Doing History & Natural Rights
An original firsthand creation or account from the time period being studied, such as a diary, letter, photograph, or official document
What is a Primary Source
The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776
Who was Thomas Jefferson?
The three distinct branches created by Articles I, II, and III of the U.S. Constitution to enforce the separation of power
What are the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches
The political faction that strongly championed the ratification of the proposed U.S. Constitution
Who are the Federalists
The November 1860 political event that served as the immediate trigger for South Carolina and subsequent southern states to secede
What is the Election of Abraham Lincoln
The 19th-century philosophical belief, named by John L. O'Sullivan, that the United States was divinely ordained to expand across North America
What is Manifest Destiny
According to English philosopher John Locke, all individuals possess these three fundamental natural rights simply by virtue of being human
What are Life, Liberty, and Property
The idea stated in the Declaration that legitimate government authority comes from this agreement of the citizens
The core Enlightenment principle stated in the Declaration that legitimate government authority is derived from this agreement of the citizens
This constitutional agreement settled disputes between large and small states by creating a bicameral legislature with equal representation in the Senate and population-based representation in the House
What is the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise)
The explicit list of rights demanded by Anti-Federalists as a necessary condition to prevent federal overreach
What is the Bill of Rights
President Lincoln's 1863 speech after a battle that redefined the Civil War as a test of democratic survival, increased moral and dedicated the nation to a "new birth of freedom"
What is the Gettysburg Address
The 1823 foreign policy principle stating that the U.S. would oppose any future European intervention or colonization in the Western Hemisphere
What is the Monroe Doctrine
ohn Locke's philosophical concept in which citizens agree to give up absolute personal freedom in exchange for government protection and securit
What is a Social Compact (or Social Contract)
The three fundamental "unalienable rights" explicitly named in the Declaration of Independence
What are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness?
The compromise that established how enslaved individuals would be counted for both congressional representation and direct taxation
What is the Three-Fifths Compromise
In Federalist #10, James Madison argued that this specific system and size of government best controls the violence of factions
What is a Republic
The Reconstruction Amendment that guaranteed national citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law
What is the 14th Amendment
The 1846–1848 armed conflict sparked by border disputes after Texas annexation, which led to major territorial acquisitions in the Southwest
What is the Mexican-American War
This 1848 women's rights document deliberately adopted the structure and language of the 1776 Declaration of Independence
What is the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments
According to the Declaration, when a government becomes destructive of unalienable rights, citizens have the right and duty to do this
What is alter or abolish it (and institute new government)
The constitutional mechanism that gives each branch of government specific administrative powers to restrain the other two branches
What are Checks and Balances
Describe the fundamental economic difference between the Northern and Southern states prior to the Civil War
What is an industrial, paid-labor Northern economy vs. an agricultural, slave-labor Southern economy dependent on cotton
The radical abolitionist newspaper founded in 1831 by William Lloyd Garrison that called for an immediate end to slavery without compensation
What is The Liberator
The long list of specific complaints in the Declaration against King George III, detailing acts of royal tyranny and abuses of power
What are Grievances
The 1820 compromise that admitted Maine as a free state, Missouri as a slave state, and prohibited slavery north of 36°30' latitude
What is the Missouri Compromise