American History Study Guide

1. Constitution & Core Ideas

The Constitution created a system of federalism that divided power between state governments and the federal government. It included enumerated powers, which are powers specifically listed for Congress, while also allowing implied powers through the Elastic Clause. This flexibility allowed the government to adapt to changing conditions while still operating within constitutional limits. The Supremacy Clause established that federal law is the highest law of the land, meaning states cannot override national laws. Together, these ideas created a stronger and more balanced government than existed under the Articles of Confederation.

2. Quasi

War & Alien/Sedition Acts

3. Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine had two major goals: preventing new European colonies in the Americas and stopping European interference in independent nations of the Western Hemisphere. In return, the United States promised to stay out of European conflicts. The doctrine succeeded partly because Britain supported it with its powerful navy, helping discourage European intervention. Although it reflected growing American confidence, it was somewhat inconsistent with George Washington’s Farewell Address because Washington warned against becoming deeply involved in foreign affairs. The Monroe Doctrine marked a larger role for the United States in world affairs.

4. Filibusters & Manifest Destiny

Filibusters were private Americans who tried to take over foreign lands in places like Cuba and Latin America, often hoping to spread slavery and expand U.S. territory. Their actions were tied to Manifest Destiny, the belief that Americans were destined to expand across the continent. The painting American Progress shows settlers, railroads, and technology moving westward while Native Americans and wildlife retreat, symbolizing the idea of progress through expansion. Both filibusters and the painting demonstrate how many Americans viewed territorial growth as justified and inevitable.

5. Constitutional Crises of 1800 & 1840

The election of 1800 caused a constitutional crisis because Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied in electoral votes, forcing the House of Representatives to choose the president. The issue was resolved when Jefferson was selected after many ballots, leading to the creation of the 12th Amendment. In 1840, another crisis occurred when President William Henry Harrison died shortly after taking office. The Constitution did not clearly explain whether the vice president became acting president or full president, but John Tyler assumed full presidential powers, setting an important precedent for succession.

6. Charles Sumner & John Brown

Charles Sumner was an anti

7. Dred Scott & Freeport Doctrine

In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories. This decision declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and angered many Northerners. During the Lincoln

8. Secession & Causes of the Civil War

Southern states began seceding after Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election because they feared slavery would eventually be restricted or abolished. The deeper issue behind secession was the long conflict over slavery, states’ rights, and political power between North and South. President Buchanan did not stop the seceding states because he believed secession was illegal but also believed the federal government could not force states to remain in the Union. Not every Southern state seceded immediately because some border states had stronger economic ties to the North and depended less on slavery.

12th Amendment

Changed the electoral process so electors vote separately for president and vice president after the election of 1800 tie.

Adams

Onís Treaty

American Colonization Society

Organization that encouraged freed African Americans to move to Liberia in Africa.

American Progress

Painting by John Gast symbolizing Manifest Destiny and westward expansion.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments to the Constitution protecting individual freedoms.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent conflict between pro

John Brown

Radical abolitionist who led violent attacks against slavery, including Harpers Ferry.

Aaron Burr

Vice president who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel and was later accused of treason.

Henry Clay

“Great Compromiser” who helped create important compromises over slavery.

Compromise of 1850

Laws that admitted California as free and strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act.

Crittenden Compromise

Failed proposal to protect slavery and prevent Southern secession.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Supreme Court case protecting private contracts from state interference.

Dorothea Dix

Reformer who improved treatment of the mentally ill and prison conditions.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court case ruling African Americans were not citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in territories.

Enumerated Powers

Powers specifically listed in the Constitution for Congress.

Era of Good Feelings

Period of nationalism and political unity after the War of 1812.

Federalism

Sharing of power between state governments and the federal government.

Filibusters

Americans who tried to take over foreign lands for expansion and slavery.

First Party System

Political rivalry between Federalists and Democratic

Gadsden Purchase

1853 land purchase from Mexico used for a possible southern railroad route.

William Henry Harrison

President elected in 1840 who died after one month in office.

Hartford Convention

Meeting where Federalists discussed grievances during the War of 1812.

Indian Removal Act

Law that forced Native Americans west of the Mississippi River.

Andrew Jackson

Seventh president known for populism and Indian removal policies.

Jay Treaty

Treaty with Britain that avoided war and improved trade relations.

Kansas

Nebraska Act

Lincoln

Douglas Debates

Logan Act

Law preventing private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 purchase from France that doubled U.S. territory.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the United States was destined to expand westward.

Marbury v. Madison

Supreme Court case establishing judicial review.

Market Revolution

Growth of factories, transportation, and national markets in the early 1800s.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Court case supporting implied powers and federal supremacy.

Midnight Judges

Judges appointed by John Adams before leaving office.

Missouri Compromise

Agreement admitting Missouri as slave and Maine as free while limiting slavery expansion.

Monroe Doctrine

Policy warning Europe not to interfere in the Americas.

Nat Turner Rebellion

Slave uprising in Virginia that increased Southern fears of rebellion.

Nullification

Theory that states could reject unconstitutional federal laws.

Ostend Manifesto

Proposal suggesting the U.S. should acquire Cuba from Spain. Americas right “manifest destiny” to do so

Popular Sovereignty

Idea that settlers should decide whether slavery would exist in territories.

Porkopolis

Nickname for Cincinnati because of its pork

Secession

Withdrawal of a state from the Union.

Seneca Falls Convention

First major women’s rights convention in 1848.

Shakers

Religious group known for simple living, celibacy, and equality.

Shays’ Rebellion

Farmer uprising showing weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. occured from a severe postwar economic crisis, high taxes, and aggressive debt collection that threatened to imprison farmers and seize their land

Supremacy Clause

Constitutional principle that federal law is the highest law of the land.

Tariff of Abominations

It was a law passed in 1828 that placed a very high tax (tariff) on goods imported into the U.S. from other countries. its goal was Make foreign goods so expensive that Americans would buy cheaper American-made goods instead.

Tecumseh

Shawnee leader who united tribes against U.S. expansion. who forged a vast tribal confederacy to resist American expansion in the Old Northwest. Allied with the British in the War of 1812, he played a key role in capturing Detroit before dying at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813

Temperance

Movement encouraging reduced alcohol use or abstinence.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

ended the Mexican-American War, forcing Mexico to cede 55% of its territory

In 1794, thousands of farmers in western

Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, rose in rebellion in

what became known as what?

The Whiskey Rebellion

Whiskey Rebellion

Protest against the federal whiskey tax during Washington’s presidency.

What Congressional agreement maintained the

balance between slave and free states temporarily

by admitting Missouri and Maine simultaneously

The Missouri Compromise

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to ban slavery in territory gained from Mexico.

What Supreme Court case in the early 1800s served

to protect the sanctity of contracts and corporate

charters against state legislatures?

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Worcester v. Georgia

Supreme Court case protecting Cherokee territory from Georgia laws.

What Supreme Court case established the practice

of judicial review, in which the Supreme Court rules

on the constitutionality of acts of Congress

Marbury v. Madison

XYZ Affair

Diplomatic crisis where French agents demanded bribes from American diplomats. was caused by severe diplomatic tension stemming from France's anger over the 1795 Jay Treaty with Britain, leading to French seizure of American ships. In response to this, and seeking to negotiate a settlement, US envoys were confronted by French agents (X, Y, and Z) demanding bribes and a loan, prompting American outrage. 

In what Article of the Constitution is the “supremacy

clause” found?

Article IV

In 1830, Congress passed what piece of legislation

that called for the relocating of Native Americans

from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River

The Indian Removal Act

What principle, supported by John C. Calhoun,

argued a state could ignore a federal law with which

it disagreed?

Nullification

Andrew Jackson gained national fame for his

defense of what city during the War of 1812?

New Orleans

Who was the feminist abolitionist who helped

organize the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848?

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

In August 1831, in Southampton County, Virginia, a

slave revolt was led by what self-described Christian

prophet

Nat Turner

In 1854, the Ostend Manifesto said the U.S. should

attempt to buy what and if unsuccessful, it should

just take it?

Cuba

In 1853, Congress authorized the purchase of 30,000

square miles of territory from Mexico for the

Southern Pacific Railroad’s transcontinental railroad

route in what agreement?

Gadsden Purchase

John Gast painted American Progress as a depiction

of manifest destiny in what year?

1872

Made in 1846 as part of an amendment to an army

appropriations bill, what statement framed the

national debate over slavery for the next 15 years

The Wilmot Proviso

Michigan Democrat Lewis Cass was nominated for

the presidency in 1848 based in part on his support

for what policy?

Popular Sovereignty

In what 1857 Supreme Court case did the court rule

in such a way as to make slavery legal everywhere if

legal anywhere?

Dred Scott v. Sandford

The Crittenden Compromise suggested which of the

following to avoid a potential civil war

A permanent guarantee preserving slavery where

it already existed

What law passed as part of the Compromise of 1850

aroused considerable opposition in the North by

strengthening federal authority in certain cases

involving slaves?

Fugitive Slave Law

What was the 1854 law that allowed settlers in the

newly organized territories to the west and north of

Missouri to decide the slavery issue for themselves?

Kansas-Nebraska Act

What was the site of John Brown’s 1859 raid on a

U.S. armory and arsenal, which he intended to use

to arm slaves for a general insurrection

Harper’s Ferry

Powers expressly given to Congress (or the Federal

government, in general) in the Constitution are

called what?

Enumerated Powers

Signed in 1819, what agreement between the U.S.

and Spain resulted in the U.S. acquiring Florida

Adams-Onis Treaty

By the mid-19th century, what midwestern city was

known as “Porkopolis” because it was a major hub

of the meat-packing industry?

Cincinnati

Which two parties made up the First Party System

Federalists and Democratic-Republicans

Which of the following was considered one of the

most controversial and unpopular treaties in

American history?

Jay Treaty