U.S. History Final

Who were the Mississippians?

A mound-building Native civilization known for large cities like Cahokia and complex trade networks.

What was Cahokia?

The largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico, center of Mississippian culture.

What allowed population growth in ancient American societies?

Agriculture, especially maize cultivation.

What was the Columbian Exchange?

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old and New Worlds after 1492.

Which empire used the encomienda system?

The Spanish Empire.

What was the most devastating impact of European arrival on Natives?

Disease epidemics.

What was the primary cash crop of the Chesapeake?

Tobacco.

What was indentured servitude?

A contract system where laborers worked to pay off passage to the colonies.

Why was New England's economy more diverse?

Small farms, trade, shipbuilding, and fishing.

What was the First Great Awakening?

A religious revival movement in the 18th century that emphasized individual piety and a personal relationship with God.

What was salutary neglect?

A British policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws in the American colonies to allow colonial autonomy

What caused the American Revolution?

Taxation w/o representation, Enlightenment ideas, and increasing British control

What document justified independence using natural rights?

The Declaration of Independence

What was the main impact of the French and Indian War?

Increased British debt, leading to higher taxes in the colonies and strained British-colonial relations.

Main weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

Lack of a strong central government, leading to difficulties in enforcing laws, taxing, or regulating commerce.

What event exposed the Articles as too weak?

Shay’s Rebellion

What was Shay’s Rebellion?

an uprising in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787 where indebted farmers, led by Daniel Shays, protested high taxes and debt collection. The weak federal government under the Articles of Confederation couldn't effectively respond, highlighting the need for a stronger national government.

What solved representation disputes during the Constitutional Convention?

The Great Compromise

What was the Constitutional Convention?

A meeting held in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787, where 55 delegates drafted the United States Constitution. Originally called to revise the Articles of Confederation.

What was the Great Compromise?

An agreement during the Constitutional Convention that created a bicameral Congress with a House of Representatives based on state population and a Senate with equal representation for all states.

What was the Market Revolution?

A period in the 19th century that transformed the American economy from one based on subsistence farming and household production to one of a national, market-based economy

What did the Market Revolution transform?

Transportation (steamboats, canals, and railroads), industry, factory labor, and national markets

What is the significance of the Erie Canal?

It linked the Great lakes to markets, transforming trade.

What was the Second Great Awakening?

A religious movement that focused on individual salvation and fueled major reform movements. 

What reforms grew out of the Second Great Awakening?

Abolition, temperance, education, and woman's rights.

Who is Andrew Jackson?

Andrew Jackson was the seventh U.S. President and an influential, controversial figure who expanded presidential power and is known for the "Jacksonian Democracy" era.

What characterized Jacksonian Democracy?

Expanded white male suffrage and populist politics

What is Polpulism?

A political movement, primarily in the late 19th century, that advocated for farmers and the working class against a perceived elite of bankers and big business

Why did President Andrew Jackson oppose the National Bank?

He argued it favored rich financiers over common citizens, had too many foreign stockholders, and concentrated too much power in the hands of a few private individuals. 

Did Andrew Jackson support states rights or a strong federal government?

He generally favored states' rights but asserted a strong federal government to preserve the Union (Nullification Crisis)

What was the Nullification Crisis?

A confrontation between the state of South Carolina and the federal government in 1832–1833 over tariffs that the state declared null and void within its borders.

What was the Indian Removal Act?

United States law signed by President Andrew Jackson that authorized the president to negotiate with Native American tribes for their removal from lands east of the Mississippi River to territory west of the river. Led to the trail of tears. 

What was King Cotton?

The idea that cotton dominated southern economy and politics

How did enslaved people resist slavery?

Through rebellion, sabotage, culture, religion, and community.

What did the Manifest Destiny Claim?

American’s were destined by god to expand westward

What war resulted from territorial expansion?

The Mexican-American War.

What was the Mexican-American War?

A conflict between the United States and Mexico, sparked by the U.S. annexation of Texas and a dispute over the border along the Rio Grande, that resulted in the U.S. acquiring vast territories in the West

What was the Missouri Compromise?

An agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and banning slavery north of the 36-30 line.

What did the Kansas Nebraska Act do?

Repealed the Missouri compromise by creating two new territories (Kansas and Nebraska) and applying the principle of popular sovereignty within these territories. This led to pro- and anti-slavery settlers rushed into Kansas, resulting in "Bleeding Kansas,"

What was the Dred Scott Decision?

Ruled that African Americans were not citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court. The ruling also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. 

What was the main cause of the civil war?

Slavery and disputes over its expansion/

What was the battle of Antietam?

The bloodiest civil war battle and deadliest day in American history. It was General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the north, in which the north won.

What battle allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

The battle of Antietam

What was the battle of Gettysburg?

a major three-day battle civil war battle It resulted in a Union victory, ending Confederate General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North.

Why was Gettysburg a turning point of the civil war?

It was the last major invasion of the north, ending confederate invasions.

What did the 13th Amendment do?

Abolish Slavery

What did the 14th Amendment do?

It established birthright citizenship, guaranteed due process of law, and ensured equal protection of the laws for all citizens.

What did the 15th Amendment do?

It prohibited states from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race.

Who resisted Reconstruction?

KKK, Southern Democrats, and white supremicist groups.

Federalist Party

First political party in the U.S, advocating for a strong central government and the ratification of the Constitution.

Democratic-Republican Party

Emerged as opponents to the Federalists, favoring states' rights and an agrarian society. (Jeffersonian democracy) This party eventually split, leading to the modern Democratic Party.

Whig Party

Party that opposed Andrew Jackson, favored a strong government that supported economic expansion through a national bank and paper currency. Split over the issue of slavery, which led to its collapse.

Republican Party

Formed with an anti-slavery platform and became one of the two dominant parties after the Civil War.

Populist Party

advocated for farmers and laborers

Free Soil Party

Political party that merged into the Republican. Focused on opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories of the United States.

Anti-Masonic Party

Believed that Freemasonry was a corrupt, elitist secret society that secretly controlled government and was a threat to republican principles. Became part of the Whig Party

What was the Gilded age?

A period in U.S. history marked by rapid industrialization, economic growth, and an appearance of prosperity masking political corruption, vast wealth inequality, and social turmoil.

Why did unions form?

To protest poor working conditions, low wages, and long hours.

What natural rights did the Declaration of Independence emphasize?

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?

To formally announce and justify the separation of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain based off of enlightenment ideals.

Why did the Articles of Confederation Fail?

They created a weak central government with no power to tax, enforce laws, or raise an army, leading to financial instability and inability to address internal or external threats.

What was drafted in the U.S. Constitution to help solve conflicts between small and big states?

The Great Compromise: house by state population, a senate for equal representation. 

What are the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution? 

The Bill of Rights

What are the Bill of Rights?

A list of Americans' rights in relation to their government.

What does the 1st Amendment protect?

Right to free speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition.

What does the 4th Amendment protect?

Protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures

What were the Federalist Papers?

A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to persuade citizens of New York to ratify the newly drafted U.S. Constitution

What does Faction No. 10 say?

It argues that a large and diverse republic is better at controlling "factions" (groups with special interests) by making it harder for any single group to dominate and oppress others.

What does Federalist No. 51 say?

It argues the the government must use a system of checks and balances as well as separation of powers too prevent any single branch of government from becoming too powerful

What is the Gettysburg Address?

A speech by Abraham Lincoln that honored the soldiers who died in the Civil War.

What main idea did Lincoln emphasize in his Gettysburg Address?

That the Civil War was a test of America's founding principles of equality and liberty, and the sacrifices of the soldiers were a call to action to preserve the Union and ensure a "new birth of freedom" for the nation.

What was MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail?

A letter where King defends his strategy of nonviolent direct action against a group of clergymen who called his protests "untimely," and argues that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

What is MLK’s argument about unjust laws in his letter?

That people have a moral duty to break unjust laws peacefully.

What makes GA’s Bill of Rights different to the U.S. Constitution?

It includes explicit privacy rights and stronger individual protections. 

Mercantalism

Economic system where colonies serve the mother country.

Popular Sovereignty

Allowing territories to vote on slavery

Abolitionism

Movement to end slavery

Sharecropping

Labor System trapping freedpeople in debt

Jim Crow Laws

System of state and local segregation / disenfranchisement laws.

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states immediately after the Civil War to control the labor and behavior of newly freed African Americans. They granted some rights like marriage and property ownership but denied others like the right to vote, serve on juries, or testify against whites

Disenfranchisement

Removal of the right to vote