US HISTORY: PRECONTACT PD.-1789

Question 1

Great Plains tribes and Northeast tribes

Answer 1

a. Great Plains: lived between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains - lived in teepees and followed Buffalo herds
- Plains tribes include Sioux, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Blackfoot

b. Northeast: relied primarily on agriculture during the Hopewellian pd. from 200 BCE-500 BCE
- Algonquians, Hurons, Iroquois
- three-sister farming: corns, squash, and beans = cash crops
- lived in longhouses

Question 2

the goals of the French, Spanish, Dutch, and British in the colonization of the Americas

Answer 2

> > FRENCH: focused on expanding the fur trade
- led to the growth of plantations in Louisiana, which brought African slaves to the new world

> > SPANISH: went for wealth and to convert the natives to Christianity
- the desire of gold led to mining in the New World - others established ranches

> > DUTCH: also involved in the fur trade and imported slaves as the need for laborers increased

> > BRITISH: looking for additional income, fleeing Britain to escape religious persecution

Question 3

consequences of EU exploration of the Americas
- the Colombian Exchange
- change of international trade patterns
- spread of culture

Answer 3

a. the Columbian Exchange: the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between EU and the Americas
- EU shipped corn, potatoes, and pineapples from America
- also brought domestic animals and diseases

b. change of international trade patterns
- much of the world trade was fueled by Spain’s silver mining in South America.
- silver moved from the Americas→ EU→ China
- triangular trade: Africa sent slaves to America, America sent raw materials to EU, and EU sent guns and rum to Africa

c. the spread of culture: Spain and Portugal spread Christianity

Question 4

Hernan Cortes conquering the Aztec empire (1521)
- Malinali
- Pedro de Alvarado
- siege of Tenochtitlan

Answer 4

a. prior to Cortes’ conquest: the empire’s capital Tenochtitlan was ruled by Moctezuma II

b. Cortes sailed from Cuba to Mexico in 1519

c. Cortes acquired an important asset: Malinali, a young woman who spoke both the Aztec and Mayan languages and worked along side the Spaniards

d. Cortes heard that the Cuban governor sent a Spanish force to arrest Cortes, so he left Pedro de Alvarado in charge of Tenochtitlan while he went to attack the Spanish forces along the coast
- Alvarado killed hundreds of Aztec nobles

e. 1521: the Spanish worked in alliance w/ the Tlaxcala and Cempoala (groups who resented the Aztecs and Mayans) and held Tenochtitlan under siege for 93 days

Question 5

France: competition and conflict between the colonies
- when did they start exploring the New World?
- Jacques Cartier (1534)
- Samuel de Champlain
- relationship w/ the Natives
- establishing colonial outposts

Answer 5

a. joined the race to explore the New World in the early 16th c.

b. 1534: navigator Jacques Cartier claimed territory in Canada, naming the area around the St. Lawrence River, New France

c. Samuel de Champlain: explored the Caribbean in 1601, the coast of New England in 1603, founded Quebec in 1608

d. had good relationships w/ the Natives
- they made an alliance w/ the Hurons and Algonquians

e. they were primarily interested in establishing commercially viable colonial outposts → they created extensive trading networks throughout New France
- they relied on native hunters to harvest furs to exchange for French goods

f. boasted its own West Indian colonies w/ lucrative sugar plantation sites and African slave labor

Question 6

Dutch: competition between the colonies
- the dutch (east & west) india companies
- Hudson
- new netherlands
- rival to?

Answer 6

a. distinguished themselves as commercial leaders in the 17th c.
- the Dutch East India Company (chartered in 1602 to trade in Asia)
- the Dutch West India Company (1621 - to colonize and trade in the Americas)

b. captain Henry Hudson explored NY harbor and the river named after him

c. named their colony New Netherlands - served as a fur-trading outpost for the Dutch West India Company
- they expanded in the area to create other trading posts, exchanging w/ Algonquian and Iroquois peoples → alliance

d. became a commercially powerful rival to Spain - Amsterdam became trade hub for all the Atlantic world

Question 7

England: competition between the colonies
- religious competition
- John Cabot
- Roanoke Island

Answer 7

a. religious competition between Catholicism and Protestantism fueled English colonization

b. as early as 1497, John Cabot (an Italian mariner) sailed from England and explored Maine and Nova Scotia

c. 1584: Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to establish a colony at Roanoke (an island off the coast of North Carolina)
- small colony, consisted of the native Croatan people
- they struggled to survive, so governor John White returned to England in 1587 to secure more people and supplies
- 1590: he returned and the entire colony vanished
- only trace left behind was the word “Croatoan” carved into a fence
- known as “the lost colony”

Question 8

conflict and cooperation between the Natives and Europeans
- conflict
- natives and the French

Answer 8

a. conflicts:
- the French and Indian War was a major conflict between the two

b. cooperation:
- the French established good relationships w/ the Natives bc of their fur trading
> few French settlers came to the New World, they didn’t take much land from families, and didn’t bother the Natives as much as the English did

c. tribes that sided w/ France in the French and Indian War hoped a French victory would stop the English colonies from expanding into the Appalachian Mountains
- but w/ the help of the Iroquois, Catawba, and Cherokee tribes, the British won
- this forced the French to lose control of their territory, and many Natives lost their long term trading partners and military allies w/ the French

Question 9

the New England colonies: reasons they were founded, and geographic and economic characteristics

Answer 9

> > the new England colonies: New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts

> > FOUNDED: largely due to escape from religious persecution in England. the Puritans and Pilgrims who migrated to America in the 1600s significantly influenced the development of the colonies

> > GEOGRAPHY: featured numerous harbors, dense forests
- the soil was rocky and had a very short growing season = not good for agriculture

> > ECONOMY: centered around fishing, shipbuilding and trade
- life centered in towns and cities where merchants controlled the trade economy
- coastal cities like Boston grew and thrived

Question 10

Mid-Atlantic colonies: the 4 colonies, founders, major producers of, wealthy inhabitants

Answer 10

> > New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware

> > founders of theses colonies were from various countries, including the Netherlands and Sweden

> > the Middle colonies became major producers of crops: rye, oats, potatoes, wheat, barley

> > some wealthy inhabitants owned large farms and or businesses
- farmers were able to produce enough to have a surplus to sell
- tenant farmers also rented land from larger landowners

Question 11

Southern colonies:
- first and last colony
- the climate
- land ownership
- labor on the farms

Answer 11

> > Maryland, Virginia, North & South Carolina, and Georgia

> > Virginia was the first permanent English colony and Georgia the last

> > the warm climate and rich soil encouraged agriculture
- as a result: economy was based on labor-intensive plantations
- crops: tobacco, rice, indigo = valuable cash crops

> > most land in the South was controlled by wealthy plantation owners and farmers

> > labor on the farms: servants and African slaves
- 1619: first African slaves to arrive in Virginia

Question 12

the growth of slavery in the Americas:
- the Atlantic slave trade (1400s-1800s) and slave auction
- cotton and slaves

Answer 12

a. the Atlantic slave trade: 1400s-1800s - began w/ Portuguese colonies in West Africa and Spanish settlement in the Americas
- to meet the labor demand for cash crops of tobacco, cotton, and sugar cane, EU looked to Africa

b. the slave auction

c. by the start of the 19th c., slavery and cotton became essential to the growth of America’s economy

Question 13

the Triangular trade and how it affected colonial powers
- mercantilism
- the currents of the route
- consequences

Answer 13

a. the economic theory of mercantilism paved the way for this trade
- (def) suggested that a nation’s power relied on a favorable balance of trade- exporting more than it imported

b. the currents made this route quick and efficient, which made it the most profitable pattern for traders

c. consequences:
- more land was required for the collection of natural resources, resulting in theft of land from Natives
- more labor war required, resulting in a tremendous growth in slavery in the middle and south colonies

Question 14

the role of colonial assemblies and rise in representative governments:
- self-governing colonies
- the house of burgesses (1619)
- the mayflower compact (1620)

Answer 14

a. the colonies were left to self-govern
- each colony had a charter (a written agreement between the colony and the king of England)
- a colonial legislature was elected by men w/ property
- the governor was appointed by the king and had almost complete authority, bUT, the legislators controlled the salary of the governor and made sure they were in line w/ colonial wishes

b. 1619: the first colonial legislature assembled in Jamestown, Virginia - the House of Burgesses:
- to enact laws and safeguard individual rights. set the precedent in the colonies for individual rights protected by law

c. the Mayflower Compact (1620): declared that the Pilgrims in Plymouth Massachusetts would govern themselves

Question 15

origins of the Great Awakening (1730s-1740s)
- how the awakening started
- Jonathan Edwards
- George Whitefield

Answer 15

a. a religious revival in the colonies during the 1730s and 1740s.

b. the Enlightenment moved more and more people away from religion. those who were strictly religious worried wealth and rationalism were dominating culture, which sparked the awakening

c. Jonathan Edwards (minister) spread the idea that God was an angry judge and individuals needed to ask for forgiveness

d. George Whitefield: toured the colonies, covering 5,000 miles in America and preaching more than 350x
- his style was charismatic, theatrical, and expressive: shouting the word of God and trembling during his sermons
- preached to Natives and slaves - reenergized the Christian faith

Question 16

the Great Awakening: Old Lights vs. New Lights and the effects of the awakening

Answer 16

a. by 1742, the awakening split the New England clergy and colonists into 2 powers: old vs. new lights
- Old: traditional church ways
- New: ideas and approaches of the awakening

b. effects:
- people were encouraged to make a personal connection w/ God, rather than relying on a minister
- Methodists and Baptists grew
- influenced the Revolutionary war by encouraging notions of nationalism and individual rights
- led to the establishment of renowned educational institutions

Question 17

origins of the French and Indian War (1756-1763):
- dates and fought between
- the treaty of Paris of 1763
- impacts

Answer 17

a. also known as the Seven Years War - occurred from 1756-63 - Great Britain vs. France and the Natives

b. before the war, the British and French were in conflict. in 1756, Britain had declared war on France
- fought in Canada
- Spain allied w/ France

c. the Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the war
- Britain got Canada from France and Florida from Spain
- France got to keep its West Indian sugar islands and Spain got Louisiana

d. impacts:
- King George II of Britain started to levy fat taxes on the colonies and installed permanent British army units → the American Revolution

Question 18

how past events influenced the American Revolution:
- the enlightenment
- the french and indian war
- the massacre and party
- the intolerable acts
- the first continental congress

Answer 18

a. the Enlightenment: ideals of rationalism, intellectual, and religious freedom were instrumental in the revolution

b. the French and Indian War: brought new territories under Britain and led to unfair taxes levied on the colonies
- Stamp Act (1765), Townshend Acts (1767) and the Tea Act (1773)
- many protests took place in opposition to these acts. colonists felt it went against their rights as British subjects as there was no representation in Parliament for them

d. colonial resistance led to violence
- the Boston Massacre in 1770
- the Boston Tea Party in 1773

e. Parliament passed the Intolerable (or Coercive) Acts in 1774 to punish Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party
(1) Boston Port Act: closed the port till damages were paid
(2) Massachusetts Gov. Act: restricted town meetings
(3) Administration of Justice Act: immunity of criminal prosecution for British officials
(4) Quartering Act: required colonists to house British troops
(5) Quebec Act: extended freedom of religion to Catholics in Canada

f. 1774: the First Continental Congress met in response to this^- planned to meet again in 1775 but violence had already broken out

Question 19

the Continental Congress:
- the first continental congress (the Declaration of rights and Articles of Association)
- the second continental congress (the army and the declaration for taking up arms)

Answer 19

a. served as the gov. of the 13 colonies from 1774-1789

b. the First Continental Congress: delegates from each of the 13 colonies, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia to organize colonial resistance to the Intolerable Acts
- included John Adams, George Washington, and John Jay
- issued a Declaration of Rights: affirmed loyalty to Britain and fought against the Parliament’s right to tax w/ out rep.
- passed the Articles of Association: colonies stop importing goods from the British Isles if the Intolerable Acts were not repealed (1774)

c. the Second Continental Congress: reconvened on May 10, 1775 - the American Revolution had begun
- formed the Continental Army w/ Washington as the commander in chief
- issued the “Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms” (penned by John Dickson and Thomas Jefferson): explains why the 13 colonies had taken up arms

Question 20

battles of the American Revolution:
- the Battle of Lexington & Concord
- the Battle of Bunker Hill
- the Battle of Trenton, NJ
- the Battle of Saratoga
- the Battle of Yorktown

Answer 20

a. the Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775): the British and colonists fought in Lexington and Concord of Massachusetts that started the revolution

b. Battle of Bunker Hill (June 1775): ended in British victory - the area of Bunker hill and the Charleston Peninsula fell under British control

c. Battle of Trenton, NJ (Dec. 25, 1776): Washington and his troops pushed across the Delaware River and made a surprise attack in Trenton - they won

d. Battle of Saratoga (1777): ended w/ a Continental victory

e. Battle of Yorktown (Oct. 1781): the last major battle - British Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered to Washington and its French allies

Question 21

conclusion of the American Revolution:
- treaty of Paris (1783), northwest territory, and Mississippi river
- who helped negotiate the peace treaty?

Answer 21

a. 1783: Great Britain recognized the independence of the US in the Treaty of Paris
- granted the Northwest territory (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota) to the US
- opened up the Mississippi River to navigation to the US and Great Britain
- resolved issues w/ debts

b. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated the peace treaty w/ representatives of King George III

Question 22

the economic state post Revolutionary War
- losing British ties
- prices and unemployment
- Mediterranean trade
- the greatest adverse

Answer 22

a. the economy was going downhill - American merchants were excluded from the British West Indies and lost their position w/ Britain as a trade partner

b. agricultural prices fell and cities faced high unemployment rates

c. Mediterranean trade was maintained, but was difficult bc they no longer had protection from the British Navy

d. the greatest adverse: currency and debt
- continental currency had a huge inflation and the gov. had to pay millions in war debt

Question 23

the Articles of Confederation: - written by and ratified in?
- the congress of confederation
- powers of the congress
- the making of the constitution

Answer 23

a. the first constitution, ratified in 1781 - written by John Dickinson (was always being revised until 1777)
- when the nation was a loose confederation, each operating like independent countries
- Maryland was the last to ratify

b. the gov. comprised of a single legislature: the Congress of Confederation - no president or judicial branch

c. gave congress power to govern foreign affairs, conduct war, and regulate currency, BUT these powers were limited bc congress had no authority to enforce its requests to the states for $$ or troops = weakness

d. the revolution proved the document to be weak – the republic needed a stronger central gov. to remain stable→ the making of the Constitution

Question 24

formation of the Constitution
- the constitutional convention (1787)
- new form of gov.
- what the plan included

Answer 24

a. 1787: the Constitutional Convention open in Philadelphia, where 55 delegates attended - representing all 13 states except Rhode Island bc they were against a central gov.
- Washington was selected as pres. of the convention
- the delegates were merchants, farmers, bankers, lawyers, etc.

b. the delegates had been tasked by Congress to amend the Articles of Confederation, but instead they started working on proposals for a whole new form of gov.

c. they developed a plan that included:
- the three branches of gov., checks and balances, and specific powers and responsibilities of each branch
- the Connecticut Compromise: representation in the House of Reps. is determined by population and the Senate is the same for all states (bicameral legislature)

Question 25

ratifying the Constitution:
- the final draft (sep 1787)
- the federalists papers
- ratification of the constitution
- the supreme court (1790)
- bill of rights (1791)

Answer 25

a. Sep. 1787: the final draft of the Constitution was presented - Washington was the first to sign the document and of the 55 delegates, 39 signed
- for the Constitution to become law, it had to be ratified by 9 of the 13 states

b. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote a series of essays to persuade people to ratify the Constitution - “The Federalist Papers”
- Federalists: supported the Constitution and a stronger national republic
- Anti-Federalists: opposed the Constitution - favored small localized govs.

c. Dec. 1787: Delaware, Pennsylvania, NJ, Georgia, and Connecticut were the firsts to ratify the Constitution
- eventually all 13 states ratified it - Rhode Island being the last one

d. Feb. 1790: the US Supreme Court held its first session - the new government was fully operative

e. Dec. 1791: the Bill of Rights were ratified and became part of the Constitution

Question 26

major figures (pt. 1) : John Smith, Roger Williams, and Anne Hutchinson

Answer 26

a. John Smith: English soldier and explorer who helped form the English colony (Jamestown) in 1607
- was in continuous conflict w/ the Powhatan tribe - was saved by Pocahontas
- was elected president of Jamestown and enforced the rule “he who will not work will not eat”
- the colony was making progress until Powhatan warriors started to attack Jamestown and he was forced to return to England
- mapped the shores of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts and named the region “New England”

b. Roger Williams: political and religious leader who founded the state of Rhode Island and advocated separation of church and state
- his notion of a “wall of separation” influenced the limits of the first amendment

c. Anne Hutchinson: feminist and spiritual leader in Massachusetts who challenged male authority and gender role by preaching to women and men and questioning Puritan teachings about salvation

Question 27

major figures (pt 2): James Oglethorpe, William Penn, Chief Pontiac

Answer 27

a. James Ogelthorpe: a social reformer and military leader - founded Georgia in 1732
- he directed the economic and political development of the colony, defended it militarily, and recruited settlers in England

b. William Penn: founded Pennsylvania in 1681 - hoped to provide a refuge for Quakers and other prosecuted people and to build an ideal Christian commonwealth

c. Chief Pontiac: born in present-day Ohio (1720-1769). An Ottawa Indian chief who became a great leader when he organized the Pontiac’s War (1763-64): fought against British power in the Great Lakes

Question 28

major figures (pt. 3): George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Boone, Benjamin Banneker

Answer 28

a. George Washington: American military officer who led the colonial forces to victory over the British. A founding father and first president of the US (1789-97)

b. Thomas Jefferson: spokesman for democracy, American Founding Father, and principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and 3rd president of the US (1801-09)

c. Daniel Boone: American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the US
- known for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky in 1792

d. Benjamin Banneker: an African-American naturalist, mathematician, astronomer, and almanac author
- was a free-born African American from Maryland
- successfully predicted a solar eclipse, published his own almanac, built a wooden clock

Question 29

major figures (pt. 4): Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, James Madison, Abigail Adams

Answer 29

a. Samuel Adams: Boston MA; American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father
- spoke out against British efforts to tax the colonists and pressured merchants to boycott British products
- also an important leader in the Sons of Liberty

b. Thomas Paine: England-born political philosopher and writer who supported revolutionary causes in America and EU
- published “Common Sense” in 1776: advocated American independence

c. James Madison: made a major contribution the ratification of the Constitution by writing the Federalist Papers, a Founding Father, and 4th president (1809-17)
- hailed as the “father of the constitution”

d. Abigail Adams: wife and closest advisor of John Adams - an advocate for women’s rights, opposed slavery, and supported women’s education