Knowledge Platform HL History Flashcards
What is the commonly-accepted explanation for how the first “Native Americans” arrived in North America?
About 10-20,000 years ago, a land bridge connected what is modern-day Russia to modern-day Alaska (where the Bering Strait is now), and humans migrated across this land bridge, eventually heading south.
Approximately how many different Native American nations existed before the arrival of Columbus, and in what basic characteristics did they each differ from one another?
At least 100, each with a different language, social system, and stage of economic development.
What year did Cristobal Colón (a.k.a. Christopher Columbus) first arrive in the Western Hemisphere?
1492
What two European nations were the first to colonize the Americas, and which of these two was the first to colonize in North America?
Spain and Portugal
Spain was the first to colonize in North America
What is the difference between a “primary source” and a “secondary source”? If given an example of a source, could you identify it as one or the other if given the context in which it is being used?
A primary source is an account of an event from someone who was present at that event, or if one is researching conditions of a time period, someone who experienced that time period.
A secondary source is one that appears after the event or time period occurred, often based on primary sources with or without reference to other secondary sources (a source based entirely upon other secondary sources, such as an encyclopedia or wiki entry could be considered a “tertiary” source).
Why is a “Pilgrim” a “Puritan” but a “Puritan” is not necessarily a “Pilgrim”?
Puritans were English Christians who broke away from the Anglican Church, finding its rituals too “fancy” and obstructing a direct connection between man’s prayer and God. “Pilgrim” was the name given to a Puritan “separatist”, i.e., one who could no longer tolerate living in England, while many (non-Pilgrim) Puritans remained.
How did Puritans differ from Anglicans? How did Anglicans differ from Roman Catholics? What unites Catholics and Protestants (and therefore separates them from other religions)?
Puritans were English Christians who broke away from the Anglican Church, finding its rituals too “fancy” and obstructing a direct connection between man’s prayer and God. They emphasized simplicity.
Anglicans were supporters of the Church of England, which was started by King Henry VIII when the Pope, refused to grant him a divorce from his first wife. While Anglicans maintained some aspects of Catholic practice, they refused to recognize the authority of the Pope.
Both Anglicans and Puritans are Christian denominations under the heading “Protestant”, but share with Catholics a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, a belief not shared by adherents of other religions such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.
What kind of “religious freedom” were the “Pilgrims” who settled Plymouth Colony seeking?
Freedom to practice their brand of Christianity their way (i.e., not freedom for everyone to practice religion whatever way he/she preferred).
In what order were the Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, New Amsterdam, and Jamestown colonies settled? In the first third of which century?
Jamestown, New Amsterdam, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay.
Which of the these four colonies was not English, and which nation founded it? (Jamestown, New Amsterdam, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay)
New Amsterdam (founded by Dutch)
Which of the above colonies’ founding is associated with the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving?
Plymouth
What agricultural product was instrumental in the survival and eventual prosperity of the Jamestown (Virginia) Colony?
Tobacco
What was the Mayflower Compact and why is it considered significant in the development of democratic government?
A document signed by the 40 “Pilgrims” on the Mayflower agreeing that they together, collectively, would form their own government when they arrived in the New World. This is regarded as an early instance of the philosophy that “government comes from the consent of the governed.” (It is important to note that there were 80 others on the ship who were not consulted in making the agreement)
What was the House of Burgesses and why is it considered significant in the development of representative government?
The first elected representative legislature in the English North American colonies. (Again, an early example of the self-government principle)
Which individual is associated with the quotations “No taxation without representation!” and “Give me liberty or give me death!”?
Patrick Henry and James Otis
What was the Stamp Act?
An unpopular tax on paper goods in Britain’s American colonies. Colonial reaction to this tax is often regarded, at least in popular imagination, as the first stirring of the American revolution.
What happened at the “Boston Tea Party?”
Members of the “Sons of Liberty”, an American anti-government militia boarded a ship laden with 15,000 pounds worth of tea and dumped its contents in Boston Harbor, prompting a harsh crackdown on the American colonies by the British government.
Why would it have made no sense for Paul Revere to have shouted “the British are coming!”?
Paul Revere was British (regarded himself as a subject of the King), as were all American colonists at the time.
Why are Lexington and Concord significant towns in U.S. history?
It was in these towns that the first exchanges of gunfire between local American militia-men and British troops occurred; considered the first battles of the “Revolutionary War.”
In the context of the 1770s, what did the terms “patriot”, “loyalist”, and “tory” mean?
Patriot = someone who supported American independence from Britain (the United Kingdom).
Loyalist = American colonist who opposed American independence.
Tory = member of British Parliament who opposed negotiations with American colonists over independence.
In which document would you find the phrase “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”?
Declaration of Independence
Who made the “Louisiana Purchase”, what did it do to the size of the United States, and what role did Lewis and Clark play?
Thomas Jefferson arranged purchase of France’s territory in North America (the Louisiana Terr.), doubling the size of the U.S. Lewis and Clark were hired to conduct an expedition of this territory (with a corps of 40 or so) and were the first white men to cross from the Mississippi R. to the Pacific (as far as we know).
Who were the first four presidents of the United States (in order)?
George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison
Where is the Erie Canal and why was its construction so important to the development of the United States?
Located roughly in the center of New York State, it connects the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. Made it possible for Americans in the Midwest to participate in international trade and made NYC the economic capital of the U.S.
What is the significance of Fort Sumter?
South Carolina’s attack on Fort Sumter is considered the start of the U.S. Civil War.
What did the Southern states do (collectively) that ultimately resulted in civil war, and what is the correct way to spell this word?
They seceded from the U.S.
Who was U.S. president during the entirety of the Civil War?
Abraham Lincoln
Who won the U.S. Civil War?
The “North” (the states comprising the Union)
What was “Reconstruction” and when did it occur?
The time period just after the Civil War (lasting about 12 years) in which attempts were made to restore southern “seceded” states back to the union and to grant citizenship rights to about four million who had been emancipated from slavery.
What was a “Jim Crow law”?
A law (mostly used in southern states) designed to segregate African Americans from white society and to maintain them in second-class status. These types of laws began to be passed about twenty years after Reconstruction ended and continued until the 1960s.
Suffrage
The right to vote
Temperance
Opposition to the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Nationalism
The belief that a nation’s fate should be controlled by its own people (and for ethnic peoples within another nation, the belief that they should have their own nation). It is not simply “pride in one’s country” (though that’s an ingredient).
Imperialism
The practice of one country imposing its will over other countries for economic, political, and military gain.
Capitalism
An economic system favoring private enterprise, and one that gives a central role to individuals who accumulate money (capital) and use it to invest in the creation of business ventures.
Socialism
One in which the working class is expected to control the means of production, and in which the social costs and benefits of business are widely shared by the society as a whole. (Note: Most economies today are a mixture of some aspects of both capitalism and socialism, including the U.S.)
Communism
A party of dedicated revolutionaries (communist party) controls society in order to reach the goal of worker control of production. Communism has often resulted in a totalitarian state in which personal freedom is severely limited even if socialist principles are ignored (such as North Korea).
Fascism
A political and economic system that, while retaining the private enterprise aspect of capitalism, places absolute power in the hands of a single leader/dictator, with an emphasis on strong nationalist beliefs and desire for military conquest.
Destruction of National Bank/”Trail of Tears”
Jackson
“Trustbusting”; “Speak softly and carry a big stick”
Teddy Roosevelt
“New Deal”
FDR
“Ask not what your country can do for you…”
JFK
The “Great Society” programs
Lyndon B. Johnson
Watergate
Nixon
“Supply-side” economics / “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!”
Ronald Reagan
Prior to the election of 2016, who were the last ten U.S. presidents (in order) and what political party did each belong to?
Obama: Democratic George W. Bush: Republican Clinton: Democratic George H. W. Bush: Republican Reagan: Republican Carter: Democratic Ford: Republican Nixon: Republican Johnson: Democratic Kennedy: Democratic
Continental Congress approves Declaration of Independence
1776
U.S. Constitution adopted as “law of the land”
1789
Civil War
1861-1865
Reconstruction era, including end of slavery & beginning of suffrage for African-Americans
Right after the civil war, lasting for over a decade
“Progressive Era”
End of 1890s through end of 1910s
WWI
1910s
Women get the right to vote
1920
Great Depression
1930s
WWII
1940s
“Baby Boom”
Second half of 1940s to first half of 1960s
Heyday of the modern Civil Rights Movement
1950s-1960s
Cold War
Second half of 1940s through end of 1980s
Height of U.S. involvement in Vietnam
1950s through early 1970s
9/11
2001
In what order did each of the following inventions appear, and for each, in which century & decade did it appear?
Telegraph (1840s)
Railroad (when did it become a major mode of transportation?) (1850s)
Telephone (1870s)
Automobile (when was it first possible for the average American to buy one?) (1910s, although invented in 1885)
Network radio (when did it become a fixture in American households?) (late 1920s)
Network television (when did it become a fixture in American households?) (end of 1940s-1950s)
Transatlantic commercial air travel (1950s)
Space travel (1960s)
Personal computer (end of 1970s)
The World Wide Web (1990s)
Smart-phone (2000s)
WWI Allies and Adversaries
United Kingdom, France, United States, and Russia vs.
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
(Russia dropped out before end; U.S. entered after start)
WWII Allies and Adversaries
United Kingdom for entirety and U.S.S.R. after start and U.S. after start and France after liberation vs.
Japan, Germany, Italy
Korea War Allies and Adversaries
International Force under UN auspices led by United States and South Korea vs.
North Korea w/later assistance from China
Vietnam War Allies and Adversaries
United States and Army of South Vietnam vs.
North Vietnam and Vietcong (forces in S. Vietnam loyal to N. Vietnam)
First Persian Gulf War Allies and Adversaries
International coalition led by United States, (WITH U.S.S.R., United Kingdom, France)
War in Afghanistan Allies and Adversaries
United States and Afghan government (at first in exile) vs. Taliban government (now in exile)
War in Iraq Allies and Adversaries
(initial) United States vs.
Iraqi Government of Saddam Hussein
(later) United States and government of Iraq vs.
forces loyal to Hussein + ISIS (Daesh)
Which of the above wars occurred during the “Cold War”?
Korean War and Vietnam War
Which of the above wars occurred after 9/11?
War in Afghanistan + War in Iraq
Which of the above wars was the last to be officially declared by Congress?
WWII
Why was there a “Montgomery Bus Boycott”, when did it occur (approximately), whose actions precipitated it, and who eventually became the leader of the effort?
…To protest “Jim Crow” law requiring African Americans to sit in rear of buses (and to give up seats to whites if not enough). In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. Martin Luther King, a young, recently-arrived minister, became the public face of the year-long boycott
What was a principal difference between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in terms of their approach to civil rights?
King stressed the importance of non-violence and the inclusion of white support in the civil rights movement, while Malcolm X believed in self-defense and felt African-Americans needed to create their own institutions.
Penny
Lincoln
Nickel
Jefferson
Dime
Roosevelt
Quarter
Washington
$1
Washington
$2
Jefferson
$5
Lincoln
$10
Alexander Hamilton
$20
Andrew Jackson
$50
Ulysses S. Grant
$100
Benjamin Franklin
What is happening to prices when a nation’s economy experiences “inflation”? How about when it is in “recession?”
Prices rise during inflationary periods (average price of everything, that is, even if individual prices don’t rise)
Prices usually decline during recessions
Why is April 15 a significant date in the American economy?
It is the date that most Americans must file their income tax returns
Which document begins with the words “We the People”?
The U.S. Constitution
Which document guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly in the U.S.?
The Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the Constitution).
How many branches of government does the U.S. government have? What is each branch called & what is its job? Why was the U.S. government set up with multiple branches?
Legislative branch makes laws
Executive branch enforces laws
Judicial branch interprets laws (clarifies their meaning and application)
How many houses are there in Congress and what are they called? Why is the number of members in each house different?
Senate and House of Representatives
The House of Representatives number of members is different because it is based on state population
What are (at least) two examples of “checks and balances” built into the U.S. Constitution?
Congress passes laws but the president has the power to veto a law he does not like
The Supreme Court has the power to decide whether a law is constitutional or not
According to the Constitution, who makes laws for the U.S., and who is responsible for enforcing them?
According to the Constitution, who makes laws for the U.S., and who is responsible for enforcing them?
What are the steps required for a bill to become law in the U.S.?
A bill must receive a majority vote in each house of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate).
If the president signs the bill, it becomes law.
If the president vetoes the bill, it can still become law if 2/3 of each house votes for the bill (called an “override”).
Who chooses the president of the United States, according to the Constitution?
The Electoral College
Excepting those who live in Washington, D.C., what is the minimum number of governments under which each American lives (and what are they)?
The U.S. government and the government of one’s state
What is the basic principle of U.S. law—you are innocent until ______?
You are innocent until “proven guilty”
How many people are on a jury, and how many of them are required to find a defendant guilty of a crime?
12 are on the jury and all of them need to find the defendant guilty
True or false? The Constitution requires that each American demonstrate allegiance to the flag by saying the “Pledge of Allegiance” daily and standing for the National Anthem when played.
False
True or false? The Constitution prevents the government from regulating private businesses.
False
True or false? Public schools may not teach about religion and students may not pray in school.
False
True or false? The President of the United States can suspend the rights of free speech, press, and assembly when the nation is at war.
False. The Constitution permits Congress to authorize the suspension of the right of habeas corpus (and thus allow preventive detention without cause). Nothing permits Congress or the President to unilaterally suspend these other rights.
What are the two major political parties in the U.S.? Which one has the nickname “GOP”?
Democratic and Republican
GOP = Republican
What is the voting age in the U.S., what must you do before you can vote, and when is election day held?
- You must register to vote prior to voting.
For federal and state-wide elections, voting takes place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Local elections are sometimes held at different times of the year.
What is the purpose of a “primary” election?
Primary elections, NOT held in November, exist within each political party to determine who the party’s nominee will be in the November election (sort of like “semi-finals”)
