AP US History Comprehensive Review

A complete set of practice flashcards covering AP US History periods 1 through 9, including key events, legislation, and social movements.

What characterized the diversity of Native American societies prior to European contact?

Societies were diverse based on region, such as the Pueblo in the Southwest focusing on agriculture, the Iroquois in the Northeast forming a confederacy, and the Plains Indians being nomadic bison hunters.

What were the primary items exchanged from the Old World to the New World in the Columbian Exchange?

Horses, wheat, and diseases such as smallpox.

What was the primary cause of the Native American population collapse after European contact?

Disease, which killed up to $90\%$ of Natives, far more than warfare.

What was the purpose of the Encomienda system and the Casta system in Spanish colonies?

The Encomienda was a system of forced Native labor, while the Casta system was a racial hierarchy.

Compare the economic and labor systems of the New England and Southern colonial regions.

New England focused on fish and timber using family farms and town meetings; the South focused on rice and indigo using enslaved Africans and a planter elite.

What was the significance of Bacon's Rebellion in $1676$?

It involved poor whites versus elites and led to a shift from indentured servitude to enslaved labor.

Define 'Mercantilism' and its relation to the Navigation Acts.

Mercantilism is the belief that colonies exist to enrich the mother country; the Navigation Acts were passed to restrict colonial trade to support this goal.

How did 'Salutary Neglect' impact colonial governance?

Britain loosely enforced trade laws, allowing colonists to develop habits of self-government.

What were the major intellectual and religious movements that shaped the colonies in the $1730\text{s}$ and $1740\text{s}$?

The Great Awakening (religious revival challenging authority) and the Enlightenment (focusing on natural rights and social contracts, like those of Locke).

What was the internal outcome of the French \& Indian War ($1754-63$) for Britain?

Britain won but incurred massive debt, which ended salutary neglect and led to the imposition of taxes.

What was the significance of Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' ($1776$)?

It provided a plain-language case for independence from the monarchy.

What were the key turning points and final victories of the American Revolution?

Saratoga ($1777$) was the turning point that won the French alliance, and Yorktown ($1781$) was the final victory.

What were the primary weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

It created a weak central government with no tax power and no executive branch, as exposed by Shays' Rebellion.

How did Federalists and Anti-Federalists differ regarding the Constitution?

Federalists (Hamilton, Madison) wanted a strong national government and ratification as-is; Anti-Federalists (Henry, Mason) wanted weak central/strong state power and a Bill of Rights.

What was the significance of the Whiskey Rebellion ($1794$)?

It tested federal authority and proved the power of the government when Washington crushed the rebellion.

What did the Supreme Court establish in Marbury v. Madison ($1803$)?

It established judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to strike down laws.

What was the Monroe Doctrine ($1823$)?

A policy asserting no further European colonization in the Western Hemisphere.

What was the 'Market Revolution' of the early $19\text{th}$ century?

A shift from subsistence to a market economy fueled by canals (Erie $1825$), railroads, and factories like those in the Lowell system.

What was the outcome of the Seneca Falls Convention ($1848$)?

The Declaration of Sentiments, authored by Stanton and Mott, launched the women's suffrage movement.

Identify the three parts of the Missouri Compromise ($1820$).

Missouri entered as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and the $36^{\circ}30'$ line divided future territories.

What did the Dred Scott decision ($1857$) rule regarding enslaved people?

It ruled that enslaved people were not citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in territories.

What were the constitutional protections of the $13\text{th}$, $14\text{th}$, and $15\text{th}$ Amendments?

The $13\text{th}$ abolished slavery, the $14\text{th}$ granted citizenship and equal protection, and the $15\text{th}$ granted Black male suffrage.

Compare Vertical and Horizontal Integration in Gilded Age industry.

Vertical integration (Carnegie) is controlling all stages of production; horizontal integration (Rockefeller) is buying out competitors.

What was the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson ($1896$)?

It established the 'separate but equal' doctrine, legalizing Jim Crow segregation.

What were the '3 Rs' of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal?

Relief (CCC, FERA), Recovery (AAA, NRA), and Reform (SEC, Social Security, Wagner Act).

Define the Cold War policy of 'Containment.'

The strategy to stop Soviet expansion without direct war, implemented through the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and NATO.

What was the significance of the Voting Rights Act of $1965$?

It was designed to protect voting rights for Black Americans by ending discriminatory practices.

What were the key pillars of the Reagan Revolution in the $1980\text{s}$?

Tax cuts, deregulation, anti-union actions (PATCO), and a military buildup against the USSR.