffrage: women’s
right to vote
• Elizabeth Cady
Stanton: worked for
women’s rights;
wrote Declaration of
Sentiments
• Susan B. Anthony:
campaigned for
women’s suffrage
REFORMERS
• Temperance:
campaign against
the sale or
drinking of
alcohol
• Civil
Disobedience:
refusal to obey
government law
as a means of
resistance
CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION
• Civil War: War
between the North &
South from 18611865
• North: President
Abraham Lincoln,
General Ulysses S.
Grant
• South: President
Jefferson Davis,
General Robert E. Lee
CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION
Causes included:
• Sectionalism
• Differences over slavery
and states’ rights
• Manufacturing vs.
agricultural economies
• Anti-slavery sentiment
in North
• Lincoln elected
President in 1860
CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION
Lincoln: 1st Republican
President whose election
encouraged South to
secede from Union.
He was assassinated by John
Wilkes Booth while attending
a play at Ford’s Theatre in
Washington, D.C. just 5 days
after the end of the Civil War.
CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION
Lincoln’s speeches:
• 1st inaugural address:
secession was illegal, he
would not interfere
with slavery where it
already existed, South
would be responsible
for any war
• 2nd inaugural address:
“with malice toward
none…”
• Gettysburg Address
(1863): ”Government of
the people, by the
people, for the people
shall not perish from
the earth.”
• Emancipation
Proclamation (1863):
Document declaring
that all slaves were free
CIVIL WAR BATTLES
• Fort Sumter: 1st
battle began when
Confederate forces
attacked U.S. fort in
South Carolina
• Gettysburg: Lee’s
only offensive battle
in the North
(Pennsylvania),
turning point of war
when Lee retreats
back to the South
CIVIL WAR BATTLES
• Vicksburg: Confederates
surrender, giving the
Union control of the
Mississippi River;
turning point of war.
• Appomattox Court
House: Lee surrenders
to Grant, the Civil War
ends
RECONSTRUCTION AMENDMENTS
• 13th Amendment:
Abolished slavery
• 14th Amendment: Made
former slaves citizens and
gave equal protection for
all citizens
• 15th Amendment:
African-American males
are given the right to vote
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
• Free Enterprise System:
people can conduct
business free of
government control
• Subsistence Agriculture:
farmer produces just
enough to support
himself & his family
with nothing left for
purchasing
manufactured goods.
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
• Market-Oriented
Agriculture: Goods
are produced in
mass quantities with
intention of selling
them
• Cottage Industries:
Small-scale industry
carried on at home
by family members
using their own
equipment.
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
Columbian
Exchange:
exchange of crops,
animals, disease,
and ideas of
different cultures
after Europeans
landed in the
Americas
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
• Immigration:
Movement of
people into a
country from
another country
• Migration:
Movement of
persons from
one location to
another
IMPORTANT DATES
• 1607: 1st European
settlement at
Jamestown in North
America
• 1620: Pilgrims land at
Plymouth to escape
religious persecution in
England
• 1776: America declares
independence from
Britain
IMPORTANT DATES
1787: The
Northwest
Ordinance
provided a method
for admitting new
states to the Union
from the
Northwest
Territory
IMPORTANT DATES
1787: Constitutional
Convention in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Delegates met to revise
the Articles of
Confederation but ended
up drafting an entirely
different form of
government. The U.S.
Constitution stands as a
model of cooperative
statesmanship and the art
of compromise.
IMPORTANT DATES
1803: United States
purchased from France the
Louisiana Territory, land
extending from the
Mississippi River to the
Rocky Mountains, doubling
the size of the United
States.
President Thomas Jefferson
sent Lewis & Clark to
explore the new territory.
IMPORTANT DATES
• 1861-1865: American
Civil War, from the 1st
shots fired at Ft. Sumter
to the surrender of
Confederate forces at
Appomattox Court
House.
• For timeline:
http://www.historyplace.
com/civilwar/
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