US History

Question 1

Seven Year’s War

Answer 1

AKA French and Indian War
1754 - 1763 (actually 9 years!), UK declared war in 1756
First global war (150 years before WWI)
English and NA allies fought against the French and their NA allies (and Spain was involved)
Fought predominantly over power: territory (Britain priority) and trade (France priority)

Question 2

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Answer 2

The formal end of the Seven Year War

Big victory for England: won New France (Canada), Spanish Floria, Sugar Islands, etc. `

Question 3

Boston Massacre

Answer 3

March 5, 1770
Confrontation between British sentry (military occupied Boston) and angry Bostonians
Killed 5 Bostonians
Crispus Attackus was the first death of the American Revolution
- Free sailor of NA and African descent

Question 4

Boston Tea Party

Answer 4

1773
342 crates of tea destroyed in response to the British taxation policies (dropped taxes on almost everything but not tea)
“Coercive acts” were retaliation tactics published by the UK
- Shut down Boston’s port
- Shut down the colony’s legislature
- Occupied Boston with British troops
AKA “Intolerable Acts” (as known in America)
British parliament passed more punitive laws in response in 1774

Question 5

First Continental Congress

Answer 5

Autumn 1774
Delegates from all colonies (except Georgia) gathered in Philly
Showed support for Boston and worked towards a unified approach to the British

“Declaration of Colonial Rights and Grievances” resulted

Question 6

Lexington and Concord

Answer 6

Battles on April 19, 1775
First battles of the American Revolution War
April 8: Paul Revere rode to Concord first and notified local militias to be on alert
April 18: Revere road to Lexington
“Minutemen” were the independent militia

Question 7

Declaration of Independence

Answer 7

July 4, 1776
Unalienable rights: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness
All men are created equal
Grievances with the King of England
Authored by Thomas Jefferson, also written in Philadelphia

Question 8

Articles of Confederation

Answer 8

1777
How to run a government as different as possible from a monarchy
United all 13 colonies (each as an independent state)
1 representative per state, 9 of 13 representatives needed to vote yes in order to pass a law
Pre-constitution, governed through the American Revolution
- Changed to the Constitution because of Shay’s Rebellion (no $ of government to fight local rebellions!)
- The federal government was too weak to enforce laws and collect taxes / repay debts

Question 9

Shay’s Rebellion

Answer 9

1787
Daniel Shay (MA)
Revolutionary fighters were not paid
Congress had no way to raise money with the Articles of Confederation
A stronger central government was required (hence, the Constitution!)

Question 10

Constitution

Answer 10

1787
Replaced the Articles of Confederation
Connecticut Compromise: bicameral legislature (vs. VA plan - House only / NJ plan - Senate only)
President elected by the electoral college
Three-fifths compromise

Question 11

The Federalist Papers

Answer 11

1788
85 essays written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton
Urged ratification of the constitution
Often used by modern-day politicians and courts to define original intent
Key contribution to political philosophy

Question 12

Articles of US Constitution

Answer 12

Written in 1787, took effect in 1789

1. Legislative branch (most power) - enumerated powers
2. Executive branch (enforce the laws)
3. Judicial branch (interpret the laws)
4. States, citizenship, new states
5. Amendment process
6. Debts, supremacy, oaths
7. Ratification process

Principles are designed to be flexible!

Question 13

Bill of Rights

Answer 13

1791 (4 years after Constitution)
First 10 amendments guarantee rights and protections - added clarity on express rights and priveledges
1. Free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, peaceful assembly
2. Right to bear arms
3. Restricts quartering of soldiers in private homes
4. Protects against unreasonable search and seizure
5. Protects against holding for a crime without indictment (Habeas Corpus)
6. Guarantee of a speedy trial, impartial jury, attorney
7. Guarantee of a jury trial for civil cases in Federal courts
8. Protects against cruel and unusual punishment / exorbitantly high bail
9. Other rights exist besides the aforementioned
10. States rights

Question 14

US Census

Answer 14

1790
Outlined in Article 1 of the Constitution
Occurs every 10 years
Takes data on US population and economy - decides:
- Representatives
- Taxation

Question 15

Alien and Sedition Acts

Answer 15

1798
John Adam’s presidency
Alien: Feds can deport non-citizens deemed a threat to national security
Sedition: Limited speaking out against government during the war (violated the first amendment)

Question 16

XYZ Affair

Answer 16

1797 - 1798
Early in John Adam’s administration
The confrontation between the US and Republican France that lead to an undeclared war (the “Quasi-War”)
3 French diplomat’s names replaced by X, Y, and Z

Question 17

Election of 1800

Answer 17

The hostile election put a peaceful change of power
Incumbent: John Adams (Federalist) vs. Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican)
Federalists: sympathetic with Britain, Northern, strong central government/manufacturing
D-R: sympathetic with France, Souther, agrarian republic (Yeoman Farmer)

Question 18

Barbary Wars

Answer 18

Jefferson as POTUS (decreased Navy size)
Pirates off Barbary Coast (North Africa)
Raided US ships, conflict with the ruler of Tripoli
First: 1801 - 1805
Second: 1815

First successful offshore war for the US

Question 19

Embargo Act of 1807

Answer 19

Britain and France engaged in Napoleonic wars - captured the US ships and crew
Jefferson signed the embargo, forbidding US ships to leave port until the war ceased
Jefferson thought no trade would harm UK / FR, but it actually hurt the US economy (75% decrease)

Non-intercourse Act of 1808: Lifted embargo. with all but UK and France

Question 20

Louisiana Purchase

Answer 20

1803 - Jefferson
Doubled the size of US
$15 M to Napolean, ~ 800 K square miles

Jefferson hired Lewis and Clark (!!) and Sacagawea (Shoshone)

Northerners didn’t love - more slave states/lack of interest in the representation

Question 21

Marbury v. Madison

Answer 21

1803
Judge appointed by John Adams was rejected by Thomas Jefferson
Implied JUDICIAL REVIEW (SCOTUS can strike down laws if they are found to violate the Constitution)

Question 22

War of 1812

Answer 22

June 1812 - Feb 1815 (…)
US and UK - “Second American Revolution”
Treaty of Ghent ended the war (no change in borders) - lead by James Madison
Native Americans who allied with the British had their land devastated
Went to war because of impressment (British forcing the US soldiers to fight for the UK in Napoleonic Wars), violated the US’ neutral shipping rights
John C Calhoun (SC) and Henry Clay (KY) - war hawks who urged Congress to declare war

Battle of Thames (1813): Tecumseh killed
Napolean’s Abdication (1814): UK turned resources to the US war (from focusing on the Napoleonic Wars)
Battle of Bladensburg (1814): UK couldn’t capture Baltimore, Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem
Hartford Convention: New England to succeed from the Union due to the impact on maritime commerce

Question 23

Missouri Compromise

Answer 23

1820: Admitted MO as a slave state and ME as a free state - slavery was prohibited north of the 36’30 parallel
Later repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854, which allowed people in two states to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery in their borders

Question 24

Monroe Doctrine

Answer 24

1823 - James Monroe
During the State of the Union
A declaration to Europe: no more European colonization in the Americas. Don’t interfere!

The US at the time was a second rate nation in a second rate area with a weak military, so nobody really cared. BUT this later became a key facet of US foreign policy

Question 25

Mercantilism Trade

Answer 25

16th - 18th CE
Maximize exports of the nation
Takes advantage of colonies - they exist to enrich the home country
All colonies’ goods go through the home country

Question 26

American Isolationism

Answer 26

AKA non-interventionism
Seeks to avoid alliances with nations to avoid being drawn into wars not related to direct territorial self-defense
Popular from Madison (early 1800s) through the Spanish American War (1898/1899)

Question 27

John Quincy Adams

Answer 27

1825 - 1829: 6th POTUS
Was the secretary of state under James Monroe before
A skilled diplomat and opposed to slavery (a major supporter of abolition)
Beat Jackson (“corrupt bargain”)
Post presidency lost to Jackson in 1828, became a Congressman for MA in 14 years