US History I Exam Review

RAM

Where did the first humans who migrated to North America come from?

Northeastern Asia, specifically the region around Siberia, via the Beringia land bridge.

Why did early habitants in North America settle in villages?

Farming and food storage, cultivation of crops like maize, beans, and squash, social organization, cooperation, and protection.

Why were Native American tribes in North America so diverse?

Vast range of geographic regions, unique historical experiences, interactions with the environment, and interactions with each other and European settlers.

How did Native American cultures develop similarities and exchange of ideas?

Shared environmental influences and adaptations, similar geographic areas leading to comparable lifestyles (hunting, gathering, farming), use of natural resources.

What was the first European country to dominate overseas travel and exploration?

Portugal

Who were the first Europeans to travel to the Americas?

The Vikings, specifically the Norse explorers

What is the Columbian Exchange?

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and humans between the Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia) and the New World (the Americas) following Christopher Columbus's voyages in the late 15th century.

Why did so many Native Americans die following European colonization?

Disease, violence, and displacement.

What is a conquistador?

One that conquers; a leader in the Spanish conquest of America, especially of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century.

Who conquered the Aztecs?

Hernán Cortés

What cash crop ensured Jamestown's survival?

Tobacco

How were the Pilgrims and Puritans different? Why did they come to America?

Both were groups of English Protestants seeking religious freedom. Pilgrims settled Plymouth, while Puritans aimed to establish a framework for a just and ordered society based on their religious beliefs and values elsewhere.

Who settled Plymouth?

The Pilgrims

What was the greatest achievement of Puritan society?

Establishment of a framework for a just and ordered society based on their religious beliefs and values.

What was William Penn's religion?

Quaker

What English colonies took over the Dutch colony of New Netherlands?

New York

What is Mercantilism?

An economic policy where a nation seeks to increase its wealth and power by maximizing exports and minimizing imports.

What is the Middle Passage?

The second leg of the triangular trade, a transatlantic slave trade route, in which enslaved Africans were forcibly transported from Africa to the Americas.

How did the majority of enslaved Africans become slaves?

Captured and sold into slavery.

What two countries were involved in the French and Indian War?

France and the UK (Britain)

What were the results of the French and Indian War?

The UK won and took control of France and Canada.

What was the British attitude towards the colonists after the French and Indian War?

Resentment towards the colonists.

Why were colonists upset at the new policy of British taxation?

Bitterness and resentment, feeling they were being taxed without representation in the British Parliament.

What colonial feelings did the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party show?

Showed bitterness and resentment.

What happened at Lexington?

British troops marched into Lexington, aiming to seize colonial weapons and arrest Patriot leaders.

Who wrote Common Sense and what was its purpose?

Thomas Paine; to persuade colonists to support independence from British rule and advocate for a republican form of government.

What was the root cause of problems faced by the colonial military?

Lack of resources.

Why was George Washington selected as the leader of the Continental Army?

His military experience, his status as a prominent Virginian, and his perceived integrity and leadership qualities.

What was the significance of Saratoga?

Its crucial to the success of the American Revolution and the establishment of the US. Convinced France to ally with the US.

What was the significance of Yorktown?

Effectively ended the conflict and led to American Independence.

What was the first constitution of the U.S.?

Articles of Confederation

What was the biggest weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

Lack of a strong central government with limited power.

Who was the most influential figure in creating the Constitution?

James Madison

What were the terms of the Great Compromise?

Creating a bicameral legislature.

Who was counted for population purposes in the 3/5 Compromise?

Enslaved individuals, but only 3/5's

What was the biggest feud at the Constitutional Convention?

Large vs Small States on representation

Why were Checks and Balances put into the Constitution?

To prevent any single branch of government from being more powerful than another.

Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

To address concerns raised by Anti-Federalists who worried about the potential for tyranny by a strong national government.

What does the Supremacy Clause declare?

Ensuring that federal law takes precedence over state law when there is a conflict.

What were the causes of Shays’ Rebellion?

Economic hardship and debt crisis among farmers and war veterans.

What was the significance of the Whiskey Rebellion?

It was a tax protest that demonstrated the federal government’s ability to enforce its laws. This also proved that they could levy and enforce taxes through the use of military force.

What is Judicial Review?

The ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the constitution.

What was Hamilton’s greatest contribution to the American financial system?

Establishing a national bank and financial system.

What were the three components of Hamilton’s Financial Plan?

Assuming state debts, creating a national bank, and imposing tariffs.

What was the basis of Jefferson's Strict Construction argument?

The federal government only had powers explicitly granted in the constitution.

What was the most important precedent established by the presidency of G. W.?

The peaceful transfer of power.

What did the Alien and Sedition Acts restrict?

Immigration and freedom of speech and the press.

What was the significance of the Louisiana Purchase?

Doubled the size of the U.S. and opened new territories.

What was the purpose of the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

To explore the land gotten in the Louisiana Purchase and start relation with Native Americans.

What two countries fought in the War of 1812?

The U.S. and Britain

What issues caused the War of 1812?

British impressment of American sailors, trade restrictions imposed by Britain, and British support for Native American resistance.

What is the Monroe Doctrine?

U.S. foreign policy opposing European interference in the western hemisphere.

What did the Missouri Compromise establish?

Made a line which slavery was allowed under but wasn’t allowed above. Maine free state and Missouri a slave state.

What was the “Corrupt Bargain”?

The deal between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay where Clay would support Adams in order to become Secretary of State.

What was Andrew Jackson’s greatest political legacy?

His expansion of presidential power and the championing of the common man.

What is the Spoils System?

The practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs.

What was the purpose of the Indian Removal Act? Who benefitted?

Relocate Native American tribes from the southeastern to the lands west of the Mississippi river.

What is the Trail of Tears?

Forced removal of the Cherokee Nation from their lands in the southeastern United States to present-day Oklahoma, resulting in thousands of deaths.

What was the Whig campaign strategy for the election of 1840?

Focused on portraying William Henry Harrison as a common man and war hero.

What was the Erie Canal?

Man-made waterway that connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River

How did the cotton gin lead to an expansion in slavery?

It increased the efficiency of cotton processing, leading to an increased demand for slave labor.

What type of work did a vast majority of slaves on a southern plantation do?

Agriculture, primarily cultivating crops such as cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane.

What were three pro-slavery arguments?

Slavery was economically necessary for the South, the Bible sanctioned it, and African Americans were inferior.

What were ways African Americans resisted slavery?

They worked slowly, sabotaged equipment, running away, and rebelled.

What was the Second Great Awakening?

A period of widespread religious revival in the United States, primarily between 1790 and 1830, following the First Great Awakening.

What was the Temperance movement?

A social movement advocating for moderation or complete abstinence from alcohol, driven by the belief that alcohol consumption led to social problems such as crime, poverty, and family breakdown.

What did the Irish Potato Famine cause?

The famine caused catastrophic loss of life, a vast wave of emigration, deep economic restructuring, and a powerful boost to Irish nationalism.

What was the Seneca Falls Convention?

The first women’s rights convention in the United States, held on July 19–20, 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York. It marked the formal beginning of the organized women’s rights movement in America.

What was the Abolition movement?

A social and political campaign to end slavery, especially in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. It included a diverse group of activists—Black and white, men and women—who fought for the emancipation of enslaved people and the abolition of the slave trade.

Why was Frederick Douglass influential in the Abolition movement?

He used his powerful voice, writing, and personal story to expose the horrors of slavery and fight for freedom and equality

What was Manifest Destiny?

The 19th-century belief that the United States was destined—by God and by history—to expand westward across the North American continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

What was the Oregon Trail?

A historic 2,000-mile migration route used by pioneers in the 1800s to travel from Independence, Missouri, to the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest.

What was the most important legacy of the California Gold Rush?

The rapid population growth and economic development of California, which led to California becoming a U.S. state in 1850—just two years after gold was discovered.

Who were the 49ers?

The prospectors and fortune-seekers who rushed to California in 1849 after gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848.

Why was the Battle of the Alamo important to the Texas Revolution?

It became a symbol of heroic resistance and inspired Texans to keep fighting for independence from Mexico.

What was the main cause of the Mexican War?

A disputed boundary between the U.S. and Texas. Mexico didn't recognize Texas as legitimate American territory.

What were the results of the Mexican War?

The U.S. would win and gain a lot of land, the U.S. also paid 15m to the Mexican government for debts.

Who was James K. Polk?

11th President of the U.S.

What was the most significant political issue after the Mexican War?

The extension of slavery into the newly acquired territories and caused debates about the balance of power.

Which component of the Compromise of 1850 caused the most tension?

The Fugitive Slave Act, which led to widespread outrage and resistance.

Kansas-Nebraska Act: definition

The Act introduced the concept of popular sovereignty, allowing residents of the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide for themselves whether to permit slavery.

Why was Uncle Tom’s Cabin a cause of the Civil War?

Changing public perceptions of slavery, mobilizing the abolitionist movement, and exacerbating sectional tensions.

What is Popular Sovereignty?

A political doctrine that asserts that the authority of the government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives.

Ruling in Dred Scott v. Sanford: what did it establish?

African Americans could not be considered citizens of the United States and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court.

What was Lincoln's Main Concern for Fighting the Civil War?

Preserving the Union.

What was John Brown most famous for?

His abolitionist activities, especially his raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 to initiate an armed slave revolt.

What happened immediatly after the Election of 1860?

A wave of secessionist sentiment in the South.

Who was Robert E. Lee?

Commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

What was Lincoln’s main concern for fighting the Civil War initially?

Preserving the Union.

What happened at Fort Sumter?

Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter, marking the beginning of the Civil War.

What was the significance of 1st Bull Run?

It marked the first major battle of the American Civil War and shattered the North's expectation of a quick victory.

What was the significance of Antietam?

It halted the Confederate army's first invasion of the North, and it provided President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

What were the Border States?

Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia.

Where did Emancipation Proclamation free the slaves?

It applied to those states that had seceded from the United States: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, and North Carolina

Gettysburg: why was it a turning point?

The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point in the American Civil War.

Ulysses S. Grant: Who was he?

Known as the General of the Union Army.

William T. Sherman: What was his greatest contribution?

Sherman laid waist to the Confederacy. Sherman is famous for his march in Georgia.

Marks the beginning of the country’s transition out of slavery and into reunification..

Marked the beginning of the country’s transition out of slavery and into reunification.

What was the most significant achievement of the Civil War?

Marked the beginning of the country’s transition out of slavery and into reunification.

What is a Driver (from gang labor system on a plantation)?

An enslaved person assigned to supervise and enforce labor discipline on other enslaved laborers.