United States History Midterm 2026

problems in Jamestown

disease, lack of food, lack of work ethic needed to establish a colony in the wilderness, many were not used to hard labor, extended easy riches from Jamestown colony, only 38 of 150 survived (75%), no gold was discovered

who saves Jamestown?

John Smith

Powhatan Confederacy

a group of 10,000 who traded with English early on, and they saved Jamestown, and they later go to war

brown gold

tobacco, saves Jamestown in the early years, becomes America’s first cash crop

the Virginia Company

goals:

• establish north american territory

• find gold and silver

• find an interior passage in the pacific ocean

• harvest natural resources

indentured servants

A servant who has to work because they owe you money. They have to pay for transportation to America.

southern slavery

primarily used slaves on plantations to grow tobacco because it was very labor intensive

northern slavery

slaves were used in the house, for chores, not too much outside

joint stock companies

used to fund their trips to Jamestown, with approval from the king

new england colonies

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire

middle colonies

new jersey, new york, delaware, pennsylvania

southern colonies

virginia, south carolina, north carolina, georgia, maryland

navigation acts

a series of acts passed by Parliament to ensure that trade with the colonies all went to England and no other countries, also ensured a balance of trade

glorious revolution

This guaranteed basic English citizens with basic rights; it also established a mixed government (monarchy and republic), 1688

salutary neglect

a hands off policy that Britain had with the colonies, ended after the french and indian war

french and indian war

french built fort duquense on the ohio river valley, and the British wanted to own that

VA governor sent 22 year old Washington to defeat the french - but he was forced to surrender because the french overpowered

Britian sent their army in, which got them the victory

Proclamation of 1763

ended salutary neglect, and it also prohibited the colonists from expanding their land towards the ohio river valley

angered the colonists because they were heavily taxed because the British were in so much debt from the war

Boston Massacre

In March 1770 outside of the Boston custom house (where taxes are collected) colonists were throwing rocks and other small objects at the British army

It was starting to get very violent, so the British fired their rifles in self defense, killing 5 colonists

Samuel adams and others labeled this as the boston massacre - it was not really a massacre because the colonists used bias and propaganda to make people believe it was

sons of liberty

founded by samuel adams, they organized protests and other violent things to protest colonization

common sense

written by thomas paine, showed people why we needed the american revolution and why they needed to have common sense into fighting the war

persuasive essay that tried to convince people why the war was a good thing, and why we should not be colonists to england if colonists don’t have basic rights as english subjects

olive branch petition

the Second Continental Congress's final attempt in July 1775 to avoid war with Britain, affirming loyalty to King George III while seeking peaceful reconciliation and redress for colonial grievances, but the King rejected it, leading to the Declaration of Independence and open revolution

lexington & concord

• This was the first battle of the Revolutionary War

  • It was colonists versus the British

    • Colonists were determined to defend their land

  • We do not know who shot first

  • Paul Revere rode out to tell everyone the British were coming

    • Called “the shot heard round the world”

(study the other battles through the slideshow on the study guide, also main ones to know are there too)

treaty of paris (1783)

ended the american revolutionary war

continental army commander in chief (also first president)

George Washington

thomas jefferson

Leader of the Democratic Republican party - first secretary of state in Washington’s cabinet

Third president of the United States

alexander hamilton

First secretary of the treasury for Washington

Leader of the Federalist party

One of the leaders of the American Revolution - he had his own army

Wrote the Federalist papers

john adams

Second president of the United States

He was one of the many leaders of the American Revolution

samuel adams

Founder of the Sons of Liberty

He wrote the journal of occurrences - retold stories of what the British did in Massachusetts, when England had overtaken the colony right before the Revolution

henry knox

• First secretary of war for Washington 

  • He was really fat

patrick henry

He gave the speech of the Virginia Convention

He supported the American Revolution and wanted the USA to gain independence from England

edmund randolph

first attorney general under Washington’s administration

Articles of Confederation

• The first constitution of the United States

• Created a very weak central government - gave all power to the states

• Essentially was 13 sovereign states trying to work together to be a country

• National government could not collect taxes, the states had to contribute to the government (this was optional, so none of the states did it)

• Each state had one vote in the unicameral legislative assembly - this meant equal power and representation despite population differences between states

• Needed a supermajority to amend the articles (9 of 13 states) - hard to change

• Each state had their own trading system - made it hard to trade with other states if you did not have a port

shay’s rebellion

In 1786, a group of western Massachusetts farmers rebelled against tax collection in their state

Courthouses were closed down and other government buildings were closed to stop the collection of taxes

National government had no military, and no money for one - no executive branch to stop the crisis

This rebellion highlighted the weaknesses of the articles of confederation and its inability to stop the rebellion

Acted as a wake up call for the government officials to create a new Constitution

checks and balances

• When one branch of government acts as a check on the other to make sure they don’t become too powerful

  • Example, Legislative branch acts as a check on the executive branch

  • Judicial branch acts as a check on the legislative branch and executive branch

Supremacy Clause

The act that stated all laws, treaties, made under the constitution are supreme, and everyone must follow them

All government official papers are sovereign (the Constitution)

This clause was necessary after the articles of confederation because they made all states turn against each other, which resulted in the federal government being non-existent

The federal government has sovereign and supreme power

Presidents enforce laws, not the states

3/5 Compromise

South wanted slaves to be counted for representation in the elections, but not for taxes, the north wanted the opposite - because the north had a much smaller slave population than the south

The compromise was counting each slave as ⅗ of a person, so that the south would get their representation and taxes fairly

amendment 1

• Freedom of religion - congress cannot pass laws saying you cannot practice religion or have to be a specific religion

• Freedom of speech - the freedom to say whatever you want and the government cannot stop you within reason

  • If you threaten to commit a serious crime such as murder, they may step in

• Freedom to protest - you can peacefully protest against laws made in the national government - have a right to express your opinion

amdendment II

The right to bare arms

People can own weapons/guns

When making this amendment, purpose was for a militia

It's hard for states to pass gun laws because of the second amendment

amendment III

The government is not allowed to put soldiers or military officials in your home

No quartering amendment

amendment IV

Any government official or police official is not allowed to search your personal objects and items (car, home, etc.)

They cannot do this without a warrant - if they have one, it is legal

amendment V

VERY IMPORTANT

Someone cannot be put on trial unless the grand jury says there is enough evidence

Someone cannot be charged with the same crime twice - double jeopardy

You don’t have to be a witness against yourself - the right to remain silent “I plead the fifth”

Due to process rights - you have the right to go to court and defend yourself; the government cannot put you in jail without you defending yourself and having a proper lawyer and jury to judge you

amendment VI

Guaranteed rights in court prosecutions

Guarantees a right to a jury, calling witnesses to defend yourself

Criminal prosecutions - murder

Jail time is involved

Have the right to a jury

amendment VII

Guarantees a right to a jury in civil cases

Civil - being sued, losing money, the writing of prenups - no jail time involved

amendment VIII

• Punishment must fit the crime; no cruel and unusual punishment 

• Someone can give bail money to the government, but it is not required

  • Bail money is what can get you out of jail, the amount of money depends on the seriousness of the crime committed

• The death penalty could be given to someone who committed murder - used most in Texas

amendment IX

Just because an amendment is not written in the Constitution, that does not mean it doesn’t exist

Example: Rovey vs. Wade - SCOTUS said women had the right to have an abortion; later overturned in 2022 - now it is up to the states LA (Louisiana) banned them

amendment X

Has to do with federalism

This amendment was added as a concession to the antifederalists

Writes not explicitly given to the national government are left for the states to decide

Antifederalists liked this because it still gave some power to the states, but the national government had sovereignty over states

These laws are called state laws

NJ plan

Written by William Patterson

Favored smaller states

One house of representatives

Each state has equal representation

Similar to the articles of confederation

VA plan

Written by James Madison

Favored larger states

Two houses of congress

Representation based off population

Created a stronger National Government

the (Connecticut) great compromise

Called for a bicameral Congress

House of Representatives - Each state is represented according to its population (satisfied the VA plan)

Senate - each state has 2 senators (satisfied the NJ plan)

(both houses of congress must pass every law)

alien and sedation acts

proposed by John Adams while he was president

These laws allowed the president to deport people and jail immigrants, and people who criticized the administration and government

If a person was an immigrant from a country that the United States was at war with, the government had the legal right to deport them and/or put them in jail, just because they were from that country

Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer

Written by John Dickinson

He wrote it to protest British taxation, saying that under the Magna Carta Parliament was not allowed to levy taxes without colonial consent

He states that the 13 colonies were a part of England, so it was unfair that they were being taxed and the English citizens were not

bacon’s rebellion

Rebellion in Jamestown

Nathaniel Bacon was a wealthy white property owner and was a relative of the Virginia Governor William Berkley

Cause of Bacon's rebellion: didn’t like the colonies policy towards the Native Americans

Created a militia, which slaves and indentured servants joined because in exchange for joining, they earned freedom

Helped Bacon attack nearby tribes

Why this was a turning point: lawmakers made a distinct difference between white people and black people

Whites were protected under the law

Those of African descent were classified as hereditary slaves

the election of 1800

listen to the hamilton song

Bitter contest between Federalist John Adams and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson, resulting in an electoral tie between Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, due to the original Constitution's rules where electors cast two votes without distinction for President or VP

This tie sent the decision to the House of Representatives, which, after 36 ballots and Alexander Hamilton's intervention, elected Jefferson as President, marking the first peaceful transfer of power between opposing parties but also highlighting flaws that led to the 12th Amendment for separate ballots for President and VP

louisiana purchase

By 1799 the French Revolution had ended with Napoleon Bonaparte becoming dictator of France

In 1800 Napoleon was able to persuade Spain to return the Louisiana Territory which it had received from France in 1762

France had lost it’s wealthiest colony Haiti (then Saint-Domingue) to a slave revolution and needed money - they were willing to sell the Louisiana Territory to USA in order to make up for financial losses

Jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory for 15 million US Dollars in a treaty with France

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory more than doubled the size of the United States

the war of 1812

Britain used their navy (the world’s best) to not allow ships into France’s ports

As part of this blockade they began capturing American merchant ships bound for France

Britain also began a policy of impressment – forcing American sailors on captured ships to join the British Army.

Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807 which banned all American Trade with Europe hoping this would stop the seizing of American Ships and impressment

In 1809 a Confederacy of Native American Tribes under the leadership of the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh fought against American Expansion in the Indiana Territory

The Native Americans were defeated by the American Army lead by William Henry Harrison at the battle of Tippecanoe

The British supported Tecumseh and his warriors with arms and materials from their colony in Canada

In 1808 James Madison was elected President of the United States, and War is declared by Congress in June of 1812

The war was fought between 1812-1814 in British Canada and the United States

The British had also set up a naval blockade around America

In 1814 the British burned the White House and the Capitol building which forced President Madison to flee the city

Most Famously American General Andrew Jackson defeated the British at New Orleans

The Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1814 bringing about an armistice

In the years after America and Britain were able to negotiate shipping treaties and reopen trade between the two countries

The war created a strong sense of nationalism – Americans felt proud of their country

judicial branch

The supreme court - power to interpret the laws

legislative

Senate and the House of Reps - they have the power to tax, declare war, they have to approve all of the President’s appointments

executive

• The president and its cabinet 

  • They sign laws into order and commander in chief of the military

  • Make treaties 

  • Appoint cabinet members and supreme court justices (with approval from senate)

roger sherman

He represented Connecticut at the Constitutional Convention and all signings of papers

He was the only man to sign all of the major United States papers

Declaration of Independence

Constitution

Articles of confederation

ratification

The action of signing or giving formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it officially valid