CLEP US History I: High-Yield "Trap" Cards

Quote: "We shall be as a city upon a hill..."

John Winthrop (Puritanism).
⚠ TRAP: Not Manifest Destiny; it's about being a religious example.

Quote: "It is not right that a small island should rule a large continent."

Thomas Paine (Common Sense).
⚠ TRAP: Not Jefferson; Paine used "common man" language to push for independence.

The Great Compromise reached at the Constitutional convention resulted in

the establishment of a legislature of 2 houses, House of Representatives based on population and a senate with equal representation among states

Quote: "The power to tax involves the power to destroy."

McCulloch v. Maryland (John Marshall).
⚠ TRAP: Not about the Revolution; it's about the National Bank & Federal power.

Quote: "Remember the Ladies..."

Abigail Adams (Revolutionary Era).
⚠ TRAP: Not Seneca Falls (1848); this was a private letter during the Revolution.

Quote: "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it..."

Abraham Lincoln (Letter to Greeley).
⚠ TRAP: Proves his goal was Preserving the Union, not immediate abolition.

Case: Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Judicial Review.
⚠ TRAP: The Court didn't "make" laws; it got the power to declare them unconstitutional.

Case: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Slaves are Property / No Citizenship.
⚠ TRAP: It actually made the Missouri Compromiseunconstitutional.

Event: Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

Indentured Servants vs. Elite (VA).
⚠ TRAP: Not Shays' Rebellion; this happened in the Colonial era.

Event: Shays’ Rebellion (1786)

Debt-ridden Farmers vs. Gov.
⚠ TRAP: This happened after the Revolution and led to the Constitution.

Act: Missouri Compromise (1820)

36°30' Line (Maine free, Missouri slave).
⚠ TRAP: The Fugitive Slave Act belongs to the 1850 Compromise, not this.

Act: Compromise of 1850

CA is free / Strict Fugitive Slave Law.
⚠ TRAP: This ended the 36°30' balance and angered the North.

Policy: Proclamation of 1763

No settlement West of Appalachians.
⚠ TRAP: It wasn't to protect Indians; it was to save the British money after the war.

Policy: Monroe Doctrine (1823)

No European colonization in Americas.
⚠ TRAP: The US didn't have the navy to enforce it; Britain actually backed it up

Event: Stono Rebellion (1739)

South Carolina Slave Revolt.
⚠ TRAP: Led to stricterslave codes, not freedom or reform.

Concept: Virtual Representation

British defense against "No Taxation..."
⚠ TRAP: It meant Parliament represented everyone, even without a local vote.

Organization: Sons of Liberty

Radical Patriots (Sam Adams).
⚠ TRAP: They weren't the government; they were an underground protest group.

Document: Articles of Confederation

First US Gov (Very Weak).
⚠ TRAP: It could NOT tax or regulate trade; don't confuse with the Constitution.

Conflict: War of 1812

End of Federalist Party / Nationalism.
⚠ TRAP: The US didn't "win" land; it was a draw(Status Quo Ante Bellum).

Movement: The Great Awakening (1730s)

Religious Revival (Edwards/Whitefield).
⚠ TRAP: It challenged church authority, which later led to challenging Kingauthority.

Concept: Nullification Crisis (1832)

SC vs. Jackson over Tariffs.
⚠ TRAP: Not about slavery directly; it was about States' Rights vs. Federal law.

Concept:Jacksonian Democracy

Expanded Suffrage (White Males).
⚠ TRAP: It didn't help women/Black people; it was just for the "Common Man" (poor whites).

Event: The Bank War (1832)

Jackson vs. Second Bank of US.
⚠ TRAP: Jackson killed the bank to "protect" farmers, but it actually led to a massive economic crash (Panic of 1837).

Concept: The Spoils System

Giving gov. jobs to political supporters.
⚠ TRAP: Jackson called it "rotation in office" to sound democratic, but it was just rewarding his friends.

Conflict: Hamilton vs. Jefferson

Federalist (Elite) vs. Dem-Rep (Commoner).
⚠ TRAP: Hamilton wanted a National Bank; Jefferson thought it was unconstitutional and only helped the rich.

Movement: The Populist Movement

Farmers vs. Railroads/Banks.
⚠ TRAP: This happens at the very end of US History 1. It’s the "Common Man" sequel to Jackson.

Policy: The Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Rules for making new states.
⚠ TRAP: It BANNED slavery in the NW Territory (Ohio/Michigan); people forget this early win for abolition.

Conflict: King Philip’s War (1675)

Wampanoags vs. New Englanders.
⚠ TRAP: It was the deadliestwar per capita; it ended major Indian resistance in New England forever.

Act: Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

Adams’ crackdown on critics.
⚠ TRAP: Led directly to the Kentucky/Virginia Resolutions, which first argued that states could "nullify" federal laws.

Concept: Republican Motherhood

Women’s role post-Revolution.
⚠ TRAP: It didn't give women the vote; it just said they should raise educated sons to be good citizens.

Policy: Clay’s "American System"

Tariffs, National Bank, Internal Improvements.
⚠ TRAP: The South hatedthis; they thought it only helped Northern factories and Western roads.

Event: The Hartford Convention (1814)

Federalists protesting War of 1812.
⚠ TRAP: They looked like traitors because the war ended right after; this killedthe Federalist Party.

Concept: Deism

Enlightenment "Clockmaker" God.
⚠ TRAP: Many Founders (Jefferson/Franklin) were Deists, not traditional Christians; this influenced the separation of church and state.

Act: Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Popular Sovereignty (Voting on slavery).
⚠ TRAP: It REPEALED the Missouri Compromise; it led to "Bleeding Kansas" and the birth of the Republican Party.

Person: William Lloyd Garrison

Radical Abolitionist (The Liberator).
⚠ TRAP: He wanted immediate uncompensated emancipation; most other reformers were "gradualists."

Event: Battle of Antietam (1862)

Bloodiest single day of Civil War.
⚠ TRAP: It gave Lincoln the "victory" he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Era: 1790s–1810s Parties

Federalists (Hamilton) vs. Dem-Republicans (Jefferson).
⚠ TRAP: Federalists wanted a National Bank; Dem-Republicans wanted State power.

Conflict: 1790s Main Issues

National Bank & French Revolution.
⚠ TRAP: Federalists supported Britain; Dem-Republicans supported France.

Era: 1830s–1850s Parties

Whigs (Henry Clay) vs. Democrats (Jackson).
⚠ TRAP: Whigs loved the American System (tariffs/roads); Jacksonian Democrats hated it.

Conflict: 1830s Main Issues

Tariffs & The Second Bank of the U.S.
⚠ TRAP: Led to the Nullification Crisis—South Carolina tried to ignore federal tariffs.

Era: 1854–1877 Parties

Republicans (Lincoln) vs. Southern Democrats.
⚠ TRAP: The "Whig" party died out and was replaced by Republicans over the slavery issue.

Conflict: 1850s Main Issues

Slavery Expansion & Civil War.
⚠ TRAP: It wasn't just "slavery," it was whether slavery could move into new Western territories.

War: French & Indian (1754–1763)

Result: Treaty of Paris (1763).
⚠ TRAP: France leaves N. America; leads to British debt and the Proclamation of 1763.

War:Revolutionary (1775–1783)

Turning Point: Saratoga.
⚠ TRAP: Saratoga is why the French joined the war; without them, we likely lose.

War:Revolutionary (1775–1783) - Result

Result: Treaty of Paris (1783).
⚠ TRAP: Don't confuse with the 1763 treaty; this one recognizes Independence.

War: War of 1812

Cause: Impressment & British Interference.
⚠ TRAP: The US didn't gain land; it was a draw (Status Quo Ante Bellum) per the Treaty of Ghent.

War: War of 1812 - event

Event: Battle of New Orleans.
⚠ TRAP: This made Andrew Jackson a hero, but it happened after the peace treaty was signed.

War: Mexican-American (1846–1848)

Cause: Border Dispute (Rio Grande vs. Nueces).
⚠ TRAP: It was a deliberate move for "Manifest Destiny" to reach the Pacific.

War: Mexican-American (1846–1848) - Result

Result: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
⚠ TRAP: The US gained the "Mexican Cession" (California, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.).

War: Civil War (1861–1865) - Turning Points

Turning Points: Gettysburg (East) & Vicksburg (West).
⚠ TRAP: Vicksburg gave the North control of the Mississippi River.

War: Civil War (1861–1865)

Final Event / Result: Appomattox.
⚠ TRAP: Surrender led to the 13th Amendment (Abolition), not just the end of fighting.