Before Columbus
True or False: Native American cultures were all nomadic teepee dwellers. (If false, explain.)
False – Many tribes built permanent homes and had diverse lifestyles.
The movement of plants, animals, people, and diseases between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Columbian Exchange
What document announced that the colonies were free from Britain and why they were separating?
The Declaration of Independence.
What was one of the greatest natural hardships faced by early settlers on the Great Plains?
Prairie fires, drought, and tornadoes
What was controversial or limiting about the Emancipation Proclamation?
The Emancipation Proclamation only freed enslaved people in Confederate states, not those in Union border states or areas already under Union control. It was seen more as a wartime military strategy to weaken the South than a full moral stand against slavery.
About how many years ago did the first people arrive in America?
Around 15,000–20,000 years ago.
What was the greatest impact on Indigenous populations following the arrival of the Europeans?
The introduction of European diseases—especially smallpox, measles, and influenza—had the greatest impact on Indigenous populations.
What is the social contract theory?
People give up some freedoms to government in exchange for protection of rights; if broken, they can replace it.
What invention ended the open range by helping farmers fence their land, keep livestock in, and ultimately threatened the bison and Plains Native American way of life?
Barbed wire
What were three ways the South resisted Reconstruction?
Black Codes restricted the rights and freedoms of newly freed African Americans.
Sharecropping kept freed people economically dependent and tied to plantations.
Violence and intimidation by groups like the Ku Klux Klan suppressed Black political participation.
Voter suppression laws, including poll taxes and literacy tests, limited African American voting.
“Redeemer” governments took back control of state governments to restore white rule.
Identify 3 common differences between common European and common indigenous beliefs.
Gender Equality:
Europeans were strictly patriarchal and patrilineal — men held property and political power, and family lineage passed through the father.
Native societies were often matrilineal — descent and inheritance passed through the mother’s line, and women often had major roles in leadership, trade, or agriculture.
Land Ownership:
Europeans believed land could be individually owned, bought, and sold — property rights were permanent and tied to wealth.
Native peoples saw land as shared or communal, something to be stewarded rather than owned; use of land was temporary and guided by need and seasonal cycles.
Religion:
Europeans were mostly monotheistic Christians who believed in a single, male God separate from nature.
Indigenous peoples were often polytheistic or animist, believing that spirits inhabited all living things and that nature itself was sacred.
Worldview / Nature:
Europeans viewed humans as dominant over nature — the natural world existed to be tamed, farmed, and profited from.
Native peoples viewed humans as part of nature — harmony and balance with the land were essential to survival and spirituality.
An economic system where colonies provided raw materials to enrich their mother country.
mercantilism
Name three major weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
No power to tax — Congress could only request money from the states, leaving the national government constantly short on funds to run itself or pay soldiers.
Unable to raise an army — The national government couldn’t draft or maintain a standing army; it had to rely on states to volunteer troops, which made national defense weak and uncoordinated.
Unable to pay back debts — Without tax income, the government couldn’t repay money borrowed during the Revolution, leading to financial instability and loss of foreign trust.
No executive branch — There was no president or national leader to enforce laws or coordinate the actions of Congress and the states.
No national court system — There were no federal courts to settle disputes between states or citizens from different states, creating inconsistent and unfair rulings.
Each state had one vote — Every state, regardless of size or population, had equal representation, which frustrated larger states like Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Difficult to amend or pass laws — Passing major laws required approval from nine of the thirteen states, and amending the Articles required a unanimous vote — nearly impossible to achieve.
No power to regulate trade — Congress couldn’t control trade between states or with foreign nations, leading to competing tariffs and economic chaos.
What is Manifest Destiny?
The belief that Americans had a God-given right to expand westward across the continent.
What was the outcome/ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson? (100-Point Bonus): What laws resulted from this decision?
The Supreme Court ruled in 1896 that racial segregation was constitutional as long as facilities were “separate but equal.”
Bonus: This decision legalized segregation across the South and led to the spread of Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial separation in public spaces, schools, and transportation.
How were the Spanish encomienda and casta systems alike and different?
Both were systems of control used by the Spanish to maintain power and harvest resources in the Americas.
The encomienda system was an economic/labor system — Spanish colonists demanded labor from Indigenous people in exchange for “protection” and religious instruction
The casta system was a social/racial hierarchy that categorized people by ancestry and race
Explain the difference between the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The Constitution sets up how the government works.
The Bill of Rights protects what the government cannot take away from the people.
What was one benefit and one problem for the United States caused by the Mexican-American War?
✅ Benefit: The U.S. gained a huge amount of land in the Southwest — including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico — expanding the nation’s territory and resources.
⚠️ Problem: The new land reignited the debate over slavery, as Americans argued over whether these territories should become free or slave states, increasing tensions between North and South.
What was the outcome of the election of 1876?
Hayes was ultimately declared the winner with 185 electoral votes to Tilden’s 184, after a disputed count of several states and the creation of a special electoral commission.
In exchange the North had to agree to the Compromise of 1877, removing troops from the South and ending Reconstruction.
Identify at least one good transported from Africa to North America, from North America to Europe, and from Europe to North America.
Africa → North America
(Enslaved people and raw resources sent to support colonial labor systems)
Enslaved Africans
Gold
Ivory
Spices
Hardwoods (ebony, mahogany)
Gum arabic (used in dyes and medicines)
North America → Europe
(Raw materials and colonial goods shipped for manufacturing and profit)
Cotton
Tobacco
Sugar
Molasses
Furs and pelts
Indigo and rice
Europe → North America
(Finished goods and manufactured products sold to colonists)
Textiles and clothing
Guns and ammunition
Metal tools and weapons
Glassware and furniture
Alcohol (especially rum)
Luxury goods (tea, spices, fine china, silverware)
What are three ways the Constitution limited the power of the national government?
Constitutionalism – The government must follow the rule of law; its powers are written and limited by the Constitution, not by the will of any one person or group.
Separation of Powers – Power is divided among three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) so that no single branch can control the entire government.
Checks and Balances – Each branch can limit or check the powers of the others (for example, Congress makes laws, the President can veto them, and the courts can declare them unconstitutional).
Federalism – Power is shared between the national and state governments, ensuring that the federal government doesn’t control everything.
Bill of Rights – The first ten amendments protect individual rights and limit what the government can do (for example, guaranteeing free speech and fair trials).
Name two attempts to ease the tensions around slavery.
Missouri Compromise (1820) – Allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state and Maine as a free state; drew a line (36°30′) dividing future free and slave territories.
Compromise of 1850 – Admitted California as a free state, strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act, and allowed popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) – Let settlers vote on slavery in those territories (“popular sovereignty”), leading to violent conflict known as Bleeding Kansas.
What did the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments each achieve?
13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery in the United States.
14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all people born or naturalized in the U.S.
15th Amendment (1870): Guaranteed the right to vote could not be denied based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.