US History 1 and Other Cool Facts with Mr. Newhall Flashcards
1
Q
How long ago is the first truly solid evidence for people living in the Americas?
A
15,000 years ago
2
Q
We have reasonable but not perfect evidence people lived in the Americas as long ago as:
A
17,000 years ago
3
Q
What are two countries Christopher Columbus may have been from?
A
Italy or Spain
4
Q
What is a nomadic lifestyle?
A
Moving around instead of living in one spot.
5
Q
The Mississippian culture is best known for building what?
A
Large mounds
6
Q
What land bridge did people probably cross to reach America thousands of years ago?
A
Beringia
7
Q
What invention revolutionized life in the Americas around 10,000 years ago?
A
Farming/agriculture
8
Q
Before people could farm what was the main food source for people in the Americas?
A
Hunting large animals (like woolly mammoths)
9
Q
The Olmec culture was located in:
A
Southern Mexico
10
Q
The Olmec culture is best known for making:
A
Giant stone heads
11
Q
Name a major city of the Mississippian culture of Native Americans
A
Cahokia or Moundville (two places)
12
Q
The Aztec civilization was located in:
A
Central Mexico
13
Q
The Incan civilization was located in:
A
West Coast of South America (Andes Mountains; Peru/Chile)
14
Q
The Kwakiutl people of America lived in:
A
Northern California
15
Q
Kwakiutl people were known for this kind of celebration and gift-giving:
A
Potlatch
16
Q
The Kwakiutl recorded their family histories on:
A
Totem poles
17
Q
Some Native American societies were Matrilineal. Matrilineal means:
A
Family line goes through the mother (man takes woman’s name opposite to how we do it).
18
Q
What year did Christopher Columbus reach the Americas?
A
1492
19
Q
This device improved how quickly new information could spread, helping to popularize America in Europe in the late 1400s
A
Printing Press
20
Q
This theory said a country should try to get as much money as it can by being self-sufficient and never trading away its gold.
A
Mercantilism
21
Q
Europe was a world leader in this, which allowed them to sail long distances and overcome tough odds to conquer new lands.
A
Military Technology
22
Q
What is the term for an ability to change your status in society, usually by changing job or moving to live somewhere else?
A
Social Mobility
23
Q
What was the name of the first culture Christopher Columbus encountered when he landed on San Salvador?
A
Arawak
24
Q
What was Columbus’s primary objective in his quest to reach India?
A
Find money (gold/silver).
25
What is the "Great Spirit"?
A supreme deity (god) common to many Native American religions, often under slightly different names.
26
During the Renaissance Europeans were obsessed with what cultures?
Ancient Greece / Ancient Rome
27
What was a new style of ship the Europeans had invented which was well-suited to both oceanic and coastal sailing?
Caravel
28
Before 1492 much of Spain was controlled by this non-Spanish group:
Muslims
29
Who were king and queen of Spain in 1492?
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
30
Columbus wanted to repay the cost of his second expedition to the Americas with these two things:
Slaves & gold
31
This is the Spanish term for systematic use of slave plantations (large farms with slaves).
Encomienda System
32
By 1650 how many Natives survived on the Caribbean islands conquered by Columbus?
Around zero
33
What was the biggest cause of premature death for Natives after contact with the Europeans in the 1400s?
Disease
34
This man conquered Florida for Spain in the early 1500s.
Juan Ponce de Leon
35
Spanish term for an explorer/conqueror in the period 1490-1700.
Conquistador
36
This conquistador began the conquest of the Incas in South America.
Francisco Pizarro
37
This conquistador explored the American Southeast and crossed the Mississippi River in the 1530s and 1540s.
Hernando de Soto
38
This conquistador took his followers around the American Southwest looking for gold unsuccessfully
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
39
This conquistador conquered Mexico from the Aztecs around 1520
Hernando Cortes
40
What three factors led to the downfall of the Aztec Empire?
- Mistook Spanish as gods
- Conquered tribes didn't like them
- Disease
41
Bartolome de Las Casas's job was:
Friar (priest/monk)
42
Bartolome de Las Casas was famous for his position taken against:
Enslaving Native Americans
43
Bartolome de Las Casas is controversial because:
He recommended using African Slaves instead of Native Americans
44
The Columbian Exchange was:
The flow of goods and ideas between Europe, Africa, and North America
45
In the Columbian exchange what things flowed out of Europe?
Technology/tools, livestock, disease
46
In the Columbian exchange what things flowed out of Africa?
Slaves
47
In the Columbian exchange what things flowed out of America?
New crops (corn, potatoes, etc.), gold/silver.
48
Who saved Jamestown from starvation?
John Smith
49
What enabled the English to start colonizing America?
Sank Spanish Armada in 1588
50
What was the first English attempt at colonizing America?
Roanoke
51
When was Jamestown founded?
1607
52
Delaware is named after what man?
Lord de la warr (Thomas West)
53
Who first successfully grew Tobacco in Virginia for Jamestown?
John Rolfe
54
Who married Pocahontas to end a war between Jamestown and the Powhatan?
John Rolfe
55
When did Africans first arrive in Jamestown (potentially as slaves or servants)?
1619
56
When was tobacco first successfully grown in Jamestown?
1612
57
When was Plymouth colony founded in Massachusetts?
1620
58
After the London Company went bankrupt in 1624 control of Jamestown reverted to:
King James I of England
59
Why didn't King James stop Jamestown from growing tobacco even though he hated it?
Probably because it was making him rich.
60
What was the result of the Pequot war?
Colonists ambush and kill almost all Pequots.
61
The English Civil War took place in which decade?
1640s
62
The English Civil War began as a conflict between the King of England and Parliament over:
Raising money with taxes
63
Thomas Hobbes wrote The Leviathan in 1651 after which major historical event?
The English Civil War
64
Oliver Cromwell headed the democratic Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War. How did this government end up?
Failed shortly after he died.
65
What is the main idea of Hobbes' book The Leviathan?
Weak government and too much freedom doesn't work. It'll be chaos.
66
Thomas Hobbes' view in The Leviathan was inspired by which historical event?
The English Civil War
67
One inspiration for our Bill of Rights was issued after the English Civil War, called:
The English Bill of Rights
68
The French & Indian War began in what decade?
1750s
69
The French & Indian War ended in what decade?
1760s
70
How much did American colonists like being part of England in the 1750s?
They thought it was great. Couldn't imagine leaving.
71
The French & Indian War is also sometimes called what (especially in Europe)?
Seven Years' War
72
The first laws creating official slavery in Virginia were passed in what year?
1660
73
The French & Indian War involved which major nations in America?
France, England (+ US colonies), and Native American tribes
74
What was the result of King Phillip's War in the 1670s?
Around 1 in 3 American colonists dead, but Native Americans defeated.
75
Who was "King Phillip" of the 1670s?
A Native American chieftain
76
The French & Indian War was fought over what?
Ownership of the Ohio River Valley
77
Who won the French & Indian war?
British
78
How did the French & Indian War lead to the American Revolution?
War debt led to taxes led to unhappy colonists
79
What was the Proclamation of 1763?
American colonists can't go past the Appalachian Mountains
80
What were the main two sources of labor in the Virginia colony in early America?
Indentured Servants and Slaves
81
What made colonizing the northeastern US so easy for early British settlers?
Natives had died of disease and left all their stuff lying around for free.
82
Why did the Pilgrims need the Mayflower Compact?
They brought settlers with them who thought they were going to Jamestown and were really angry they had been tricked.
83
What are the other common names for the Pilgrims?
Puritans / Separatists
84
What rebellion in Virginia in the 1670s was about a lack of protection against Native American raids on frontier farms?
Bacon's Rebellion
85
What is the main concept in the Mayflower Compact?
Body Politic
86
What is Body Politic?
People cooperating to form a government in the way a person's body cooperates to make them.
87
Who was the first political philosopher who proposed a theory of body politic?
Plato
88
What were the three parts of a person in Plato's Republic?
Intelligence/Appetite/Honor (social emotions)
89
What were the three parts of Plato's ideal government?
Leader (smart) / People (dumb but productive) / Guardians (enforces Leader's decisions)
90
What was similar about Thomas Hobbes' and Plato's theory of ideal government?
Both believed that democracy wouldn't work because people can't have that much freedom or they'll ruin society.
91
The Revenue Act of 1764 is also known as:
The Sugar Act
92
The Sugar Act did what to the tax on sugar (molasses)?
Lowered it from 6 pence per gallon to 3 pence per gallon.
93
Which act of Parliament taxed paper with special stamps?
Stamp Act
94
Which act of Parliament taxed many goods including lead, glass, paint, and paper?
Townshend Acts of 1765
95
Which act of Parliament introduced vice-admiralty court trials for American smugglers?
Sugar Act
96
Which act of Parliament introduced tax collectors immune to bribery?
Sugar Act
97
Which act of Parliament created annoying new paperwork for merchant ship captains?
Sugar Act
98
What is the name of the invention that lets you control distant places using paperwork and clerks?
Bureaucracy
99
In addition to taxing certain goods the Townshend Acts also did what?
Punished New York for failing to quarter British troops properly
100
Parliament's plan to pay for the French & Indian War included which two parts?
Taxing America and stationing troops in America
101
What did the Massachusetts assembly do to respond to the Townshend acts?
Issued the Circular Letter (asking for cooperation between colonies).
102
Before the 1770s how unified were the American colonies?
Not at all unified
103
What were the governors ordered to do if the colonies did not take back the circular letter?
Dissolve the local governments and get emergency powers.
104
What three ways did the colonists protest British taxes?
1. Political protest / petitions
2. Mob action (rioting)
3. Boycotting (nonimportation)
105
Give an example of political protests or petitions by the colonists upset by British policy.
Any of the following:
- Olive Branch petition
- Patrick Henry's "no taxation without representation" resolves
- Benjamin Franklin & Jared Ingersoll's letter to Parliament
106
Give an example of mob action or rioting by the colonists upset by British policy.
- Destroying tax collectors' homes (like in Boston)
- The Boston Tea Party
- Publishing threats on tax collectors' lives in the newspapers
107
How did local politicians in America take advantage of the hatred of British taxes?
They claimed their local opponents supported the taxes.
108
Where was it decided that in response to the Intolerable Acts the American colonies would all boycott Britain (except Georgia)?
First Continental Congress
109
At what event was the Declaration of Independence written?
Second Continental Congress
110
Was every colony at the Second Continental Congress?
Yes
111
Samuel Adams was best known for his role as:
A leader of the sons of liberty
112
What incident in Boston eventually led to British troops garrisoning Boston?
Impounding John Hancock's ship Liberty
113
The "Incident on King's Street" used for patriot propaganda
Boston Massacre
114
Why did the patriots put John Adams as the defense lawyer in the Boston Massacre trial?
To make the patriots seem fair compared to the British vice-admiralty courts so more colonists would join them.
115
Who was king of Britain during the Revolutionary war?
King George III
116
Who was in command of the British army at the time of the battles of Lexington & Concord?
General Gage
117
What was General Gage's plan that led to the battles of Lexington & Concord?
To take militia's weapons from Concord and maybe capture some Sons of Liberty in Lexington along the way.
118
Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
119
The primary author of the Declaration of Independence was inspired by this British philosopher and his phrase "Life, Liberty, and Property"
John Locke
120
Who was commander-in-chief of the American army after the Battle of Bunker Hill until the end of the revolutionary war?
George Washington
121
What date did the Declaration of Independence go into effect?
July 4th, 1776
122
Patrick Henry was a lawyer and great speaker whose job was:
Member of the Virginia Assembly
123
"Give me liberty or give me death!" comes from a speech by which famous Virginian politician?
Patrick Henry
124
What did Thomas Paine do in terms of the American Revolution?
Wrote the pamphlet "Common Sense."
125
What was so "common sense" in the pamphlet by the same name?
To be independent from Britain.
126
This intolerable act allowed British government officials and soldiers to optionally stand trial in England.
Impartial Administration of Justice Act
127
This intolerable act expanded the size of a Canadian province that was predominantly French & Catholic.
Quebec Act
128
This intolerable act closed Boston harbor in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party.
Boston Port Act
129
This intolerable act revised and earlier law by the same name. It now required regular people to house soldiers in their private homes.
Quartering Act
130
This intolerable act gave the British governors emergency powers over colonial governments and revoked the Massachusetts colony charter.
Massachusetts Government Act (or Massachusetts Regulatory Act)
131
This costly British victory outside Boston before the Declaration of Independence featured the phrase "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes."
Bunker Hill
132
Which two American commanders took control of Fort Ticonderoga?
Allen Green and Benedict Arnold
133
After putting the guns from Fort Ticonderoga outside Boston and forcing the British soldiers to evacuate, those same soldiers returned where?
New York City (Staten Island)
134
How well did the Continental Army do defending New York?
Real bad chief.
135
After losing battle after battle in New York, Washington wanted some quick victories over winter 1776-7. Which victories were those?
Trenton & Princeton
136
Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold defeated Burgoyne's British army at this location after another British army failed to show up as planned.
Saratoga
137
Where did the other British army go instead of Saratoga during the American Revolution?
Philadelphia
138
What was the original British strategy in the Revolutionary War?
To take over the north and split it in half.
139
What was the British strategy after their initial strategy didn't work in the Revolutionary War?
Take over the south, it has fewer patriots.
140
American General Horatio Gates was badly defeated by the British in the South at which battle?
Camden
141
This was the final major battle of the Revolutionary War where a British army surrendered to a combined force of French and American troops and ships.
Yorktown
142
This treaty ended the Revolutionary War.
Treaty of Paris.
143
Americans won the Revolutionary War primarily because of:
Will to fight and foreign aid (France, Spain).
144
In the Treaty of Paris the British gave away their territory West of the new United States to what nation?
Spain
145
Under the Articles of Confederation Congress had difficulty running the country in which three areas?
Debt/taxation/money, foreign relations, and economy/trade.
146
"Printing & Promising" refers to raising money by doing what?
Creating (printing) new money and promising to collect taxes for it later.
147
What did the states often do in response to an unpredictable and low-value Congressional money in the 1780s?
Print their own currency.
148
What does inflation mean?
Value of money goes down (or prices go up).
149
What does deflation mean?
Value of money goes up (or prices go down).
150
Why is deflation often worse than inflation?
Nobody will spend their money because it is getting worth more the longer they hold onto it. This damages business, which causes more deflation.
151
Who held most of the power in the New Jersey state government of the 1770s and 1780s?
Legislative branch (Legislative Council & Assembly).
152
Who held most of the power in the Virginia state government of the 1770s and 1780s?
Legislative branch (House of Delegates & Senate).
153
Would most state constitutions of the 1780s have made a good basis for the national government of America? Why?
No, they did not have enough separation of power / checks and balances. The Legislature was too powerful.
