1. Founding Father Political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolution, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some other key contribution.

2. Constitutional Convention A meeting held in Philadelphia with representatives from 12 of the 13 of the states (Rhode Island was absent) to determine what the laws for governing the United States would be.

3. Declaration of Independence Act of Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, declaring the 13 British colonies in North America no longer belonged to the British Empire.

4. Embargo A government prevents trade with a particular country.

5. Empire A large group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch, emperor, empress or a small, usually corrupt, group of people.

6. Governor A person appointed to govern a province or colony. The elected head of any state of the United States.

7. Democratic Republican Party American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

8. Louisiana Purchase Acquisition by the United States of America of 828,800 square miles (2,147,000 km 2 ) of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803.

9. Lewis and Clark Expedition-(1804–1806) First United States journey to explore the land between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast It was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

10. Embargo Act Laws American laws restricting American ships from engaging in foreign trade between the years of 1807 and 1812 with Britain and France. They led to the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain.

11. War with Britain in 1812 Military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire.

12. Jeffersonian Democracy Named for Thomas Jefferson. This party did not want the Federal Government to have a lot of power. They represented the common man.

13. U.S. Constitution Supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution is a set of laws that explains how our country is to be set up and governed.

14. Slave Trade Refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic Ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries.

15. Secretary of State A title for the person who represents their government to other governments around the world.

16. George Washington First president of the United States. He was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War.

17. Second Continental Congress Convention of delegates from Twelve of the Thirteen Colonies that met beginning on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after the fighting at Lexington and Concord.

18. American Revolution A war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America for independence from Great Britain (1775-1783).