The document summarizes key events and concepts in United States history from the colonial period through the development of the US government. It covers reasons for European settlement of the colonies, economic differences between the three regions of the colonies, the impact of the French and Indian War, documents like the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, the structure and powers of federal and state governments, and concepts like political parties, elections, and the legislative process.

1. Goals 1-4

3. The two main reasons for settling the British colonies were religious freedom and money

4. The three sections of the American Colonies developed differently: New England’s economy focused on shipping, trading and manufacturing Middle Colonies were know as the “bread basket” because they grew grains, wheat and corn Southern Colonies focused on cash crop (tobacco and cotton) farming for their economy

5. Mercantilism is the idea that a country increases its wealth through trade and the development of colonies. Establishing a favorable balance of trade where exports (goods you sell) are greater than imports (goods you buy) increases wealth.

6. Triangular trade route connected England, Colonies, and Africa

7. The middle passage was the leg of the triangular trade route that brought slaves from Africa to the New World

8. Maryland Act of Toleration was the first document to establish freedom of religion for all Christians in the colonies

9. The Mayflower Compact established self-rule for the Pilgrims in Massachusetts, direct democracy

10. The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first representative assembly in the colonies

11. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written colonial constitution

12. The French and Indian War caused England to raise taxes in the colonies, which caused boycotts and riots (Boston Massacre & Boston Tea Party), which caused the Intolerable Acts, which caused the Battles of Concord and Lexington, which were the first shots of the American Revolution (the shot heard round the world)

13. The John Peter Zenger Trial established freedom of the Press in the colonies

14. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence explained to the King why the colonies were breaking away. He was influence by the theories of John Locke (Life, Liberty, and Property)

15. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense which helped unify the colonies to fight England

16. The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the Colonies and had a number of weaknesses, including: No national judiciary (court system), No common currency between states, and No chief executive (President), no power to tax

17. Shay’s Rebellion (MA farmers rebelled) illustrated that the government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak for America.

18. The Virginia Plan wanted representation in Congress to be decided by a State’s Population (like the House of Representatives)

19. The New Jersey Plan wanted representation in Congress to be based equally for each state (like the Senate-2 Senators per state)

20. Great Compromise combined the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan and created a bicameral (2 house) Congress

21. 3/5 Compromise meant that 3 out of every 5 slaves would count toward taxation and representation

22. Federalists supported the ratification (approval) of the Constitution, Anti-Federalists did not The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to gain the support of the Anti-Federalists

23. Anarchy means there is no law

24. Monarchy means a King or Queen holds most of the power and is handed down the family

25. Dictatorship means one person holds all of the power

27. The “Preamble” of the Constitution states the purpose of our government

28. The four principles our government is based on are Popular Sovereignty, Limited Government, Separation of Powers, and Federalism

29. The Legislative Branch makes the laws, Executive Branch enforces the laws, the Judicial Branch interprets the laws

30. A Bill must pass in both houses of Congress to become a law. It must be (1) presented, (2) sent to committee, (3) returned to the floor for debate and vote, and (4) sent to the Conference Committee to iron out differences in the two versions (created in HoR and Senate) before it goes to the President. If the President vetoes (rejects) the bill it will not become a law unless it is passed by a 2/3rds vote in both Houses to override the President’s veto. Most Bills die in the Committee stage of the process.

31. Judicial Review is the power of the Courts to declare acts of the other branches of government unconstitutional

32. The Executive Office of the President, The Cabinet, and the Executive Agencies (Government Agencies) all help the President run the country

33. Expressed Powers are clearly written in the Constitution, while Implied Powers are not clearly defined in the Constitution

34. Enumerated or Delegated Powers are for the Federal Gov’t, Reserved Powers are the powers kept by the States, and Concurrent Powers are the powers that both State and Federal Governments exercise.

35. The President serves 7 roles: Commander-in-Chief, Chief Diplomat, Chief Executive, Party leader, Legislative Leader, Chief of State, Judicial leader

36. The elastic clause (necessary and proper clause) allows government to expand its power

37. Checks and balances occurs when one branch of government can limit what the other branches can do (ex: President vetoes a bill from Congress)

39. The largest source of revenue (money taken in) from NC’s budget comes from income tax, while its greatest expenditure (money spent) is education.

40. The Governor is the chief executive of the state and has the power of line item veto (rejecting a portion of a bill) while the President does not. The Governor does not have diplomatic power since his power is only within the state.

41. The requirements for the office of Governor are US citizen for 5 years (with two of them being the two years before the election), 30 years old. The Governor may only serve two consecutive terms, while the President may only serve two terms period

42. The legislative body of the state is called the General Assembly, while the legislative body of the county is called Board of Commissioners.

43. The North Carolina Supreme Court is the state’s highest court. The court has a chief justice and six associate justices who are elected to 8-yr terms. Two landmark decisions were State v. Mann (1829) (slaves were property) and Leandro v. North Carolina (1997) (sound education for all).

44. Gerrymandering is when the General Assembly redraws voting districts favoring one party over another.

45. Annexation is when a city adds more land to its boundaries to expand its tax base and its services.

47. The political spectrum Republican Democrat

48. The majority of private funding for a candidate when running for election comes from Political Action Committees (PACs).

49. Propaganda techniques are glittering generalities (meaningless statement), bandwagon (trying to make it seem that everyone is voting for you), stacked cards (presenting only one side of an issue), name calling (attack ads negative) just plain folks (try to look like the average Joe).

50. A plank is a party’s stance on only one issue, while a platform is the party’s position on all of the issues put together

51. Voter qualifications for North Carolina are: 18 years of age, registered, be of sound mind (no mental institutions), no felonies, meet residency requirements.

52. The purpose of a National Convention is for a political party to officially name its candidate for President.

53. A recall election is when the citizens of a state are unhappy with a government official and they vote to remove them from office before the end of their term

54. The difference between arbitration and mediation is that while both have third parties who listen to both sides of an argument, arbitration is when the third party’s decision is binding.

55. A plurality means that a candidate received the most votes, while a simple majority means that the candidate received one more than half of the votes.

56. The United States has a two party system; Democrats and Republicans control the political system.