Honors Regents In US History And Government

Submitted By Ryanp24
Words: 1212
Pages: 5

Honors Regents in US History and Government Summer Homework

1. The Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was a widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human population, (including slaves), communicable disease, and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The term was coined in 1972 by Alfred W. Crosby, a historian at the University of Texas at Austin, in his eponymous work of environmental history. The contact between the two areas circulated a wide variety of new crops and livestock which supported increases in population in both hemispheres. Explorers returned to Europe with maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, which became very important crops in Europe by the 18th century. 2. Mercantilism Mercantilism was an economic system developing during the decay of feudalism to unify and increase the power and especially the monetary wealth of a nation by a strict governmental regulation of the entire national economy usually through policies designed to secure an accumulation of bullion, a favorable balance of trade, the development of agriculture and manufactures, and the establishment of foreign trading monopolies 3. The Half-Way Covenant The Half-Way Covenant was a practice among the Congregational churches of New England, between 1657 and 1662, of permitting baptized persons of moral life and orthodox faith to enjoy all the privileges of church membership, save the partaking of the Lord's Supper. They were also allowed to present their children for baptism. 4. The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a cultural movement of intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries, which began first in Europe and later in the American colonies. Its purpose was to reform society using reason, challenge ideas grounded in tradition and faith, and advance knowledge through the scientific method. It promoted scientific thought, skepticism and intellectual interchange and opposed superstition, intolerance and some abuses of power by the church and the state. The ideas of the Enlightenment have had a major impact on the culture, politics, and governments of the Western world. 5. Deism Deism is the belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation. 6. The First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of deep personal revelation of their need of salvation by Jesus Christ. Pulling away from ritual and ceremony, the Great Awakening made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and redemption, and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality. 7. Republican Form of Government
A “Republican” Form of Government refers to a form of government where the citizens conduct their affairs for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of a ruler. 8. “Separation of Power” meaning in the Constitution In the American political system the three branches of government, legislative, executive and judiciary, each have specific constitutionally defined functions and powers. One branch of government is not allowed to exercise exclusive power over any of the other branches, or interfere in the way the other branches exercise their own assigned powers. 9. “Checks and Balances” meaning in the Constitution Checks and balances is the system established in the Constitution by the Founding Fathers to ensure that one branch of the federal government cannot gain too much. 10. “Popular Sovereignty” meaning in the