APUSH Study Guide - Fall Semester Exam

Describe the encomienda system - who was kept in servitude? What kind of religious beliefs were Native Americans forced to ascribe to? Who was in charge of workers? 

• (In 1503) Spanish settlers forced indigenous tribes to forced labor (mining for riches)

  • In return they would get protection and would be converted to christianity

  • Abusive treatment

  • Not considered slavery, Africans were slaves and were allowed (encomienda labor was lifelong, but not hereditary, unlike slaves)

  • Encomenderos were in charge of the workers

  • Ends in early 18th century → Replaced by the repartimiento system – still forced labor, but workers received a (low) wage

Explain the causes and impacts of anti-immigrant nativism in the 1840s and 1850s. 

• Ireland: potato famine

  • Immigrated to boston for industrial opportunities

  • Faced lots of discrimination cuz they were roman catholic

• Germany: economic hardships

  • Settled in the midwest for farming

• Both helped build railroads etc. (part of market revolution)

• Nativists were afraid that immigrants would take jobs that the nativists needed (economic competition) and nativists believed they were better than the immigrants because Christianity is great ! (white supremacy/superiority)

  • Additionally, most irish were roman catholic and some germans were as well and roman catholicism is NOT GOOD

  • Know nothing party

Explain the checks and balances inherent in the Constitution. 

• The judicial (supreme court),  legislative (senate and HoR), and executive (president) branches were created to be able to check and balance each others powers

  • One part of the government cannot take over the country, because there are 2 other branches that can go over them

Explain the impact of the Hartford Convention on the Federalist Party. 

• The convention marked a significant decline for the Federalist Party, as it was perceived as unpatriotic during the War of 1812, leading to a loss of public support and ultimately contributing to the party's dissolution.

Explain the reasons behind and the effects of the Missouri Compromise. 

• It tried addressing the growing sectional tensions over issue of slavery

• It created the 36th parallel which split north and south. The south allowed slavery and the north did not (with the exception of missouri)

• This led to much more sectionalism and eventually caused more problems than it solved

Explain the ruling and the importance of the ruling in Marbury v. Madison. 

• Created judicial review: supreme court decided to prove a law as unconstitutional

  • Marbury did not receive his letter that confirmed his seat in the justice of peace. However, madison refused to give the letters and so marbury went to supreme court, and even though marshall was on the side of marbury (federalists), marshall established the idea of judicial review (judicial branch declaring that a law is unconstitutional). [marshall said that judiciary act itself was unconstitutional]

How did corn cultivation influence Native American tribes? 

• Staple crop, supporting larger populations; also helped in trade

How did indentured labor work in the American colonies? What were its effects? 

• Indentured labor - workers agreed to work for a set number of years for passage to america, or land in america (voluntary labor)

• After, they were given land and could start a life in the New World

How did Jacksonian Democracy influence the political future of the common man? 

• More political participation for common white men (even those without property)

How did Plains Indians survive? What animal did they rely on for food, shelter, etc.? 

• Used all parts of the environment to their advantage

• Buffalo, they used every bit of it for survival 

How did territorial expansion west influence the debate about slavery in the mid-1800s? 

• Wanted to have even number of slave vs free states, heightened tensions between north and south

• North wanted new states to be free, and south wanted them to be slave. More free states meant that they would have more control over the slave states as they could pass laws that hurt the slave states.

  • Because of the balance between the amount of slave and free states, laws like Wilmot Proviso that disadvantage slave states cannot be passed

How did the American Revolution influence independence movements in other countries? 

• It inspired the haitian revolution (slaves revolted)

• Inspired revolutions in latin america and france

How did the Articles of Confederation approach state vs. federal government? Why did the Articles shy away from a strong federal government? 

• More power to state governments, fearing a strong federal rule

• They were afraid that having more central power would cause a dictatorship

• Federal government couldn’t levy taxes to pay off its war debt or basically do anything

How did the French and Indian War affect western settlement in the American colonies and British tax policy imposed on the American colonies?

•  Britain was in great debt after the french and indian war, so they imposed insane taxes on the american colonies to make up for it, but american colonies did not like that

• Opened up western land for settlers [but wasn’t allowed to go past Applachians?]

How did the Puritans approach the concept of church and state? 

• They wanted church and state to be together

  • Dissenters: roger williams & anne hutchinson

How did the rise of industrialization in the North change migration and immigration patterns in the U.S. during the early 1800s? 

• Northern industrialization attracted european immigrants and rural americans looking for work in factories→ cities grew rapidly

How did the U.S. victory in the War of 1812 impact its sovereignty over western lands? 

How did transportation improvements help create a strong market economy in the early nineteenth century? 

• Solidified its control over western lands after british let go of its support to native americans and their land

• Canals, roads, and railroads linked the markets and encouraged trade to create a stronger, interconnected economy

How were Native Americans involved in the Revolutionary War?

• Some supported the British (iroquois), while others supported the Patriots

• Both hoped to protect their lands from the settlers

Washington’s Farewell address cautioned Americans against which two ideas? 

• Having multiple political parties and having foreign alliances (remaining neutral)

What agricultural product became the most important U.S. export by the mid-1800s? 

• cotton

What did the founders of the Know-Nothing Party want to accomplish? 

• They wanted to get rid of the catholic immigrants (irish)

• they were a group of nativists

What did the Virginia Company do to encourage people to come to the colony (think of the headright system)?

• They jhad the headright system which gave a land grant to landowners in america → influenced more people to come to virginia

What European power contributed to the American victory in the Revolutionary War? 

• French 

What event caused Americans to realize that the Articles of Confederation were ineffective and the U.S. needed a stronger central government? 

• Shays rebellion (1886-1887)

What happened as Native Americans died from poor treatment and disease? What labor force began to be used in New Spain instead? 

• African slaves

What happened in Bacon’s Rebellion? Why did the rebellion occur? 

• An armed rebellion by Vignia settlers (led by nathaniel bacon) against Governenr WIlliam Berkely. Bacon wanted to drive the native americans out of Virginia, which Berkely refused to

What region in the British colonies was called the “breadbasket” and why? 

• Middle colonies

What roles did the Cult of Domesticity confine women to? 

• Women were confined to domestic work at home focusing on raising moral children

What was Bartolome de las Casas’ approach to Native Americans? What did he advocate for? 

• He advocated for better treatment for native americans

What was one of the main goals of the forced relocation of the Cherokee and other tribes during the Trail of Tears? 

• The main goal was to relocate tribes in order to open native lands for white settlers and farming (jackson supported farmers and the common man)

What was the biggest effect on Native Americans as a result of European conquest? 

• Death, loss of land and culture, disease, plagues

What was the catalyst for the rise of a larger middle class in the North? 

• Industrial revolution

What was the Columbian Exchange? 

• Transfer of goods, plants, animals, ideas, and diseases from the Old World to New World and vice versa

What was the concept of Manifest Destiny? 

•  The concept that white settlers were destined by god to expand west

What was the concept of mercantilism and why did the British government decide to pursue this as a policy with the American colonies? 

• Gain raw materials from other countries, manufacture them and send them back to the same countries so they profit more

• American colonies can only export to their mother country, Great Britain, so only Britain accumulated wealth through the controlled trade

What was the concept of Republican Motherhood? 

• Encouraged women to educate their children in the american ideals, virtues, and teaching their proper roles in the republic

What was the concept of “virtual representation” prior to the American Revolution? Why did colonists not agree with this? 

• This was when Britain claimed that the Parliament represented the aAmerican standpoint, but the colonies did not agree with this, and argued that they wanted direct representation

What was the Declaration of Sentiments? 

• A declaration inspired by the declaration of independence stating that women deserve the same rights as eerie citizen (Seneca Falls Convention)

What was the French & Dutch approach to the New World? What did they prioritize? What were their relationships with Native Americans like? 

• French and Dutch prioritized trade alliances and intermarriage with American Indians for fur

• Much looser control on colonies

• French sent Jesuit missionaries

What was the Great Awakening in the 1740s? What were its primary effects? 

• Religious revival that emphasized personal faith and challenged traditional church authority

What was the impact of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin on sectional tensions in the U.S.? 

• It increased slave trade because it helped produce more cotton, so the demand increased as well

What was the impact of John Brown’s Raid at Harper’s Ferry? 

• It heightened tensions between the north and south. The south became afraid of what other people like Brown might do in the South, if they had the opportunity

What was the impact of the Dred Scott decision on the citizenship status of enslaved people? (or formerly enslaved people)

• Black people were not citizens, but property

• No state had right to outlaw slavery

What was the Lowell system? 

• Young women worked in textile mills, which offered housing and wages

What was the Monroe Doctrine? 

• It states that no european power can ever step foot on the western hemisphere again

• No more colonization

• It showed america’s stance and position in the world

What was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850? 

• The Fugitive Slave Act was the most controversial part, which made northern abolitionists very angry that they would have to aid in returning fugitive slaves back to their slave owners

What was the Northwest Ordinance? What did it accomplish in the early American republic? 

What was the principle of “popular sovereignty”?

• (1787) It organized western territories, banned slavery there, and outlined a process for statehood.

• Popular sovereignty allowed settlers in new territories to vote if they wanted slavery or not → sectional tensions

What was the Proclamation of 1763? What were its effects on the relationship between Great Britain and its American colonies? 

• This was when Britian banned settlement west of the Appalachian mountains, which angered colonists

What was the Three-Fifths Compromise in the Constitution? 

• It counted three-fifths of enslaved people for representation, in order to balance the power between slave and free states

What was the very profitable crop that Virginia began to export in great quantities? 

• Tobacco

What was the Wilmot Proviso? 

• Prohibited slavery in the territory acquired from mexico

What was Thomas Paine’s Common Sense? What was its effect on the American Revolution? 

• Argued independence, and rallied colonists to the revolutionary war

What were some of the big economic differences between the colonial Chesapeake region and New England? 

• New england had harsh winters so they couldn't harvest crops all year long → they were not very economically stable 

• The chesapeake region was the most flourishing region because of the high demand tobacco crop. 

What were the differences between slave labor and the encomienda system in New Spain? 

• The encomienda system promised the laborers protection, while slave labor didn't

• The encomienda system was directed towards native americans while slave labor was only black people

What were the effects of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin? 

•  It brought great respect to the abolitionist movement and exposed the cruelty of slavery

What were the Federalist Papers? Why were they written? 

• These essays argued in support of ratifying the Constitution and explained the need for a strong federal government. These were written by Hamilton, Madison, and John Jay

What were the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions? What event precipitated them? How did they present a constitutional problem? 

• These resolutions opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts, saying that states had the rights to nullify federal laws

What were the key differences between Spanish, English, French, and Dutch colonization? 

• Spanish - lots of intermarriage, strict control over colonies, gold and conversion to Christianity

• English - very little intermarriage, strict control over colonies, trade and mining for profit

• French and Dutch - trade and alliances

What were the main purposes of the American System? 

• Henry Clay’s ”American System” 

• Henry Clay’s plan had a big impact on helping to create home markets for both  manufacturing in the North and agriculture in the South & West. 

• Components of “The American System”: 

1)  Bank of the U.S.

2) Internal improvements

3) Protective tarrifs

• Clay promoted protective tariffs which he believed would promote US manufacturing  and raise revenue to build a national transportation system of federally constructed  roads and canals. 

What were the main things that Native Americans and Europeans disagreed about culturally? 

• Native Americans and Europeans fundamentally disagreed about land ownership; Europeans believed in individual land ownership and property rights, while Native Americans viewed land as a communal resource meant to be shared.

  
  

What were the Navigation Acts and why did the British government enact them? 

• Any imported goods had to be sent through britain first

What were the practical effects of the Emancipation Proclamation? 

• Freed slaves in rebel areas: It declared that slaves in Confederate-controlled states were free, though it didn’t apply to Union-controlled areas or border states.

• Weakened the Confederacy: It hurt the South’s economy by encouraging slaves to escape and weakening their labor force.

• Boosted Union army: Freed African Americans could join the Union army, adding more soldiers to fight.

• Shifted the war's goal: It made ending slavery a key goal of the Civil War, not just preserving the Union.

What were the two main advantages the Confederacy had at the beginning of the Civil War? 

• They knew the land much better than the union (on defense)

• Support of the civilian population

Which colony protected the rights of Catholics? 

• Maryland 

Which state was the first to secede from the Union? 

• South carolina 

Who opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act most fiercely - opponents or proponents of slavery? 

• Anti-slavery supporters were the most angered by this because states that were previously free had the right of popular sovereignty. This means that there was a possibility of the states becoming slave states. They did not like the idea of slavery expanding west. 

Who or what founded the colony of Jamestown? 

• Virginia company (John Smith)

Why did Anne Hutchinson get banished from Massachusetts Bay? 

• She believed in personal faith more than strict church rules

• She held bible studies in which men also attended

Why did Jefferson want to purchase the Louisiana territory? 

• It was a lot of land that could really advance US’s territory 

• He really wanted the port of new orleans

Why did the Sons of Liberty have the Boston Tea Party? What British policy were they responding to? 

• They wanted to protest the Tea act passed by the british

Why did the Union win the Civil War? What key advantages did it have? 

• The union had advantage of railroads

  • Facilitated transportation of goods, people, and weapons

• They outnumbered the confederacy

Why was the Battle of Antietam pivotal to the Civil War? 

• It was the turning point in the war

• It was a union victory and gave an opportunity for lincoln to pass the emancipation proclamation