Johnson 1

Sami Johnson Mrs. Johnson AP US History (B) 18 September 2013

1. Hessians were German mercenaries hired by the British to strengthen their army during the Revolutionary War. Hessians had no true alliance to either side, and once the war was over, many of them settled in America after Washingtons mercy at the Battle of Trenton. 2. The Continental Army was the American forces under the command of George Washington. It was made up of patriots and other people who wanted to fight. Many of the soldiers joined for short terms and had to be bribed to resign. 3. Thaddeus Kosciuszko was a Polish general that fought for the American cause. Marquis de Lafayette was a young, French nobleman who donated his time and military genius to the American army and also convinced France to support America. Friedrich van Steuban was a German soldier that trained and motivated troops during the winter at Valley 4. William and Richard Howe were two brothers who command parts of the British army. Their troops took New York from Washington and his troops. 5. The Battle of Trenton took place on Christmas 1776 and Washington attacked a camp of partying Hessians during the night. The Battle of Princeton took place on January 3, 1777 and America only lost 40 men, while the British lost 400. Both battle boosted the morale of the American soldiers. 6. The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the war because American troops made General Burgoyne surrender. It convinced the French that the Americans had a chance to win the war, and they should therefore give us their help. 7. The Continental Army spent the winter at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. They were short on all supplies, including food, and walked around starving and naked in the words of Joseph Plumb Martin. 8. Nathanial Greene was the General that Washington appointed to confront Cornwallis before the Battle of Yorktown. He lost three major battles, but he weakened the British significantly and used up their supplies until they retreated to Yorktown. 9. Lord Cornwallis was the leader of the British troops at the Battle of Yorktown. In Yorktown, 6 thousand British took on 8,800 Continentals and 7,800 French for three weeks until Cornwallis finally surrendered. The end of this battle marked the end of the Revolutionary War. 10. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 officially ended the Revolutionary War. It made Britain recognize Americas independence and give them all land east of the Mississippi. 11. Loyalists were people who remained loyal to Great Britain and the king throughout the Revolution.

Johnson 2

12. Bicameral legislatures were two-house legislatures that had been used by the colonies. There was a lower, elected house and an upper house which was appointed by the governor. 13. James Madison argued for a stronger central government in the Constitution, as opposed to the strong state power that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution was approved on September 17, 1787 and has been the source of government for the United States since then. 14. The Articles of Confederation were drafted by John Dickinson and were the first governing document for the United States. They focused on strong state power, not a powerful national government. 15. Robert Morris was the Superintendant of Finance in Pennsylvania, and he supported a strong national government to help pay off debts from the war. When Rhode Island rejected his tax proposal, he got together with Alexander Hamilton and threatened to start a coup dtat in Newburgh until Washington discovered their conspiracy and gave a speech that talked them out of it. 16. The Ordinance of 1785 designated the land north of the Ohio River the territory that could become states, but until a state was founded slavery was outlawed. The Northwest Ordinance set the procedure for gaining statehood: first, Congress would appoint a governor and judges, then 5,000 adult males would need to live in an area and create a constitution and legislature, and finally the population would need to reach 60,000 and the constitution would have to be approved by the national government. 17. Shays rebellion was a rebellion of farmers that were upset because they had to pay their taxes with hard coins instead of currency. They shut down the courts in 5 counties and then marched on a federal arsenal in Springfield, MA. 18. The Philadelphia Convention was when all the delegates met to create the Constitution. The meetings were very secret and most of the delegates originally desired to replace the Articles of Confederation. 19. The Virginia Plan gave nearly all governing power to Congress and presented a legislature made up of representatives from each state based on population. The New Jersey Plan recommended a Congress where each state had an equal number of representatives. The Connecticut Compromise proposed that there be two legislative bodies, one with equal representation and one with representation based on population. 20. The separation of powers is how all of our governing power is split between the President, the Supreme Court, and Congress. Each branch of government has a way to check the other two and make sure what they are doing is right; this is called the system of checks and balances. Federalism is a system of shared power and dual lawmaking by the national and state governments. 21. The three fifths clause states that when population is counted, a slave only counts for three-fifths of a person. This applied to population for the House of Representatives and for the Electoral College.

Johnson 3

22. Federalists were people who supported the Constitution while it was being ratified. Anitfederalists were people who did not support the Constitution. 23. The Federalist was a series of 85 newspaper essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. They helped convince people of how the Constitution could solve many problems they faced and how good a federal government was.