First Five Presidents
What precedent did George Washington set by leaving office after two terms?
A peaceful transfer of power and limiting presidential terms.
What was Jacksonian Democracy’s main goal?
Expanding suffrage to the common (white) man.
What compromise kept the balance of free and slave states in the Senate in 1820?
The Missouri Compromise
What economic advantage did the North have during the Civil War?
More railroads, population, and industrial output.
What was the main difference between Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction?
Congress wanted to punish the South and guarantee rights for freedmen; the presidents wanted a quicker reunification.
What law was signed by John Adams that limited free speech and hurt his re-election chances?
The Sedition Act
What law led to the forced removal of Native Americans from their land?
The Indian Removal Act
What president is most associated with fulfilling Manifest Destiny?
James K. Polk
What was the significance of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation?
It turned the war into a fight to end slavery and discouraged foreign support for the Confederacy.
What was the role of the Freedmen’s Bureau?
To help former slaves and poor whites with food, education, and housing.
What land deal doubled the size of the U.S. during Jefferson’s presidency?
The Louisiana Purchase
What crisis centered on South Carolina’s refusal to follow a federal tariff law?
The Nullification Crisis
What conflict added large territories (Mexican cession) to the U.S. and reignited debates over the expansion of slavery?
The Mexican-American War
What battle gave the Union control of the Mississippi River?
The Battle of Vicksburg
Which three amendments are known as the Reconstruction Amendments, and what did they do?
The 13th abolished slavery, the 14th granted citizenship and equal protection, and the 15th gave Black men the right to vote.
What war defined Madison’s presidency and helped build a stronger American identity?
The War of 1812
What was Henry Clay’s plan to link the North, South, and West called?
The American System
What 1850 agreement allowed California to enter as a free state and included a stricter Fugitive Slave Law?
The Compromise of 1850
What Confederate general surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox?
Robert E. Lee
What were Black Codes designed to do?
Restrict the rights and freedoms of African Americans in the South.
What was the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine issued in 1823?
To warn European powers not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere.
What religious revival movement helped spark reform efforts like temperance, public education, and women’s rights?
The Second Great Awakening
What events made it clear that popular sovereignty failed to resolve slavery debates?
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, and Dred Scott v. Sanford
What famous speech did Lincoln give in 1863 to honor fallen soldiers and remind Americans of the war’s purpose?
The Gettysburg Address
How did the election of 1876 lead to the end of Reconstruction?
The Compromise of 1877 gave Hayes the presidency in exchange for removing federal troops from the South.