american historical events from 1776-1918

Question 1

What did the Louisiana Purchase give the U.S. complete control of?

Answer 1

The Mississippi River and a critical trade route.

Question 2

Who wanted the Louisiana territory to secure the U.S. from threats from Great Britain, France, and Spain?

Answer 2

President Thomas Jefferson

Question 3

What were 3 goals of Lewis and Clark in their expedition?

Answer 3

1. Find the Northwest Passage.
2. Enable trade across the U.S. and the Pacific.
3. Establish trade and American sovereignty over Native populations.

Question 4

What were 4 consequences of the Louisiana Purchase?

Answer 4

1. Doubled the size of the U.S.
2. Removed the threat of French invasion.
3. Changed the world’s perception of the U.S.
4. Provided untapped natural resources.

Question 5

What event accelerated the settlement process in the 1840s, sending thousands of prospectors to California and other points west?

Answer 5

The Gold Rush

Question 6

Who signed Congress’ Declaration of War for the War of 1812?

Answer 6

President James Madison

Question 7

What was the primary reason for the start of the War of 1812?

Answer 7

Interference with America’s neutrality rights by Great Britain and France.

Question 8

What did the Battle of Tippecanoe lead to in relation to the War of 1812?

Answer 8

Further inflamed relations between the U.S. and Tecumseh’s Confederation.

Question 9

When was the Treaty of Ghent signed, ending the War of 1812?

Answer 9

The news of the treaty did not reach New Orleans before the Battle of New Orleans.

Question 10

What event marked a decisive victory for the Americans at the end of the War of 1812?

Answer 10

Battle of New Orleans

Question 11

What event ushered in the Era of Good Feelings in America?

Answer 11

What event ushered in the Era of Good Feelings in America?

Question 12

Describe 3 reasons why Washington’s Farewell Address (1796) was important.

Answer 12

1. Promoted neutrality.
2. Discouraged foreign involvement.
3. Prioritized national unity.

Question 13

Who wrote the words to “The Star Spangled Banner?”

Answer 13

Francis Scott Key in 1814

Question 14

What was important about the Missouri Compromise (1820)?

Answer 14

Balance the power in Congress between free and slave states.
Admission of Missouri as a slave state and Maine admitted as a free state.

Question 15

What caused the Mexican-American War (1846-1848)?

Answer 15

American annexation of Texas.
American settlers moving into Mexican lands in the Southwest.

Question 16

What were 3 ways the Gold Rush (1848-1855) changed California?

Answer 16

Removal of Native Americans accelerated, many more died due to conflict and disease.
More settlers moved into California.
White settlers pushed for California independence from Mexico.

Question 17

What were 3 reasons why the Compromise of 1850 is important?

Answer 17

Addressed the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required citizens to assist in the capture of runaway slaves and denied alleged fugitive slaves the right to a jury trial
Helped to temporarily avert the outbreak of civil war by providing a temporary solution to the growing sectional conflict, buying time for further political negotiation and compromise.

Question 18

What was the law passed by Congress that required escaped slaves to be returned to their owners?

Answer 18

Fugitive Slave Act

(1850)

Question 19

Why was the Dred Scott decision (1857) so significant?

Answer 19

The decision stated that African Americans were not citizens.

Question 20

What were 2 impacts of Abraham Lincoln being elected in 1860?

Answer 20

Southern states began to secede from the Union.
April 1861 Battle of Fort Sumter begins Civil War.

Question 21

Why was the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862) important?

Answer 21

President Abraham Lincoln afterward issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which changed the war’s focus to include the abolition of slavery as a Union war aim.

Question 22

What executive order declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory?

Answer 22

The Emancipation Proclamation

Question 23

Why was The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) important in American history?

Answer 23

Ended Confederate second invasion of the North.

Question 24

What event effectively marked the end of the Civil War?

Answer 24

The Surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Question 25

What were 3 major changes to the Constitution after the Civil War?

Answer 25

The Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments).

Question 26

What did the 13th Amendment (1865) accomplish?

Answer 26

Abolished slavery.

Question 27

Which amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.?

Answer 27

14th Amendment

Question 28

Why was the 15th Amendment (1870) important?

Answer 28

Prohibited discrimination in voting rights of citizens on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Question 29

What significant accomplishment connected the eastern U.S. with the western U.S.?

Answer 29

The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.

Question 30

What were 4 causes of the Spanish-American War (1898)?

Answer 30

Cuban struggle for independence
Yellow journalism
American imperialism
Economic interests

Question 31

What were three effects of the Spanish American War?

Answer 31

Increased U.S. influence in Caribbean and Latin America.
U.S. bought the Philippines.
U.S. takes Guam and Puerto Rico.

Question 32

How did the Spanish-American War end?

Answer 32

Treaty of Paris (1898) - ended the Spanish-American War.
Resulted in Spain ceding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S.

Question 33

What was an effect of the U.S. taking over the Philippines?

Answer 33

Philippine-American War

Question 34

Why was the assassination of President William McKinley (1901) an important turning point?

Answer 34

Theodore Roosevelt became president, who influenced the growth of the modern day national park system.

Question 35

When did the United States enter World War I?

Answer 35

1917

Question 36

What were the two sides during WWI?

Answer 36

Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire
Allies: France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and United States

Question 37

How did WWI end?

Answer 37

On November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed between Germany and the Allies.

Question 38

Which Native American tribe was most famously associated with the Trail of Tears?

Answer 38

Cherokee