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1215
Magna Carta
Moved from rule of man to rule of law
Outlined individual rights which king could not violate
Included taxation and trial provisions -
Experiments in Early Governance
Jamestown’s House of Burgesses -
Mayflower Compact
Each charter guaranteed colonists the “rights of Englishmen.” -
Individual Rights
King Charles required to sign the Petition of Right
Required monarchs to obtain Parliamentary approval before new taxes
Government could not unlawfully imprison people or establish military rule during times of peace -
Pilgrim Code of Law
The Pilgrim Code of Law was the first covenant with many basic elements of a constitution. It built upon earlier covenants, including charters and the Mayflower Compact, and was based on popular sovereignty with annual elections. It created an institutional framework with a General Court (legislature) that elected a governor and seven assistants as a council. It specified the powers of officials, required oaths, and provided trial by jury. -
charles defeated, beheaded
Extended conflict between Charles and Parliament erupted into civil war in 1642. -
Crown and Parliament
renewed conflicts and rebellion between the Crown and Parliament -
English Bill of Rights
William and Mary chosen to rule, but had to govern according to statutes of Parliament -
sugar act
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stamp act
First direct tax on paper goods and legal documents
Stamp Act Congress met to protest the tax and it was repealed -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers fired into crowd
5 colonists died -
Boston Tea Party
Revolutionaries dumped British Tea into the harbor -
Intolerable Acts
Colonists were forced to “Quarter,” or house, British troops -
First U.S. Currency issued
The Continental Congress issued paper money, known as “continentals.” -
Declaration of Independence
On June 10, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman to draft a document expressing the intent of the 13 colonies to declare independence as states. Jefferson penned the original draft, the committee presented a revised version to the Continental Congress on July 2, and the Congress -
Articles of Confederation
First National Government
Delegates aimed to have a confederation in which colonies kept their “sovereignty, freedom, and independence.”
Ratification delayed by argument over who would control western lands
Small states refused to ratify until they granted the entire confederation control over the lands -
shays rebellion
Massachusetts farmers rebelled over prospect of losing land
Farmers attacked courthouses to keep judges from foreclosing on farms
Stormed military arsenal
Congress had no money to help
Showed that the greatest weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that they were incredibly weak. -
Northwest Ordinance:
Established a plan for settling the Northwest Territory
Included disputed lands
Created system for admitting states to the Union
Banned slavery in the territory
Guided nation’s western expansion -
Federalist Papers
Published under the penname “Publius,” the Federalist Papers comprise 85 essays authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, to persuade New York citizens to support the Constitution’s ratification. The Federalist Papers are still consulted by historians and lawyers to uncover the original intentions of the Constitution’s drafters, and to understand theoretical justifications for key constitutional provisions. -
Dual Federalism
Both state and national governments were equal authorities operating within their own spheres of influence -
The growth of Mass Media
Whigs countered with National Gazette -
Chief Justice John Marshall (1801-1835)
Began to expand the power of the Supreme Court -
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Power of judicial review -
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
"Power to tax is the power to destroy" -
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Power of Fed. Govt. To regulate interstate commerce -
Seneca Falls Convention
First national woman's rights convention in the US
Called for equal rights in voting, education, and property -
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Dred Scott
Slave who sued for his and his family's freedom after being taken to a free state
Court said that Scott, as an African-American and previously property, was not a citizen
Gave him no legal standing to sue
Called the “greatest disaster” of the Supreme Court -
Morrill Act
Granted large tracts of land to states; states sold land and used money for colleges -
Reconstruction Through the End of the Century (1865-1899)
Supreme Court during this time narrowly interpreted the 13th-15th amendments -
Wyoming Territory
Wyoming Territory was the first to grant women the right to vote -
voting
Susan B. Anthony refused to support the 15th amendment (equal voting rights regardless of race) because it didn’t extend voting rights to women. -
Immigration Policies
Barred entry to criminals -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Ended Chinese immigration to the US -
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Ruled segregation was legal as long as the facilities were equal
“Separate but equal” doctrine -
16th amendment (1913
gave Congress authority to set a federal income tax
Main source of US income -
women
Women were not guaranteed the right to vote until passage of the 19th Amendment in -
Native Americans
N. Americans granted citizenship -
House of Representatives
Number of Reps per state based on population
Total number of Reps fixed by law at 435 -
The New Deal Era (1930-1953)
The court saw Roosevelt's economic legislation as an assault on property rights
Ruled that some New Deal programs violated the Constitution -
The New Deal
Cooperative federalism (1930s-1963)
States and national governments worked together to deal with the Great Depression
Many cases about FDR's New Deal reached the Supreme Court. -
United States v. Darby (1941)
Upheld Fair Labor Standards Act; Commerce Clause allows Congress to regulate employment conditions -
Army in World War II series
General Staff in the Army’s historical branch began recording the official history of World War II in preparation for the United States Army in World War II series (“green books”) -
Korematsu v. the United States (1944)
Upheld involuntary internment of ethnically Japanese American citizens -
Korematsu v. United States
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The growth of Mass Media
television replaced radio as most influential electronic media
Modern Day: Internet has changed mass media: 1 in 3 people regularly get news onlin -
Women
Women were not guaranteed the right to serve on a jury until the Civil Rights act of -
Creative Federalism
Great Society (LBJ, 1963-1980s)
Government program to eliminate poverty and social inequality
Johnson created creative federalism, which released national funds to achieve national goals.
If states didn’t cooperate, they would lose federal funding. -
Civil Rights Act
Outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Protects applicants and employees of 40+ years old from discrimination based on age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, privileges, etc. of employment. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Schools couldn’t prevent students from protesting the Vietnam War -
women
State laws were not updated to reflect this change -
new federalism
Ronald Reagan believed state governments could better provide services to the people
Cut national grant money and relaxed national requirements -
Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1982)
Established the rationale for qualified immunity -
Police Reform
Tennessee v. Garner (1985)
Limited police use of lethal force -
Graham v. Connor (1989)
Juries must consider if the officer believed force was reasonable -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. -
9/11
Planes hit the twin towers -
District of Columbia v. Heller
Ruled the 2nd Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms for self-defense -
McDonald v. Chicago
Ruled 2nd Amendment applies to federal, state, and local governments; upheld 2nd Amendment -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Ruled states must grant and recognize same-sex marriage
Republican presidents have appointed most of the Supreme Court justices since 1953.