American History - Eighth Grade Final (2021)

What made Jamestown significant in the development of an English-speaking United States?

Founded in 1607, first successful permanent English settlement in America. Thrived for nearly 100 years as the capital of the Virginia colony.

“Protestantism, the English language, English legal traditions - we trace the base of our culture back to England. If those things are important to you, then Jamestown is important to you”

Free enterprise - Jamestown was the first land of opportunity

Race relations - The formation of racism started in Jamestown with the way Native Americans and West Africans were treated

Democratic government - start of representative democratic government

Protestantism - First settlers tried to convert Native Americans, too

What was the purpose and construction of a joint-stock company?

A joint-stock company is a business owned by its investors, with each investor owning a share based on the amount of stock purchased. Joint-stock companies are created in order to finance endeavors that are too expensive for an individual or even a government to fund.

The Virginia Company was a joint-stock company founded in Jamestown with the goal of establishing a permanent English colony in America.

In an effort to emulate the Spanish, what did the original Jamestown colonists seek to do?

In 1606, the Virginia Company, a joint-stock company, was founded to establish a permanent English colony in North America with the goal to reap similar successes as the Spanish had done with their growing empire in parts of modern-day Mexico.

Find gold, but could not so grew tobacco.

Why was Roger Williams unacceptable to Puritan leaders?

Roger Williams was a similar threat. Two ideas got him into big trouble in Massachusetts Bay. First, he preached separation of church and state. He believed in complete religious freedom, so no single church should be supported by tax dollars. Massachusetts Puritans believed they had the one true faith; therefore such talk was intolerable. Second, Williams claimed taking land from the Native Americans without proper payment was unfair. In 1636, he purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and founded the colony of Rhode Island. Here there would be complete religious freedom. Dissenters from the English New World came here seeking refuge. Anne Hutchinson herself moved to Rhode Island before her fatal relocation to New York.

Why was Anne Hutchinson unacceptable to Puritan leaders?

Anne Hutchinson was a deeply religious woman. In her understanding of Biblical law, the ministers of Massachusetts had lost their way. She thought the enforcement of proper behavior from church members conflicted with the doctrine of predestination. She asked simply: "If God has predetermined for me salvation or damnation, how could any behavior of mine change my fate?" This sort of thinking was seen as extremely dangerous. If the public ignored church authority, surely there would be anarchy. The power of the ministers would decrease. Soon over eighty community members were gathering in her parlor to hear her comments on the weekly sermon. Her leadership position as a woman made her seem all the more dangerous to the Puritan order.

Why were Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson unacceptable to Puritan leaders?

America has long been a land where people have reserved the right to say, "I disagree." Many early settlers left England in the first place because they disagreed with English practice. Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were two brave souls who reminded everyone at their own great peril of that most sacred right.

Why did the slogan "no taxation without representation" become popular in the run-up to the American Revolution?

The phrase was used as a protest against imposing taxes on goods in high-demand. The colonists had no voice in government to argue against being taxed, which angered them further. The British insisted that since the colonists were under British rule, they were already being represented virtually through the parliament.

Taxation without representation is unfair because the people who are being taxed have no say in the matter. They are not heard by the government because nobody is there to defend their case, yet they are taxed anyways. An analogy to this would be a mediator only listening to one side of an argument, thereby making a decision only off of that side.

Following the French and Indian War, what types of products did Britain tax that originated in Britain but were sent to America, and who led this effort in GB?

The Townshend Acts, named after Charles Townshend, British chancellor of the Exchequer, imposed duties on British china, glass, lead, paint, paper and tea imported to the colonies. These particular items were chosen for taxation because Townshend thought they would be difficult things for the colonists to produce on their own.

As a result of the Boston Tea Party, the British government took severe measures to punish the colonists--what were these actions called and why?

The Boston Tea Party caused considerable property damage and infuriated the British government. Parliament responded with the Coercive Acts of 1774, which colonists came to call the Intolerable Acts.

The series of measures, among other things, repealed the colonial charter of Massachusetts and closed the port of Boston until the colonists reimbursed the cost of the destroyed tea. Parliament also appointed General Thomas Gage (1719-87), the commander in chief of British forces in North America, as the governor of Massachusetts.

What were two critical 1776 documents in the fight for independence?

"Common Sense" and the Declaration of Independence

"Common Sense." Thomas Paine moved many to the cause of independence with his pamphlet titled "Common Sense." In a direct, simple style, he cried out against King George III and the monarchical form of government.

The Declaration of Independence: When North Carolina and Virginia empowered their delegates to vote for American independence, Virginian Richard Henry Lee offered a resolution stating that the colonies "are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States." A committee was appointed to draft a declaration of independence, and Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write it. On July 2, Congress voted in favor of independence, and on July 4, the Declaration of Independence was approved. Copies were sent throughout the colonies to be read publicly.

Why would a correct list of events of the American Revolution NOT include the Battle of Gettysburg or the Gettysburg Address?

Because those events happened around the Civil War in the 1860s. The Battle of Gettysburg turned the tide of the CIVIL War not the American Revolution.

Which country became our most important foreign ally during the American Revolution?

FRANCE. During the American Revolution, the American colonies faced the significant challenge of conducting international diplomacy and seeking the international support it needed to fight against the British. The single most important diplomatic success of the colonists during the War for Independence was the critical link they forged with France. Representatives of the French and American governments signed the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce on February 6, 1778.

What initial national government was limited by its inability to tax and rules about unanimous consent?

Articles of Confederation

What legislative steps are required for a bill to become a law?

Laws begin as ideas. First, a representative sponsors a bill. The bill is then assigned to a committee for study. If released by the committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated or amended. If the bill passes by simple majority (218 of 435), the bill moves to the Senate. In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and, if released, debated and voted on. Again, a simple majority (51 of 100) passes the bill. Finally, a conference committee made of House and Senate members works out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval. The Government Printing Office prints the revised bill in a process called enrolling. The President has 10 days to sign or veto the enrolled bill.

What were the plans endorsed by smaller and larger states at the Constitutional Convention called?

The Great Compromise was forged in a heated dispute during the 1787 Constitutional Convention: States with larger populations wanted congressional representation based on population, while smaller states demanded equal representation.

What compromise emerged and what was it called?

The Connecticut Compromise

How is power divided between states and the federal government, what powers overlap, and what is this system of shared power called?

Federalism. The difference between the federal government and state government is that the federal government has the power or the authority to regulate the different states of the nation, and on the contrary, the state government has the power to regulate within the boundaries of the state in which it is governing, and it simply means that the state government will serve the citizens residing in its state.

Which branch of government is empowered by the Constitution to write the laws and why?

Congress, as one of the three coequal branches of government, is ascribed significant powers by the Constitution. All legislative power in the government is vested in Congress, meaning that it is the only part of the government that can make new laws or change existing laws.

Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and what is his/her/their job?

The President is (1) chief of state, (2) chief executive, (3) chief administrator, (4) chief diplomat, (5) commander in chief, (6) chief legislator, (7) party chief. His job is to execute the laws.

What are the "five freedoms" of the First Amendment?

The five freedoms it protects: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Together, these five guaranteed freedoms make the people of the United States of America the freest in the world.

Why can people own and use firearms in the United States?

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives Americans the right to bear arms.

What must a police officer obtain in advance of searching or seizing materials if refused entry?

A warrant.

Which of the two leading members of Washington's Cabinet favored a "loose construction" of the Constitution and how did this vision manifest itself policy-wise?

Hamilton

Which two men fought over the establishment of a national bank (and rapped against one another in Cabinet Battles 1 & 2)?

Hamilton and Jefferson

What were the names of America's first two political parties and who headed each one?

The Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.

In suppressing the Whiskey Rebellion, what point did Washington wish to make about the power of the federal government?

Washington considered it important to put down the Whiskey Rebellion, because if he didn't, it might undermine the new government and weaken its authority. ... they found it in a theory that the federal government could not violate.

How do you think indigenous peoples saw American efforts at western expansion?

As American settlers pushed westward, they inevitably came into conflict with Indian tribes that had long been living on the land. ... The result was devastating for the Indian tribes, which lacked the weapons and group cohesion to fight back against such well-armed forces.

In the wake of the XYZ Affair, what measures did the Federalist Party turn to in an effort to silence dissent?

Rallying behind the anti-French sentiment in the wake of the XYZ Affair, in June and July 1798 the Federalists of Congress passed four acts of legislation known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The laws were intended to suppress both alien and domestic subversives, people who opposed the federal government.

Which SCOTUS case gave birth to the idea of "judicial review?"

Marbury v Madison

What land acquisition was the high point of Thomas Jefferson's administration and whom did he send to explore it?

The Louisiana Purchase. President Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore west of the Mississippi River in 1804 — though the land was already inhabited and politically complicated.

In the wake of revolutions in South America, what foreign policy principle did the United States assert?

Although initially disregarded by the great powers of Europe, the Monroe Doctrine became a mainstay of U.S. foreign policy. In 1823 U.S. President James Monroe proclaimed the U.S. protector of the Western Hemisphere by forbidding European powers from colonizing additional territories in the America

In vetoing more bills than all his predecessors combined, and being pilloried as a despot, how did Andrew Jackson transform the office of the presidency?

Andrew Jackson changed the presidency by shifting the base of political power from its stronghold in the east to the western frontier of Tennessee. Also, unlike previous presidents, he did not defer to Congress in policy making, but used his party leadership and presidential veto to maintain absolute power.

What transformation in voting rights provided a great political boost to Andrew Jackson?

Jackson's expansion of democracy was largely limited to European Americans, and voting rights were extended to adult white males only.

Not only did he get almost 70 percent of the votes cast in the electoral college, popular participation in the election soared to an unheard of 60 percent. This more than doubled the turnout in 1824; Jackson clearly headed a sweeping political movement.

Building off of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, what principle did John C. Calhoun argue empowered South Carolina to reject federal tariffs?

Calhoun built his argument for South Carolina's right to block the imposition of federal tariffs on the doctrine of nullification espoused by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, respectively, in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions passed by the legislatures of those states in 1798.

What was the name given to the forced removal of indigenous peoples of the Southeast?

The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation during the 1830s of Indigenous peoples of the Southeast region of the United States (including the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole, among others) to the so-called Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

What political party drew members from myriad corners of the country with only their opposition to Andrew Jackson in common?

The Whig Party was a political party formed in 1834 by opponents of President Andrew Jackson and his Jacksonian Democrats.

Why was Jackson criticized?

His image as a military hero and man of the people made him a popular choice for the presidency. But critics said Jackson did not accept any limits on his power. He is also remembered for supporting slavery, and for forcing Native Americans from their homes.

What was the direct result of Eli Whitney's cotton gin with respect to the enslavement of Black people?

In 1793, Eli Whitney revolutionized cotton production when he invented the cotton gin, a device that separated the seeds from raw cotton. Suddenly, a process that was extraordinarily labor-intensive could be completed quickly and easily. By the early 1800s, cotton emerged as the South’s major cash crop—a good produced for commercial value instead of for use by the owner. Cotton quickly eclipsed tobacco, rice, and sugar in economic importance.

With the invention of the cotton gin, cotton became the cash crop of the Deep South, stimulating increased demand for enslaved people from the Upper South to toil the land.

As the disparity between plantation owners and poor white people widened in the Deep South, deeply entrenched racism blurred perceived class divides.

The slave economy of the South had international economic reach since the majority of cotton was sold abroad; it connected the United States to the international marketplace.

What 1820 compromise involving Maine and Missouri temporarily (but hardly permanently) quieted Jefferson's "firebell in the night" regarding slavery?

In 1820, amid growing sectional tensions over the issue of slavery, the U.S. Congress passed a law that admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while banning slavery from the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands located north of the 36º 30’ parallel.

The Missouri Compromise, as it was known, would remain in force for just over 30 years before it was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled the compromise unconstitutional in the Dred Scott case, setting the stage for the nation’s final path toward the Civil War.

Pretty much kicking the can down the road.

What did John L. O'Sullivan claim Americans had a "God-given right" to do and what catchphrase came to summarize this feeling?

Manifest Destiny was the idea that the U.S. was destined to occupy all the land between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The background for Manifest Destiny originated with the complex events in Texas. In 1836, Texans routed an army led by the Mexican leader Santa Anna in an attempt to regain Texas for Mexico. Texas now sought annexation by the U.S., but given the hot button issue of slavery, the U.S. refused to bring it into the Union. So, Texas became an independent republic.

Ten years later, Santa Anna returned to power. War broke out between the U.S. and Mexico in 1846, and calls for annexation returned in full force.

John O'Sullivan and Manifest Destiny

This is where John O'Sullivan, the journalist who first coined the term 'manifest destiny' comes in. It was in the July-August 1845 issue of the Democratic Review. He wrote an editorial titled 'Annexation,' in which he forcefully advocated for the annexation of Texas. He wrote of 'the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.'

He used the same expression in an 1847 editorial in another paper, where he wrote: “And that claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent, which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us.”

For O'Sullivan, Manifest Destiny was rooted in America's God-given right to spread across the continent, accompany its vast landscape, subdue its backward inhabitants, and bring civilization to its people. Despite his boast of destiny, there were contrasting opinions of his vision.

What states joined the US as a result of America's victory in the Mexican-American War?

Following the defeat of the Mexican army and the fall of Mexico City, in September 1847, the Mexican government surrendered and peace negotiations began. The war officially ended with the February 2, 1848, signing in Mexico of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as America’s southern boundary. In return, the United States paid Mexico $15 million and agreed to settle all claims of U.S. citizens against Mexico.

As a result of the Gold Rush, what type of state (free or slave) did California enter the Union as in 1850?

In February of 1848, Mexico and the United States signed a treaty which ended the Mexican War and yielded a vast portion of the Southwest, including present day California, to the United States. Several days earlier, January 24, 1848, gold had been discovered on the American River near Sacramento, and the ensuing gold rush hastened California’s admittance to the Union. With the Gold Rush came a huge increase in population and a pressing need for civil government.

In 1849, Californians sought statehood and, after heated debate in the U.S. Congress arising out of the slavery issue, California entered the Union as a free, nonslavery state by the Compromise of 1850.

California became the 31st state on September 9, 1850. The Golden State’s rich history has since been shaped by people of every ethnic background who traveled here seeking economic, social and educational opportunity, and a life of quality and breathtaking beauty.

California situated its first capital in San Jose.

What did the "Compromise of 1850" require northerners to do with respect to enslaved persons?

Passed on September 18, 1850 by Congress, The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the Compromise of 1850. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves.

What issue divided the country more than any other in the 1850s?

Who won and who lost in the Compromise of 1850? Although each side received benefits, the north seemed to gain the most. The balance of the Senate was now with the free states, although California often voted with the south on many issues in the 1850s. The major victory for the south was the Fugitive Slave Law. In the end, the north refused to enforce it. Massachusetts even called for its nullification, stealing an argument from John C. Calhoun. Northerners claimed the law was unfair. The flagrant violation of the Fugitive Slave Law set the scene for the tempest that emerged later in the decade. But for now, Americans hoped against hope that the fragile peace would prevail.

What literature helped persuade people of the evils of enslavement and who wrote it?

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S., and is said to have "helped lay the groundwork for the [American] Civil War.”

Stowe, a Connecticut-born woman of English descent, was part of the religious Beecher family. A teacher at the Hartford Female Seminary and an active abolitionist, she featured the character of Uncle Tom in the novel, a long-suffering black slave around whom the stories of other characters revolve. The sentimental novel depicts the reality of slavery while also asserting that Christian love can overcome slavery. The title page illustrates a modest log cabin inhabited by a black family.

Uncle Tom's Cabin was the best-selling novel and the second best-selling book of the 19th century, following the Bible. It is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist cause in the 1850s.[9] In the first year after it was published, 300,000 copies of the book were sold in the United States; one million copies were sold in Great Britain.

What resulted in the middle of the country from "popular sovereignty" starting in the mid-1850s?

Popular sovereignty was seen as a political middle ground on the issue of slavery. Slavery had a disruptive impact on the traditional political parties and immediately caused political transformation in the mid-1850s.

Which 1850s political party was created to "stop the expansion of slavery in America?"

The Republican Party, often called the GOP (short for “Grand Old Party”) is one of two major political parties in the United States. Founded in 1854 as a coalition opposing the extension of slavery into Western territories, the Republican Party fought to protect the rights of African Americans after the Civil War. Today’s GOP is generally socially conservative, and favors smaller government, less regulation, lower taxes and less federal intervention in the economy.

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories of the United States.

In 1854, opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which would permit slavery in new U.S. territories by popular referendum, drove an antislavery coalition of Whigs, Free-Soilers, Americans and disgruntled Democrats to found the new Republican Party, which held its first meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin that May. Two months later, a larger group met in Jackson, Michigan, to choose the party’s first candidates for statewide office.

The Republican goal was not to abolish slavery in the South right away, but rather to prevent its westward expansion, which they feared would lead to the domination of slaveholding interests in national politics.

Why did the Dred Scott case provoke BOTH "northern outrage" and "southern joy"?

The Dred Scott case, also known as Dred Scott v. Sandford, was a decade-long fight for freedom by a Black enslaved man named Dred Scott. The case persisted through several courts and ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, whose decision incensed abolitionists, gave momentum to the anti-slavery movement and served as a stepping stone to the Civil War.

The Dred Scott Decision outraged abolitionists, who saw the Supreme Court’s ruling as a way to stop debate about slavery in the territories. The divide between North and South over slavery grew and culminated in the secession of southern states from the Union and the creation of the Confederate States of America. The Emancipation Proclamation of September 22, 1862 freed enslaved people living in the Confederacy, but it would be another three years until Congress passed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States.

What action did a large number of southern states take in the wake of Lincoln's election?

The force of events moved very quickly upon the election of Lincoln. South Carolina acted first, calling for a convention to secede from the Union. State by state, conventions were held, and the Confederacy was formed. Within three months of Lincoln's election, seven states had seceded from the Union.

South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union, on December 20, 1860. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. In the wake of Lincoln's election, 11 Southern states seceded from the Union to protect what they saw as their right to keep slaves. These states organized as the Confederate States of America.