American History Flashcards
American History
How did Homo sapiens likely first make it to the Americas?
Via the Beringia land bridge
(during the height of the last ice age)
American History
What is the name of the oldest known civilization in the Americas (contemporaneous with Ancient Egypt), and where was it located?
The Caral civilization;
modern-day Peru
American History
Describe the regions of the 1000 BCE Americas in regard to hunter-gatherer and farming societies.
American History
What three regions of the pre-Colombian Americas were the only regions to have sustained large-scale civilizations (beyond simpler tribal societies)?
The Southeast of what is now the U.S.
Mesoamerica
The Andes
American History
Name the first major Mesoamerican civilization (1500 - 400 BCE) (and one of the world’s six cradles of civilization).
The Olmec
American History
Describe the Olmec civilization.
The most ancient Mesoamerican civilization
City-state structure
Produced calendars, pyramids, aquaducts, and jade and clay artistry
American History
The mounds seen in parts of the U.S. were created circa 1000 CE by civilizations in what regions?
Along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers
American History
Describe the chronological order of the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations (Aztec, Inca, Olmec, and Maya) as they came to be.
Olmec (1400 BCE - 400 BCE)
Maya (1000 BCE - 900 CE)
Aztec + Inca (1300 CE - 1500 CE)
American History
Describe the location of the Aztec, Incan, and Mayan societies.
American History
True/False.
Aztec and Incan cities were as large, complex, and organized as any of the largest in the Old World.
True.
With an estimated population of 200,000 to 350,000 in Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.
American History
True/False.
The vast majority of Pre-Colombian North America was ruled by four separate tribes, which only divided into smaller groups after the arrival of the colonizers.
False.
Pre-Colombian North America was a complex hodgepodge of numerous tribes and civilizations.
American History
Although estimates vary drastically, what is the current middle-of-the-road estimate for the population of the Americas just prior to the arrival of Colombus?
50 million
American History
What led to the drastic decline in native populations after the arrival of European influence?
Infectious disease epidemics may have wiped out as much as 95% of the ~50 million individuals
American History
Which were the first European countries to colonize portions of the Americas in the years after 1492?
Spain
Portugal
Britain
American History
Describe the eventual European divvying up of American colonies that began in the 1490s and continued through the early 1800s.
American History
In 1607, the __________ settlement was founded by John Smith.
In 1607, the Jamestown settlement was founded by John Smith.
American History
The Mayflower landed where and in what year?
Plymouth, Massachusetts;
1620
American History
Where did the famous 1692 witch trials take place in the Americas?
Salem, Massachusetts
American History
Name three of the major trade exports of the Americas/Caribbean produced via slave labor.
Cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane
American History
Name the only country of the Americas/Caribbean in which slaves freed themselves and successfully overthrew their colonizers, forming a new nation.
Haiti
American History
Who led the revolution / creation of what are now Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama to independence from the Spanish Empire?
Simón Bolivar
(He created Gran Colombia, a unified state covering the region of the countries listed previously.)
American History
Name the revolutionary who led the removal of the Portuguese and created modern-day Brazil.
Dom Pedro I
American History
Who led the revolution / creation of what is now Argentina (and other parts of southern South America) to independence from the Spanish Empire?
José de San Martin
American History
What war between Great Britain and France began in 1752 in North America?
The French and Indian War
(Both allied with different Native American tribes)
Fill in the blanks for events leading up to the Declaration of Independence:
1765 - legislation of the ___________ Act.
1770 - the ___________ massacre.
1773 - the ___________ ___________ party.
1774 - first ______________ congress.
Fill in the blanks for events leading up to the Declaration of Independence:
1765 - legislation of the Stamp Act.
1770 - the Boston massacre.
1773 - the Boston Tea party.
1774 - first Continental congress.
American History
Name the first two battles of the America Revolutionary War (1775).
The battle of Lexington and Concord
The battle of Bunker Hill
American History
The U.S. revolution officially began in 1776 with the _______________ and ended in 1781 with the _______________.
The U.S. revolution began in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence and ended in 1781 with the Siege of Yorktown.
American History
What treaty officially ended the Revolutionary War?
The Treaty of Paris
American History
Who negotiated the 1803 Louisiana Purchase?
Thomas Jefferson
American History
In 1804, Explorers ______ and ______ set out on their journey to cross North America and find the Pacific Ocean.
In 1804, Explorers Lewis and Clark set out on their journey to cross North America and find the Pacific Ocean.
American History
Was the American Revolution the final U.S. war against the British?
No, remember the War of 1812
American History
Name the final battle (1815) of the War of 1812 which actually occurred days after the war-ending treaty of Ghent.
The Battle of New Orleans
(led by Andrew Jackson)
American History
What was the Monroe Doctrine of 1823?
A U.S. policy that opposed European colonialism in the Americas
American History
In 1838, the ___________ Nation was forced to march from the Southeast to Oklahoma in what is known as the ‘Trail of Tears.’
In 1838, the Cherokee Nation was forced to march from the Southeast to Oklahoma in what is known as the ‘Trail of Tears.’
