History Final

What is Jamestown?

The first permanent English colony, founded in 1607.

What is the Mayflower Compact?

The first agreement for self-government in the colonies.

What is the House of Burgesses?

The first elected assembly in colonial Virginia.

What is Mercantilism?

The idea that colonies exist to benefit the mother country (England).

What is the Great Awakening?

A religious revival in the colonies that challenged church authority.

Who were the Puritans?

Strict religious settlers in New England who valued education and order.

What is indentured servitude?

A system where workers earned passage to America by working unpaid for a few years.

What was the Middle Passage?

The brutal Atlantic journey enslaved Africans were forced to take to the Americas.

How did geography affect colonial economies?

North = trade/fishing; Middle = farming/trade; South = plantations/slavery.

What was Bacon’s Rebellion?

A 1676 revolt by poor farmers in Virginia; it led to increased use of slavery.

What caused the French & Indian War?

British vs. French competition for land → war → British debt → taxes on colonies.

What is the Stamp Act?

A British tax on paper goods that angered colonists.

What was the Boston Tea Party?

A protest where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor.

What was “Common Sense”?

A pamphlet by Thomas Paine that urged independence from Britain.

What was the Declaration of Independence?

A 1776 document that declared the colonies free from British rule.

What were Lexington & Concord?

The first battles of the American Revolution.

What were Lexington & Concord?

The first battles of the American Revolution.

What was the Battle of Saratoga?

A key American victory that got France to support the colonies.

What was the Battle of Yorktown?

The final battle; British surrendered to Washington.

What was the Treaty of Paris (1783)?

The treaty that ended the war and recognized American independence.

Who was George Washington?

The general who led the Continental Army to victory.

What were the Articles of Confederation?

The first U.S. government; it was weak and couldn’t enforce laws or taxes.

What replaced the Articles of Confederation?

The U.S. Constitution, written at the Constitutional Convention.

What is the Bill of Rights?

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution; protects personal freedoms.

Who were the Federalists?

They wanted a strong central government (Hamilton, Adams).

Who were the Anti-Federalists?

They feared central power and demanded the Bill of Rights.

What did Alexander Hamilton support?

A national bank, federal power, and industrial economy.

What did Thomas Jefferson support?

States' rights, agriculture, and a weaker federal government.

What was the Whiskey Rebellion?

A protest against whiskey tax; showed the new government’s strength.

What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 do?

It created the federal court system.

What did Washington warn about in his Farewell Address?

Political parties and foreign alliances.

What was the Louisiana Purchase?

U.S. bought land from France in 1803, doubling its size.

What was the Trail of Tears?

The forced relocation of Native Americans under the Indian Removal Act.

What caused the War of 1812?

British interference with American ships and impressment of sailors.

What did the Monroe Doctrine say?

Europe should stay out of the Americas; the U.S. would stay out of Europe.

What was the Missouri Compromise?

It kept the balance between free and slave states.

What did the Mexican-American War add to the U.S.?

California, Texas, and other southwest territories.

What did the Compromise of 1850 do?

Admitted California as free, and included the Fugitive Slave Act.

What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

Let people vote on slavery (popular sovereignty) → violence.

What did the Dred Scott decision say?

Slaves were property, not citizens.

What was the Seneca Falls Convention?

The beginning of the organized women’s rights movement.

What caused the Civil War?

Slavery, sectionalism, and states’ rights.

What happened at Fort Sumter?

The Civil War began with Confederate fire on Union troops.

What was the Emancipation Proclamation?

Lincoln freed slaves in Confederate states in 1863.

What was the Battle of Gettysburg?

A turning point in the war; major Union victory.

Where did the Civil War end?

At Appomattox Court House in 1865.

What did the 14th Amendment do?

Gave citizenship to all born in the U.S., including former slaves.

What did the 15th Amendment do?

Gave Black men the right to vote.

What was the Freedmen’s Bureau?

Helped former slaves with education, jobs, and housing.

What were Black Codes and the KKK?

Laws and groups that limited African American rights after the war.

Who were Carnegie and Rockefeller?

Industrialists who controlled steel and oil; called "robber barons."

What did muckrakers do?

Journalists who exposed corruption and social problems (e.g., Upton Sinclair).

What was the AFL?

The American Federation of Labor, a major labor union.

What did the Sherman Antitrust Act do?

It broke up monopolies and trusts.

What was the result of The Jungle?

Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food & Drug Act for food safety.

What were political machines?

Groups that controlled city politics, often through corruption.

What did Plessy v. Ferguson decide?

Segregation is legal if it's "separate but equal."

What was the Chinese Exclusion Act?

It banned Chinese immigrants — the first racist immigration law.

What did the US gain from the Spanish-American War?

Territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

What did Roosevelt do as a “trust-buster”?

Broke up monopolies to protect consumers.

What did the 16th Amendment create?

A federal income tax.

What did the 17th Amendment allow?

Direct election of U.S. Senators by the people.

Why did the US enter WWI?

German submarine attacks (Lusitania) + Zimmerman Telegram.

What were Wilson’s 14 Points?

His plan for peace after WWI (included League of Nations).

What did the Treaty of Versailles do?

Ended WWI, blamed Germany, created League of Nations.

What was the “Roaring Twenties”?

A time of jazz, flappers, and consumer spending.

What was the Harlem Renaissance?

A cultural movement celebrating Black art, music, and literature.

What happened in 1929?

The stock market crashed, starting the Great Depression.

What happened at Pearl Harbor?

Japan bombed the US in 1941 → US entered WWII.

What was D-Day?

The Allied invasion of Nazi-controlled France (June 6, 1944).

Why did the US drop atomic bombs on Japan?

To force Japan to surrender and end WWII.

What was the Truman Doctrine?

U.S. policy to contain the spread of communism.

What was the Marshall Plan?

U.S. aid to help rebuild Europe after WWII.

What was the Korean War?

A Cold War conflict: North (communist) vs. South Korea (US-backed).

What was McCarthyism?

A fear-driven hunt for communists in America.

What was NATO?

A military alliance between the U.S. and Western Europe.

What was the Berlin Airlift?

U.S. flew supplies into West Berlin during a Soviet blockade.

What did Brown v. Board of Education rule?

School segregation is unconstitutional.

What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

Rosa Parks’ protest led to a boycott that ended bus segregation.

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do?

Banned discrimination in public places and employment.

What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?

Protected Black Americans’ right to vote.

Who was Malcolm X?

Civil rights leader who believed in Black pride and self-defense.

What was the Black Power Movement?

Emphasized pride, control of communities, and sometimes militancy.

What was the Great Society?

LBJ’s program to fight poverty and improve education and healthcare.

Why did people protest the Vietnam War?

The draft, TV coverage, and belief it was unjust.

What was the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)?

A failed attempt to constitutionally guarantee gender equality.

What was the Watergate scandal?

Nixon’s team spied on opponents; he covered it up and resigned in 1974.

What is Reaganomics?

Reagan’s policy of tax cuts, deregulation, and trickle-down economics.

What was the AIDS crisis?

A public health emergency in the 1980s, especially affecting the LGBTQ+ community.

What happened on September 11, 2001?

Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon; 3,000+ people died.

What was the Patriot Act?

Gave the U.S. government expanded powers to fight terrorism after 9/11.

What was the War on Terror?

U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq to fight terrorism post-9/11.

What is the Affordable Care Act (ACA)?

Obama’s health care law that expanded insurance coverage and banned pre-existing condition discrimination.

What was the Great Recession (2008)?

A major economic crisis caused by the housing market crash and bank failures.

What was the Wall Street Bailout?

Government money given to banks and businesses to prevent economic collapse.

Who was Sandra Day O’Connor?

The first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, appointed in 1981.