Exploration & Colonization
This year marks the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.
What is 1607?
King George III issued this decree n 1763, forbidding colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflict with Native Americans.
What is the Proclamation of 1763?
Written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, this document stated that the colonies were free and independent states.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
This document served as America's first national constitution, but it created a central government that was too weak to enforce laws or collect taxes.
What are the Articles of Confederation?
The First Amendment explicitly guarantees five basic freedoms: speech, press, petition, assembly, and this freedom regarding personal belief.
What is freedom of religion?
Written in 1620, this document established a model for self-government and majority rule among the Pilgrims before they stepped ashore at Plymouth.
What is the Mayflower Compact?
This 1765 British law placed a direct tax on newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards, sparking widespread colonial protests.
What is the Stamp Act?
Thomas Jefferson argued that all humans possess these rights—including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—which cannot be taken away by a government.
What are unalienable rights?
This 1786 armed uprising of angry Massachusetts farmers exposed the severe weaknesses of the national government and led to the Constitutional Convention.
What is Shays Rebellion?
This amendment protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures of their property without a warrant signed by a judge.
What is the Fourth Amendment?
This primary economic theory drove European colonization, stating that the colonies exist to make the home country wealthy by controlling its trade.
What is mercantilism?
Colonists used this famous slogan to voice their anger over being taxed by a British Parliament, where they had no voice or vote.
What is No taxation without representation?
This 1777 battle is considered the turning point of the American Revolution because it convinced France to officially sign an alliance with the Americans.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
This agreement solved the debate over legislative representation by creating a two-house (bicameral) Congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
What is the Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)
The Third Amendment was written directly in response to colonial grievances regarding this British wartime policy.
What is the quartering of troops?
This region of the 13 Colonies featured rocky soil, long winters and an economy built on shipbuilding, fishing, and trade.
What is the New England Colonial Region?
This legal dynamic required colonists to house and feed British soldiers stationed in the colonies, leading to deep resentment.
What is the Quartering Act?
This dedicated general from France became a trusted aide to George Washington and used his own money to buy supplies for American troops.
Who is the Marquis de Lafayette?
This group of people, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, strongly supported ratifying the new Constitution and argued for a strong central government.
Who are the Federalists?
This amendment protects individuals from being tried for the exact same crime twice, a concept known as double jeopardy.
What is the Fifth Amendment?
Founded by Thomas Hooker, this 1639 document is considered the first written constitution in the American colonies.
What are the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut?
What are the Committees of Correspondence?
This final major battle of the war ended with British General Cornwallis surrendering to George Washington in 1781.
What is the Battle of Yorktown?
Patrick Henry and George Mason belonged to this group, which opposed ratification out of fear that the federal government would abuse individual liberties.
Who are the Anti-Federalists?
Designed to support the core principle of Federalism, this amendment states that any powers not explicitly given to the federal government belong to the states or the people.
What is the Tenth Amendment?