Bill of Rights
The first 10 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution became the Bill of Rights in 1791. They defined citizens' rights in relation to the newly established government under the Constitution.
Common Sense (Thomas Paine)
Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. Paine used plain language that spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.
Globalization
Commonly used as a shorthand way of describing the spread and connectedness of production, communication and technologies across the world. That spread has involved the interlacing of economic and cultural activity.
Caddo Indians
Lived in east and northeast Texas. Most of the Caddo farms and villages were near flowing creeks or springs with fresh water. They farmed because were no big herds of buffalo or other animals to hunt. They were sedentary because they farmed and did not have to move around to get food so they had permanent houses. They also traded goods all over Texas, the Mississippi river valley and the southeastern United States. They had a structured social system.
Mary Austin Holley
Lived 1784-1846 and was an American historical writer best known as the author of the first known English-language history of Texas(1833). She was a cousin Mary Austin Holley of Stephen F. Austin, who arranged for Holley to receive a land grant on Galveston Bay
Lorenzo de Zavala
A colonizer and statesman, Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala was one of the most talented and capable of the many native Mexicans involved in Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico. At the Convention of 1836, de Zavala was elected vice-president of the interim government of the Republic of Texas.
Lyndon B. Johnson
President of the U.S. from 1963-1969, also had a long history as a Congressman and Senator beginning in 1937. In Congress, Johnson worked hard for rural electrification, public housing, and eliminating government waste. As Senator he guided the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and 1964 as President. During his time in Congress and as President he was also instrumental in the development of the space program that eventually landed a man on the moon in 1969. His domestic program was known as The Great Society.
Economic nationalism
A term used to describe policies which emphasize domestic control of the economy, labor and capital formation, even if this requires the imposition of tariffs and other restrictions on the movement of labor, goods and capital. It opposes globalization in many cases, or at least it questions the benefits of unrestricted free trade.
Expansionism
As the American factory system developed the U.S. needed to find foreign markets in which to sell its manufactured products and from which to acquire raw goods. Initially, the policy that the U.S. pursued to meet its growing economic needs was one of expansionism rather than imperialism. Instead of imposing a military presence and colonial government—as many European countries were doing in Africa and throughout the globe—the U.S. aimed to advance its interests through investments and business transactions. American businesses began opening up production sites and markets in Latin America and elsewhere.
Manifest Destiny
Newspaper editor John O'Sullivan coined the term "manifest destiny" in 1845 to describe the philosophy and belief that the U.S. should expand across the entire continent. It was this belief that spurred the westward movement of the young nation. It had connections to economic motives (land, fur trade, etc.) as well as cultural motives (the perceived superiority of the American culture).
WoodrowWilson's Fourteen Points
President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points became the basis for a peace program that led Germany and her allies to agree to an armistice in November 1918. The 14 points dealt with certain issues that were involved in WWI. One of the points called for a League of Nations.
Good Neighbor Policy
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office determined to improve relations with the nations of Central and South America. Under his leadership the United States emphasized cooperation and trade rather than military force to maintain stability in the hemisphere. In his inaugural address on March 4, 1933, Roosevelt stated: "In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor--the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others."
The Marshall Plan
U.S. Secretary of State George Marshal introduced this in a speech in 1947. It was a plan to help the economies of European countries that had been devastated by World War II recover and rebuild.
Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement in North America on the banks of the James River in Virginia in 1607. Famine, disease and conflict with local Native American tribes in the first two years brought Jamestown to the brink of failure before the arrival of a new group of settlers and supplies in 1610.
Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War had two basic causes. First, the desire of the U.S. to expand across the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean caused conflict with all of its neighbors. Second, was the desire of newly independent Texas to join the U.S., an idea that Mexico opposed.
The Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo
Ended the Mexican-American War in February 2, 1848
Battle of Veracruz
Important and climatic battle of the Mexican-American War
Alonso Alvarez de Pineda
First known European to explore and map the Texas coastline in 1519.
Cabeza de Vaca
Shipwrecked on what is believed today to be Galveston Island in 1528. After trading in the region for some six years, he later explored the Texas interior on his way to Mexico.
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
In search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, he led an expedition into the present southwestern United States and across northern Texas, 1540-42.
Robert Cavelier, Sieur de LaSalle
Established Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay in 1685, and thus formed the basis for France's claim to Texas. Two years later, LaSalle was murdered by his own men.
Alonso de Leon
Mexican explorer reached Fort St. Louis, and found it abandoned, during an expedition planned to reestablish Spanish presence in Texas in 1689.
Jean Laffite
Occupied Galveston Island and used it as a base for his smuggling and privateering operation, 1817-20.
Battle of Velasco
Resulted in the first casualties in Texas' relations with Mexico. After several days of fighting, the Mexicans under Domingo de Ugartechea were forced to surrender for lack of ammunition.
Battle of Gonzales.
Beginning of Texas revolution. Texans repulsed a detachment of Mexican cavalry.
Goliad Campaign of 1835
Ended when George Collingsworth, Ben Milam, and forty-nine other Texans stormed the presidio at Goliad and a small detachment of Mexican defenders.
Stephen F. Austin
Considered the founder of Anglo-American Texas. He later urged these people to revolt against Mexican rule and served as secretary of state of the Republic of Texas.
Sam Houston
Sam Houston was born in Virginia on March 2, 1793. He led the Texas forces against the Mexican army and at the Battle of San Jacinto, 1836, his force defeated Santa Anna and secured Texas independence. He was elected the first President of the Republic of Texas and later served as Texas Governor
Industrial Revolution
A period from 1750 to 1850 where changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. It began in the England, then spread throughout Western Europe, North America, Japan, and eventually the rest of the world. Led to development of a middle class.
Compromise of 1850
In a plan to settle boundary disputes and pay her public debt, Texas relinquished about one-third of her territory in exchange for $10,000,000 from the United States.
Goliad Massacre
Nearly 400 Texans were executed by the Mexicans at the Goliad Massacre, under order of Santa Anna.
William Barret Travis
Travis commanded the Texas defenders during the Siege and Battle of the Alamo. His Appeal from the Alamo for reinforcements has become an American symbol of unyielding courage and heroism.
Jim Bowie
Known for his famous "Bowie knife" and a sometimes reckless adventurer. Now immortalized as one of the true folk heroes in early Texas as one of the defenders who died at the Alamo.
Indigenous peoples of Texas
Apache tribes - Apache - southeast The Coahuilteco and Carrizo tribes The Caddo tribe - east The Comanche tribe - central The Jumano, Suma, Piro, and other eastern Pueblos - southwest The Karankawa tribe The Kiowa tribe - northcentral The Kitsai tribe - east near Caddo The Tawakoni tribe - east near Caddo The Tonkawa tribe - east The Wichita tribe - northeast
The Apache
far west central and northwest, hunters
The Karankawa
Gulf Coast, hunters and gatherers
The Kiowa - northcentral
Lived in and around the Texas panhandle. hey were nomadic buffalo hunters. That makes them hunter gatherers. They were famous for their long distance raids.
The Coahuilteco
Gulf Coast, hunters and gatherers
Presidio
A fortified base established by the Spanish in North America between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fortresses were built to protect against pirates, hostile native Americans and enemy colonists.
Tejanos
Denotes a Texan of Mexican descent, thus a Mexican Texan or a Texas Mexican
Juan Seguin
Born in 1806. He was an outspoken champion of the Texans' demand for more self-government, and very critical of the dictatorial policies of President Santa Anna. On February 3, 1836, he was among the twenty-five men who accompanied Colonel William Travis into the Alamo. Then on the night of February 25, after the Alamo was surrounded, he was chosen to carry an urgent plea for reinforcements to the Texan commander at Gonzales.
Buffalo Soldiers
Once the Westward movement had begun, prominent among those blazing treacherous trails of the Wild West were the Buffalo Soldiers of the U.S. Army. These African-Americans were charged with and responsible for escorting settlers, cattle herds, and railroad crews.
Davy Crockett
Famous frontiersman, left Tennessee to help Texas fight Mexico for independence. Died at the Alamo.
Culture
Refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.
Cultural Diffiusion
Occurs when two distinct cultures are very close together. Over time, direct contact between the two leads to an intermingling of the cultures. An example today would be the similar interest in soccer in some areas of the United States and Mexico. Forced diffusion or expansion diffusion is the second method of cultural diffusion and takes place when one culture defeats another and forces its beliefs and customs onto the conquered people.
Primary Source
First-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented.
Secondary Source
A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event.
Propaganda
Information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
Almanac
Almanac
Atlas
Records and predicts astronomical events (the rising of the Sun, for instance), tides, weather, and other phenomena with respect to time. It can also refer to a usually annual reference book composed of various lists, tables, and often brief articles relating to a particular field or many general fields.
Latitude
The angular distance of a place north or south of the earth's equator, usually expressed in degrees and minutes. Latitude is measured from the equator, with positive values going north and negative values going south.
Longitude
Longitude is measured from the Prime Meridian (which is the longitude that runs through Greenwich, England), with positive values going east and negative values going west.
Migrate
Physical movement from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Among humans, historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation.
Immigrate
To come to a place or country of which one is not a native in order to settle there.
Emigrate
The act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another.
Political Map
A map that shows lines defining countries, states or territories. It is unlike other maps in that its purpose is to show borders. A political map also makes a deliberate political statement about which areas of the earth belong to a country or state.
Relief Map
A map that depicts land configuration, often with contour lines. Some are three-dimensional.
Historical Map
A map that shows things or events from the past,such as a map of the 13 colonies during the 1700's or a map showing where battles of the Civil War took Place.
Geographical Map
Shows major geographic features of an area or region.
Continents
One of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are (from largest in size to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.[1]
Map Legend
Tells you which signs on a map symbolize and represent, what is natural or a man-made feature. For example, a miniature blue tent on a map, represents the location of a camping site. A legend on a map provides valuable information for interpreting what it is showing you. Gives direction by a north indication. Provides a scale to allow for distance calculations. Depending on map, will give city names, park locations, lakes, and rivers, etc. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_map_legend#ixzz23eegZtZs
Delta
A landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river. Over long periods of time, this deposition builds the characteristic geographic pattern of a river delta.
Savanna
flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions, a wide treeless plain
Plateau
Also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain.
Desertification
Conversion of a grassland or an already arid land into a desert through indiscriminate human actions magnified by droughts. Such actions include overgrazing, repeated burning, intensive farming, and stripping of vegetation for firewood.
Erosion
Erosion is the process by which the surface of the Earth gets worn down. Erosion can be caused by natural elements such as wind and glacial ice. But anyone who has ever seen a picture of the Grand Canyon knows that nothing beats the slow steady movement of water when it comes to changing the Earth.
Supply and Demand
When the supply of a product or service is small then the demand for it, and usually the price,goes up. When the supply is large then the demand, and usually the price, goes down. There is more of it, so people aren't willing to pay as much for it.
Free-Market Economy
A market economy based on supply and demand with little or no government control. A completely free market is an idealized form of a market economy where buyers and sellers are allowed to transact freely (i.e. buy/sell/trade) based on a mutual agreement on price without state intervention in the form of taxes, subsidies or regulation.
Agrarian Economy
Economy based on farming and cultivation of the land. Way of life stayed the same for many years. Usually involved two classes, very rich and very poor, no middle class.
GDP
Gross Domestic Product - has to do with the total value of goods and services produced by a nation within a given year.
Ranching in Texas
Had its origins in Mexico. Cattle orgianlly came from Mexico and Spain, most of customs and terminology of ranching has roots in Mexico.
Texas Industries
Texas leading cotton producer in the nation, and is a major producer of oil and gas.
Democracy
A form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows people to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws.
Monarchy
Aform of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally embodied in a single individual. Forms of monarchy differ widely based on the level of legal autonomy the monarch holds in governance, the method of selection of the monarch, and any predetermined limits on the length of their tenure. When the monarch has no or few legal restraints in state and political matters, it is called an absolute monarchy and is a form of autocracy. Cases in which the monarch's discretion is formally limited (most common today) are called constitutional monarchies. In hereditary monarchies, the office is passed through inheritance within a family group, whereas elective monarchies are selected by some system of voting.
Oligarchy
A form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few.
Totalitarianism
A form of government that theoretically permits no individual freedom and that seeks to subordinate all aspects of the individual's life to the authority of the government.
Elastic Clause
This clause is one of the most powerful in the Constitution. It allows the Government of the United States to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution." This has been used for all types of federal actions including requiring integration in the states.
Supremacy Clause
It establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions.
Full Faith and Credit Clause
A clause in the U.S. Constitution which says that every state must recognize and respect the laws and judgments of other states.
Commerce Clause
Grants Congress the power "To regulate Commerce (buying, selling, business) with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes". The commerce power is an enumerated power of Congress and the Supreme Court has interpreted it as an express grant of authority to Congress and an affirmative limitation on the rights of the states to regulate commerce within their own borders.
Advice and Consent Clause
A clause in the U.S. Constitution. This clause states that the President can exercise his/her power to enter into treaties with other countries and make appointments of judges and other officials only with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Equal Protection Clause
The constitutional guarantee that no person or class of persons shall be denied the same protection of the laws that is enjoyed by other persons or other classes in like circumstances in their lives, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness.
Limited Government
A government in which anything more than minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy is not generally allowed by law, usually in a written constitution, originally implied the notion of a separation of powers and the system of checks and balances promoted by the U.S. Constitution.
Unlimited Government
A government that has one dictator (or group) that makes up all the laws, and the citizens have no power over the dictator. Leaders have almost absolute power. A government in which those who govern are free to use their power as they choose, unrestrained by laws or elections. Leaders do not have to follow the same laws that they set up for their people.
Commissioners Court
The administrative and legislative center of authority for county governments in Texas.
Domestication of Plants
Refers to the initial stage of human mastery of wild animals and plants. The fundamental distinction of domesticated animals and plants from their wild ancestors is that they are created by human labour to meet specific requirements or whims and are adapted to the conditions of continuous care and solicitude people maintain for them.
Nationalism
Nationalism is loyalty and dedication to one's country over loyalty to other groups or individual interests. It typically emphasizes collective identity, seeking to link people by language, religion, or cultural background, and advances the notion that countries will benefit from pursuing national rather than international goals. Nationalism is often a motivating force behind countries' struggle for independence from foreign rule or to stir up revolutionary sentiment against an unpopular government.
Magna Charta (or Carta)
A document accepted by King John of England on June 15, 1215 which contains a series of laws establishing the rights of English barons and major landowners thereby limiting the authority of the King. The Latin word which means 'great charter' is then used as a synonyms of all written citizen's rights and as foundation stones of statutes and laws . Magna Carta is the basis of individual rights and considered as a part of the English Constitution where there is no written constitution.
Cold War
This term is used to describe the relationship between America and the Soviet Union 1945 to 1980. Neither side ever fought the other - the consequences would be too appalling, but they fought it through other countries, such as Vietnam. During this time period there was great tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union.
The Renaissance
"Renaissance" literally means "rebirth." It refers especially to the rebirth of learning that began in Italy in the fourteenth century, spread to the north, including England, by the sixteenth century, and ended in the north in the mid-seventeenth century (earlier in Italy). During this period, there was an enormous renewal of interest in and study of classical antiquity.
The Rosetta Stone
Discovered in Egypt in the late 18th century. It is inscribed with egyptian hieroglyphics and a translation of them in Greek. It was the key to understanding ancient Egyptian writing
Vikings
From around A.D. 800 to the 11th century, a vast number of Scandinavians left their homelands to seek their fortunes elsewhere. These seafaring warriors--known collectively as Vikings or Norsemen ("Northmen")--began by raiding coastal sites, especially undefended monasteries, in the British Isles. Over the next three centuries, they would leave their mark as pirates, raiders, traders and settlers on much of Britain and the European continent, as well as parts of modern-day Russia, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland.
Leonardo da Vinci
Italian painter, engineer, musician, and scientist. The most versatile genius of the Renaissance, Leonardo filled notebooks with engineering and scientific observations that were in some cases centuries ahead of their time. As a painter Leonardo is best known for The Last Supper (c. 1495) and Mona Lisa (c. 1503).
Galileo
Italian astronomer and mathematician who was the first to use a telescope to study the stars; demonstrated that different weights descend at the same rate; perfected the refracting telescope that enabled him to make many discoveries (1564-1642)
Estaban
1528, an African named Esteban journeyed to the unknown land of Florida with three hundred Spanish soldiers. Esteban had been enslaved by one of the soldiers years earlier. In 1539, Esteban served as a translator and guide on another journey to the Southwest. He hoped to find seven legendary cities of gold, but died during the journey. Later, other explorers used what Esteban and his companions had learned to map the Southwest
Hernando de Soto
Spanish Conquistador; explored in 1540's from Florida west to the Mississippi with six hundred men in search of gold; discovered the Mississippi, a vital North American river.
Jacques Cartier
This Frenchman explored the coast of Canada and claimed it for the French, French explorer who explored the St. Lawrence river and laid claim to the region for France (1491-1557)
Plymouth Colony
A colony established by the English Pilgrims, or Seperatists, in 1620. The Seperatists were Puritans who abandoned hope that the Anglican Church could be reformed. Plymouth became part of Massachusetts in 1691.
William Penn
Penn, an English Quaker, founded Pennsylvania in 1682, after receiving a charter from King Charles II the year before. He launched the colony as a "holy experiment" based on religious tolerance.
Roger Williams
English clergyman and colonist who was expelled from Massachusetts for criticizing Puritanism, he founded Providence in 1636 and obtained a royal charter for Rhode Island in 1663 (1603-1683)
St. Augustine
The oldest continually inhabited European settlement in America, It was the first spanish settlement in 1565
Benjamin Franklin
Printer, author, inventor, diplomat, statesman, and Founding Father. One of the few Americans who was highly respected in Europe, primarily due to his discoveries in the field of electricity.
Stamp Act
An act passed by the British parliment in 1756 that raised revenue from the American colonies by a duty in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents.
Lousiana Purchase
The selling of Lousiana by the French to the United States in 1803 for about $15 million; Jefferson was hesitant about the purchase, as he didn'g believe it was constitutional, however he eventually submitted to the treaties of Congress. It essentially doubled the size of the U.S.
Lewis and Clark
Sent on an expedition by Jefferson to gather information on the United States' new land and map a route to the Pacific. They kept very careful maps and records of this new land acquired from the Louisiana Purchase.
Abolitionists
Anti slavery activists who demanded the immediate end of slavery.
Underground Railroad
A system that helped enslaved African Americans follow a network of escape routes out of the South to freedom in the North.
Missouri Compromise
an agreement in 1820 between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States concerning the extension of slavery into new territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This Act set up Kansas and Nebraska as states. Each state would make their own decision about what to do about slavery. People who were proslavery and antislavery moved to Kansas, but some antislavery settlers were against the Act. This began guerrilla warfare.
Isolationism
During the 1930s, the combination of the Great Depression and the memory of tragic losses in World War I contributed to pushing American public opinion and policy toward isolationism. Isolationists advocated non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts and non-entanglement in international politics.
Dust Bowl
Region of the Great Plains (western Kansas and Oklahoma, northern Texas, and eastern Colorado and New Mexico) that experienced a drought in 1930 lasting for a decade, leaving many farmers without work or substantial wages. Long periods of drought and destructive farming methods ruined farming in the region,
Cesar Chavez
Organized Union Farm Workers (UFW); help migratory farm workers gain better pay & working conditions
Thurgood Marshall
American civil rights lawyer, first black justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall was a tireless advocate for the rights of minorities and the poor.
Dred Scott v. Sandford
A Missouri slave sued for his freedom, claiming that his four year stay in the northern portion of the Louisiana Territory made free land by the Missouri Compromise had made him a free man. The U.S, Supreme Court decided he couldn't sue in federal court because he was property, not a citizen.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
1954 Supreme court ruling reversing the policy of segregation of races in public schools, declaring that seperate can never be equal and a year later ordered the integration of all public schools with all deliberate speed.
Marbury v. Madison
The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the Court's power of judicial review over acts of Congress, (the Judiciary Act of 1789).
Due Process
The constitutional guarantee of due process of law, found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, prohibits all levels of government from arbitrarily or unfairly depriving individuals of their basic constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. A fundamental, constitutional guarantee that all legal proceedings will be fair and that one will be given notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard before the government acts to take away one's life, liberty, or property. Also, a constitutional guarantee that a law shall not be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious.
Import
Commodities (goods or services) bought from a foreign country
Export
commodities (goods or services) sold to a foreign country
Embargo
The partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it.