Class Notes August 29-September 2

Overview of the Major Eras (August 29^th)

Vocabulary

Era – A period of time characterized by particular circumstances, events, or people

Chronology – The science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline
Absolute Chronology – Exact dates
Relative Chronology – Eras or time periods

Major Eras

Era of European Exploration – Why European countries (specifically England, France and Spain) sent explorers to the New World

Era of Colonial Settlement – How the 13 Colonies were formed and how the idea of Independence began

Revolutionary War Era – How we gained our independence from the British and who helped us get it

New Republic Era – How we set up our government based on compromise and the one thing we couldn’t compromise on

Era of Westward Expansion – How the United States as we know it today came to be

Civil War and Reconstruction Era – How the country tore itself apart over slavery and states’ rights and how it got put back together

Era of European Exploration (August 30-31)

Vocabulary

Exploration – searching for the purpose of discovery

Charter – a document that gives the holder the right to organize settlements
Colonize – To form or establish a colony or colonies

Timeline Items

(1215) Magna Carta – Influenced both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and guaranteed the people three things:

 -- Trial by Jury
 -- Due Process
 -- Limited Government

(1265) English Parliament – English government

(1492) Columbus reaches the New World – Columbus discovers the New World while searching for a faster route to Asia

                                 

1. Why did Europeans explore?

A.  Marco Polo’s travels to China
B.  Demand for goods from Asia (spices)
C.  Competition with other countries for trade ($)

2. Columbus “discovers” America

A.  Columbus was inspired by Marco Polo
B.  Spain was in competition with Portugal
C.  Portugal began the African slave trade in 1400’s
D. Columbus was looking for a faster route to India
E. Columbus represented Spain

Era of Colonial Settlement (September 1-2)

Vocabulary

Representative Government – government founded on elected individuals representing the people

Indentured Servant – a person who came to America and was placed under contract to work, usually for seven years

 Timeline Items

(1607) Jamestown Colony – the first permanent English colony in the Americas

(1619) First Africans arrive in America – the first Africans were not slaves; they were indentured servants

(1619) Virginia House of Burgesses – the first example of representative government in America

(1620) Mayflower Compact – established self-government and majority rule (signed by all the men)