Mix of Unit 1-9 Flashcards
What was the Encomienda System?
A Spanish system that divided Native American labor among conquistadors providing protection and education in exchange for tribute.
What are Joint-Stock Companies?
Business ventures where investors buy stock allowing for the funding of colonies in North America
Who are the Pueblo Indians?
Native Americans of the southwestern U.S. known for adobe dwellings and revolting against Spanish rule
What was the Asiento System?
A Spanish system of slavery that taxed the importation of African slaves to the Americas laying groundwork for the Triangular Trade.
What happened at Roanoke?
An early English colony that mysteriously disappeared with only “CROATOAN” carved into a tree as a clue to their fate.
What was the House of Burgesses?
The first legislative assembly in the American colonies established in Virginia in 1642
What is Mercantilism?
An economic theory emphasizing that trade generates wealth and that colonies should supply the mother country fostering colonial expansion.
What are Cash Crops?
Crops grown primarily for profit rather than subsistence such as sugar
What is the Triangular Trade?
A trade route between Africa the New World
What is the order of colonization of the colonies?
Virginia, New York
What is the Bill of Rights?
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution that protect individual liberties and limit governmental power.
What was the Boston Massacre?
A deadly confrontation in 1770 between colonists and British soldiers, used as propaganda to fuel anti-British sentiment.
What was the Boston Tea Party?
A protest against the Tea Act in 1773 where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor
What are Checks and Balances?
A system separating government powers into three branches to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power.
What is the Constitution?
The foundational document of the U.S. government that established its structure powers
What is the Declaration of Independence?
A 1776 document authored by Thomas Jefferson outlining the colonies’ reasons for breaking from British rule.
Who were the Sons of Liberty?
A group of colonial activists opposing British rule and taxation including notable figures like Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
What was the Embargo Act?
A law by Thomas Jefferson in 1807 that prohibited American ships from trading with foreign ports harming the economy.
What was the War of 1812?
A conflict between the U.S. and Britain over maritime rights impressment of sailors
What was the Hartford Convention?
A meeting of Federalists in 1814 to discuss grievances regarding the War of 1812 and propose constitutional amendments.
What was the Tariff of Abominations?
A controversial tariff passed in 1828 that protected northern industries but harmed southern economies foreshadowing the Civil War.
What is the Cult of Domesticity?
A social ideology that defined women’s roles as caregivers and homemakers promoting submission to male authority.
What is the Monroe Doctrine?
A U.S. policy warning European nations against further colonization in the Americas establishing a sphere of influence.
What was Marbury v. Madison?
A landmark Supreme Court case that established judicial review allowing the Court to invalidate unconstitutional laws.
What was the Emancipation Proclamation?
An executive order by Abraham Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate states during the Civil War.
What was the Fugitive Slave Act?
A law that mandated the return of runaway slaves increasing tensions leading to the Civil War.
What was the Missouri Compromise?
A 1820 agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state maintaining the balance in Congress.
What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
A law allowing territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty leading to violent conflict known as Bleeding Kansas.
What was the Surrender at Appomattox Court House?
The event where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant effectively ending the Civil War.
What was the Gilded Age?
A period from 1870-1900 marked by economic growth and social issues highlighting the contrast between wealth and poverty.
What is Laissez-Faire Economics?
An economic approach promoting minimal government intervention in the economy allowing businesses to operate freely.
Who were JP Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie?
Influential business magnates who dominated American industries in the late 19th century, shaping the economy.
What is Horizontal Integration?
A business strategy of consolidating with competitors to create a monopoly often used by Rockefeller.
What is Vertical Integration?
A business model where a company controls all stages of production from raw materials to distribution
What was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890?
The first federal law aimed at preventing monopolies and promoting competition in U.S. industries.
What is the New South?
A movement by Southern leaders to modernize the economy and diversify agriculture after the Civil War.
What is the Roosevelt Corollary?
An extension of the Monroe Doctrine asserting U.S. intervention in Latin American affairs to maintain stability.
What does “Speak Softly
A phrase summarizing Roosevelt’s foreign policy approach and Carry a Big Stick” mean?
What was the Transcontinental Railroad?
A railroad connecting the East and West coasts of the U.S. facilitating trade and settlement.
What were Wilson’s 14 Points?
A statement of principles for peace negotiations to end World War I and promote self-determination and free trade.
What was the Great Depression?
A severe worldwide economic downturn in the 1930s characterized by high unemployment and deflation.
What was the Manhattan Project?
A secret U.S. project to develop the atomic bomb during World War II led by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
What was the Potsdam Conference?
A meeting of Allied leaders after WWII to discuss Germany’s postwar reorganization and the future of Europe.
What was the Scopes Monkey Trial?
A legal case in 1925 testing the Butler Act which prohibited the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools.
What was the Bay of Pigs?
A failed U.S. invasion of Cuba in 1961 aiming to overthrow Fidel Castro’s government.
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
A 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the USSR over Soviet missiles in Cuba bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war.
What was the Red Scare?
A period of intense fear of communism in the U.S. during the late 1940s and early 1950s marked by McCarthyism.
What was the Kent State Massacre?
The killing of four college students by National Guardsmen during a protest against the Vietnam War in 1970.
What is Détente?
A period of relaxed tensions between the U.S. and the USSR during the Cold War marked by diplomatic negotiations.
What is Domino Theory?
The belief that if one country fell to communism neighboring countries would also succumb
What was the Fall of the Berlin Wall?
The 1989 event symbolizing the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany.
What were the Attacks of September 11 2001?
Terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda that targeted the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
What is the Affordable Care Act?
A 2010 law aimed at reforming healthcare in the U.S. to increase coverage and reduce costs.
