First and Second Great Awakenings

Great Awakening occurred in the 1730s and 1740s in response

to inflexible Puritan doctrine. A lay ministry developed which

preached personal salvation by good works in contrast to

predestination as preached by Puritans. Others, led by

Jonathan Edwards, urged believers to develop a personal

relationship with God to gain their personal salvation. Ministers

spread the word through revival meetings. Hundreds

were “saved” and declared their trust in God without needing

the clergy to channel their prayers. The Great Awakening

revitalized American religion by adding emotion.

Missionary work developed in an effort to spread salvation

to Indians and slaves. In the early 1800s, the second Great

Awakening erupted as those favoring the personal and emotional

approach associated with evangelical faiths conflicted

with those seeking more rational beliefs. The second Great

Awakening reinvigorated church membership and furthered

humanitarian efforts including abolitionism, prison reform,

the temperance movement, and women’s suffrage. More

people participated in it than in the first Great Awakening,

meeting outdoors under open tents to hear emotional preachers

who “rode the circuit” promoting personal conversion.

These camp meetings contributed to numerous conversions

and vows to change wayward behavior. Membership in Baptist

and Methodist churches increased most significantly.

Founding Fathers The term “founding fathers” applies

to those individuals who played a major role in declaring

U.S. independence, fighting the Revolutionary War, or

writing and adopting the U.S. Constitution. Founding fathers

include Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and

James Madison.

in the North were victims of discrimination. They were

denied the right to vote, to serve on juries, to be educated, to

worship freely, and to have access to public lands. In the

South, most free African Americans were descendants of

slaves freed during and after the American Revolution. Others

purchased their freedom, but all were denied basic rights.

Despite discrimination in both the North and the South, many

free blacks distinguished themselves in various areas of endeavor.

Many of those who gained success risked their lives

and income to combat slavery.

Free Enterprise System A free enterprise system

is an economic system in which individuals depend on supply

and demand and the profit margin to determine the answers

to the four basic economic questions of “what to produce,”

“how to produce,” “how many to produce,” and “for

whom to produce.” Profit is an improved situation, usually

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measured in dollars. The quest for improvement financially

enterprise system. Government regulation is kept to a minimum.

Competition between companies makes it more difficult

to answer the questions of what and how much to produce

and for whom, but it does make it harder for one company

to monopolize the market.

War was a struggle between the British and the French in the

colonies of North America. It was part of a worldwide war

known as the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). In the colonies,

the British sought control of territory to the west of the

established colonies, particularly the Ohio River Valley. The

first battle was fought at Fort Necessity in July 1754, a stockade

constructed by George Washington and his troops near

the headwaters of the Ohio River near present day Pittsburgh.

The French held several advantages including control of more

western territory, a single colonial government, a professional

army well provisioned in place in their territory, and an alliance

with the Huron and Algonquin Indians.

The British also had several advantages. More British lived

in the colonies, the British territory had a better strategic

position and was easier to defend, and most of the colonists

were willing to fight to preserve their independence from

France. The British pushed France into Canada and defeated

them at Quebec and Montreal. The Seven Years’ War officially

ended with the Treaty of Paris which gave the British

all lands east of the Mississippi River except New Orleans,

including the St. Lawrence Valley, the Great Lakes, and the

Ohio River Valley. Thus the British secured the major water

routes into the interior North American continent.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written constitution

in the American colonies, prepared as the covenant

for the new Puritan community in Connecticut, established

in the 1630s. It established a precedent for written constitutions

in the colonies. To the Puritans, a covenant was an agreement

with God to build a holy society. Those who moved to

Connecticut from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts carried

with them the tradition of the commonwealth, a community

of people who worked together for the good of the

whole. The Fundamental Orders described a system of government

for the new community, in writing.

about relationships between and among concepts. They organize

and summarize information obtained from the analysis

of facts. A generalization is usually a broad assertion that

something is always true. A fact, on the other hand, is a truth

only about a particular incident or case. Here is a generalization:

The nature of democracy in the United States continually

evolves as society grows and changes. Here is a fact

which supports it: Women received the right to vote in 1924.

Geographic Distributions and Patterns G e -

ographers are interested in the location of things on Earth,

that is, where things are located, how they are distributed,

and what relationships exist between things separated by

distance. Sometimes things are distributed randomly across

the surface of Earth. Other times a pattern is apparent in the

distribution. That helps us to understand the forces that affect

distribution. Consider the location of key industries, cities,

types of agriculture—all of these things are distributed

(located) somewhere, and show a pattern. Industries are located

near resources or near markets. Cities are often located

at vital transportation crossroads. The types of crops grown

depend upon physical conditions as well as access to markets

and transportation. Noting distribution and pattern helps

us to understand why things are where they are.

Gettysburg Address During the Civil War, on November

19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to dedicate a national cemetery

at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. Three sentences excerpted

from his short speech capture the spirit of liberty

and morality ideally held by citizens of a democracy. That

ideal was threatened by the Civil War.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on

this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated

to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether

that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated,

can long endure. . .

. . . . It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task

remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take

increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last

full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that

these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under

God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government

of the people, by the people, for the people, shall

not perish from the earth.

Gibbons v. Ogden In Gibbons v. Ogden (1824),

Chief Justice John Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled

that the Constitution gave control of interstate commerce to

the U.S. Congress, not the individual states through which a

route passed. The ruling responded to an effort by the state

of New York to accept a monopoly to operate steam boat

traffic between New York and New Jersey.

Individual Rights Many opposed the Constitution

in 1787 because they believed it did not offer adequate protection

of individual rights. The Bill of Rights, ratified in

1791, were created to correct this. The individual rights protected

in the Bill of Rights include economic rights related

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to property, political rights related to freedom of speech and

private residences.

The structure of the U.S. Constitution allows for adaptation

based on changing public opinion and the need to protect

individual rights. For instance, debates over the institution

of slavery raised concerns about property and property protection

afforded by the U.S. Constitution. In the decision

Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled that slaves

were property and that the Missouri Compromise, which

prohibited slavery in certain parts of the United States, was

unconstitutional in that it deprived people of property, their

slaves. As public opinion changed, voters amended the Constitution

to free slaves, to protect their rights, and to extend

their right to vote.

Industrial Revolution New sources of power

including the steam engine freed manufacturers to experiment

with new ways to make products. Steam power was

more reliable than water power and allowed expansion of

machine production. A period of rapid industrial growth resulted,

starting in Britain in the 1700s and then spreading

around the world as more countries adopted mass production.

Handmade goods were quickly replaced by less expensive

machine-made goods. The production of cloth by machines

revolutionized the textile industry. It also changed the

nature of supply because more goods were produced faster

and cheaper, the nature of demand because the product was

more affordable, and the nature of work. Factory laborers

replaced craftsmen and home production. The expansion of

mechanized production in the United States began after the

Civil War and peaked in the 1920s just before the Great Depression.

This is considered a second Industrial Revolution.

The demand for raw materials and labor to maintain production

led to exploitation of the natural environment and of

workers.

— legislative, executive and judicial —were established

to balance power, but the U.S. Constitution is the supreme

law. The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting and

applying laws and ensuring that they are constitutional. In

the early 1800s the Supreme Court established the principle

of judicial review. Acting within the powers of Article III,

the judicial branch strengthened federal authority over state

and private authority when the issue threatened rights established

in the Constitution. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled

in Marbury v. Madison (1803) that a law passed by Congress

in 1789 was unconstitutional. Marshall stressed that

“the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of legislature.

. . and must govern.”

everyone, including all authority figures, must obey the laws.

Constitutions, statements of rights, or other laws define the

limits of those in power so they cannot take advantage of

their elected, appointed, or inherited positions. In an unlimited

government, control is placed solely with the ruler and

his/her appointees, and there are no limits imposed on his/

her authority.

of English justice and law. King John, who ruled between

1199 and 1216 AD, angered the English nobility and

commoners alike by his lack of military prowess and his

heavy taxation to pay a large national debt. Members of the

nobility, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the Earl of Pembroke

forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. It

declared that the king and government were bound by the

same law as other citizens of England. It contained the antecedents

of the ideas of due process of law and the right to a

fair and speedy trial that are included in the protection offered

by the U.S. Bill of Rights. The English viewed it as a

guarantee of law and justice.

Manifest Destiny “Manifest destiny” was a popular

expression in the 1840s. Many believed that the United

States was destined to secure territory from “sea to sea,” from

the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This rationale drove the

acquisition of territory in the 1840s as President James K.

Polk attempted to declare the parallel of 5440' as the northern

boundary of the United States. Britain initially refused,

but the nations compromised in 1846 and the United States

acquired the Oregon territory. The United States also secured

a vast territory in the southwest following the Mexican

War in 1848. Mexico ceded all claims north of the Rio

Grande which included present-day states of California,

Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico,

and Wyoming.

judgment by the Supreme Court which supported the federal

system of government. In 1803, Chief Justice John

Marshall, a Federalist, upheld and strengthened the authority

of the federal judiciary. He established the principle of

judicial review, the power of the judiciary to determine that

a law can be declared unconstitutional.

Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact

was drafted in 1620 prior to settlement by the Pilgrims

at Plymouth Bay in Massachusetts. It declared that the 41

males who signed it agreed to accept majority rule and participate

in a government in the best interest of all members

of the colony. While not a constitution, the agreement set the

precedent for later documents outlining commonwealth rule.

Settlers quickly established town meetings as a forum to

develop their own laws, a positive step toward self-rule.

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McCulloch v. Maryland In 1819, Chief Justice

John Marshall continued to define the limits of the U. S.

Constitution and of the authority of the federal and state governments.

Maryland was opposed to the establishment of a

national bank and challenged the authority of the federal government

to establish one. The Supreme Court ruled that the

power of the federal government was supreme over that of

the states and that the states could not interfere. This decision

supported the concept that the Constitution was the supreme

law of the land.

Mercantilism Mercantilism is an economic

theory which states that a nation’s wealth is based on the

amount of gold and silver bullion in its treasury. The theory

drove economic exchange throughout Europe between the

16th and 18th centuries. Nations accumulated wealth in several

ways. Explorers sought gold and silver deposits which

they could mine.

Trade offered another method to accumulate the bullion (gold

or silver formed into bars, ingots, or plates). Generating revenue

through trade depended on maintaining a favorable

balance, that is, exporting more than a nation imported. In a

mercantilist system, government played a central role in regulating

trade by imposing restrictions on trade. As the production

of goods for exchange increased, governments took

a more active role in industrial development. New crafts and

trades provided work for the idle and lined the pockets of

mercantilists who made money by importing raw products

and exporting finished goods at significantly higher costs.

Those who sought to participate in trade and industry needed

government ing to succeed, especially in the oceanic trade.

The East India Company was founded in 1600 by the English

government and merchants intent on trading with the

East.

The American colonies contributed to the English, French,

and markets for manufactured goods. The Spanish sought to

control the gold and silver supplies held by Native American

civilizations in Mexico and Peru; the fur trade in North

America resulted in significant revenue for French mercantilists;

and settlement benefited English manufacturers who

sold finished products to colonists. Buying from a colony

enabled the mother country to keep bullion within the empire.

Mercantilism was attacked by Adam Smith and others who

supported laissez faire (“let them do as they see fit”) exchange.

This new economic theory opposed regulation by

the “visible hand” of government and instead viewed commerce

as driven by the invisible hand of personal initiative.

Monroe Doctrine The Monroe Doctrine was a

statement of foreign policy which proclaimed that Europe

should not interfere in affairs within the United States or in

the development of other countries in the Western Hemisphere,

and that the United States would not interfere in European

affairs. These ideas, formulated by Secretary of State

John Quincy Adams and President James Monroe, were presented

in 1823 in response to problems facing the nation:

Russian claims to the northwest coast and threats to the independence

of Spanish-American republics in Latin America.

The doctrine reflected growing American nationalism and

increased emphasis on internal improvements which reduced

the interest in participating in international affairs. President

James K. Polk revived the doctrine in 1845, and it continued

as an important part of national ideology into the 20th

century.

of foreign birth who is granted full citizenship.

Northwest Ordinance is considered one of the most significant

achievements of the Articles of Confederation. It established

a system for setting up governments in the western

territories so they could eventually join the Union on an equal

footing with the original 13 states. This ordinance referred

to the Northwest Territory, an area bounded by the Ohio River,

the Mississippi River, and the Great Lakes and included

present-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and

parts of Minnesota. When the territory opened, a governor

and three judges were appointed by Congress. After 5,000

adult males moved to the area, they could elect an assembly

and send a nonvoting delegate to Congress, although the governor

retained veto power over the assembly. When 60,000

persons moved into one of the political subdivisions, that

area could draft a constitution, submit it to Congress for approval,

and become a state. Its constitution had to provide

for a representative government, and it had to prohibit slavery.

high tariff to protect U.S. interests from competition from

foreign trade. This angered southerners who dealt directly

with merchants in Britain. The planters favored freedom of

trade and believed in the authority of their states over the

federal government. In 1832 Congress passed a lower but

still protective tariff. Angered South Carolinians, led by

Senator John C. Calhoun, declared the federal tariff null and

void within its borders. Delegates to a special convention

urged the state legislature to take military action and to secede

from the union if the federal government demanded the

customs duties. To prevent a civil war, Henry Clay, senator

from Kentucky, proposed the compromise Tariff of 1833

which gradually reduced the protective tariff over ten years.

Southerners accepted the measure but northerners countered

with the Force Bill which authorized the president to use the

army and navy to collect the duties. The nullifiers repealed

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the ordinance of nullification but accomplished their goal of

Convention of 1787 met “for the sole and express purpose

of revising the Articles of Confederation.” Fifty-five

delegates representing all states except Rhode Island worked

to reorganize the government in the new republic. The Convention

met in secret in the Pennsylvania State House, now

Independence Hall, from May 25 through September 17. One

of their first decisions was to scrap the Articles of Confederation

and create a new plan of government. Of the 55

delegates, 39 signed the document they created, the U.S.

Constitution.

Physical and Human Characteristics

Physical characteristics of places include landforms and soils,

bodies and sources of water, vegetation, climate and weather

patterns, and animal life. Human characteristics of places

include the language, religion, political systems, economic

systems, population distribution, ethnicity, age, and standards

of living.

Physical and Human Characteristics of Places

Physical characteristics of places describe natural phenomena

such as climate, soil, plants, animals, and topography

(landforms). Human characteristics of places include items

such as language, religion, ethnicity, architecture, forms of

recreation, daily schedule, food, how people earn a living,

how they govern themselves, family structure, and standard

of living.