● Marco Polo (1254-1324)

○ Venetian merchant, explorer, and writer

○ brought gunpowder and more back to Europe
○ traveled to China and noticed how advanced their country was
○ Growth of trade began with Marco Polo and China and advanced quickly with the Italians (also
indirectly caused Christopher Columbus’s exploration)
○ walked from Italy to China
○ Traded, discovered new technology
○ Changed the perspective of where Europe stood in the world
● Juan Ponce De Leon (1474-1521)
○ Spanish conquistador who led expeditions from Puerto Rico to the coast of Florida, giving the
region its current name.
○ credited with being the first European to have visited present day United States
○ served as the first governor of the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered
the Gulf Stream
○ most famous for his search for the legendary Fountain of Youth and other riches
● Montezuma II (1466-1520)
○ emperor of the Aztec empire
○ ninth Aztec emperor of Mexico
○ considered a god by his people
○ known for his dramatic confrontation with the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes (spoke to his
people in an effort to persuade them to cease hostilities against Hernan Cortes, his Spanish
soldiers, and Indian allies)
● Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
○ Italian explorer and colonizer
○ stumbled across the Bahamas in October 1492 while attempting to prove a westward sea route
for East Asian trade existed
○ first European to visit the islands of Hispaniola and Cuba
■ Landed in Hispaniola, convinced he had found the East Indies
○ Christopher Columbus introduced horses, sugar plants, and disease to the New World, while
facilitating the introduction of New World commodities like sugar, tobacco, chocolate, and
potatoes to the Old World.
○ Convinced Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to fund his exploration
○ briefly served as a colonial administrator on the island of Hispaniola, present day Haiti
● Walter Raleigh (1551-1618)
○ English courtier and adventurer
○ sponsored the failed settlements of North Carolina’s Roanoke Island in 1585 and 1587
○ fell out of favor with the Virgin Queen after secretly marrying one of her maids of honour
○ Continued on with colonial pursuits until he was executed for treason (1618)
● James Oglethorpe (1696-1785)
○ English soldier-statesman & leading founder of Georgia
○ established Georgia as a haven for debtors seeking to avoid imprisonment
○ War of Jenkin’s Ear - successfully led his colonists in battle, repelling/preventing a Spanish
attack on British territory
● Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
○ Leader of the English Revolution that deposed the Stuart monarchs in favor of a short lived
Republic. Cromwell acted as Lord Protector until the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.
○ Puritan general who helped lead parliamentary forces during the English Civil War, and ruled
England as Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658.
● John Smith (1579-1631)
○ John Smith took over the leadership role of the English Jamestown settlement in 1608. Most
people in the settlement at the time were only there for personal gain and did not want to help
strengthen the settlement. Smith therefore told the people, "people who do not work do not eat."
His leadership saved the Jamestown settlement from collapsing.
● Pocahontas (c.1595–1617)
○ Daughter of Chief Powhatan
○ “saved” Captain John Smith in a dramatic mock execution and served as a mediator between
Native Americans and the colonists.
○ 1614 - Married John Rolfe and sailed with him to England, where she was greeted as a
princess
○ She passed away shortly before her planned return to the colonies.
● Lord Baltimore (1605-1675)
○ established Maryland as a haven for Catholics
○ unsuccessfully tried to reconstitute the English manorial system in the colonies and gave vast
tracts of land to Catholic relatives, a policy that soon created tensions between the seaboard
and backcountry Protestant planters
○ Catholic aristocrat who sought to build a sanctuary for his fellow believers
○ credited as the founder of Maryland through the procurement of the colony charter from King
Charles I of England on June 20, 1632
○ served as secretary of state of the Kingdom of England (1618-1625)
● John Calvin (1509-1564)
○ French protestant reformer
○ his religious teachings formed the theological basis for New England Puritans, Scottish
Presbyterians, French Huguenots, and members of the Dutch Reformed Church.
○ argued that humans were inherently weak and wicked, and believed in an all-knowing, all-
powerful God, who predestined select individuals for salvation
● Roger Williams (c.1603-1683)
○ Salem minister
○ advocated a complete break from the Church of England
○ criticized the Massachusetts Bay colony for unlawfully taking land from the Native Americans
○ Was banished for his heresies
○ established a small community in present-day Rhode Island (later acquired a charter for the
colony from England)
● Anne Hutchinson (c.1591-1643)
○ Antinomian religious dissenter
○ brought to trial for heresy in Massachusetts Bay after arguing that she need not follow God’s
laws or man’s
○ claimed direct revelation from God
○ banished from the Puritan colony and moved to Rhode Island then to New York (she and her
family were killed by Native Americans in NY)
● John Winthrop (1588–1649)
○ first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony/chief figure of the Puritan founders of New England
○ founded the city of Boston (he was the reason the colonies had early success)
○ Able administrator and devout Puritan
○ helped ensure the prosperity of the newly-established colony and enforce Puritan orthodoxy,
taking a hard line against religious dissenters like Anne Hutchinson
○ He was unhappy with the economic, political, and religious conditions in England so he
emigrated to America.
● Nathaniel Bacon (1647-1676)
○ Agitator who led poor former indentured servants and frontiersmen on a rampage against Indian
and colonial government (it was the first popular revolt in England’s North American colonies).
○ Young Virginia planter who led a rebellion against Governor William Berkeley in 1676 to protest
Berkeley’s refusal to protect frontier settlers from Indian attacks
● Jonathan Edwards/George Whitefield
○ Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758):
■ New England minister whose fiery sermons helped touch off the First Great Awakening.
Edwards emphasized human helplessness and depravity and touted that salvation could be
attained through God’s grace alone.
■ He was an American theologian and Congregational clergyman, whose sermons stirred the
religious revival, called the Great Awakening. He is known for his " Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God " sermon.
○ George Whitefield (1714-1770):=
■ Iterant (used lots of repetition) English preacher whose rousing sermons throughout the
American colonies drew vast audiences and sparked a wave of religious conversion, the First
Great Awakening. Whitefield’s emotionalism distinguished him from traditional, “Old Light,”
ministers who embraced a more reasoned, stoic approach to religious practice.
■ British evangelist who spread the Great Awakening throughout the colonies
■ He was a great preacher who had recently been an alehouse attendant. Everyone in the
colonies loved to hear him preach of love and forgiveness because he had a different style of
preaching. This led to new missionary work in the Americas in converting Indians and Africans
to Christianity, as well as lessening the importance of the old clergy.
● Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
○ He owned a successful printing and publishing company in Philadelphia. He conducted studies
of electricity, invented bifocal glasses, the lighting rod, and the stove. He was an important
diplomat and statesman and eventually signed the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution of the United States.
○ American printer, inventor, statesman and revolutionary
○ first established himself in Philadelphia as a leading newspaper printer, inventor, and author of
Poor Richard’s Almanac
○ later became a leading revolutionary and signatory of the Declaration of Independence
○ During the Revolutionary War, served as commissioner to France, securing the nation’s support
for the American cause.
● Pontiac (c.1720-1769)
○ Ottawa chief
○ led an uprising against the British in the wake of the French and Indian war
○ Initially routing British forces at Detroit, Pontiac and his men succumbed after British troops
distributed small-pox infected blankets among the Native Americans.
○ his frontier uprising caused the British to attempt to limit colonial expansion
● William Pitt (1708-1778)
○ British parliamentarian
○ rose to prominence during the French and Indian War as the brilliant tactician behind Britain’s
victory over France
○ Splendid British political orator and organizer of the winning strategy against the French in the
North America.
○ Also known as William Pitt the Elder. A Whig statesman who shifted British efforts in the French
and Indian War from colonial skirmishes to the capturing of Canada , with key victories in
Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), and Montreal (1760). This effectively removed France's
presence from North America.
● John Hancock (1737-1793)
○ Boston smuggler, the prominent leader of the colonial resistance, served as president of the
Second Continental Congress
○ Merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution, also president of the
Second Continental Congress
○ 1780 - became the first governor of Massachusetts, a post he held with only a brief intermission
until his death
○ He was the first person to sign The Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring the
13 colonies free of British rule. He resigned as President of the Continental Congress in 1777,
while remaining a member. He was elected first Governor of Massachusetts in 1780, serving off
and on until his death in 1793.
● Lord North (Frederick North) (1732-1792)
○ Tory prime minister, pliant aide to George III from 1770-1782
○ His ineffective leadership and dogged insistence on colonial subordination contributed to the
American Revolution/contributed to the loss of Great Britain’s American colonies in the
American revolution (1775-83).
○ Prime Minister of Britain from 1770-1782 who led Britain through most of the Revolutionary War
● Samuel Adams (1722-1803)
○ Boston revolutionary who organized Massachusetts’ committees of correspondence to help
sustain opposition to British policies. A delegate to the First and Second Continental
Congresses, Adams continued to play a key role throughout the revolutionary and early national
periods, later serving as governor of his home state.
● John Adams (1735–1826)
○ American revolutionary, statesman and second president of the United States.
○ One of the more radical patriots on the eve of the Revolution, Massachusetts-born Adams
helped guide the Continental Congress toward a declaration of independence from Britain.
○ From 1778 to 1788, Adams involved himself with international diplomacy, serving as minister to
France, Britain and the Netherlands.
○ After serving as Washington’s vice president, he was elected president in his own right in 1796.
○ Adams’ administration suffered from Federalist fighting, international turmoil, and domestic
uproar over the Alien and Sedition Acts, all of which contributed to his defeat in the election of
1800.
● Crispus Attucks (1723-1770)
○ Runaway slave and leader of the Boston protests that resulted in the “Boston Massacre,” in
which Attucks was the first to die
○ Alleged leader of radical protesters killed in Boston Massacre
○ Attucks became an icon of the anti-slavery movement in the early nineteenth century as a hero
who stood up and died defending his freedom and rights. Attucks developed an appreciation of
freedom and at age 27 he ran away from his Master William Brown
● Marquis de Lafayette
- Was a French aristocrat serving as an Major-General in the American Revolution, serving under
George Washington
- Helped gain further support and aid from the French for the Revolution
● King George III
- In 1773, after Massachusetts staged the Boston Tea Party, King George III ordered the
Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts. Closed Boston Harbor and stripped Massachusetts of its charter
(a written grant by a country's legislative or sovereign power, by which a body such as a company,
college, or city is founded and its rights and privileges defined.)
- Intolerable Acts caused the colonies to unit, and for them to declare independence
- Went to war against the US in the American Revolution
● Charles Townshend (Townshend Acts)
- Charles Townshend was a British chancellor (a senior state or legal official) whose excessive
measures for taxation of the colonies caused the British Americans to push for independence– thus
leading to the American Revolution
- Townshend Acts involved four laws– the Suspending Act (Prevented the New York Colony Assembly
from conducting business until the colony agreed to pay for meals and housing, amongst other
things for the British troops stationed there per the Quartering Act of 1765), the Revenue Act
(Required the payment of duties [a payment levied on the import, export, manufacture, or sale of
goods] to British government at colonial ports on tea, lead, wine, glass, paper, and paint imported
into the colonies) the Indemnity Act (Reduced taxes on the British East India Company on them
importing tea into England. Allowed them to re-export said tea to the colonies at a cheaper price, and
resell to the colonists), and the Commissioners of Customs Act (Established an American Customs
Board in Boston. Five British-appointed commissioners of the Customs Board enforced strict set of
shipping & trade regulations, in order to increase taxes paid to Britain)
- Acts were enacted to help pay Britain’s debts from the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War)
● George Washington
- Founding father of the United States
- Was a general who fought against the British in the American Revolution
- Was known for his brilliant military tactics, saved his troops several times retreating
● William Howe
- Commander in chief of the British army in North America
- Despite several military successes, failed to stop the American Revolution, eventually resigning due to
British criticism
● Nathaniel Greene
- Was a major general war in the US Army in the American Revolutionary War
- Commander of the Southern Department of the US Army, led a campaign that ended the British
occupation of the South
● Benedict Arnold
- Early Hero in the Revolutionary War. He participated in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. 1776
he hindered a British invasion of New York. He soon betrayed the US by selling out a spy for
some money, and before he was arrested he fled to British lines. He was only awarded half of
the promised bounty.
● Charles Cornwallis
- He is best known for surrendering at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, which led to peace
between the British and the US. He was a British army general.
● Thomas Paine

English-born Political Philosopher and writer who supported revolutionary causes in America and
Europe. He created “Common Sense” and “The American Crisis” which helped inspire America
and their army to go forward with war.

● Horatio Gates

An American general during the Revolutionary War, he also helped the French to become allies for
the American cause. He was under the recommendation of Washington.

● Thomas Jefferson

American Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence. 3rd President of
the United States (1801-1809). Pro-slavery.

● Patrick Henry

Famous for his “Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” speech thingy during the Virginia Convention
in 1775.

● John Jay
Helped write the Federalist Papers, one of the frame makers of the Declaration of Independence.
First Chief Justice of the United States. Key negotiator at the Treaty of Paris.

● Comte de Rochambeau

French nobleman and general who played the decisive role in helping the US defeat the British at
Yorktown. He commanded the French Forces.

● Abigail Adams

Wife and closest advisor of John Adams. The first and second lady of the United States.

● Daniel Shays

American officer in the Revolution and leader in Shays’s Rebellion (an uprising in opposition to
high taxes and stringent economic conditions (Western Massachusetts).

● Alexander Hamilton

One of the most influential Founding Fathers, First Secretary of Treasury, one of the writers of
The Federalist Papers. Washington's right hand man in the Revolutionary War. Yada yada
yada, listen to the Hamilton musical, it’s great real time notes.

● James Madison
- Was the 4th president of the United States, and a Founding Father of the United States
- Helped majorly with the ratification of the Constitution, wrote The Federalist Papers with
Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. He is considered the “Father of the Constitution”
● John Marshall
- Was the fourth chief justice of the United States, longest serving in Court history at 34 years
- Established judiciary department in such a way that it could claim equal status with the
Executive and Congress, making a balanced government of separate powers
- Interpreted the Constitution in ways that strengthened the powers of the federal government
● Napoleon Bonaparte
- Sold France’s Louisiana Territory to the US for $15 million, in order to pay off debts and raise
funds for future wars
● Aaron Burr
- Challenged Hamilton to a duel, which ultimately led to Hamilton dying
- Took Hamilton’s father-in-law, Philip Schuyler’s place of senator of New York in 1791
- Was the judicial vice president of Thomas Jefferson, who mistrusted him
● Tecumseh
- He was a Shawnee chief who resisted against the United States and its attempts to expand into
Native American territory
- Created a Native American confederacy, along with promoting intertribal unity
- His death at the Battle of Thames resulted in the collapse of his confederacy, marking the end
of most Natice resistance on the east of the Mississippi river
● Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
- Were explorers who traveled from the Mississippi River to the West Coast and back
- (In the historical novel, I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company (2003), Brian Hall
uses the premise that Lewis was gay and had unrequited love for Clark)
● Henry Clay
- Served in both the Senate and House of Representatives
- Was known as the Great Compromiser, due to him proving invaluable in keeping the country
together
- Promoted a compromise that allowed slavery in Missouri while admitting Maine as a free states
● John C. Calhoun
- Was the Senate’s biggest states’ rights advocate, as a defender of slavery
- 7th vice president of United States
- One of the causes to the Civil War, as he talked so much shit defending slavery (his ass was
probably jealous of all the shit that came out of his mouth)
● Francis Scott Key
- Wrote the poem/song that eventually became known as the United States national
anthem
- Was inspired after witnessing the Maryland fort being attacked by British Troops in the
War of 1812, Battle of Baltimore. A single U.S. flag was still flying over Fort McHenry as
the sun rose, giving Key the motivation to write the “Star-Spangled Banner”.
● Andrew Jackson (Battle of New Orleans)
- 7th president of the United States
- Led a small, ragtag army to victory against 8,000 British men in the War of 1812
● William and Mary
- Were lax rulers instilled into the British throne after King James something something I
don’t fucking know deserted his kingdom/ran away
- William and Mary were more chill about letting American colonies illegally trade with
other countries, hardly or never enforced law and punishments that forced the colonies
to only trade with Britain
● James II
- Was some bitch who tried enforcing pro-Catholic policies, is actually the ruler before
King William of Orange and Queen Mary
- Several of James’s peers wrote to William of Orange, pledging allegiance to him if he
invaded England
- King James eventually fled to France in exile

SECTION 2: EVENTS

● Renaissance

Period of European cultural, artistic, political, and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages

● “Three Sisters” Farming

Corn, Beans, and Squash

● Spanish Armada

130-ship naval fleet from the Spanish (1588), part of a planned invasion of England

● Conquistadores

Groups of Spanish & Portuguese explorers who attempted to conquer Central & South America that
they descended upon. Also the name for leaders

● House of Burgesses
Assembly of elected representatives from Virginia that met from 1643 to 1776 (first of it’s kind of a
democratically elected legislative body)

● Joint-Stock Company

Business owned by its investors (shared by multiple investors). They own a piece of the company

● Virginia Company

joint-stock company approved by King James I to create new settlements in the colony of Virginia

● Predestination

The doctrine that God in consequence of his foreknowledge of all events infallibility guides those
who are destined for salvation

● “Visible saints”

Religious belief, developed by John Calvin, that a certain number of people are predestined to go to
heaven by God.

● Protestant Revolution

Religious reform movement that swept through Europe in the 1500s. Adherent of any of the
Christain bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation.

● Pilgrims

English settlers who came to North America. Established the Mayflower and the Plymouth Colony
(today’s Plymouth Massachusetts)

● Calvinism

Created by John Calvin, a strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humankind,
and the doctrine of predestination.

● Navigation Laws

The Navigation Acts (1651 - 1660) was to restrict colonial trade to England and decrease
dependence on foreign imported goods. It wasn’t successful

● Glorious Revolution

(1688-1689), the Revolution without a single drop of blood spilled. This revolution was to overthrow
former King James II, he was replaced with his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William
of Orange.

● Puritans

Members of a religious reform movement known as Puritanism (late 16th century). They believed
that the Church of England was too similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church. They believed
that God had chosen a few people, “the elect”, for salvation.

● Quakers
They seek to experience God directly, within ourselves and in our relationships with others and the
world around us.

● Mayflower

A ship that set sail from Southampton, England, for North America on August 15, 1620. They
established the first permanent New England colony in 1620.

● Mayflower Compact

A set of rules for self-governance established by the English settlers who traveled to New York on
the Mayflower. This was the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony.

● Bacon’s Rebellion

1676, the last major uprising of enslaved blacks and white indentured servants in Colonial Virginia.
They actually managed to burn Jamestown, but Bacon died and the rebel militia were
destroyed.

SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT NA CIVILIZATIONS

● Aztecs: Famous for their agriculture, land, art, and architecture.

● Incas: Lasted for 1 century, mostly vegan, and created the largest empire in the
Americans.
● Mayans: Not much is known about what had fully happened to their civilization, but their
descendants still live to this day.
● Iroquois: Created longhouses, and can hold about 60 people.

● Great Awakening
○ a religious revival that impacted the English colonies in America during the 1730s and 1740s.
The movement came at a time when the idea of secular rationalism was being emphasized, and
passion for religion had grown stale.
○ By about 1742, debate over the Great Awakening had split the New England clergy and
many colonists into two groups. Preachers and followers who adopted the new ideas
brought forth by the Great Awakening became known as “new lights.” Those who
embraced the old-fashioned, traditional church ways were called “old lights.”
● Triangular Trade
○
○
● French and Indian War
○ The French and Indian War was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American
colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various
Native American tribes.
○ The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The
war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over
subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and
ultimately to the American Revolution.
● Albany Congress (1754)
○ The purposes of the Albany Congress were twofold; to try to secure the support and
cooperation of the Iroquois in fighting the French, and to form a colonial alliance based
on a design by Benjamin Franklin. The plan of union was passed unanimously.
○ It conceived of the colonies of mainland North America as a collective unit, separate from
the mother country but also from the other British colonies in the West Indies and
elsewhere.
● Iroquois (Iroquois Confederacy (late 1500s))
○ The Iroquois, officially the Haudenosaunee, are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations
peoples in northeast North America/Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to the
French as the Iroquois League, and later as the Iroquois Confederacy.
● Fort Necessity
○ The confrontation at Fort Necessity in the summer of 1754 was the prelude to the war fought by
England and France for control of the North American continent. The struggle was known in
North America as the French and Indian War and spread around the world as the Seven Years'
War.
● Proclamation of 1763
○ The Proclamation Line of 1763 was a British-produced boundary marked in the
Appalachian Mountains at the Eastern Continental Divide. Decreed on October 7, 1763,
the Proclamation Line prohibited Anglo-American colonists from settling on lands
acquired from the French following the French and Indian War.
● Natural Rights
○ Locke wrote that all individuals are equal in the sense that they are born with certain
"inalienable" natural rights. That is, rights that are God-given and can never be taken or
even given away. Among these fundamental natural rights, Locke said, are "life, liberty,
and property."
● Privateering
○ A privateer was a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a
commission of war. Because of the high level of piracy and impressment, merchant ships
were armed. A sovereign or delegated authority issued commissions, also referred to as
a letter of marque, during wartime.
● “Common Sense”
○ Common Sense written in 1776 was one of the most potent pamphlets ever written. It
called for the colonists to realize their mistreatment and push for independence from
England.
● Declaration of Independence
○ By issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July
4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The
Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence.
● Second Continental Congress (1775-1781)
○ The Second Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence on
July 2, 1776, which led to the colonies becoming the United States of America. Under the
Second Continental Congress, the newly formed country raised an army and developed a
new government
● Loyalists (Tories)
○ Loyal Americans, Loyalists, or Tories were American colonists who remained loyal to the
parliament and to the king. Loyalists opposed rebellions against the parliament's various
acts and taxes. They also very much hated Thomas Paine's "Common Sense".
● Patriots (Whigs)
○ colonists who supported the American Revolution; they were also known as “Whigs.”
○ The people who were rebelling against Britain during the war, they were considered
traitors to the British Empire, and their goal was to fight against the oppression of
England
● Treaty of Paris of 1783
○ The British recognized the independence of the United States. It granted boundaries, which
stretched from the Mississippi on the west, to the Great Lakes on the north, and to Spanish
Florida on the south. The Yankees retained a share of Newfoundland. It greatly upset the
Canadians.
● Checks and Balances
○ the principle of government under which separate branches are employed to prevent
actions by the other branches and are induced to share power
● Sovereignty
○ supreme and final authority or power in a government. In the United States, sovereignty rests
with the people.
● Republicanism
○ Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a
republic. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a
representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty.
● States’ Rights
● Articles of Confederation
● Popular sovereignty
● “Great Compromise” (1780s)
○ Also known as the Connecticut Compromise, was the proposition
providing a dual system of congressional representation to please
both the Northern and Southern states.
→Senate: Each state having equal representation
→House of Rep.: Representation based on the population of the state
● Electoral College
● Three-fifths compromise
○ Compromise given during the Connecticut compromise for the Southern States, counting
each ‘Slave’ as 3/5th of a person when accounting population when represented in the
House of Representative
● Shays’ Rebellion – Named after Daniel Shays
○ A series of violent attacks on courthouses and other government properties in
Massachusetts that began on 1786 and led to a full-blown military confrontation in 1787:
→Farmers first attempted peaceful means to settle the issue of high
taxes for the British so that Governor James Bowdoin’s business
associates to receive a good return on their investment
→Town leaders drafted a document of grievances and proposed reforms for
legislature in Boston to enact
→In Northampton, Capt. Joseph Hines led several hundred men to block
judges from entering the courthouse
→Rebels were mostly ex-Revolutionary War soldiers turned farmers who
opposed state economic policies causing poverty and property
foreclosures
○ The rebellion accelerated the calls to reform the Articles of Confederation by pointing out
it’s flaws, resulting in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787
○ Arguments of the Articles and Constitution forced George Washington out of retirement
and take part in the Constitutional Convention
● Antifederalists
○ People that opposed the creation of a stronger US federal government and which later
opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution, favoring small localized government
○ E.g. Patrick Henry, James Monroe and Samuel Adams
○ Anti-federalist papers are the published writings of founding fathers arguing against the
ratification of the US constitution
● Federalists
○ People who support the Constitution and a stronger national government
○ E.g. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison
○ Federalists paper are the published writings of founding fathers arguing for the
ratification of the US constitution
● Constitution
○ The constitution gave more powers to the Federal government than the states and was
ratified after the connecticut compromise
○ It introduced the concept of division of power, the 3 branches of the new US government:
the legislative, executive and judicial branch.
○ James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution because of his role in the
document’s drafting as well as it’s ratification
○ Following its ratification, the Bill of Rights was added to protect the rights of individuals
against the federal government – also wrote by Madison, inspired by Thomas Jefferson
● Federalist Papers
○ (85) Papers written by ‘Federalists’ to protect the proposition of the constitution:
→51 By Alexander Hamilton
→29 By James Madison
 →5 By John Jay
● Tariff
○ Taxes or duties to be paid on a particular class of imports or export
○ It is mainly used to increase the price of imported product to promote domestic produce
● Excise Tax
○ Taxes on domestic goods (Tariffs are for imported goods and Excise for Domestic
goods)
○ Used for develop projects such as highway or airport improvements
○ E.g. The Whiskey tax
● Nullification
○ Nullification is the constitutional theory that individual states can invalidate federal laws
or judicial decisions they deem unconstitutional
○ There had been 3 prominent attempts by states at nullification in American History:
→Ketucky’s attempt to nullify the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798
→South Carolina’s attempt to nullify two federal tariff laws in 1832
→Arkansas’s attempt to nullify Brown v. Board of Education in 1957
● First Bank of the United States
○ The First bank of the United States was signed into law in February 1791 by
President Washington
○ It opened for business in Philadelphia on Dec. 12, 1791 with a 20 yr. charter
○ It was sought to be created by Alexander Hamilton
○ The bank failed to get its charter renewed by congress and died in 1811,
due to foreign ownership, constitutional questions and general suspicion of
banking.
● Cabinet (Wahsington’s Cabinet)
○ Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of treasury
○ Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State
○ Henry Knox, Secretary of War
● Bill of Rights
○ The first 10 Amendments to the newly ratified constitution of the US
○ It pertains to the individual rights each citizen of the US possess that are
unalienable to protect them from the tyranny of a strong federal
government, to summarize:
→ 1st Amendment: Freedoms, petitions, assembly
→ 2nd Amendment: Right to bear arms
→ 3rd Amendment: No quartering of soldiers during
peacetime, without consent of the owner
→4th Amendment: Right against unreasonable search and
seizures without a warrant
 → 5th Amendment: Right against self incrimination
→6th Amendment: Right to a speedy and public trial, with
an impartial jury
→7th Amendment: Civil cases can be heard and decided upon
by a jury of their peers
→8th Amendment: RIght against excessive bails, fines and
unusual punishments inflicted
→9th Amendment: Rights retained by the people
→10th Amendment: States’ Right
● French Revolution – 1789-1799
○ The french revolution caused the fall of the monarchy, changes in society
with the rise of the middle class and the growth of nationalism in Frances
and across europe
○ Left france being led under Napoleon Bonaparte
○ This eventually ended up making way for the Louisiana Purchase
● Alien and Sedition Acts
● Washington’s Farewell Address
● Marbury v. Madison
● Impressment
● War Hawks
○ They are pro war and wanted to:
→Wipe out renewed Indian resistance as Britain was arming
and inciting them to raid frontier settlements
→Defend American rights
→To gain more territory (British Canada & Spanish Florida)
○ Wanted Revenge for impressment and manhandling of American sailors
○ The British “orders of council” stopped the flow of Western farm products
to Europe made way for the War Hawks to argue for declaring war on
britain
● Louisiana Purchase
○ 1802, France acquired the Louisiana territory back from Spain in the treaty
of San Ildefonso
○ Napoleon wanted to send troops to defend the area from British and US
attacks
○ Jefferson claims French & US alliance can’t go on
○ A slave revolt broke out in Haiti led by Toussaint L’Overture
○ Napoleon's troops were beaten in Haiti, the French army weren’t able to
continue to the US
○ Without an army, Napoleon was eager to sell Louisiana
○ Jefferson wanted navigation rights on the Mississippi river, he offered to
buy the port of New Orleans and the Floridas for up to $10 million
 ○ The (Louisiana) purchase was more than double the land of the US at the
time
● Embargo Act (1807)
○ Jefferson did not like the idea of war so he instituted “restrictive system”
which was a package of trade restriction that relied on economic coercion
rather than military pressure to achieve restoration of neutral shipping
rights
○ It marked the end of neutrality forced the US to align with either Britain or
France and declaring war with the other
○ ”Embargo” is an official ban on trade or other commercial activity with
another country
○ The embargo act proved to be a complete failure, damaging the US
economy, highlighting American weakness and lack of leverage.
● Midnight Judges
● Judicial Review
● Nationalism
● Treaty of Ghent

SECTION 3: YEARS
1607: English men arrived in North America, which started the Jamestown settlement, the
first permanent English settlement
1620: The Mayflower sails to the US from Plymouth England.
1776: The 13 colonies declared independence from Great Britain, severing the political ties
between the two.
1789: The French Revolution.