Political Issues

Issues related to
government, conflict
resolution and decision-
making for a group of
people.

Economic Issues

Issues related to money,

taxes, and production of
goods and services.
Social Issues

Issues related to culture,

work, lifestyle…

Domestic
Having to do with one’s
own homeland (U.S)
International

Involving other countries

Era
A historic period
identified by some
prominent figure or
characteristic
Colonists People who settle and
live in a colony

Related words:
colony, colonial, settler,
settlement

Taxation
Gov’t process of
charging a fee on goods
products, people and/or
activities.
 Grievances

complaints

Consent of the
Governed Idea that people give
government its power
through the “…just
consent of the
governed” as stated in
the Declaration
 To cut off supplies; a
(Naval) Blockade military and economic
tool used to force a
nation or area to suffer
shortages and to give up
fighting; called naval
when ships are used

Great Britain
(England) The “mother country” for
the 13 colonies; country
we fought against for the
independence of the
United States.
 Republic

A government that
elects its leaders

Government that votes

for representatives who
Representative serve in the government
Democracy to make and enforce law
and in the best interest
of the people; the U.S.
has a representative
democracy; another
term used for
representative
democracy is republic.
Culture (groups)
Way of life and the
group(s) that live and
represent that way of life

Demographic data
Statistics about the
numbers and
characteristics of people
living in an area
 Levels of
Development Refers to the amount
and quality of economic
and industrial resources,
often related to national
income.

Standard of Living Use indicators such as

income, education, birth
rate/death rate, $ spent
on food, population
density, and so on to
determine quality of life.
 Nation Country with borders
and an organized
government which freely
exercises authority
within the borders.

Distribution
Relates to trade and
how resources and
products are divided and
allocated.
 Central governmental
owns most of the means
of production in a
Command economic
country and controls
system
most economic
decisions.

The system in the U.S.

Free enterprise and other free market
System economies. It includes
economic choice,
competition, profit
motive, and limited
government regulation
of the economy.
 Basic needs

Food, clothing, shelter

(water is food).

Goods and services

Goods (things) are
products made for
sale/barter and services
(actions) are products
people provide.
 Subsistence
agriculture
Growing crops just to
support a family and not
have any extra (surplus)
for sale.

Growing crops for

Market – oriented commercial sale and
agriculture distribution to domestic
and international buyers.
 Goods used to produce
Capital other goods

Cottage industries Small-scale production

requiring little capital
Commercial industries Large-scale production
of goods by large
companies or
corporations

Industrialization

The process of creating

commercial industry
including heavy industry
such as steel
 Trade

Exchange of goods and

services

The introduction of new

Technological
technology which often
innovations
changes lifestyle and
production.
Tariff/Duty
Tax on imports and
exports; in the U.S.
export tariffs are
unconstitutional.

Import
Goods bought from
sellers in other
countries.
 A high tariff established
to protect a particular
Protective Tariff
industry.

Export

Goods sold to buyers

outside the country
Xenophobia
a growing fear in the
U.S. of “foreigners” led
to the rise of such
organizations as the
KKK.

The distribution of power

Federalism between the federal
(central or national)
government and the
individual states within a
union
 In this type of government
everyone, including all
authority figures, must
Limited obey laws. Constitutions,
Government statements of rights, or
other laws define the limits
of those in power so they
cannot take advantage of
the elected, appointed, or
inherited positions.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each
branch of government to
limit the powers of the
other branches in order to
prevent abuse of power
 These are protected by the
Bill of Rights and include
Individual Rights economic rights related to
property, political rights
related to freedom of
speech and press, and
personal rights related to
bearing arms and
maintaining private
residences.

Key decisions by the

Landmark case courts that interpret the
law such as Brown v
Board of Education which
led to integration or
Marbury v Madison which
led to judicial review.
 The concept that political
Popular Sovereignty power rests with the
people who can create,
alter, and abolish
government. People
express themselves
through voting and free
participation in
government.

Protective Tariff

A tax on an imported
product instituted to
protect local industries
Representative
Government Power is held by the
people and exercised
through the efforts of
representatives elected by
the people.

Republicanism

A philosophy of limited
government with elected
representatives serving at
the will of the people.
Government is based on
consent of the governed.

John Locke
 Separation of
The division of a central
Powers government into two or
more branches, each
having its own
responsibilities and
authorities.

Unalienable Rights
These rights are
fundamental or natural
rights guaranteed to
people naturally instead of
by the law. They include
life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness.
 An economic system in
which individuals depend
Free Enterprise on supply and demand
System and the profit margin to
determine what to
produce, how to produce
how much to produce, and
for whom to produce. The
quest for improvement
financially and materially
motivates consumers and
producers.

Between May 25 and

September 17 of this year,
1787 delegates gathered in
Philadelphia to revise the
Articles of Confederation.
Instead they drafted,
debated, compromised,
and finally approved for
ratification the Constitution
of the United States.
Issues Causing the
Revolution
“No taxation without
representation”; colonial
protests against British
policies and taxes; Battles
at Lexington/Concord.

The American Civil War

1861-1865 was fought during these
years. It began with the
firing on Fort Sumter and
ended with the
Confederate surrender at
Appomattox Court House
almost four years later.
 This document, the
Articles of nation’s first constitution,
Confederation was adopted by the
Second Continental
Congress in 1781 during
the Revolution. The
document was limited
because states held most
of the power to tax,
regulate trade, or control
coinage.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments

to the Constitution
(ratified in 1791)
Declaration of This document was
Independence adopted the Second
Continental Congress on
July 4, 1776. It
established the 13
colonies as independent
states, free from rule by
Great Britain. Thomas
Jefferson wrote the
majority of this document.

King William and Queen

Mary accepted this
document in 1689. It
English Bill of guaranteed certain rights to
Rights English citizens and
declared that elections for
Parliament would happen
frequently. By accepting
this document, they
supported a limited
monarchy, a system in
which they shared their
power with Parliament and
the people.
 Federalist
those favoring ratification
of the Constitution and the
federalists form of
government

Anti- Federalists
those opposed to the
Constitution because they
feared the power of the
national government in the
new federal system
 This term applies to those
individuals who played a
Founding Fathers
major role in declaring
U.S. independence,
fighting Revolutionary War,
or writing and adopting the
U.S. Constitution. They
include Thomas Jefferson,
George Washington, and
James Madison.

Based on a broad interpretation of

the 10th Amendment, States’ Rights
was the idea that states had the right
to control all issues/laws in their state
not specifically given to the federal
States Rights government by the specific words of
the Constitution. It was used by
(mostly) Southern states to argue
that they had the right to nullify
(ignore) federal laws they did not
agree with.
States’ rights became a leading
cause of the Civil War as Southern
states seceded (withdrew) from the
United States and formed the
Confederate States of America in
1861.
16th Amendment
Creates the Federal
Income Tax provisions.
This was an amendment
strongly supported by the
Progressive Reformers.

17th Amendment
Provides for direct election
of Senators, another
amendment supported by
the Progressives.
 Magna Carta This document, signed by
King John of England in
1215, is the cornerstone of
English justice and law. It
declared that the king and
government were bound by
the same laws as other
citizens of England. It
contained the antecedents of
the ideas of due process and
the right to a fair and speedy
trial that are included in the
protection offered by the U.S.
Bill of Rights.

15th Amendment

This amendment granted

black men the right to vote.
13th Amendment
This amendment freed all
slaves without
compensation to the
slaveowners. It legally
forbade slavery in the
United States.

th
This amendment declared
14 Amendment that all persons born or
naturalized in the United
States were entitled equal
rights regardless of their
race, and that their rights
were protected at both the
state and national levels.