Goals 1-3
How did geographic diversity influence the
economic, political, and social life in colonial
North America?
Northern
Colonies
Mostly industry, large cities, many immigrants,
ship building and fishing. Few slaves, most
slaves were house slaves. Agriculture: mostly
small farmers, just producing enough food to
eat (subsistence farming)
Middle
Colonies
A mixture of some small industry and
agriculture. Similar crops to the southern
colonies. A few large plantations.
Southern
Colonies
Agriculture, “Cotton is King”, tobacco
production, most of the population was
enslaved Africans. Most of the areas were large
plantations.
What role did slaves and
indentured servants play in the
colonies?
 They provided the majority of the workforce,
especially at the large plantations
What is mercantilism?
 Theory that a country should sell more goods to other
countries than it buys
Why did people from Britain come
to North America?
 They came for various reasons
 The biggest reason was to make money
(mercantilism), but some came for religious freedom
Where was the first British attempt
at self-government in North
America?
 Jamestown, VA 1607
What is a charter?
 A legal document granting land and the authority to
establish colonial government
How was the colony managed?
 It was used as a source of revenue (money) for the
home country (England)
What was the name of the first
representative legislature in North America?
 Virginia House of Burgesses
What is a compact?
 An agreement or contract among a group of people
What did the Mayflower Compact do?
 Established a tradition of direct democracy
List the causes of the American
Revolution
 Large amount of taxes the British made the colonists
pay for the French and Indian War
 Quartering Act
 Tax on Tea
Define boycott:
 The refusal to purchase certain goods
What did the First Continental
Congress do?
 It was the group of states that got together to send a
letter to the King demanding that their rights were
restored
Where were the first two battles of
the American Revolution?
 Lexington and Concord
 The shot heard around the world
What information do we find in the
Declaration of Independence?
 Preamble: all men created equal, inalienable rights:
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
 List of grievances to the British King
What two ideals is the US
committed to achieve?
 Life and liberty
What was government like under
the Articles of Confederation?
 It was a very loose alliance of states
What challenges and problems did
the new states face?
 Taxes
 No army – Shays’ Rebellion
How were some of the problems
solved with the Constitution?
 Chief Executive
 National Court System
 Established the House of Representatives and Senate
w/ powers needed
 Compromise: way of resolving disagreements in
which each side gives up something but gains
something
Compare the views of the
Federalists and Anti-Federalists
Federalists
Anti-Federalists
• Supporters of the
Constitution
• chose this name to
emphasize that the const.
would create a federal system
(form of government where
power is divided between the
national government and the
states)
• opposed the Constitution
• believed it would take away
the liberties Americans had
fought to win from Great
Britain
Define civil liberties:
 Freedom to think and act without government
interference or fear of unfair legal treatment
Give some examples of rights that
are protected by the Bill of Rights:
 Religion
 Speech
 Press
 Petition
 Assemble
 Rights of accused
 Bear arms
Compare US to other forms of
government
Democratic Governments
Authoritarian Governments
Power is held by the
people, and a group
of people elected by
the population in a
free election.
Power is held by an
individual or a
groups not
accountable to the
people (i.e..
Totalitarian,
dictatorship,
absolute monarchy)
Key Terms
 Popular Sovereignty: power of the government
comes from the people (we allow it to)
 Republic: a representative democracy where citizens
choose their lawmakers
 Democracy: a government in which citizens hold the
power to rule
 Bill of Rights: first 10 amendments to the
constitution to protect individual rights
Three Branches of Government
 Legislative Branch: makes the laws, made up of Senate
and House of Representatives
 Executive Branch: sees that laws are carried out.
Headed by the President.
 Judicial Branch: interprets laws, includes the Supreme
Court and other courts
What is the difference between
expressed and implied powers?
 Expressed: delegated to congress, also called
enumerated, are clearly written, or expressed in the
Constitution
 Implied: powers not listed in the Constitution, but
Congress has because of Elastic Clause: can stretch
powers to meet new needs
How Constitution limits power
Limits on Government Power
What it is/How it limits
Rule of Law
Law applies to everyone, even those
who govern
Separation of Powers
Separate the powers and assign or
appoint each separate branch of
government
Checks and Balances
Each branch of government is able
to check or limit the power of the
others
Federal System
It’s a system of limited
government—a government with
defined restrictions on power
(national and state governments)
How do we change the
Constitution?
 Amendment: any change to the constitution
 Judicial Review: power of Supreme Court to declare
any federal, state, or local law unconstitutional
 How can the Constitution be informally changed?
Decision of the US Supreme Court
 How many amendments? 27
Define federal system
 The sharing or power between the central and state
government
What is the supremacy clause?
 The national government is the “supreme law of the
land”
What was the importance of
McCulloch v. Maryland?
 Reaffirmed the supremacy clause
Where in the Constitution do we
find the protection of individual
rights?
 Bill of Rights
What rights were achieved with:
 13th Amendment
 Outlawed slavery
 14th Amendment
 Protects legal rights of freed slaves
 15th Amendment
 Suffrage to African Americans
What was the major issue of disagreement
regarding the constitution?
 Whether the most power should be with the national
government or state governments
What kind of government did the
Federalists want?
 Wanted a strong central (national) government
What kind of government did the
Anti-Federalists want?
 Wanted strong state governments
What are some services
governments provide?
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Libraries
Courthouses
Schools
Welfare
Police
Fire department
Jails
Hospitals
Sanitation
Define revenue:
 The income that a government collects for public use
Types of Taxes
Type of Tax
What is it/Where $$ Comes From
Income Tax
Payroll tax
Tax levied on income of individuals
Money taken directly out of your
paycheck (Medicare, social security)
Tax laid on the manufacture, sale, or
consumption of particular goods (luxury
items)
Excise Tax
Estate/Gift Taxes
Imposed on the assets of someone who
dies
Customs duties
Tax on goods brought into the US from
abroad, also known as tariffs
What is the largest expenditure of
the federal government?
 Social security
What is Medicare? Medicaid?
 Federally administered Health Care
 Medicare if you’re old
 Medicaid if you’re younger
Give some examples of programs
the federal government spends
money on:
 National defense
 Foreign relations
 Health and education
 Interest on the national debt
What are the 3 branches of
government in NC?
 Legislative
 Executive
 Judicial
What is the declaration of rights?
 Article 1 of NC Constitution
 Spells out the civil liberties and the rights of its
citizens
What does the NC Constitution say
the people owe first allegiance to?
 US Government
What do the articles do?
 Establishes the structure of NC government
What is a charter?
 Written document that grants the authority to set up a
government
Branch of Gov’t
Who Makes it
Up
What is the job
Executive Branch
Governor and
Lieutenant and
Depts
Enforces laws
Legislative Branch
General Assembly: Makes the laws
Senate and House of
Representatives
Judicial Branch
State Supreme
Court and other
courts (appellate,
district, superior)
Interprets the laws
How can the NC constitution be
changed?
 NC legislature has the ability to amend the
Constitution
Who rules on matters affecting the
state’s constitution?
 State Supreme Court
What issue has been of importance in the
past few years that was decided by the
court?
 Right to a sound basic education
What is meant by “equal
protection of the laws”?
 State government must treat all citizens equally
th
14
How does the
amendment
restrict the actions of states?
 Cannot deprive citizens of equal protection under the
laws
What power did the governor of
NC not have before 1996?
 Veto power
Veto is an example of….
 Checks and balances
What are the sources of tax money for the state
of North Carolina and local governments?
 Intergovernmental revenue: money one level receives
from another
 Property tax
 Sales tax
Name one way state and local governments
use to pay for major projects
 Bonds
 Contributions from retirement plans
Services provided by state and
local governments:
 Entitlement programs
 Protection
 Water
 Sewage
 Sanitation
What is an appropriations bill?
 Legislation earmarking funds for a certain purpose