Tip Of The Day

Question 1

Mercantilism Versus Capitalism

Answer 1

Mercantilism involved extensive government regulation of trade and economic activities; modern Capitalism puts much more emphasis on free trade

Question 2

Agriculture, North Versus South

Answer 2

In the beginning, southern colonies focused on a few staple crops, grown for export. The northern colonies focused on smaller-scale agriculture and a variety of crops.

Question 3

The Religious Schisms of Europe

Answer 3

Though the Protestant Reformation occurred in Europe, it profoundly impacted colonial America and the United States.

Question 4

The “City Upon a Hill”

Answer 4

The phrase is from Winthrop’s sermon “A Model of Christian Charity.” The sermon gives an excellent description of the Puritan mission in the New World.

Question 5

Plymouth and New England

Answer 5

The Massachusetts Bay Colony founded a decade later than Plymouth would prove to be far more successful. One reason for the centrality of Plymouth in historical accounts is that it was the first New England colony.

Question 6

Church and State

Answer 6

The Puritans (with the exception of Roger Williams) established theocratic governments. The belief that the origins of religious freedom was Massachusetts is FALSE.

Question 7

Great Migrations

Answer 7

Avoid confusing the seventeenth-century Great Migration of the Puritans to New England with the twentieth-century Great Migrations of African Americans from the rural South to the Urban North and West.

Question 8

Colonial New Amsterdam and Modern New York

Answer 8

In both, commerce plays a more important role than religion. Both are also incredibly diverse ethnically and racially.

Question 9

Deference and Egalitarianism

Answer 9

Deference- the ritualistic display of submission by common people toward those of a “superior” class- was standard practice in the European and colonial American world of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The egalitarian spirit of Quakerism would come to shape social norms in the early United States.

Question 10

The Shift to Slavery

Answer 10

Historians view Bacon’s Rebellion as a key event in the shift from indentured servitude to slavery as the main form of labor in the south.

Question 11

Democracy in Colonial America

Answer 11

One can easily find as many undemocratic features of colonial life, from theocracy in New England to slavery throughout the colones.

Question 12

Slavery in the North

Answer 12

In an essay that addresses slavery in the colonial period, do not ignore slavery in the norther colonies. Slavery was legal in all thirteen colonies at one time. Northern slaves worked as sailors, domestic servants, longshoremen, and artisans’ assistants. New York had an especially large slave population. Slavery in the North was never a strong as it was in the South, but it did exist.

Question 13

The Granting of Titles

Answer 13

The American tradition of not granting titles was made official when the framers of the Constitution prohibited the practice.

Question 14

The Spanish Colonial Experience

Answer 14

Be familiar with Spanish colonization, especially in the areas that would eventually become the United States. Contrary to traditional accounts, the American West was not an empty region before the period of Manifest Destiny.

Question 15

A Global War

Answer 15

The French and Indian War rivaled the world wars in its geographic scope. It was known as the Seven-Year’s War in Europe. In the Americas, it was fought from Nova Scotia in the North to the Great Lakes region in the West to Cuba in the South.

Question 16

A Shift in Colonial Policy

Answer 16

Note the shift in British policy from salutary neglect approach prior to the French and Indian War to close supervision in the postwar period.

Question 17

Purpose of Taxes

Answer 17

The distinction between taxation to regulate trade and taxation to raise revenue was important to many colonists.

Question 18

Standing Armies

Answer 18

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, suspicion of standing armies was part of the British and American political tradition. In the contemporary world, most people accept standing armies, even in peacetime.

Question 19

Defensive Versus Offensive Wars

Answer 19

It is easier to defend one’s territory than to conquer another’s territory. This is seen in the American Revolution and was one of the advantages of the Confederacy in the Civil War.

Question 20

Urban Centers and War

Answer 20

Later in American history, the United States came to realize that urban centers are easier to hold on to than rural areas. This lesson was shown in the Vietnam War.

Question 21

The Three Treaties of Paris

Answer 21

French and Indian War (1763)
American Revolution (1783)
Spanish-American War (1898)
Look at contextual information to understand which treaty is being discussed in a document or a question.

Question 22

Critical Condition

Answer 22

When you see the label Critical Period used to describe the decade of the 1780s, think of a patient in critical condition. Just like the health of a patient in critical condition is uncertain, the existence of the United States was in question.

Question 23

Republicanism

Answer 23

The eighteenth-century ideology of republicanism is not synonymous with the ideas of the Democratic-Republicans (1790s-1820s) or with the ideas of the later Republican Party (1850s-present)

Question 24

Success in the West

Answer 24

The most significant accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation government involved dealing with the complex problems associated with the lands to the west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Question 25

Lack Of Progress in Foreign Relations

Answer 25

The United States failed to achieve important foreign-policy goals during the Articles of Confederation period. This can be attributed to the weaknesses of the Articles or to the precarious position of a newly created nation.

Question 26

Shay’s Rebellion

Answer 26

This incident is considered one of the catalysts for creating a completely new governing document rather than simply amending the Articles of Confederation

Question 27

Madison and the Constitution

Answer 27

The basic structural elements of the Constitution- tree branches of government with a system of checks and balances- are explained and defended in James Madison’s FEDERALIST NUMBER 51

Question 28

Federalist Papers

Answer 28

Be familiar with the overall approach of the Federalist Papers and especially the arguments in Federalist No. 10 and No. 51

Question 29

The Antifederalists

Answer 29

The Anti-federalists have been saddled with an unfortunate name. They sound like naysayers. However, they had a comprehensive view of the world. Just because the lost the fight over ratification does not mean they should be dismissed. After all, their agitation led to the Bill of Rights.

Question 30

Interpreting the Constitution

Answer 30

The debate over a national bank represents an ongoing debate in American history between those with a strict and a those with a loose interpretation of the Constitution.

Question 31

Responses to Rebellions

Answer 31

Be prepared to contrast the ineffective response to Shays’s Rebellion, which lasted for months in 1786 and 1787, with the massive force of troops sent to put down the Whiskey Rebellion.

Question 32

Ongoing Indian Wars

Answer 32

The Indian Wars of the 1790s are part of an ongoing pattern of the United States breaking treaties, expanding west, and engaging in military conflicts with Native Americans. The pattern stretches from the seventeenth century to the late-nineteenth century.

Question 33

Parties and Foreign Policy

Answer 33

Note that during the administration of the Federalist John Adams, United States’ relations with France were more strained. During the administrations of Democratic-Republican presidents in the early 1800s, the United States’ relations with Great Britain were more strained.

Question 34

State Versus Federal Power

Answer 34

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were part of an ongoing debate over the respective powers of the federal and the state governments. The issue was largely settled by the Civil War, but it continued to emerge in the post-war era.

Question 35

Economic Independence

Answer 35

The Embargo Act (1807), the Non-intercourse Act (1809), and the War of 1812 (1812-1815) created demand for American-made goods. The acts proved to be a catalyst for American manufacturing and contributed to the United States becoming more economically self-sufficient.

Question 36

War Hawks

Answer 36

The War Hawks intended to hail from western and southern states.

Question 37

Talk of Secession

Answer 37

The Hartford Convention demonstrated that talk of secession was not restricted to Southerners.

Question 38

Hamilton and Clay

Answer 38

Note the marked similarities between Hamilton’s economic program and Clay’s American System. Both support a tariff, a central band, and government encouragement for manufacturing. Contemporary Republicans often are pro-business. However, now pro-business policies involve being for low tariffs and deregulating the economy- not supporting internal improvements.

Question 39

Adam’s Postpresidency

Answer 39

Most presidents have rather dull retirements. John Quincy Adams did not. He is the only former president to serve in the House of Representatives. He became an outspoken critic of slavery. William Taft became chief justice of the Supreme Court after his presidency. Jimmy Carter has been an activist in Habitat for Humanity and for world peace since his presidency ended.

Question 40

Jackson and States’ Rights

Answer 40

Be careful about generalizing in regard to Jackson’s attitude toward states’ rights. He comes from a tradition of southern states’ rights. He defended Georgia against the Supreme Court decision Worcester v. Georgia. When John Calhoun challenged federal tariff policy, though, President Jackson took the side of federal power. Read Jackson’s Farewell Address for a good summary of his political thought.

Question 41

Tariffs in the 1800s

Answer 41

Though tariff rates do not stir passionate debate today, they were one of the most divisive issues throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century

Question 42

The Two-Party System

Answer 42

The United States has almost always had two principal political parties vying for power. During the Era of Good Feelings, though, there was only one viable party, the Democratic-Republicans.

Question 43

Federal Aid

Answer 43

The idea that the federal government should intervene to help the victims of economic downturns did not gain acceptance until the twentieth century. Politicians still debate the appropriate level of federal assistance.

Question 44

The Development of a National Economy

Answer 44

The market revolution linked cities and regions. The local economies of the eighteenth century gave way to a national and even an international economic system.

Question 45

An Industrial Revolution?

Answer 45

Most historians reserve the term “industrial revolution” for the post-Civil War expansion of American industry. Some label the prewar steps toward industrialization as “the first industrial revolution” and postwar developments as “the second industrial revolution.”

Question 46

King Cotton, North and South

Answer 46

Cotton was not only king in the South. The increase in cotton production benefited many elements in the North as well. Cotton was bought and sold in New York City and processed into cloth in New England.

Question 47

Periods of Reform

Answer 47

Be familiar with the three most prominent periods of reform in American history: the reform movements of the 1830s and 1840s, the progressive reform movement of the 1900s and 1910s, and the reform movements of the 1960s and 1970s that were inspired by the civil rights movement.

Question 48

Reforming Self and Society

Answer 48

Many of the reform movements of the 1830s and 1840s were as much about reforming the self as about reforming society. Reformers urged individual self-restraint, whether in regard to alcohol or in regard to cruelty to slaves.

Question 49

The Impact of Thoreau

Answer 49

Thoreau’s book WALDEN, or LIFE IN THE WOODS (1854) was influential in the back-to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 1970s

Question 50

Support for Colonization

Answer 50

The American Colonization Society was started by anti-slavery Quakers, but it also had the support of many southern slave owners who wanted to rid the South of its free black population. Southern slave owners saw this population as a threat.