Social 11 Words of the Day
1. Colony – a territory ruled or administered by a distant nation, usually for the benefit of the ruling
nation
2. Albany Plan of Union—Early plan to unite the colonies during the French & Indian War. Proposed by
a committee led by Benjamin Franklin
3. Cash Crop—crop grown primarily for market (make money); ex. tobacco, cotton, wheat
4. French & Indian War—a war between England and France and their Native American allies ending in
1763—England gained control of much of the North American continent, including Canada
5. Proclamation of 1763—prohibited colonial settlement west if the Appalachians; this angered the
colonists and was often ignored; was the first step toward colonial resentment toward Britain
6. Salutary Neglect—manner in which England governed the American colonies in the late 1600s and
early 1700s, marked by weak enforcement of laws regulating trade
7. Mercantilism—economic theory that a nation’s strength came from building up its gold supplies and
expanding its trade
8. House of Burgesses—early colonial form of representative government used in Virginia, established
in 1619
9. Mayflower Compact—Agreement signed by the Pilgrims before landing at Plymouth, established a
representative government
10. New England Town Meeting—local government allowed citizens to govern themselves through
direct democracy
11. Lexington & Concord—where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired
12. Common Sense—pamphlet written by Thomas Paine to help convince the colonists that it was time
to declare independence
13. Enlightenment—an era in European history characterized by tolerance for religious differences and
the use of reason to solve problems
14. Second Continental Congress—met after the first battles of the war and voted to form the
Continental Army with George Washington as the commander-in-chief
15. Confederation—kind of government in which the states have more power that the national (central)
government
16. Articles of Confederation—the first constitution of the US was the Articles of Confederation. It went
in effect in 1781 after all 13 states ratified (approved) it
17. Northwest Ordinance—the land north of Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River would
eventually become part of the United States. The Ordinance established policies for governing the
territory
18. Shay’s Rebellion—a revolt of Massachusetts’ farmers in 1786 against tax policies; demonstrated the
weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation; convinced leaders to
attend Constitutional Convention
19. Constitutional Convention—called to meet in 1787 for the “sale and express purpose of amending
the Articles of Confederation “
20. Bills—proposed laws
21. Bicameral Legislative—law making body composed of two houses
22. Federalist—those who supported the ratification of the Constitution
23. Anti-Federalist—those who opposed the Constitution; wanted a bill of rights to protect the people
and states from the national government
24. Federalism—division of power between the federal, state, and local governments
25. Executive Branch—president &administration has the power to make treaties, command the
military, veto laws, suggest laws; enforces the law
26. Amendment—an addition to or a change in the US Constitution; also a change in law or proposed
law; 27 Constitutional Amendments
27. Amendment 25—allows the Vice-President to become acting President in the vent of Presidential
disability; if the office of VP becomes vacant, the President appoints a new VP with approval of
Congress
28. Cabinet—consists of the senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal
government of the U who are generally the heads of the federal executive departments
(Department of State, Education, Agriculture, Treasury, War)
29. Judicial Review—power of the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of acts of the
legislative and executive branches of the government
30. Strict Constructionist—someone who believes that the national government can exercise only those
powers that are specifically states in the Constitution
31. Loose Constructionist—someone who believes that the Constitution may be interpreted broadly to
allow maximum power to the national government
32. Sedition—activities considered to be a threat to the government because that could cause
insurrection
33. Embargo—a ban on exporting goods to other countries
34. Treaty of Ghent—treaty that ended the War of 1812
35. Marbury v. Madison—Supreme Court case that established the power of judicial review which
allows the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution
36. Sectionalism—strong sense of loyalty to a state or section instead of the whole country
37. Monroe Doctrine (1823)—called for an end to European colonization in the Western Hemisphere,
no intervention by Europe in existing nations, a promise of non-interference by US in European
affairs
38. Industrial Revolution—massive change in social and economic organization, hand tools were
replaces by machines
39. American System—Henry Clay’s idea to unite the country; supported the National Bank, the
protective tariff, and nationwide internal improvements
40. Spoils System—the practice of appointing people to government offices on the basis of their loyalty
to a political party rather than their qualifications for holding office
41. Temperance Movement—a reform movement advocating that the sale of alcoholic beverages be
prohibited by law
42. Abolitionists—reformers who wanted slavery to be declared illegal in all states
43. Manifest Destiny—belief that the United States had a divine mission to expand to the Pacific Ocean
44. Fugitive Slave Act—law requiring that non-slave states return escaped slaves to their owner
45. Wimot Proviso—proposed a ban of slavery on any area taken from Mexico
46. Popular Sovereignty—a method for resolving that issue of slavery in Western territory; the people
vote for or against slavery in the territory
47. Emancipation Proclamation—freed all slaves in the areas still in rebellion against the union
48. Gettysburg Address—speech by Pres. Lincoln that summarized the meaning of the Civil War
49. Appomattox Court House—where General Lee surrendered to General Grant ending the Civil War
50. 13th Amendment (1865)—abolishes slavery in the US
51. 14th Amendment (1868)—citizenship & equal protection under the law to all citizens
52. 15th Amendment (1870)—African American males given the right to vote
53. Ku Klux Klan—a secret society formed to try and frighten African Americans from taking part in
government