Tip Of The Day Flashcards
When you first see a card mark it red and carefully read the answer. After reading each card, bump up your confidence level by 1. Once yellow, try to produce the tip without looking. If you get it wrong, mark it red and start over again.
Mercantilism Versus Capitalism
Mercantilism involved extensive government regulation of trade and economic activities; modern Capitalism puts much more emphasis on free trade
Agriculture, North Versus South
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.
The Religious Schisms of Europe
Though the Protestant Reformation occurred in Europe, it profoundly impacted colonial America and the United States.
The “City Upon a Hill”
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.
Plymouth and New England
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.
Church and State
The Puritans (with the exception of Roger Williams) established theocratic governments. The belief that the origins of religious freedom was Massachusetts is FALSE.
Great Migrations
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.
Colonial New Amsterdam and Modern New York
In both, commerce plays a more important role than religion. Both are also incredibly diverse ethnically and racially.
Deference and Egalitarianism
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.
The Shift to Slavery
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.
Democracy in Colonial America
One can easily find as many undemocratic features of colonial life, from theocracy in New England to slavery throughout the colones.
Slavery in the North
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.
The Granting of Titles
The American tradition of not granting titles was made official when the framers of the Constitution prohibited the practice.
The Spanish Colonial Experience
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.
A Global War
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.
A Shift in Colonial Policy
Note the shift in British policy from salutary neglect approach prior to the French and Indian War to close supervision in the postwar period.
Purpose of Taxes
The distinction between taxation to regulate trade and taxation to raise revenue was important to many colonists.
Standing Armies
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.
Defensive Versus Offensive Wars
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.
Urban Centers and War
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.
The Three Treaties of Paris
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.
Critical Condition
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.
Republicanism
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)
Success in the West
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.
Lack Of Progress in Foreign Relations
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.
Shay’s Rebellion
This incident is considered one of the catalysts for creating a completely new governing document rather than simply amending the Articles of Confederation
Madison and the Constitution
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
Federalist Papers
Be familiar with the overall approach of the Federalist Papers and especially the arguments in Federalist No. 10 and No. 51
The Antifederalists
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.
Interpreting the Constitution
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.
Responses to Rebellions
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.
Ongoing Indian Wars
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.
Parties and Foreign Policy
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.
State Versus Federal Power
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.
Economic Independence
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.
War Hawks
The War Hawks intended to hail from western and southern states.
Talk of Secession
The Hartford Convention demonstrated that talk of secession was not restricted to Southerners.
Hamilton and Clay
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.
Adam’s Postpresidency
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.
Jackson and States’ Rights
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.
Tariffs in the 1800s
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
The Two-Party System
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.
Federal Aid
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.
The Development of a National Economy
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.
An Industrial Revolution?
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.”
King Cotton, North and South
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.
Periods of Reform
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.
Reforming Self and Society
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.
The Impact of Thoreau
Thoreau’s book WALDEN, or LIFE IN THE WOODS (1854) was influential in the back-to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 1970s
Support for Colonization
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.
