The American Colonies
List four problems that Jamestown settlers faced as well as two things that improved life in the colony.
Undrinkable water, lack of farming experience, mosquitoes spreading diseases, conflict with local tribe (Powhatans)
John Rolfe brings tobacco seeds; this becomes the foundation of the Jamestown economy
John Rolfe marries Pocahontas which establishes a temporary peace
What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? (4)
no president, no national courts, no regulation of interstate commerce, 9 out of 13 votes required to pass laws, states did not have to pay taxes, states could engage in foreign affairs
Explain the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine.
It was a statement to European nations (former colonizers) not to interfere in the affairs of the newly independent nations that had been created in the Western Hemisphere
Explain the concept of manifest destiny.
It was the destiny of white American settlers to migrate west and settle the land between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts
Summarize the life of Fredrick Douglass.
Born a slave, he learned how to read and write, falsified ID documents and escaped to freedom in the North; he became a leading abolitionist; he published a newspaper called the North Star, debated with President Lincoln, and was a celebrity in his time
Name three famous Union and Confederate generals.
Ulysses S. Grant, George McClellan, William Sherman
Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Nathan Bedford Forrest
Define Reconstruction.
1) physical rebuilding of the South after the Civil War
2) the process of readmitting former Confederate states into the Union
Explain the origin of the Republican Party.
The party is established by former Northern Whigs and former Northern Democrats who want to abolish slavery
Name three reasons that the US Revolution occurred.
taxation without representation; Boston Massacre; Boston Tea Party
What was the Virginia Plan? The New Jersey Plan? The Great Compromise?
representation based on population, equal representation for each state, 2 Houses, upper House (Senate)-equal representation, lower House-House of Reps. (population)
Explain the objectives of Henry Clay’s American System.
Support the National Bank, invest in infrastructure (roads, railroads, canals), higher tariffs on foreign products to protect US goods; Henry Clay was trying to unify and encourage North and South to work together economically
Explain why Mexico encouraged American settlement as well as the problems that arose.
At first, Mexico wanted Americans to settle in Texas for protection against bandits and hostile Natives
Conflict due to differences of language, religion, and views on slavery; the Texans eventually outnumber the Tejanos
Explain what the Fugitive Slave Act was and why this caused problems in the North.
States that the North must assist the South in capturing and returning runaway slaves; financial motivation for judges to find accused blacks to be runaway slaves even if they are not slaves
Descrie what happened at Fort Sumter.
Fort Sumter was a Union fort located in South Carolina (the Confederacy); the Union soldiers run out of supplies, if other Union soldiers try to enter the fort without permission, it would be considered an act of aggression by the Confederacy; Union soldiers get permission to enter with clothing, food, etc. but not weapons; the South fires the first shot; this is the official beginning of the Civil War
Explain the purpose of the Freedman's Bureau.
Established to provide assistance for freedmen and poor whites in the post-Civil War South (education, medicine, food, clothing, etc.)
Recall what happened at Harper’s Ferry.
John Brown tried to steal weapons from a federal arsenal to start a slave rebellion; he loses a gunfight with the military; he is convicted of treason and executed
Summarize the New England Colonies.
Cold, rocky soil, fishing, shipbuilding, timber, extremely religious, Pilgrims had a good relationship with Natives, the Puritans fought and enslaved Native Americans
Describe at least three differences of background, personality, and ideology between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.
Jefferson-plantation owner, Virginia, supported states’ rights, believes in strict interpretation of the Constitution, (thinks Hamilton’s national bank is not constitutional) supports the French Revolution (believes the US owes France its independence and should help them do the same)
Hamilton-self-educated, lawyer, New York, supports the central govt., the National Bank (using implied powers), credit line is good for US economy, doesn’t support the French Revolution (rioting not revolution)
Summarize the terms of the Missouri Compromise.
Missouri was ready to be admitted as a state (this would create an imbalance between free and slave states) Maine is created to enter the Union as a free state; slavery would be banned north of the 36th parallel and west of Missouri
List three reasons for the Mexican-American War.
1) border dispute in Texas (Mexico believes the border to be along the Rio Nueces, the US thinks it is at the Rio Grande
2) the US wants California; 600 Americans settle in California and declare it to be a “republic”
3) Mexican military tries to expel the 600 settlers, this leads to a military conflict
List the three main terms of the Compromise of 1850.
1) California admitted as a free state
2) Utah and New Mexico will decide on slavery through popular sovereignty
3) enforcement of Fugitive Slave Law
Explain what is stated in the Emancipation Proclamation as well as Lincoln’s purpose in writing this document.
Lincoln stated that all slaves in states in rebellion (Confederate states), cannot enforce this because the Confederate states are in rebellion of the govt.; does not free slaves in border states (he needs support from the border states)
It gives the war a moral purpose (not only are soldiers fighting to preserve the Union, they are also fighting to end slavery); gains public support, encourages African-Americans to join the Union and fight the Confederacy
Describe the purpose of the Black Codes. Give three examples. Explain the purpose of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
Black codes were created to limit the rights of newly-freed African-Americans; restrict the movement and freedoms of freedmen because landowners still need them as a labor source (ex. limit employment opportunities, travel permits, cannot own weapons, cannot own land, cannot testify in court)
The CRA of 1866 was created to require Southern states to recognize the citizenship of African-Americans and to eliminate the black codes
Explain why Reconstruction ended as well as the problems it would cause.
Compromise of 1877-the Republican Party needs Southern support to elect their nominee as President; the South requires the end of military occupation and home rule in return for this support
Summarize the Middle Colonies.
Seasonal weather (land is farmable approx. half of the year), wheat, Pennsylvania is settled by the Quakers (a religious group that promoted tolerance and a personal relationship with God); New York settled by the Dutch; the British take the colony
Explain the major issues that needed to be resolved at the Constitutional Convention. Address the following terms: the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, the Great Compromise, 3/5 Compromise.
Virginia Plan-representation based on population, two houses of Congress, and three branches of govt.
New Jersey Plan-equal representation for each state, one house of Congress
Great Compromise-three branches of govt., two houses of Congress: Upper House (The Senate-equal for each state) and a Lower House (The House of Representatives-based population)
3/5-for every five slaves, three would count for the purpose of calculating a state’s representation in the House
List three examples of problems that Andrew Jackson created during his administration.
1) Spoils system (replaced qualified govt. employees with friends and supporters)
2) Indian Removal Act of 1830 (removed Native Americans in Southeast US and relocated them to Oklahoma where the land was unfarmable)
3) caused the National Bank to close; led to the Panic of 1837
Describe the Santa Fe Trail. Explain why people followed the Oregon Trail. Describe the Mormons and why they followed the Mormon Trail.
Trade route between Missouri and Santa Fe; traders travelled together to protect themselves from potential attacks from local Native Americans
People migrated from Missouri to Oregon because it had abundant, fertile soil due to regular rainfall; many died along the trail due to disease, running out of supplies, and attack by local tribes
A group of polygamists (men with more than one wife) left Illinois and went to Salt Lake City to escape religious persecution
Describe the Underground Railroad. Summarize the life and achievements of Harriet Tubman.
Network of boats, routes, and safe houses used to help runaway slaves escape to freedom in the North
Born a slave, married a freedman, when she thought she would be sold and separated from him, she escaped to freedom in the North; she returned to the South multiple times and helped 300 slaves escape to freedom, led missions in the Civil War, worked as a spy, after the war fought for women’s right to vote
Explain the significance of Gettysburg for both the Union and the Confederacy.
The battle occurs in Pennsylvania (in the north), if the Confederates can push closer to Washington D.C., they can pressure Lincoln to end the war and recognize their independence
This is a turning point in the war, the South loses almost 30k soldiers; the South realizes they don’t have the population or resources to defeat the Union
Explain the differences in the Reconstruction plans of President Lincoln, President Johnson and the radical Republicans.
Lincoln-10% of eligible voters in former Confederate state to pledge loyalty to the Union, must accept 13th Amendment
Johnson-presidential pardon from those with more than $20,000, accept 13th Amendment
Radical Republicans-50% of eligible voters must pledge loyalty, accept the 13th and 14th Amendments, incorporate them into their state constitutions, divide the south into five military zones
Define secession. Explain what a border state was. List the border states.
When a state leaves the nation to which it belongs (ex. the Confederate states that left the Union during the Civil War)
border states are slave states that remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War
Maryland, Missouri, Delaware, Kentucky
Summarize the Southern Colonies.
Slavery, self-sufficient system (they don’t need to trade because they have rich, fertile soil), warm weather, they can farm all year
List three details about Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
Federalists-strong central govt, was the best way to support rights of citizens, wealthy, educated merchants, lived along the coast, did not think a Bill of Rights was necessary
Anti-Federalists-supported states’ rights, farmers who lived in inland, rural communities, a Bill of Rights was necessary
Explain the Dred Scott case.
Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri who was taken by his owner to live in Illinois and Wisconsin for four years; after his owner dies, he sues for his freedom; the Supreme Court rules against Mr. Scott; as a slave, he has no right to file suit in Missouri (slave state); granting his freedom would violate the 5th Amendment (his owner’s right to property); rules the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional
What were the Union’s advantages? The Confederate’s?
Union-greater population, industry, infrastructure (roads, railroads, telegraph lines)
Confederate-soldiers are motivated (this is a personal war), generals are West Point graduates, fighting a defensive war (easier to defend than to conquer)
Explain the various rights granted to African-Americans in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
13th-abolish slavery
14th-recognize the citizenship of all people born in the US, fair and equal treatment before the law, entitled to due process
15th-voting rights for African-American men
Explain the reasons for the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and the problems that it caused.
Senator Stephen Douglas wants to expand the railroad westward with Chicago being a terminal station, in order to do this, the land in the Nebraska and Kansas Territories must be populated, the problem is that both territories are north of the Missouri Compromise line; the govt. decided to allow the residents of the territories vote whether to be free or slave (popular sovereignty), leads to voter fraud (people from Missouri vote illegally to make Kansas a slave territory; violence follows)
Summarize the Union’s war strategy. The Confederate’s.
Union-Anaconda Plan
1) blockade of New Orleans
2) seize the Mississippi River (split the Confederacy in two)
3) take the Confederate capital of Richmond
Confederate-fight defensive war, using highly-decorated military officers and motivated soldiers
Define the following terms: carpetbaggers, scalawags, and sharecroppers.
Carpetbaggers-Northerners who went to the South looking for business opportunities (buy cheap land and hire cheap labor)
Scalawags-white Southerners who support Republicans (for personal benefit, political ambition, best way to industrialize the South, limit the power of wealthy Southerners that are held responsible for starting the Civil War)
Sharecropper-receives seeds, land, and tools from a landowner; farms the land and pays the landowner with a portion of their harvest