Colonial New England
This religious group founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, seeking to create a "city upon a hill."
Puritans
This slogan summarized colonial opposition to being taxed by Parliament without elected representatives.
No taxation without representation
The first ten amendments to the Constitution are collectively known by this name.
Bill of Rights
This term described the belief that the United States was destined to expand across North America.
Manifest Destiny
This 1820 agreement admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while establishing a geographic line for slavery's expansion.
Missouri Compromise
This colony, founded by Roger Williams, became known for religious freedom and tolerance.
Rhode Island
These two Massachusetts towns were the sites of the first battles of the American Revolution.
Lexington and Concord
This system divides power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Separation of Powers
This 1803 land purchase from France nearly doubled the size of the United States.
Louisiana Purchase
This principle, central to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowed settlers to decide whether slavery would be permitted in their territory.
Popular Sovereignty
In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived in North America aboard this ship.
Mayflower
This 1774 gathering brought delegates from twelve colonies together to coordinate a response to British policies.
First Continental Congress
This plan, introduced by William Paterson, proposed equal representation for each state in Congress.
New Jersey Plan
This trail helped thousands of settlers travel west to the Pacific Northwest.
Oregon Trail
In this 1857 Supreme Court case, Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that Congress lacked authority to prohibit slavery in the territories.
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
This document, signed aboard the Mayflower, established a form of self-government for the settlers.
Mayflower Compact
This pamphlet by Thomas Paine argued that monarchy was inherently corrupt and that independence was the logical next step.
Common Sense
This Virginian is often called the "Father of the Constitution."
James Madison
This war between the United States and Mexico resulted in the U.S. gaining vast southwestern territories.
Mexican-American War
During debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858, this Illinois politician argued that the nation could not remain permanently divided over slavery.
Abraham Lincoln
King Philip's War took its name from this Wampanoag leader known to his people by a different name.
Metacom
This group of colonial activists organized resistance to the Stamp Act and often coordinated boycotts of British goods.
Sons of Liberty
These essays, written largely by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, sought to persuade New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution.
Federalist Papers
This 1848 treaty ended the Mexican-American War and transferred California and other territories to the United States.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This abolitionist newspaper editor published The Liberator and called for the immediate end of slavery.
William Lloyd Garrison