US History
Fort Burrows
Super STAAR 131 Facts!
1. Mercantilism is an economic system in which the mother country controls the trade of its
colonies.
2. The following colonies were established for religious freedom:
· Massachusetts - John Winthrop (Puritans)
· Pennsylvania – William Penn (Quakers)
· Rhode Island - Roger Williams (exiled by Puritans for dissention)
· Maryland - Cecillius Calvert (Catholics)
3. Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement, was founded in 1607 for economic
reasons.
4. The Transatlantic Slave Trade (triangular trade) was started due to labor shortages in
Virginia, resulting in the first slaves being brought to the Southern colonies.
5. The Mayflower Compact - an agreement signed in 1620 by the Pilgrims in Plymouth. It is the
1st attempt at self-government in America.
6. The VA House of Burgesses was the first representative assembly in the new world.
7. Thomas Hooker wrote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut,
the first written Constitution in America. It is one of the first examples of a representative
democracy (self-government).
8. The 13 colonies were divided into 3 regions: New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies
9. The French & Indian War involved England and the 13 colonies fighting against France and
the Native Americans for control of the Ohio River Valley. It resulted in increased taxation and
violation of certain rights.
10. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War. The debt from the war led to
increased British taxation of the colonies.
11. Ben Franklin wrote the Albany Plan of Union – “Join or Die!” encouraging the colonies to
unite against the French during the French & Indian War.
12. The Proclamation of 1763 limited the colonies from expanding west of the Appalachian
Mountains.
13. These Acts following the French & Indian War ticked off the Colonies and eventually led to the
Revolution! –Sugar, Stamp, Tea, Quartering, Townshend.
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Super STAAR 131 Facts!
14. King George III of England: He offended the colonies with his taxes and abuses of our rights
as Englishmen.
15. The Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea Party to protest the Tea Act. In response,
England passed the Intolerable Acts as punishment.
16. Important American Revolution minorities:
· Crispus Attucks – African American killed at the Boston massacre who was the 1st colonist to
die for
American independence
· James Armistead – 1st African American double spy whose information helped defeat the
British at the Battle of Yorktown
· Haym Salomon – Jewish immigrant and American spy who helped finance the American
Revolution
· Mercy Otis Warren – woman who wrote plays such as The Group and The Blockheads which
were critical of the British government’s actions
· Bernardo de Galvez – Spanish governor of Louisiana and General who won many battles against
the British in present day southeastern U.S
· Marquis de Lafayette – commander of the French forces in the 13 colonies, instrumental in
American victory at Yorktown
17. John Adams was the 2nd president of the U.S., 1st vice president, signed the Declaration of
Independence, and served as Ambassador to England during the Revolutionary War.
His wife, Abigail Adams, was a pioneer for women’s rights
18. Sam Adams, a member of the Sons of Liberty and leader of the Boston Tea Party, stirred
public support or American independence.
19. The first battle of the American Revolution was at Lexington and Concord in April 1775.
20. Common Sense - a pamphlet by Thomas Paine that convinced many colonists to support
independence from Great Britain.
21. The fiery orator, patriot and Anti-Federalist Patrick Henry called for American independence
and later opposed the Constitution because it did not protect individual liberties.
22. George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army who later became the first
President of the United States.
23. A patriot is someone who supported American independence during the Revolution.
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US History
Fort Burrows
Super STAAR 131 Facts!
24. A loyalist is someone who supported maintaining British rule over the colonies during the
Revolution.
25. The Declaration of Independence - a list of grievances against King George III - was written
by Thomas Jefferson-July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia. It declared the colonies independent from
England.
26. Unalienable rights are rights that cannot be given up, taken away or transferred. Life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness, are some of those rights.
27. The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the American Revolution
(French entered the war).
28. Valley Forge was where George Washington’s troops camped during the winter of 1777. More
than 1/5 of his soldiers died of disease and malnutrition.
29. The British defeat in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia by George Washington’s troops signaled the
end of the American Revolution.
30. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the American Revolution and forced Britain to recognize
the United States as an independent nation.
31. The Magna Carta, signed in 1215 by King John, was the first document that limited power of
the ruler. Idea of “Trial by jury” used in Bill of Rights.
32. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 protected the rights of English citizens and became the
basis for the U.S. Bill of Rights.
33. Early government was influenced by the works of European philosophers such as:
· Charles de Montesquieu (French) - “separation of powers” and 3 branches
· John Locke (English) – “unalienable rights”
· William Blackstone (English) – “natural rights” and Bill of Rights
34. The Articles of Confederation – Our 1st National government with one branch (legislative).
The states have most of the power. It would be replaced by the Constitution in 1787.
35. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the procedures for the expansion of the United
States and explains that new states are admitted to the Union equal to existing states.
36. A tariff is a tax on imported goods (goods brought into a country) designed to protect home
industries.
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US History
Fort Burrows
Super STAAR 131 Facts!
37. Shays’ Rebellion highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation & convinced
many Founders of the need for a stronger national government.
38. The Great Compromise created a bi-cameral (2 House) Legislature we call Congress.
Representation in the House of Representatives: population; the Senate: each state gets 2.
39. The Great Compromise settled the issue of how slaves would count for representation and
taxation in Congress. Each slave would count as 3/5 of a person.
40. Checks and Balances is a system set up by the Constitution in which each branch of the
federal government has the power to check, or control, the actions of the other branches.
41. Separation of Powers: system in which each branch of government has its own powers.
42. Republicanism is a system of representative government in which voters elect representatives
to make laws for them.
43. Federalism is the sharing of power between the states and the national government.
44. Federalists were supporters of the Constitution who favored a strong national government and
the Bank of the United States.
45. Anti-federalists were people opposed to the Constitution, preferring more power be given to
the state governments than to the national government. Against the Bank of the U.S. Thomas
Jefferson and George Mason were leading Anti-Federalists.
46. The Federalist Papers - a series of essays written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander
Hamilton defending the Constitution and the principles on which the government of the United
States was founded.
47. The Legislative Branch makes the laws. The Executive Branch enforces the laws. The Judicial
Branch interprets the meaning of the laws.
48. Constitutional Republic - system of limited government where elected officials represent the
people and must govern according to the laws of the Constitution.
49. The Constitution (our written plan of government) - Created: Philadelphia, 1787. Provides a
strong national government with power balanced between the 3 branches.
50. James Madison is considered to be the “Father of the Constitution”.
51. Ratify means to approve by vote.
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US History
Fort Burrows
Super STAAR 131 Facts!
52. Amend means to change. As in amend the Constitution so it works better.
Amendment = change to the Constitution
53. Constitutional Amendment is passed when 2/3 of Congress (House & Senate) and ¾ of the
state legislatures vote in favor of that amendment.
54. The Bill of Rights - 1st ten amendments to the Constitution --designed to protect our individual
liberties.
55. The First Amendment protects freedom of Religion, Assembly, Press, Petition, and Speech.
56. The 2nd Amen – “A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the
right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
57. The 3rd Amendment - "No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
58. Due process – how laws are enforced fairly… For example… Amendments 4-8
59. The 9th Amendment - “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
(We get more rights than what is in the Constitution)
60. The 10th Amendment – “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Meaning… FEDERALISM
61. George Washington’s service as president of the U.S. was an example of Patriotism.
Because he accepted the presidency because he felt it was his duty to serve the people, rather than
retire to his plantation.
62. Alexander Hamilton: a leader of the Federalists, first Treasurer of the United States, and
creator of the Bank of the U.S. - killed in a duel by the V. P. of the U. S. ELASTIC CLAUSE
63. The following Supreme Court cases, ruled by Chief Justice John Marshall, helped to strengthen
the power of the federal government over the states.
· McCulloch v. Maryland(1819) Use of the elastic clause
· Gibbons v. Ogden(1824) Federal government regulates interstate trade
64. Free Enterprise is an economic system where citizens are free to choose how to make a living,
with very little government intrusion.
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US History
Fort Burrows
Super STAAR 131 Facts!
65. President Washington demonstrated the increased power of the federal government by sending
the army to stop the Whiskey Rebellion.
66. The first political parties were formed as a result of disagreements over the power of the
federal government between Hamilton and Jefferson.
67. George Washington’s Farewell Address advised the United States to stay “neutral in its
relations with other nations” and to avoid “entangling alliances”.
68. President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803.
69. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, became the 3rd President of the
United States and purchased the Louisiana territory, doubling the size of the United States.
70. Marbury v. Madison was the 1803 Court decision that gave the Supreme Court the power of
judicial review - the right to determine whether a law violates the Constitution. John Marshall’s
ruling established judicial review.
71. British impressment (forcing people to serve in a foreign country’s army or navy) resulted in
the Embargo Act, which banned trade with all foreign countries and hurt the U.S. economy.
72. The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and England. Causes of the war
included impressment, seizing of American ships, and British encouragement of Indian attacks.
73. Andrew Jackson was the hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, and later
became the 7th president of the United States.
74. James Monroe: 5th President & author of the Monroe Doctrine, which shut down the Western
Hemisphere to European expansion or interference.
75. Industrial Revolution: industry changed from the production of goods at home (cottage
industry) to factory production using powered machinery.
76. Robert Fulton’s steamboat improved transportation of goods and people during the Industrial
Revolution.
77. The telegraph, invented in 1835 by Samuel Morse (Morse Code), made communication more
efficient across great distances. It would become an important tool in the North, during the Civil
War.
78. Textile Mills - Thief: Samuel Slater Importance: Led to large-scale factory production of cloth
through the use of power looms. Provided new job opportunities for young women.
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Super STAAR 131 Facts!
79. Interchangeable Parts Inventor: Eli Whitney Importance: Allowed factories to make products
faster & cheaper. Parts could be replaced easily if broken.
80. Cotton Gin – 1793 Inventor: Eli Whitney Importance: Allowed for fast separation of cotton
from seeds, greatly increasing profitability of cotton. This made the use of slavery on plantations
essential to cotton farmers in the South.
81. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 made slavery illegal North of the 36° 30’ line. From 1820
to 1850, newly admitted states above the line would be Free states, while new states below the line
would be slave states.
82. John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, was the 6th president of the United States, and the
only one to serve in Congress after being president. He was best known for opposing the spread of
slavery.
83. Andrew Jackson was a self-made man & founder of the modern Democratic Party. He was
responsible for the Trail of Tears and he supported the Union during the Nullification Crisis.
84. Andrew Jackson’s election in 1828 as president led to increased suffrage for white men in the
United States.
85. Trail of Tears also known as the Indian Removal Act, forced the Indians in the southeastern
U.S. to move west of the Mississippi River.
86. Nullification is the idea of a state declaring a federal law unconstitutional or not in force in that
state.
87. Daniel Webster - a Massachusetts Congressman and Senator who spoke for the North and the
preservation of the Union.
88. John C. Calhoun was a South Carolina Congressman and Senator who spoke for the South
before and during the Civil War.
89. Henry Clay, nicknamed the Great Compromiser, was a powerful Kentucky Congressman and
Senator who proposed the Compromise of 1850, and the American System.
90. Popular Sovereignty - the practice of having the authority to make decisions for oneself.
91. Manifest Destiny is the belief that the United States should own all of the land between the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
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US History
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Super STAAR 131 Facts!
92. Westward Expansion - Label the Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, Mormon Trail, and California
Trail.
93. Transcontinental Railroad - sped up the process of Westward Expansion as settlements and
towns grew along the railroads.
94. Erie Canal - man made waterway that allowed for more efficient movement of manufactured
goods and raw materials from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
95. The annexation of Texas created tension between the U.S. and Mexico, resulting in the
Mexican War. The U.S. victory resulted in the acquisition of land known as the Mexican Cession.
96. Public education promotes knowledge and skills that open the doors to opportunity. Horace
Mann.
97. Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, creating the Women’s Rights
Movement in the United States.
98. The Temperance Movement was a campaign against the sale or drinking of alcohol.
99. An abolitionist was a person who wanted to end slavery in the United States. Abolish - to get
rid of.
100. The Compromise of 1850 would try to solve the divisions between free and slave states or
territories.
101. Sectionalism is a strong sense of loyalty to a state or section instead of to the whole country.
102. Frederick Douglass was a former slave who became a well-known abolitionist in the country.
103. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an Anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, created
widespread abolitionist support among Northerners.
104. Dred Scott v. Sanford -1857 was the Supreme Court decision that said slaves were property
and not citizens and thus can’t sue in court. It would find the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to be
unconstitutional and aggravated sectional tensions between North and South.
105. In 1859 John Brown, An abolitionist who believed armed resistance to slavery was
necessary, seized a federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, in an attempt to begin a slave
rebellion. He was captured and later executed.
106. The Civil War was fought the years of 1861-1865.
107. The 3 causes of the Civil War were: slavery, state’s rights, and sectionalism.
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108. Abraham Lincoln 16th President of the United States (Union); served during the Civil War.
109. Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
110. Ulysses S. Grant was the General of the Union Army and accepted Lee’s surrender at
Appomattox Court House, ending the Civil War.
111. Robert E. Lee was the General of the Confederate Army. His defeat at Gettysburg would be a
turning point in the Civil War.
112. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was the 2nd best General of the Confederate Army. His
accidental death in 1863, was a huge loss for Robert E. Lee’s Army.
113. During the Civil War, the Southern economy’s dependence on slavery, led to a lack of:
factories and railroads in the South.
114. Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address stated that, “no state…can lawfully get out of the Union”,
but pledged there would be no war unless the South started it.
115. The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter - Charleston, South Carolina.
116. The Battle of Antietam, with 23,000 casualties, was the bloodiest single day battle of the
Civil War (and all of U.S. History) September 17, 1862
117. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, setting all
slaves in the Confederate states free.
118. The Battle of Gettysburg, July1-3, 1863, was the turning point in the Civil War where Lee’s
army is defeated.
119. The Gettysburg Address - speech given by Lincoln dedicating a cemetery for soldiers who
died at the Battle of Gettysburg. It is considered to be a profound statement of American ideals.
120. The capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi by the North in 1863, was important because it gave
the Union Army control of the Mississippi River.
121. Appomattox Court House, Virginia is where Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate
Army to Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Civil War.
122. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address was meant to help heal and restore the country after
four years of Civil War. It stated the South should be treated fairly.
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123. John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, led to increased tension
between the North and South and strict requirements for Southern states to meet in order to regain
representation in Congress after the Civil War.
124. Both of the following men were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their heroism
during the Civil War. William Carney & Philip Bazaar
125. Hiram Rhodes Revels from Mississippi, was the first African American elected to Congress
in 1870.
126. 13th Amendment “Slavery…shall (not) exist within the United States...”
127. The 14th Amendment – Defined the rights of citizenship & prevented states from interfering
with the rights of citizens.
128. The 15th Amendment – “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied
or abridged … on account of race”
129. The 19th Amendment – “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied
…on account of sex.”
130. Primary Sources are the original records of an event. They include eyewitness reports,
records created at the time of an event, speeches, and letters by people involved in the event,
photographs and artifacts.
131. Secondary Sources are the later writings and interpretations of historians and writers. Often
secondary sources, like textbooks and articles, provide summaries of information found in primary
sources.
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