STAAR Cards
1. What are the reasons for European Exploration?
 Gold – economic
 God- religious
 Glory – political
2. Why did the English colonize America?
 Religious freedom
 Economic benefits ($)
 Military power (political)
 Send criminals and debtors (Georgia)
3. Jamestown
 Founded in 1607
 First permanent English settlement
 Leader is John Smith
 Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
 House of Burgesses – 1619
4. Plymouth
 Founded in 1620 by Separatists (Pilgrims)
 Cape Cod, Massachusetts
 Mayflower Compact – 1620
5. What was the economy of the New England colonies?
 Fishing
 Shipbuilding
 Fur trading
6. What were the 3 main cash crops grown on southern colonial plantations?
 Tobacco, rice, indigo
7. House of Burgesses
 Jamestown
 First representative government in America
 Elected people to make laws
8. Mayflower Compact
 Plymouth
 Democracy (direct) – majority rule
 All adult males make laws
 Social contract that established a SELF GOVERNING colony
 1620
9. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
 Written by Thomas Hooker
 More men can vote (not just church members)
 Made Connecticut’s government more democratic
 1st written constitution in the colonies
10. Colonial Regions
 New England – New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
 Middle – New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey
 Southern – Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
11. The French and Indian War aka The Seven Years War
 Fought between France and Britain over the Ohio River Valley
 Britain won
 Washington was a military leader
 Treaty of Paris 1763 ended the war
 France lost almost all their land in North America
12. Boston Massacre
 March 1770
 5 people killed including Crispus Attucks
 Colonists used it as propaganda
13. Boston Tea Party
 December 11, 1773
 Sons of Liberty dumped British tea into the Boston Harbor
 Protest against the Tea Act
 The punishment for the Boston Tea Party were the Intolerable Acts
14. Lexington and Concord
 1775
 “Shot heard round the world”
 First battles of the American Revolution
15. British Taxes
 Sugar Act – tax on molasses
 Stamp Act – tax on printed papers
 Tea Act – tax on colonial tea
 Townshend Acts – tax on imported goods like glass, tea, paper, lead
16. Other Causes of the American Revolution
 Proclamation of 1763 – no settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
 Intolerable Acts- punishment for the Boston Tea Party
 Quartering Act – colonists had to house British soldiers
 Mercantilism – controlled colonial trade to benefit England
 No taxation without representation
17. Saratoga
 1777
 Turning point in the American Revolution
 France joins the Patriot side
18. Valley Forge
 Winter camp for Washington’s troops
 Many deaths due to frostbite and starvation
 Marquis de Lafayette trained the military
19. Yorktown
 April 21, 1781
 Last major battle of the Revolution
 Cornwallis surrenders to Washington
20. Sons of Liberty
 Samuel Adams organized it
 Colonial protest group
 Responsible for the Boston Tea Party
21. Causes of tension between the Redcoats and the colonists:
 Quartering Act – colonists had to house British soldiers
 Writs of Assistance – soldiers could search colonists homes
 Boston Massacre – 5 colonists were killed (Crispus Attucks)
22. Declaration of Independence
 Second Continental Congress
 Written by Thomas Jefferson
 Adams, Jefferson, Franklin were all members of the Declaration of Independence
committee
 July 4, 1776
23. Important People of the Revolution
 George Washington – commander of the Continental Army
 John Hancock – president of the Continental Congress (first to sign the DOI)
 Ben Franklin – persuaded France to become U.S. ally; negotiated Treaty of Paris
 Samuel Adams – leader of the Sons of Liberty
 Thomas Paine – author of Common Sense and The Crisis
 Patrick Henry – “Give me liberty or give me death”
 Wentworth Cheswell – African American who fought in the war
 Marquis de Lafayette- French General for the Patriots
24. Important People of the Revolution Part 2
 Abigail Adams – “remember the ladies”
 John Adams – member of the Continental Congress
 Mercy Otis Warren – Patriot writer supporting independence
 James Armistead – African American Patriot spy
 Bernardo de Galvez – Spanish governor of the LA territory that sent supplies to the
Patriots
 King George III – King of England during the Revolution
 Haym Salomon – Jewish immigrant that helped finance the Revolution
25. Treaty of Paris 1783
 Ended the Revolution
 John Adams, John Jay, Ben Franklin negotiate it
 The United States is independent and gets all the land from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Mississippi River
26. Triangle Trade
 Triangular shaped trade routes between Africa, Europe, West Indies and 13 Colonies
 The Middle Passage – Africans were transported in cruel conditions to North America to
be sold into slavery
 Molasses, sugar, rum were other goods that were traded
27. Articles of Confederation
 Weaknesses: federal government couldn’t tax, regulate trade, there was
no executive branch (president) or court system
 Strength: Northwest Ordinance – created an organized way to create new states
28. Constitutional Convention
 Virginia Plan – representation based on population
 New Jersey Plan – equal representation
 The Great Compromise – bicameral legislature
 Three-fifths Compromise – out of 5 slaves, 3 would count for taxation
and representation
29. Constitution
 James Madison -“Father of the Constitution”
 September 17, 1787
 Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments
 Plan of government
30. Legislative Branch
 Congress makes the laws
 Senate – 30 years old – 2 per state
 House of Representatives – 25 years ol- based on
31. Executive Branch
 President, Vice President, Cabinet
 Enforces (carries out) the laws
 35 years old
 Natural born citizen
 Commander in chief
 Appoints federal judges
32. Judicial Branch
 Supreme Court
 9 justices – can serve for life
 Decide constitutionality of law
33. Popular Sovereignty
 People are the source of the government’s power
34. Republicanism
 People elect (vote) for their political representatives
35. Limited government
 The constitution limits the actions of government by specifically listing powers it does
and does not have
36. Federalism
 Power is divided between the national government and state governments
37. Checks and balances
 Each branch limits the power of the other two branches
 Ex. President can veto a bill
38. Separation of Powers
 3 different branches with 3 different jobs
i. Legislative – makes the laws
ii. Executive – enforces the laws
iii. Judicial – interprets the laws
39. Individual rights
 Basic liberties and rights of all citizens that the government is obligated to protect
 Found in the Bill of Rights
40. Washington’s Farewell Address
 No political parties
 No foreign alliances
41. Washington’s Presidency
 Whiskey Rebellion
 Farewell Address
 Precedents:
i. “Mr. President”
ii. 2 terms
42. John Adams Presidency
 Federalist
 XYZ Affair
 Alien and Sedition Act
43. Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency
 Democratic Republican
 Louisiana Purchase – 1803
 Lewis and Clark
 Embargo Act – didn’t trade with European countries
 Marbury v Madison – judicial review
44. James Madison’s Presidency
 War Hawks
 War of 1812 – caused by impressment
i. Star Spangled Banner – Francis Scott Key
ii. Battle of New Orleans
iii. Treaty of Ghent
iv. Increased American manufacturing
v. International respect
45. James Monroe’s Presidency
 Era of Good Feelings
 Erie Canal
 Missouri Compromise
 Monroe Doctrine
 McCulloch v Maryland – national bank
 Gibbons v Ogden – interstate commerce
 Adams – Onis Treaty- Florida Annexed
46. Andrew Jackson’s Presidency – 7th President – Jacksonian Democracy
 Expanded voting rights (suffrage)
 Common man president
 Spoils System
 Nullification Crisis – Tariff of 1828
 Indian Removal Act
 Worcester v Georgia
 Trail of Tears
 “Killed” the National Bank