Early Civilizations & Native Americans
Which civilization is thought to be the first in the Americas, arising between 1500 B.C. and 1200 B.C.?
The Olmec
What intellectual and cultural movement, beginning in Western Europe, renewed interest in Greek and Roman ideas?
The Renaissance
Which Spanish conquistador destroyed the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1521?
Hernán Cortés
What principle means “rule by the people,” a foundation of the Constitution?
Popular sovereignty
Who was elected president in 1828, supported by small-town and rural voters?
Andrew Jackson
In what region of present-day Mexico did the Olmec live?
Mesoamerica (central and southern Mexico)
Which two groups of merchants controlled trade in the eastern Mediterranean before Europeans sought new routes?
Italian and Arab merchants
What city became the capital of New Spain, built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan?
Mexico City
What are the three branches of the U.S. government?
Legislative, Executive, Judicial
What 1830 law forced Native Americans to move to the Great Plains, leading to the Trail of Tears?
The Indian Removal Act
What two groups built irrigation systems to grow crops in the Southwest after A.D. 300?
The Hohokam and Anasazi
Which European country first took the lead in finding a sea route around Africa to Asia?
Portugal
What French explorer founded Quebec, the capital of New France, in 1608?
Samuel de Champlain
What system ensures no branch of government becomes too powerful?
Checks and balances
What belief held that Americans were destined to settle the entire continent?
Manifest Destiny
By the 1500s, how did most Native Americans combine their food sources?
Hunting and fishing with farming
What Italian explorer, sailing for Spain, crossed the Atlantic in 1492 and landed in the Caribbean?
Christopher Columbus
What was the main trade the French developed with Native Americans in North America?
The fur trade
Supporters of the Constitution were called what?
Federalists
What 1846–1848 war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, giving the U.S. over 500,000 square miles of territory?
The Mexican-American War
Which Native American region was home to fishing peoples, including those in today’s central California?
The Pacific Northwest
Who explored South America for Portugal, leading Europeans to name the continent after him?
Amerigo Vespucci
By the late 1600s, how far did French colonies expand in North America?
To Louisiana, Mexico, and along the Mississippi
What collection of 85 essays argued in favor of ratifying the Constitution?
The Federalist Papers
What 1823 policy, announced by President Monroe, opposed European interference in the Americas?
The Monroe Doctrine