We The People Unit Two Vocabulary

1. We The PeopleUnit Two Vocabulary Mrs. Mata NYOS Charter School 8th grade Social Studies

2. abolish to formally put an end to something

3. Articles of Confederation The 1st constitution of the United States, created to form a perpetual union and a firm league of friendship among the 13 original states. It was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 10, 1777. It came into force on March 1, 1781, and served as the nation’s constitution until 1789, when the U.S. Constitution replaced it. The Articles provided for a weak central government.

4. Battle of Saratoga 1777 An important battle of the Revolutionary War that lasted from June to October 1777, when the British surrendered in Saratoga, NY. The American victory prevented the British from splitting the colonies in two, increased American morale, and encouraged the French to sign a treaty with the Americans.

5. charter a written document from a government or ruler that grants certain rights to an individual, group, organization, or to people in general. In colonial times, a charter granted land to a person or a company along with the right to start a colony on that land.

6. Committees of Correspondence voluntary associations and were eventually established by most of the colonial governments. Their mission was to make sure that each colony knew about events and opinions in the other colonies. They helped to unite the people against the British.

7. common law the body of unwritten law developed in England from judicial decisions based on customs, which constitutes the basis of the English legal system and became part of American law.

8. Daughters of Liberty An organization formed by women prior to the American Revolution. They protested treatment of the colonies by their British rulers. They helped make the boycott of British trade effective by making their own materials instead of using British imports.

9. diplomacy the practice of carrying on formal relationships with governments of other countries

10. English Bill of Rights An act passed by Parliament in 1689 that limited the power of the monarch. This document established Parliament as the most powerful branch of the English government.

11. feudalism a system of social, economic, and political organizations in which a politically weak king or queen shared power with the nobility. The nobility required work and services from the common people in return for allowing them to live on and make use of the noble’s land and benefit from the noble’s protection.

12. First Continental Congress the body of colonial delegates who convened to represent the interests of the colonists and protest British rule. The First Continental Congress met in 1774.

13. Loyalists colonists who opposed American independence and remained loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution

14. Magna Carta this document was agreed to by King John of England in 1215 and granted certain civil rights and liberties to English nobles, such as the right to a jury of one’s peers and the guarantee against loss of life, liberty, or property. In doing so, it limited the power of the monarch. This document is a landmark in the history of limited constitutional government.

15. national government the institution having central political authority in a nation; the representative unit of political organization

16. natural law a higher, unchanging set of rules that govern human relations believed by the Founders to have come from “Nature and Nature’s God”

17. Northwest Ordinance 1787 An important law passed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation. The law prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory and provided for settling the western lands and the admission and organization of new states.

18. Parliament the British legislature, which consist of two houses: The House of Lords, representing the nobility, most of whose appointments are no longer hereditary, and the House of Commons, representing the people

19. Patriots those Americans who supported the war for independence against Great Britain

20. petition legal claim that allows a person to ask his or her government to correct things the he or she thinks are wrong or to do things he or she believes are needed

21. Petition of Right 1628 a law that limited the English monarch’s power to tax people without the consent of Parliament and guaranteed certain rights to English subjects.

22. popular sovereignty the natural rights concept that ultimate political authority rests with the people

23. Quebec Campaign a military expedition that was an attempt by the Americans to protect the American north and persuade the Canadians to join their rebellion against Britain. American forces invaded Canada and captured Montreal in late 1774. The British forced the Americans to retreat in the spring of 1776.

24. rights of Englishmen Basic legal claims established over time, that all subjects of the English monarch were understood to have. They include the right not to be kept in prison without a trial and the right to a trial by jury.

25. rule of law the principle that both those who govern and those who are governed must obey the law and are subject to the same laws.

26. Second Continental Congress the body of delegates representing the colonies that met in 1775 shortly after the start of the Revolutionary War. They organized the Continental Army, called on the colonies to send troops, selectedGeorge Washington to lead the army, and appointed a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence.

27. self-evident easy for anyone to see; obvious

28. Shay’s Rebellion 1786-87 an armed revolt by Massachusetts farmers who sought relief from debts and foreclosures of mortgages. Led by Daniel Shays, the group prevented judges from hearing mortgage foreclosure cases and attempted to capture an arsenal.

29. Shot Heard ‘Round the World a line in a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson describing the effect of the outbreak of the American Revolution in April 1775. The American Revolution influenced many other international rebellions by countries against their colonial rulers.

30. Sons of Liberty an organization created in 1765 in every colony to express opposition to the Stamp Act. A popular goal of the organization was to force stamp distributors throughout the colonies to resign, led by Samuel Adams.

31. treason betrayal of one’s country, especially by giving aid to an enemy in wartime or by plotting to overthrow the government. Treason is carefully defined in the Constitution to ensure that government cannot abuse its powers against dissenters.

32. Treaty of Paris 1783 the agreement signed on September 3, 1783, between Great Britain and the United States that ended the Revolutionary War. With the treaty, Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States.

33. unalienable rights fundamental rights that every person has that cannot be taken away by the government. This phrase was used in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.

34. veto the right of a branch of government to reject a bill that has been passed in an effort to delay or prevent its enactment. Under the U.S. Constitution it is the power of the president to refuse to sign a bill passed by Congress, thereby preventing it from becoming a law. The presidents’ veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both the Senate and House of Representatives.

35. writs of assistance documents giving a governmental authority the power to search and seize propertywithout restrictions

36. Yorktown Surrender 1781 the final military act that ended the Revolutionary War. American and French forces blocked a British escape from the Yorktown Peninsula in Virginia. On October 17-19, 1781, the British forces under Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown to the American army under George Washington.