American History Final Exam Review

Colonial Foundations and the American Revolution

• The Printing Press: Developed by Johannes Gutenberg, this innovation utilized movable type to revolutionize information sharing.

• The Stamp Act: A law passed by Parliament to raise tax revenue by requiring colonists to pay for an official stamp whenever they purchased paper items, including newspapers, licenses, and legal documents.

• The Sons of Liberty: A secret society formed by the colonists; members sometimes utilized violence to frighten tax collectors.

Governance, Economics, and Ideology

• National Debt: This is defined as the total amount of money owed by the nation to both foreign countries and the nation's own citizens.

• Sectionalism: An ideological stance characterized by putting the interests of a specific region over the interests of the entire nation.

• Capitalism vs. Socialism: The fundamental difference between these two systems is that under socialism, the government owns the factories and the raw materials.

• Gilded Age Politics: Political life during this era can best be characterized as corrupt.

• Stockholders: These are individuals who own stock in a company; they have the right to sell their stock shares at any time.

Exploration and Westward Expansion

• The Lewis and Clark Expedition: The exploration conducted by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark provided many Americans with their first detailed account of the Southwest.

• Sacagawea: A Shoshone Indian woman who assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition.

• Zebulon Pike: An Army officer who was dispatched to locate the starting point of the Red River.

• The Oregon Trail: A $2,170\,\text{mile}$ large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to various valleys in Oregon; the journey typically took $6\,\text{months}$ to complete.

• Migration: The general movement of people from one region to another.

• Transcontinental Railroad: A rail system that successfully connected the Eastern United States to the West.

Conflict and Diplomacy in the $19\text{th}$ Century

• The War of $1812$: This conflict resulted in a strengthening of patriotism among the American population.

• Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna: A Mexican general who was captured during the Battle of San Jacinto.

• The Alamo: From February $23$ to March $6$, $1836$, a small group of Texas rebels defended this site against Mexican forces; it became a crucial battle site during the Texas Revolution.

• Imperialism: A practice best described as building an empire by founding colonies or conquering other nations.

• Dollar Diplomacy: A foreign policy strategy aimed at influencing governments through economic intervention rather than military intervention.

The Crisis of Division and the Civil War

• Missouri Compromise: A legislative measure that maintained an equal balance between free states and slave states.

• Nullification Crisis: A dispute centered on the power of states to reject federal laws they deemed unconstitutional.

• Trail of Tears: An $800\,\text{mile}$ forced march made by Cherokee Indians during their involuntary removal from Georgia.

• Spirituals: Emotional Christian songs that served to boost the hopes of enslaved people.

• Slavery Proportions: In the early $1800\text{s}$, approximately $\frac{1}{3}$ of white southerners owned slaves.

• Second Great Awakening: A period of Christian renewal that began in the northeastern United States.

• Compromise of $1850$: Proposed by Henry Clay, this legislation settled most of the disputes between slave and Free states regarding the admission of California to the Union.

• Secession of $1860$: Following the election of $1860$, southern states seceded from the Union because they believed their economy and way of life would be destroyed.

• Fort Sumter: The site where Confederate gunfire in $1861$ marked the official commencement of the Civil War.

• Jefferson Davis: A Mississippi native who was elected as the president of the Confederacy in $1861$.

• Second Battle of Bull Run: A significant Civil War battle where the Confederate army forced the majority of the Union army out of Virginia.

• Wilderness Campaign: A series of battles between Union and Confederate forces located in northern and central Virginia; these engagements delayed the Union capture of Richmond.

Reconstruction and Civil Rights

• Emancipation Proclamation: The document that resulted in southern African Americans being freed after the Civil War.

• Thirteenth Amendment: A constitutional amendment that officially outlawed slavery.

• Reconstruction Acts of $1867$: Passed by Congress in $1867$, these acts affected the makeup of the southern states by dividing the South into $5$ military districts, each controlled by a military commander.

• Plessy v. Ferguson: A U.S. Supreme Court case that established the "separate but equal" doctrine for public facilities.

• Seventeenth Amendment: A constitutional amendment that allowed American voters to directly elect U.S. senators.

Industrialization, Labor, and Urban Life

• Industrial Revolution: A period of rapid growth characterized by machines becoming essential to the manufacturing process.

• Trade Union: An organization consisting of workers who sought to improve the pay and working conditions for their members.

• Knights of Labor: Recognized as the first truly national labor union in the United States.

• Working Conditions in the Late $1800\text{s}$: Conditions in industries declined during this period because an emphasis was placed on high profits and efficiency.

• Sherman Antitrust Act: A law that rendered it illegal to create monopolies or trusts that restrained free trade.

• Mass Transit: A system of public transportation created for the purpose of moving large numbers of passengers.

• Crime Prevention in the Mid-$1800\text{s}$: Most cities fought crime by employing volunteer night watches.

• New Immigrants: This group refers to the wave of immigrants who came to the United States during the $1880\text{s}$.

• Settlement Houses: Neighborhood centers located in poor areas, staffed by professionals and volunteers, that provided education, recreation, and social activities.