People
He was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in 1775. Later he was elected the first president of the United States of America.
General George Washington
The first constitution of the United States was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1781 during the Revolution. The document was limited because states held most of the power, and Congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or control coinage.
Articles of Confederation
The war in which American colonists fought for independence from Great Britain.
American Revolutionary War
An agreement between the large and small states of the colonies. It resolved that there would be a representation by population in the House of Representatives, and equal representation would exist in the Senate.
Great Compromise
An agreement was reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of determining the population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Three-fifths Compromise
An American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801.
John Adams
A 1776 document, written mostly by Thomas Jefferson, announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain.
Declaration of Independence
The meeting of state delegates in Philadelphia called to revise the Articles of Confederation. It instead designed a new plan of government, the US Constitution.
Constitutional Convention
In 1803 U.S. purchased the land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains from Napoleon for $15 million.
Louisiana Purchase
The seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), who was a general in the War of 1812 defeated the British at New Orleans (1815), he opposed the Bank of America, objected to the right of individual states to nullify disagreeable federal laws, and increased the presidential powers.
Andrew Jackson
"Father of the Constitution," and the fourth President of the United States. His proposals for an effective government became the Virginia Plan, which was the basis for the Constitution. He was responsible for drafting most of the language of the Constitution.
James Madison
"Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan.
Virginia Plan
A war between the U.S. and Great Britain was caused by American outrage over the impressment of American sailors by the British, the British seizure of American ships, and British aid to the Indians attacking the Americans on the western frontier.
War of 1812
A journey sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the recently purchased Louisiana Territory.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Francis Scott Key observed the battle of Fort Mchenry and wrote his thoughts down in a poem called the "Star Spangled Banner"
Star-Spangled Banner
Author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States
Thomas Jefferson
Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to be bullied by larger states.
New Jersey Plan
The 19th-century movement of settlers into the western territories of North America began with the Louisiana Purchase and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail, and a belief in "manifest destiny."
Westward Expansion
An international movement that between approximately 1780 and 1890 succeeded in condemning slavery as morally repugnant and abolishing it in much of the world; the movement was especially prominent in Britain and the United States.
First Industrial Revolution
The period before the Civil War and after the War of 1812 was characterized by the rise of abolition and the gradual polarization of the country between abolitionists and supporters of slavery.
Antebellum Period
The fifth President of the United States (1817-1825). His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida (1819); the Missouri Compromise (1820), in which Missouri was declared a slave state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), declaring U.S. opposition to European interference in the Americas
James Monroe
The first ten amendments to the Constitution spell out Americans' rights in relation to their government.
Bill of Rights
An armed conflict was fought between the United States and Mexico over control of the northwestern territories in North America. Although the United States won, the conflict created a lasting rivalry between the two countries.
Mexican-American War
The transition to new manufacturing processes that started in the late 18th century; centered around coal-powered steam engines, textile machines, and blast furnaces to produce iron; helped increase the growth of the early American economy.
First Industrial Revolution
An economy is based on agricultural mass production, usually of a few commodity crops, grown on large farms called plantations. Plantation economies rely on cheap labor and the export of cash crops as a source of income.
Plantation Economy