WYP Notes

Pre-Revolutionary America and Founding

Q: Who arrived in the Americas in 1492?
A: Columbus.

Q: What was the first permanent British settlement in America, and when was it established?
A: Jamestown, in 1607.

Q: What crop was crucial to Jamestown's economy?
A: Tobacco.

Q: What were the main causes of the American Revolutionary War?
A: 1) Decreasing benefits of British rule after the French and Indian War (1763).
2) Rising costs like taxes without representation.

Q: When did the Continental Congress declare independence?
A: July 4, 1776.

Q: What was the first governing document of the U.S., and when was it enacted?
A: Articles of Confederation, 1781.

Q: What system does the U.S. Constitution create to divide authority?
A: Federalism.

Q: What are three central government powers under the U.S. Constitution?
A: Taxation, raising an army/navy, and regulating interstate commerce.

Q: When was the Bill of Rights ratified, and what did it protect?
A: Ratified in 1791, it protected freedoms like expression, religion, and rights of the accused.

Slavery

Q: When did the first African slaves arrive in Jamestown?
A: 1619.

Q: What were the two aspects of slavery in the U.S.?
A: Transatlantic Slave Trade and Chattel slavery.

Q: Why did slavery concentrate in the South?
A: Climatic advantages for crops like cotton and the invention of the cotton gin.

Territorial Expansion

Q: What land did the U.S. gain after the Revolutionary War?
A: Land between the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi River.

Q: What was the Louisiana Purchase?
A: Land purchased from France in 1803.

Q: How was Texas annexed?
A: Declared independence in 1836, annexed by the U.S. in 1845 after conflicts with Mexico.

Q: What territory did the U.S. acquire after the Mexican-American War?
A: Mexican Cession.

Civil War and Its Aftermath

Q: What sparked the Civil War in 1861?
A: Secession of Southern states and the attack on Fort Sumter.

Q: What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
A: Freed slaves in rebelling states (1863).

Q: What amendments were passed post-Civil War?
A:

• 13th: Abolished slavery (1865).

• 14th: Defined citizenship and ensured equal protection under the law.

• 15th: Prohibited voting restrictions based on race.

Q: What ended Reconstruction?
A: Compromise of 1876.

Q: What were Jim Crow Laws?
A: Laws enforcing racial segregation and restricting Black rights.

Immigration

Q: What was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?
A: Banned Chinese laborers from entering the U.S.

Q: How did the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 change policy?
A: Replaced quotas with preferences for family, skills, and refugee status.

Q: What is unauthorized immigration?
A: Entering legally but overstaying visas or arriving without authorization.

20th and 21st Century Transformations

Q: What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
A: Banned racial discrimination in economic transactions.

Q: What Supreme Court case legalized same-sex marriage?
A: Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).

Q: What period regulated food, drugs, and banking?
A: The Progressive Era (1887–1916).

Q: What was the New Deal?
A: A response to the Great Depression, expanding federal economic regulation.

Q: What were two major U.S. domestic policy focuses in the late 20th century?
A:

1. The Drug War (1970s).

2. War on Terror (post-9/11).