Final Notes to Quizlet

Unit 1: A New Nation

  1. Jamestown 

  • English Settlers came to America and made their first settlement called Jamestown in Virginia hoping to find gold and be rich but life was harsh and many died from hunger and disease. They eventually prospered from growing tobacco and marked English colonization of America.

  1. Colonists - Puritans, Pilgrims, & Quakers

  • Puritans came to America to practice their religion freely came to Massachusetts and wanted to purify the Church of England

  • Pilgrims were a smaller group of the Puritans seeking religious freedom as well and settled in Plymouth on the Mayflower 

  • Quakers believed in Peace and Equality and did not fight in wars settled in Pennsylvania

  1. French and Indian War – left England in debt

  • Britain and France went to war over land in America which Native Americans helped with which Britain won but ended with a huge debt which to pay off started heavily taxing the colonists starting tensions

  1. Proclamation of 1763

  • Post French and Indian War the proclamation of 1763 was when Britain told the colonists they could not move west of the Appalachian Mountains in fear of territory disputes with Native Americans however this angered colonists because they wanted to expand.

  1. British Acts in response to grievances: Stamp Act, Quartering Act, Intolerable Acts

  • Stamp (stamps for the paper) Act: Colonists had to buy stamps for paper items (like newspapers and legal documents) which the colonists protested because they had no say 

  • Quartering (Quarters are houses) Act: Colonists had to give housing for food and british soldiers even against their will 

  • Intolerable (not tolerate any more acts of defiance like boston tea party) Acts: Laws passed after Boston Tea Party to punish colonists such as closing Boston Harbor stopping trade until people paid for the tea

  1. Thomas Paine – Common Sense

  • Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense saying why it’s in the colonies best interest to break away from Britain using simple language many could understand to convince people to support the idea for independence 

  1. “No Taxation without Representation”

  • Cry for colonists -> did not think it was fair to be taxed by Britain without a representative in Britain govt to fight for them, one of the main causes of the American Revolution 

  1. Boston Massacre (1770) and Boston Tea Party (1773)

  • British Soldiers killed five colonists during a protest making colonists angry at Britain

  • Boston Tea Party: A protest against a tax placed on tea so the colonists dressed as Native Americans and dumped British tea into Boston Harbor showing willing to take action

  1. Loyalists vs. Patriots - (1/3 Loyalists…1/3 Rebels…1/3 Neutral)

  • ⅓ of the population wanted to stay loyal to Britain (Loyal) Loyalists, ⅓ wanted independence (Patriots (show patriotism to America by breaking off unfair rules) Neutral ⅓ did not take a side (neutral) 

  1. Declaration of Independence – July 4, 1776 – written by Thomas Jefferson

  • By Thomas Jefferson declared colonies free from British Rule explained why breaking from colonial rule was beneficial and listed the problems with King George III, official start of U.S. as an independent nation

  1. War for Independence - Lexington and Concord (1775)

  • The revolutionary war started with the L&C in Massachusetts when British tried to take away the weapons stored by the colonists and Paul Revere said the British are coming so the colonists fought back and started the fight for American independence 

  1. Articles of Confederation – Shays’ Rebellion

  • AoC First rules to how the U.S. should be run gave states lots of power but made the federal govt. weak because it couldn’t collect taxes or raise a strong army

  • Shays’ Rebellion farmer-led protest against taxes showed how weak the govt was, showed the AoC had to be replaced

  1. Great Compromise – Bicameral legislature (House and Senate)

  • Argument over representation in congress and the Great Compromise was the solution because they issued the House of Representatives to get states with bigger populations to have more representatives while in the senate, each state will get 2 senators despite the size. They made the Bicameral Legislature to balance power between the small and big states. 

  1. 3/5ths Compromise – Slave representation

  • Constitutional Convention also talked about how to count enslaved people to represent people and taxes because bigger population = more people so ⅗ compromise said every 5 enslaved people would count as three people which gave southern states more power but kept slavery in the U.S. 

  1. Federalists - wanted a Strong Central Government

  • Believed the country needed a strong national government to unite the states and solve big problems like regarding trade and defense so Alexander Hamilton and James Madison supported the making of the Constitution to give more federal govt power. 

  1. Anti-Federalists - Supported states and individual rights/opposed the Constitution

  • Anti-federalists worried the Constitution (+govt power) would take away people’s freedom/rights and wanted protections to individuals rights also on the constitution leading to the push of the Bill of Rights protecting speech and religion. 

  1. Bill of Rights – 1st Amendment

  • 1st Amendment important because protects freedom of speech/religion/press/assembly/petition

  1. Federalism

  • System of sharing power between the national govt/state govts. Some power belongs to federal govt like printing money and states like education but shares making laws.

  1. Amendments

  • Amendment is a change/add to constitution 27 so far and allow the constitution to adapt over time like 13th abolishment of slavery

  1. Loose v. Strict Construction of U.S. Constitution (Alexander Hamilton v. Thomas Jefferson)

  • Loose interpretation Hamilton govt. could do things not directly stated in the constitution ex: making a national bank (has an L for Loose in his name) and Strict is Jefferson (has a S for Strict in his name) who said the govt. should do exactly what the constitution says. 

  1. Separation of powers (Executive/Legislative/Judicial)

  • Govt into three branches Legislative (Legalize ideas to make laws) (Congress makes laws) Judicial (interpret like judge) (Court interprets laws) Executive (executes the laws by chief executive the president)(president enforces laws) 

  1. Marbury v. Madison (1803) - Judicial Review

  • Marbury promised judge job by John Adams but Thomas Jefferson said to not give Marbury the role so Marbury got mad and told the supreme court to make Madison give the paper and the court said Marbury deserved the job but asking for the paper did not follow the constitution so they couldn't help him

  • The Supreme Court made Judicial Review so the court can decide if a law is unconstitutional giving the Judicial Branch the power to check the other branches and ensure laws follow the constitution. (Protector of fairness/constitutional)  

  1. Louisiana Purchase (1803)

  • Louisiana Purchase is when Thomas Jefferson (President) bought Louisiana territory from France doubled U.S. size for 15M giving the U.S. more land to explore/settle opening opportunity for westward expansion

  1. War of 1812 - British impressment)

  • U.S. fought against Britain in War of 1812 because Britain was stopping american ships forcing American Sailors to work for their navy called british impressment which ended in a draw and boosted American pride proving the U.S. could defend itself as an independent nation

Unit 2: Westward Expansion & The Civil War

1. Missouri Compromise (1820) 

  • U.S. trying to decide if new states should allow slavery because Missouri wanted to become a slave state but it would disrupt the balance so Maine became a free state and it matters because the 36^30 latitude line made all states north of this where slavery would not be allowed and south of that would be slave states

2. Monroe Doctrine (1823)

  • Monroe Doctrine (1823) President Monroe (Mind your own) told European countries to not interfere with North/South America affairs it wanted to protect its neighbors and stand up to europe

3. Eli Whitney – cotton gin

  • Made a machine that quickly cleaned seeds out of cotton making cotton much more profitable and faster but made a greater need for slavery to grow and harvest cotton on plantations

4. Andrew Jackson – spoils system 

  • The spoils system was when Andrew Jackson was president and spoiled his supporters and gave them government positions even if they weren’t properly suited

5. Indian Removal Act (1830) - Trail of Tears 

  • Jackson passed law that made Native Americans move west of the Mississippi so settlers could get their land leading to the trail of tears where many native americans like the Cherokee had to walk hundreds of miles where many died from hunger/cold/disease

6. Abolitionist movement

  • Movement to end slavery (abolish slavery) Fredrick Douglas/Harriet Tubman worked to free the enslaved and led to the civil war

7. Manifest Destiny - belief U.S. had the right and duty to expand from “sea to shining sea”

  • U.S. had right to expand across the whole continent because they wanted to manifest their destiny and civilize the other regions causing conflicts with Mexico and Native Americans Sea to sea is Atlantic to pacific ocean

8. Mexican-American War (1846) - Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

  • The U.S. and Mexico fought over land in the southwest which the U.S. won and then signed the treaty of Guadalupe… which gave land which became AZ, CA, New Me etc.

9. Compromise of 1850 & Fugitive Slave Act

  • Compromise of 1850 was when CA was a free states but other territories could decide on slavery later and also implied stricter rules about catching runaway slaves 

  • Fugitive Slave Act: Required people in free states to help return escaped slaves to their owners making slavery an even bigger issue between the North and South 

10. Uncle Tom's Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 described the horrors of slavery making more people in the North realize how terrible slavery was and increased abolitionist movement support 

11. Kansas/Nebraska Act (1854) - Popular sovereignty

  • Kansas/Nebraska people wanted to decide if they wanted slavery (popular sovereignty) causing pro slavery/anti slavery settlers to come into Kansas causing fighting known as bleeding Kansas

12. Harper's Ferry, Va. – John Brown

  • John Brown the abolitionist led a raid on a U.S. weapons warehouse at Harper’s ferry Virginia he hoped to arm enslaved people and start a rebellion 

13. Dred Scott Decision

  • Enslaved man who sued for his freedom because he lived in the free states but was ruled against saying the enslaved people could not sue and congress couldn't stop slavery in new territory making the north angry and pushed for the civil war 

14. Election of 1860 - Abraham Lincoln

  • Lincoln was president in 1860 and did not want to spread slavery, south scared he would end slavery so they started to secede as in leave the U.S. leading to the civil war

15. Battle of Antietam (1862)

  • Bloodiest single day battle fought in the civil war when the north (union) stopped the confederates (south) from invading maryland 

16. Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

  • Following the Battle of Antietam the emancipation proclamation was issued to free enslaved people in the confederate states saying all slaves in states fighting against the union are free however it did not free all enslaved people but made the civil war about ending slavery

17. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) & Gettysburg Address – Lincoln

  • Battle of Gettysburg was a huge battle in PA where the union beat the confederates N won over S stopping their attempt to invade the North, Gettysburg address was when Lincoln gave a famous speech at the battlefield to honor the soldiers and remind people the war was about freedom and equality

18. 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments

  • Reconstruction Amendments because passed after the Civil War to actually give rights to enslaved, 13th - ended slavery, 14th gave citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. and promised equal protection under law, 15th - African American Men could vote but discrimination still continued

19. Black Codes

  • Southern states passed Black Codes to limit African American freedom such as making it hard to vote/own land/get jobs 

20. Freedmen's Bureau

  • Govt. Agency set up post civil war to help freed African Americans and poor whites like provide food, education, medical care, and find jobs/land one of first efforts to help people rebuild their lives post slavery 

21. Homestead Act (1862)

  • 160 acres of free land in the west if promised to live on it and farm it for five years encouraged people to move west and settle in new areas but also conflicts with Native Americans 

22. Massacre of Wounded Knee (1890)

  • Last major violent fight between Native Americans and U.S. govt when U.S. soldiers killed 150 Sioux people such as women/children at wounded knee in South Dakota marked end of Native American resistance to U.S. govt. policies

23. Dawes Act (1887) – assimilation

  • Law aimed to make Native Americans live more like white settlers by diving their land into small farms giving native americans land to farm but took away traditional land and culture

Unit 3: The Gilded Age & Progressive Era

1. Gilded Age - mass production & assembly line

Time when America was a major industrial power and mass production and assembly line made production faster and cheaper but made bad working conditions for long hours and workers and children worked in sweatshops dangerous for long hours, the use of child labor led to growth of businesses but need for better working rights. 



2. Robber Barons or Captains of Industry – Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan, & Vanderbilt

Term used to describe powerful businessmen made huge fortunes and Rockefeller (horizontal integration control all of industry bought other companies) was leader of a huge oil company, Andrew Carnegie (Vertical Integration controlled every step of steel making process) used steel, Morgan was banker, Vanderbilt controlled railroads. 



3. “Gospel of Wealth” - Carnegie

Responsibility of wealthy to give back to society use money to improve education, libraries, public services, donated millions to make public services better.  



4. Social Darwinism

Strongest companies and people will rise to the top and reproduce while the weaker ones will not, as justification for wealthy companies to not have to share their wealth.



5. monopoly & trust - Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Monopoly is when a company controls the industry while a trust is when companies work together to reduce competition leading to Sherman Antitrust Act and Clayton Antitrust Act which outlawed making monopolies and unfair trusts to make it more fair for smaller businesses. 



6. socialism 

Government should heavily regulate to make sure businesses are in control and everyone is treated fairly leading to workers demanding their rights. 



7. labor unions 

Labor unions band together workers to fight for better pay and working conditions and the AFL- tried to represent skilled workers and special expertise like plumbers etc. and Knights of Labor- aimed to help all kinds of workers even people of color, were two major ones who helped get shorter work hours and better pay. 



8. collective bargaining & strikes

Workers negotiate with head for better working conditions. Haymarket- In chicago demanded 8hr workday, bomb exploded killing many, Homestead Strike- In Pennsylvania workers angry at Carnegie, protested and factory sent in armed guards violence broke out and led to deaths (most violent) Pullman Strike- Railroad company wages cut but rent stayed same, protest happened sent federal troops to break it down leading to violence and creation of labor day. 



9. Interstate Commerce Act (ICC) 

Laws passed to make sure businesses like railroads treated people fairly said railroads couldn't charge unfair prices to farmers or businesses for shipping goods, creating the ICC to check on railroads and make sure they followed the rules.



10. laissez-faire

Government does not get involved in businesses and helped businesses grow toxic



11. Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) – spoils system & President Garfield assassination

Pendleton Civil Service Act- Jobs should be given based on skill not just connections like the spoils system and Garfield was assassinated by someone who did not get a job in government with connections.



12. immigrants & nativism

Immigrants are people who move to a new country for opportunities and nativism is the dislike of immigrants and the superiority of native born people 



13. Ellis & Angel Islands

Ellis- NY, Angel- CA, areas where immigrants came and were processed were entry points but many immigrants faced with harsh questioning. 



14. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

Law that prevented Chinese Immigrants from coming to America because of religion and fear of stealing jobs, Jim Crow Laws made racial segregation legal forcing us to use separate schools/buses



15. political machines & grafts – Tammany Hall (Boss Tweed)

Political Machines traded jobs/necessities for votes and Tammany Hall = Boss Tweed used corruption to steal money from the government. 



16. Progressive Movement

A time when people worked to fix problems caused by rapid growth/industrialization/corruption focusing on improved working conditions, ending child labor, making the govt less corrupt and more fair, giving women the right to vote, protecting the environment (clean water)  



17. W.E.B. DuBois - NAACP 

Organization works for racial equality and justice made civil rights stronger in america. 

18. muckrakers 

Journalists who uncovered problems in society Ida Tarbell for oil companies unfair to small businesses and Jacob Riis for dangerous living conditions in poor neighborhoods. 



19. Upton Sinclair – The Jungle (Meat Inspection Act, & Pure Food & Drug Act)

The Jungle - Exposes truth of America’s meatpacking industry centered in Chicago leading to ->(Meat Inspection Act,- Illegal to contaminate/misbranded meat and must be processed under sanitary conditions by Teddy Roosevelt & Pure Food & Drug Act - Illegal to misbrand food and drugs (more general than just meat) and made govt have power to ensure safety of drugs label accuracy. )



20. initiative, referendum, recall

Allowed citizens to propose new laws, allowed citizens to strike down new laws, allowed citizens to remove politicians from office.




21. Teddy Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt made the square deal where he would break up large corporations which were too powerful, protected workers, conserved resources and helped make America a fairer place. 



22. Conservationists – John Muir

People who want to protect the environment like John Muir who created national parks like Yosemite to preserve landscapes. 



23. 17th Amendment

U.S. Senators have to be directly elected instead of appointed by state legislatures. 



24. Suffrage movement/19th Amendment - (Alice Paul, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton)

Fighting for women’s rights to vote: Alice Paul-leader of the national women party which led to the 19th amendment, Susan B. Anthony- Advocate for women’s suffrage arrested for voting in an election, Elizabeth Cady Stanton- Organized Seneca Falls Convention first womens rights convention and gave the document of sentiments document that demanded equal rights. In 1919 the 19th amendment passed and women have the right to vote.