1st Semester Interim Study Guide

Flashcards covering key concepts from the 1st semester interim study guide.

What was mercantilism?

An economic policy where European countries created colonies to obtain resources and aimed to export more than they imported to maximize profit.

What geographic advantages did the Southern Colonies have?

The Southern Colonies had a warm climate, long growing seasons, fertile soil, and developed plantations for cash crops.

What was the first permanent English settlement in America?

Jamestown.

What were the main economic activities in the New England colonies?

Lumber, ship building, whaling, fishing, and trade due to the harsh climate and rocky soil.

What characterized the Middle Colonies' economy?

Moderate growing seasons and navigable rivers, leading to a focus on trade.

What was the Middle Passage?

The journey from Africa to the Americas that transported enslaved Africans as part of the triangular trade.

What was Salutary Neglect?

The British policy that allowed the American colonies to develop independently and form their own governments.

What was the Great Awakening?

A religious revival in the colonies that encouraged colonists to challenge traditional authority.

What was the outcome of the French & Indian War?

England won and gained control over more land in North America, leading to increased debt and stricter enforcement of laws and taxes.

What was the Proclamation Line of 1763?

A law forbidding colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

How did colonists react to the Stamp Act?

They harassed tax collectors and organized boycotts of British goods.

What were the Intolerable Acts?

A series of punitive measures passed after the Boston Tea Party, including closing Boston Harbor and increasing British military presence.

Who wrote 'Common Sense' and what was its purpose?

Thomas Paine wrote it to persuade colonists to support independence from England.

Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson.

What was Shays' Rebellion?

An uprising that highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, particularly the inability of Congress to maintain order.

What was the Great Compromise?

A combination of the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan that established a bicameral legislature in Congress.

What is the Bill of Rights?

The first ten amendments to the Constitution that guarantee individual rights.

What major act did Thomas Jefferson sign as president?

The Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States.

What was the Monroe Doctrine?

A policy warning European nations to stay out of the Western Hemisphere.

What was the significance of the Indian Removal Act?

It was the forced relocation of Native Americans to the west, resulting in suffering and death, exemplified by the Trail of Tears.

What was Henry Clay's American System?

A plan to improve travel and trade across the United States through the construction of roads and canals.