Road to Revolution
This British policy allowed the colonies to govern themselves for years, making them resentful when Britain later tried to enforce strict control.
What is salutary neglect?
This was the name of the first written constitution of the United States, known for having a very weak central government.
What are the Articles of Confederation?
This term describes the growing economic and political loyalty to one's own region rather than the whole country.
What is sectionalism?
This exaggerated style of news reporting helped whip up public support for the Spanish-American War.
What is yellow journalism?
This 1954 case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson by ruling that "separate but equal" facilities in public schools are unconstitutional.
What is Brown v. Board of Education?
This economic system used by Great Britain forced the 13 colonies to provide raw materials to the mother country and buy its manufactured goods.
What is mercantilism?
This 1786 uprising by armed Massachusetts farmers proved that the national government under the Articles was too weak to maintain order.
What is Shays' Rebellion?
This 1857 Supreme Court ruling stated that enslaved people were property, not citizens, increasing North-South tensions.
What is the Dred Scott decision (Dred Scott v. Sandford)?
This U.S. policy demanded that all nations have equal access to trade with China.
What is the Open Door Policy?
This 1819 Marshall Court ruling stated that states cannot tax a federal bank, reinforcing that federal law is supreme over state law.
What is McCulloch v. Maryland?
This specific tax on paper goods provoked widespread colonial protests, boycotts, and the cry of "No taxation without representation."
What is the Stamp Act?
This plan favored small states at the Constitutional Convention by proposing that every state get an equal number of votes in Congress.
What is the New Jersey Plan?
This specific Reconstruction amendment officially abolished slavery throughout the entire United States.
What is the 13th Amendment?
This island nation was annexed by the U.S. in 1898 after American planters overthrew its queen.
What is Hawaii?
This 1824 case ruled that only the federal government can regulate interstate commerce (trade between states), freeing up steamboat travel.
What is Gibbons v. Ogden?
This 1776 pamphlet written by Thomas Paine used plain language to argue that the colonies should break away from British rule.
What is Common Sense?
This agreement settled a debate between Northern and Southern states by counting a fraction of enslaved populations toward tax and representation totals.
What is the Three-Fifths Compromise?
This amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the U.S. and guaranteed them "equal protection under the law."
What is the 14th Amendment?
This engineering marvel was built by the U.S. across Central America to create a faster shipping shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific.
What is the Panama Canal?
This 1919 case ruled that freedom of speech can be limited if it creates a "clear and present danger," like shouting fire in a crowded theater.
What is Schenck v. United States?
This document, written mostly by Thomas Jefferson, explicitly stated that the purpose of government is to protect people's unalienable rights.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
To prevent the federal government from abusing its power, Anti-Federalists refused to ratify the Constitution until this was promised.
What is the Bill of Rights?
This Reconstruction amendment protected voting rights by stating citizens could not be denied the right to vote based on race.
What is the 15th Amendment?
This island became a U.S. territory as a direct result of the Spanish-American War and remains a U.S. commonwealth today.
What is Puerto Rico?
This 1973 landmark case ruled that a woman's right to an abortion is protected by the constitutional right to privacy.
What is Roe v. Wade?