US History Exam Flashcards
Final Exam
Colonial traders carried rum, molasses, slaves and gold between North American, Africa and the Caribbean in this trade
Triangle Trade
The conflict between the British and the French over this area ignited the French and Indian War in 1754
Ohio River Valley
The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War. It’s most far reaching result was
France losing almost all its possessions in the New World and England gaining control over the New World
Britain tried to stop the settlement of American colonists west of the Appalachians with this
Proclamation of 1763
The main reason for the American colonists declaring their independence from Great Britain
Taxation without Representation
This early battle of the Revolution was a costly victory for the British and it proved that untrained Americans could stand and fight well against the greatest army of the world
Bunker Hill
This battle was the turning point of the Revolution. After the American victory here the French joined the fight on the American side against the British
Saratoga
These were the first battles of the American Revolution and the “Shot heard ‘round the World
Lexington and Concord
One of the last battles of the Revolution. It convinced the British to make peace and won Americans their independence
Yorktown
This battle was fought on Christmas 1775 when Washington crossed the Delaware River with his men and captured 900 Hessian soldiers
Trenton
This was the colonist’s most powerful weapon against British taxes. It forced the British to repeal the Stamp Act
Boycott
The ideas of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson expressed in the Declaration of Independence stressed the fact that governmental power should rest upon the:
people
When Jefferson wrote the Declaration he drew upon Locke’s concepts of:
Natural Rights
Thomas Paine’s pamphlet that changed many American minds and convinced many people to support the cause of independence
Common Sense
One of the big problems with the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolution between American and Great Britain was that Britain did not evacuate:
Its American Forts
“Father of Constitution”
James Madison
What was the main purpose of the Federalist Papers?
To persuade delegates to sign the Constitution
Where was the Constitutional Convention held?
Philadelphia
The Federalist’s promised to add the what to the Constitution if it was ratified
Bill of Rights
How many of the 13 new states had to ratify the Constitution for it to become the supreme law of the land?
9
The First Amendment guarantees all of the following rights
freedom of speech, religion, press
convinced the majority of Americans that the country was heading for disaster under the Articles of Confederation and that a constitutional convention should be called
Shay’s Rebellion
proposed by Roger Sherman, was an agreement made at the Constitutional Convention between the large and small states about how each state would be represented in a bicameral Congress.
Great Compromise
The compromise that called for three-fifths of all slaves to be counted for representational purposes is called the
3/5ths Compromise
Under the Federal government powers held by the states alone are called
Reserved Powers
Under the Constitution powers held by the Federal government over the states are called
Delegated Powers
Under the Constitution powers shared by both the states and the Federal government are called
Concurrent Powers
The idea that the U.S. government has certain powers and that state governments have certain other powers is known as
Federalism
The system of safeguards in the Constitution that prevents one branch from becoming stronger than the others is known as
Checks & Balances
This branch of government whose major responsibility is to carry out laws is the
executive
What does Congress consist of?
Senate and House of Representatives
The President is officially elected by:
the electoral college
War may be declared only by:
Congress
A president is impeached when:
The House of Representatives accused him of a crime
A change in or addition to the Constitution is known as an
amendment
The formation of political parties can be traced to the different philosophies of
Thomas Jefferson & Alexander Hamilton
The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the:
Federal judicial system
Which Rebellion and its outcome established the precedent that the Federal government had the power to enforce federal laws and order within states?
The Whiskey Rebellion
Who was the first Secretary of the Treasury?
Alexander Hamilton
Who was the first Secretary of State?
Thomas Jefferson
A broad undefined territory west of the Mississippi River acquired by the United States from France in 1803 for $15 million, doubling the size of the United States was the
Louisiana Purchase
This event led to an undeclared naval war between France and the United States
The XYZ Affair
In reaction to the war between France and England, President Washington issued a declaration of
neutrality
The case of Marbury v. Madison was significant because it established that:
the Supreme Court had the right to judicial review
What was one of the reasons the U.S. declared war against the British in 1812? The ___________ of U.S. sailors and seizure of American ships
impressment
The Treaty of Ghent, which ended The War of 1812, maintained the status quo anti bellum. Based on the strength of the British navy, the U.S. could have lost badly. Why did Britain agree to end the war so soon?
They needed to concentrate on Napoleon and the issues going on in Europe
What is ironic about the great American victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans won by General Jackson?
The battle was fought after the war officially ended
Who invented the cotton gin, interchangeable parts, and mass production?
Eli Whitney
he proposed the American System to unify the nation, create a national currency and improve methods of transportation in the new nation
Henry Clay
This warned European powers not to interfere with the affairs of the U.S. and the Western Hemisphere
Monroe Doctrine
This Compromise admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state, Maine as a free state and made slavery illegal in the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase
Missouri
The “spoils system” is associated with the election of President:
Andrew Jackson
He believed in the Union, and he was known as the Great Compromiser who kept North and South together through compromise for almost 40 years
Henry Clay
The Cherokee people called their forced relocation west of the Mississippi River the:
Trail of Tears
As the abolition movement gained power in the North, Southerners tended to:
defend slavery more strongly
What is Frederick Douglass famous for?
an escaped slave who published a newspaper and lectured on evils of slavery
Who was the founder of the method of peaceful protest called Civil Disobedience?
Henry David Thoreau
Slave codes were designed to
tighten controls on African Americans
The temperance movement got its name from a word meaning self-restraint and was an effort to
restrict the consumption of alcohol
The belief that the United States was meant to expand westward to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican Territory was known as
Manifest Destiny
The slogan “fifty-four Forth or Fight” refers to
Oregon
The conflicts over the balance of free and slave states delayed the annexation of
Texas
Only president to fulfill every campaign compromise and pledge himself to only one term and ran on a Manifest Destiny election ticket
James K. Polk
The Texan troops moved into this Franciscan mission in order to prevent Santa Anna’s troops from moving farther north
The Alamo
The term “forty-niners” refers to
California gold miners
Texan commander-in-chief during Texas Revolution against Mexico
Sam Houston
The victory responsible for winning Texan independence from Mexico was
near the San Jancito River
The primary dispute between the U.S. and Mexico that prompted the Mexican-American War in 1846 was the U.S. demand that the border between Mexico and the U.S. be the
Rio Grande River
The Wilmot Proviso called for the banning of what in all territories won from Mexico
Slavery
The Admission of California as a free states, the adoption of a stricter fugitive slave law, and the adoption of popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico were all part of the
Compromise of 1850
The Free-Soil Party was opposed to the expansion of what to the territories of the U.S.
Slavery
In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled that being on free territory did not make a slave free
Dred Scott
Leaving the decision of whether a territory would become free or slave up to the voters of the territory was called
Popular Sovereignty
Lincoln’s position that slavery was a moral evil and its spread to the territories had to be stopped was expressed during the
Lincoln Douglas Debates
The Republican Party was formed by people who agreed about their ___________ to slavery
opposition
he was elected president in 1860 when the country split along sectional lines. He carried all the Northern states and none of the Southern States
Abraham Lincoln
The first state to secede from the Union 1860
South Carolina
The first president of the new Confederate States of America
Jefferson Davis
When the Civil War began, Lincoln’s main goal was to
Save the Union
The first shots of the Civil war were fired in
Fort Sumter
an infamous prisoner of war camp where captured Union soldiers died by the thousands
Andersonville
the single bloodiest day in American history
The Battle of Antietam
As a result of this battle, Lincoln had the victory he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclomation
Antietam
The Civil War battle considered the turning point of the Civil War because it crippled Confederate Forces so badly that they never again invaded the North
Gettysburg
The final surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army occurred at
Appomattox Court House
President Lincoln and the North finally realized the war would be longer and bloodier than they originally thought after
The Battle of Bull Run
this freed no slaves but gave the Union troops a high, moral purpose for fighting the war and prevented England and France from interfering on the side of the South
The Emancipation Proclamation
She is best known for her efforts to improve soldiers health conditions
Clara Barton
The Union’s wartime military strategy to strangle the South through blockade and cut her in half by traveling up the Mississippi River was known as the
Anaconda Plan
On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, this charge allowed the North to devastate the Confederate army causing them to retreat, ending the Battle of Gettysburg
Pickett’s Charge
These generals adopted a strategy of “total war” against the South
Grant & Sherman
Lincoln’s approach to ______________ was to make it relatively easy for the South to return to the Union
Reconstruction
This regulated and restricted the lives of Southern African Americans
Black Codes
This Amendment ended slavery
13
This Amendment provided citizenship and civil rights for freed slaves
14
This signaled the end of Reconstruction
The Compromise of 1877
This Amendment protected the voting rights of all male citizens, regardless of race, color, or having been a slave
15
This group used terrorist tactics in an effort to prevent African Americans from exercising their political rights
KKK
The House of Representatives impeached President Johnson for having violated the
Tenure of Office Act
Under this act, anyone who wanted to claim land had to work the land and make improvements for five years
Homestead Act
President Grant and Reconstruction lost popularity with voters because of
Scandals & Corruption
____________ of the Plains Indians was intended to help them adapt to white culture
Assimilation
The election of this president marked the collapse of Populism
William McKinley
When the U.S. Army’s seventh cavalry slaughtered 300 Native Americans in South Dakota, marking an end to the wars between federal government and the Plains Indians
Battle of Wounded Knee
This was the most responsible for bringing an end to the era of the wide-open western frontier
Barbed Wire
This was the technique used by labor unions to gain workers rights
Collective Bargaining
This made it possible during the late 1800’s for skyscrapers to be constructed
Steel
This term was used to justify the existence of poverty, the success of big business, and the power of millionaire industrialists
Social Darwinism
He attempted to control the entire steel industry through vertical integration and horizontal consolidation
Andrew Carnegie
He took control of the oil industry in the United States
John D. Rockefeller
A term used to describe workers who are used to break strikes
Scab
The robber barons of the late 1800’s were
Powerful industrialists
The Great Strike of 1877 spread through this industry in an effort to protest workers’ dissatisfaction with their wages
Railroad
Appointing a friend to political office would be an example of
patronage
This term is used to refer to the late 1800’s because it was a period in which glamour hid corruption
Gilded Age
The the legal requirements for an immigrant to enter the United States between 1870-1920 included
passing a literacy test, proving they could work, having at least $25
An immigrant who went through Angel Island was likely to have come from
Asia
Immigrants who came to the U.S. through Ellis Island most likely came from
Europe
The first black graduated from Harvard with a PhD., who advocated rapid movement toward integration was
W.E.B. DuBois
Southern states used grandfather clause to keep blacks from
voting
These laws were used to keep the races separate
Jim Crow
In this court case, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation was legal if accommodations were separate, but equal.
Plessy v. Ferguson
This Amendment allowed for the direct election of senators by the people
16
This Amendment allowed for a federal income tax
17
Upton Sinclair wrote this novel, which exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry
The Jungle
This Amendment allowed women to vote
19
In what area of society did Progressives between the years of 1890-1920 fail?
Civil Rights
Journalists, cartoonists, artists, photographers who exposed corruption were called
Muckrakers
Economic, political and military competition with other nations, the belief that American Anglo-Saxon Christian culture was supreme and the desire for colonies and coaling stations for the navy stimulated U.S. ___________
imperialism
The De Lome Letter and the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine caused the United States to enter
The Spanish-American War
The United States received these areas in 1898 as a result of the Treaty of Paris
Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines
The U.S. was eager to build a canal in Panama because it would cut travel time in half from New York to San Francisco and would eliminate the need for the U.S. to keep ________
2 Fleets
The event that triggered the First World War was
an assassination in Sarajevo, Bosnia
The following countries were considered The Allied Powers
Britain, France, U.S., Russia
The barriers of barbed wire and mines between opposing trenches during WW1 was called
No Man’s Land
This British ocean liner carrying American passengers was sunk by German U-Boats
Lusitania
The “overt act” and violation of diplomatic relations that led the U.S. to declare war on Germany during WW1 was
The Zimmerman Telegram
The U.S. overcame the threat of U-Boats by using a
convoy system
Americans were asked to observe meatless and wheat-less days so that
food supplies could be sent to troops
Wilson’s Fourteen Points peace plan was rejected by the
Allied leaders
The U.S. Senate’s opposition to U.S. membership in the League of Nations centered on the belief that it would
drag the country into European conflicts
The main purpose of The Treaty of Versailles was to
end the war and have peace for all
This describes the era after the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect, banning alcoholic beverages
Prohibition
This was an “underground” saloon or nightclub where liquor was sold illegally.
Speakeasy
The panic surrounding the threat of communism in the early 1920s was called
The Red Scare
John T. Scopes challenged a Tennessee law that forbade the teaching of
Evolution
The day a record number of people tried to sell their stock and the market crashed on Wall Street is called
Black Tuesday
Drought, winds and overproduction of crops created caused the middle of the country to become
The Dust Bowl
Buying on margin refers to a way of purchasing a
Stock
The WW1 vets who marched on Washington seeking loans on money promised to them in 1945 were called the
Bonus Army
Because investors were paying more for stock than it was actually worth during the 1920s, stock prices
rose
How long did the Great Depression last for?
1929-1941
Relief for the needy, economic recovery and financial reform were all goals of
The New Deal
The first major action Franklin Delano Roosevelt took as president to combat the Great Depression was he
closed all of the nation’s banks and ordered inspections
What was most directly responsible for creating new jobs and putting people to work during the Great Depression?
Works Progress Administration
Roosevelt’s means of communicating directly with the public
Fireside Chats
A German military strategy that depended on surprise and overwhelming force
Blitzkrieg
The United States entered WW2 as a direct result of
Pearl Harbor
Britain and France declared war on Germany in response to
Germany’s invasion of Poland
These nations became the Axis Powers after they signed a mutual defense treaty in 1940
Japan, Italy, Germany
The Axis Power’s alliance worried FDR because he saw that the U.S., if drawn into the war would have to
fight a two ocean war
This allowed Britain, France, and their allies to obtain U.S. weapons without having to pay cash up front
The Lend-Lease Act
December 7, 1941 is the date of
The Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor
The Supreme Commander of U.S. forces in Europe during WWII was
Eisenhower
D-Day was the code name for the Allied invasion of
France
The purpose of the Manhattan Project was to
build the atomic bomb
The final decision to drop the atomic bomb was made by
Harry Truman
This Bill was applied to U.S. government issued uniforms, U.S. government issued weapons and U.S. soldiers during WW2
GI (Government Issue)
When Churchill and FDR made war plans in December 1941, they decided the top priority of the Allies was to
defeat Germany first
The atomic bombs were dropped on
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
During WWII, the only legal way to obtain most restricted/rationed goods in the U.S. was to buy them with
ration stamps
What did the Selective Service System oversee
the draft
During WW2, these were all the nations that joined against the Axis Powers
The Allies
On V-E Day, May 8, 1945
Germany surrendered and war ended in Europe
This country’s actions finally forced the United States to enter WWII
Japan
The Atlantic Charter, drafted by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a
statement of war goals
This was the Allies invasion of Axis controlled North Africa, commanded by Dwight Eisenhower
Operation Torch
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin made important decisions about the future at the
Yalta Conference
They were an international peace keeping body
United Nations
An important battle in which the Soviets defeated the Germans then started to push west toward Germany
Stalingrad
a critical base to the United States in the Pacific. Over 6,000 U.S. Marines died taking this Japanese Island. U.S. Marines raised the U.S. flag on the island after the victory.
Iwo Jima
This was Japan’s last defensive outpost. The Japanese unleashed more than 1,900 kamikaze attacks on the Allies during this campaign, which was a horrible preview of what the Allies imagined the final invasion of Japan’s home islands would be like.
Okinawa
The Allies’ planned invasion of Hitler’s fortress in Europe
Operation Overlord
Nazi war criminals were tried for war crimes in _________, Germany
Nuremberg
Japanese suicide plane
Kamikaze
