Native Americans & Early Contact (Units 1 & 2)
This agricultural staple, domesticated in Mesoamerica, allowed Native societies to build settled, complex civilizations prior to European arrival.
What is Maize (corn)?
This 1763 proclamation restricted American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains following Pontiac's Rebellion.
What is the Proclamation of 1763?
This uprising of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers in 1786 exposed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and spurred calls for a Constitutional Convention.
What is Shays' Rebellion?
This landmark 1803 Supreme Court case established the principle of judicial review.
What is Marbury v. Madison?
This invention by Eli Whitney in 1793 revolutionized Southern agriculture and drastically increased the demand for enslaved labor.
What is the Cotton Gin?
This 1680 Pueblo revolt in present-day New Mexico successfully expelled the Spanish for over a decade following attempts to suppress indigenous religion.
What is Popé's Rebellion (or the Pueblo Revolt)?
Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet persuaded average colonists that independence from Britain was logical and necessary.
What is Common Sense?
Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, these 85 essays argued in favor of ratifying the new U.S. Constitution.
What are The Federalist Papers?
Thomas Jefferson purchased this vast tract of land from France in 1803, doubling the geographic size of the United States.
What is the Louisiana Purchase?
This 1820 agreement admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state, establishing a geographical boundary for slavery at latitude 36∘30′.
What is the Missouri Compromise?
This system granted Spanish conquistadors control over Native populations to extract labor and tribute, under the condition that they convert them to Catholicism.
What is the Encomienda System?
This economic policy practiced by Great Britain involved strictly controlling colonial trade to enrich the mother country, though it was loosely enforced during "salutary neglect."
What is Mercantilism?
This 1787 landmark ordinance established a clear, multi-step process for admitting new states from western territories and banned slavery north of the Ohio River.
What is the Northwest Ordinance?
Henry Clay’s proposed national economic strategy focused on three main pillars: protective tariffs, a national bank, and federally funded internal improvements.
What is the American System?
This major infrastructure project, completed in 1825, connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and made New York City a primary economic center.
What is the Erie Canal?
This 1675 conflict in New England marked the last major effort by Native Americans to drive out English settlers, ending in heavy casualties and colonial dominance.
What is King Philip’s War (or Metacom's War)?
This key American victory in 1777 convinced France to sign a formal military alliance with the United States.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
In his 1796 Farewell Address, George Washington famously warned the nation against two major threats to national unity.
What are Political Parties (Factionalism) and Foreign Alliances?
This 1823 policy statement warned European powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere and avoid further colonization in the Americas.
What is the Monroe Doctrine?
This Supreme Court case ruled that the Second Bank of the United States was constitutional and reinforced federal supremacy over state laws.
What is McCulloch v. Maryland?
Spanish leaser who condemned the cruel treatment of Native Americans in his writings, advocating for their human rights before King Charles V.
Who is Bartolomé de Las Casas?
Passed by Parliament after the Boston Tea Party, these 1774 laws closed Boston Harbor and suspended Massachusetts' colonial charter.
What are the Coercive Acts (or Intolerable Acts)?
Compromise at the Constitutional Convention that established a bicameral legislature, combining population-based representation in the House with equal representation in the Senate.
What is the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise)?
Led by John C. Calhoun, South Carolina declared federal tariffs unconstitutional during this 1832–1833 crisis, threatening secession until a compromise tariff was reached.
What is the Nullification Crisis?
This political party formed in the 1830s specifically in opposition to Andrew Jackson and his perceived abuse of executive authority ("King Andrew I").
What are the Whigs?