Native Americans
Colonization
The American Revolution
A New Nation Begins
A Union Shattered
100
This confederacy of six nations is one of the oldest democracies in the world.
What is the Haudenosaunee Confederacy?
100
England's King James I allowed the Virginia Company to setup this first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607.
What is Jamestown? Their expedition and formation of the Jamestown colony started with the search for gold (as Spain found successfully in the Caribbean) but because they didn't find any, they endured significant hardships until they eventually began to grow cash crops, mainly tobacco.
100
This costly war between Britain and France caused Britain to raise taxes on the colonies in order to recoup their war costs.
What is the French and Indian War, or The Seven Years War.
England, Spain and other world powers had wars going on across several continents. Referred to in the colonies as the "French & Indian War" because it more accurately described what was going on locally in the colonies. England was fighting for the territories that France had been occupying.
100
This document was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, serving as the first governing document of the American colonies (though the American Revolution would not officially end until October 1781).
What are The Articles of Confederation? The articles established a loose confederation of states with a weak central government, which ultimately proved ineffective and led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.
100
This 1857 Supreme Court decision ruled that African Americans were not citizens and declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, deepening sectional divides.
What is the Dred Scott decision?
200
The Haudenosaunee lived in these large, bark-covered homes.
What are longhouses?
200
The 1620 agreement signed by the Pilgrims to establish self-governance in Plymouth Colony.
What is the Mayflower Compact?
200
The 7 Years War (French & Indian War) ended in 1763 with The Treaty of Paris. The Proclamation Line of 1763 was issued as a royal decree y King George III following the British Victory which resulted in significant territory expansion into lands previously occupied by France. It established a boundary along the Appalachian Mountains, barring colonial settlers from moving westward into Native American lands and aimed to reduce conflict between Colonists and Native tribes. It also restricted private land purchases from Native peoples to only those sanctioned (approved) by the British Government. Name one of several reasons this upset Colonists.
Reasons the Proclamation Line of 1763 upset the colonists:
- Land Ambitions: Many colonists, particularly land speculators and settlers, viewed the western lands as their right after aiding Britain in the French and Indian War. Being denied access to these territories frustrated their economic ambitions.
- Colonial Resentment: The Proclamation seemed to benefit Native Americans at the expense of colonists, fostering resentment toward the British Crown.
- Enforcement Issues and Conflict with British Authorities: Despite the decree, many settlers ignored the boundary, leading to friction with the British authorities.
200
This treaty, signed in 1783, officially ended the Revolutionary War and recognized American independence.
What is the Treaty of Paris?
The American Revolutionary War effectively ended with the surrender of British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. This marked the last major military engagement of the war.
However, the war officially concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783, in which Britain formally recognized the independence of the United States. The treaty was ratified by the Continental Congress on January 14, 1784.
200
This proclamation issued by Lincoln in 1863 declared freedom for enslaved people in Confederate states (states in open rebellion).
What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
Note:
The border states (like Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware) were slave states that stayed loyal to the Union during the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln exempted these states from the Emancipation Proclamation because he wanted to keep them on the Union's side.
If Lincoln had freed enslaved people in the border states, he feared the states might switch sides and join the Confederacy. This would have made it harder for the Union to win the war. Instead, Lincoln focused the proclamation on Confederate states to weaken their economy and war effort, while keeping the border states loyal.
300
This trio of crops was called the “three sisters” because they supported one another’s growth.
What are corn, beans, and squash?
300
This Colony, established in 1636 by Roger Williams, became a haven for religious tolerance.
What is Rhode Island?
300
Colonists protested what they believed to be unfair taxes by dumping tea into Boston Harbor at this event on December 16, 1773.
What is the Boston Tea Party?
It was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, against the British government and the Tea Act of 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea in the colonies tax-free (except for a small tax on tea that colonists saw as illegitimate). Protesters, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded three British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor, symbolizing colonial resistance to taxation without representation. This event escalated tensions and was a significant step toward the American Revolution.
300
This meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.
What is the Constitutional Convention?
300
This woman led Union forces in a raid to free enslaved people during the Civil War and was a key leader in the Underground Railroad.
Who is Harriet Tubman?
400
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy was governed by this guiding set of laws, emphasizing unity, consensus (agreement), and democracy; which would later inspire elements of the Constitution.
What is the Great Law of Peace?
400
This Native American tribe helped the Plymouth Colony settlers survive their first winter. Eventually, the first Thanksgiving would be celebrated with this Indian tribe 3 years later, in 1623.
Who are the Wampanaog Indians?
400
This slogan summarized the colonists’ frustration over taxation without a voice in government.
What is “No taxation without representation”?
400
This group, led by Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong central government and the ratification of the Constitution.
Who are the Federalists?
400
This speech by Lincoln redefined the purpose of the war as a fight for equality.
What is the Gettysburg Address?
Here is the full text of the Gettysburg Address, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
500
This Native American woman helped guide and translate for Lewis and Clark.
Who is Sacagawea?
500
The English government offered 50 free acres to anyone willing to sail from England to the colonies to settle land. Because settlers often lived far apart, they needed to create ways to communicate and make self-governing more efficient. As such, this first elected legislative assembly was established in 1619 in the Colony of Virginia, paving the way for representative government in the New World.
What is the House of Burgesses?
500
This act required colonists to house British soldiers in their homes, resulting in resentment at having to bear the expenses related to providing shelter and food to British soldiers.
What is the Quartering Act?
500
Written in 1789, these first 10 amendments to the Constitution protect individual rights and limit government power.
What is the Bill of Rights?
500
This Confederate president led the states that seceded from the Union.
Who is Jefferson Davis?
600
This tragic journey forced Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi, causing many deaths.
What is the Trail of Tears?
600
This term describes the widespread exchange of plants, animals, people, culture, technology, and diseases between the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia following Christopher Columbus's voyages to the New World, dramatically reshaping ecosystems, diets, economies, and populations around the globe.
What is The Columbian Exhange?
600
These two battles fought on April 19, 1775, marked the beginning of the American Revolution and are famously associated with the "shot heard 'round the world."
What are the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
600
Under President Thomas Jefferson, the US bought an enormous amount of Land from France through this purchase.
What is the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It cost 15 million dollars and doubled the size of the US.
600
This act required escaped enslaved people to be returned to their owners, even if they reached free states.
What is the Fugitive Slave Act?
700
These homes, used by some Great Plains tribes, were portable and covered with animal hides.
What are tipis (teepees)?
700
To make more profit (money), colonizers kidnapped and enslaved people from Africa, forcing them to work in often terrible and inhuman conditions, creating this system where slaves were shipped from Africa to the New World, raw goods were shipped from the New World to Europe, and manufactured goods and luxuries were shipped from European nations throughout the world.
What is the Triangular Slave Trade?
700
The First Continental Congress met in 1774 for this purpose.
What is to address grievances against British policies. Examples:
Taxes and Acts
Sugar Act (1764):
- Placed a tax on sugar, molasses, and other goods imported into the colonies.
- Targeted colonial trade and was seen as an effort to raise revenue without colonial consent.
Stamp Act (1765):
- Required colonists to purchase special stamped paper for legal documents, newspapers, and other printed materials.
- The first direct tax on the colonists, sparking widespread protests and the formation of the Stamp Act Congress.
Townshend Acts (1767):
- Imposed duties on imported goods like glass, paper, paint, and tea.
- Increased enforcement of trade regulations, angering colonists further.
Tea Act (1773):
- Allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, undercutting local merchants, while retaining a small tax on tea.
- Led directly to the Boston Tea Party in December 1773.
Coercive Acts (1774) – Also Known as the Intolerable Acts:
- Enacted to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.
- Included:
- Boston Port Act: Closed Boston Harbor until damages for the tea were paid.
- Massachusetts Government Act: Restricted self-government in Massachusetts.
- Administration of Justice Act: Allowed British officials accused of crimes to be tried in England.
- Quartering Act: Required colonists to house British soldiers.
Proclamation of 1763:
- Prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
- Angered land-hungry colonists who saw it as a restriction on their expansion.
700
The name of the expedition, sent by Jefferson to learn more about the land acquired during the Louisiana Purchase. Led by Meriwether Lewis and James Clark.
What is the Corps of Discovery?
Led by Lewis and Clark, they brought along a French fur trapper and his Lemhi Shoshone "wife" named Sacajawea. Sacajawea was instrumental to the expedition. She served as an interpreter and guide, found food, and saved supplies from a capsized boat.
700
This 1863 battle is considered a turning point in the Civil War because it ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s invasion of the North and boosted Union morale, paving the way for Union victories.
What is the Battle of Gettysburg?
800
This group of Native American tribes was forcibly relocated under the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Who are the Five Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole)?
800
Seeking this, pilgrims from England sailed on the Mayflower, founding Plymouth Colony in 1620.
What is Religious Freedom?
800
The Second Continental Congress convened (gathered) in 1775, taking this historic step toward independence from Great Britian.
What is signing the Declaration of Independence.
Timeline:
April 1775 - Battles of Lexington and Concord start the war between colonies and England.
May 1775 - Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord. Serves as the de facto national government of the colonies during the early years of the American Revolution.
June 1776: A committee, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, was appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence.
July 2, 1776: The Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence, formally breaking ties with Britain.
July 4, 1776: The Declaration of Independence, primarily authored by Jefferson, was officially adopted.
August 2, 1776: Most delegates signed the finalized document, although some signatures were added later.
800
This 1830 legislation signed by President Andrew Jackson led to the forced removal of Native American tribes, culminating in the tragic westward journey known as the Trail of Tears.
What is the Indian Removal Act?
800
The two major issues at the heart of the Civil War
What are slavery and states' rights?
Union - Anti-slavery / more centralized (federal) power
Confederacy - Pro-slavery / more decentralized (state) power
900
This leader of the Nez Perce Indians surrendered in 1877 after being tracked by the US Government for 75 days. He famously said, "I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."
Who is Chief Joseph (Full quotes + photo below)
"Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before I have in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Tu-hul-hul-sote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men [Ollokot] is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are – perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.”
"We only as an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men."
900
The colonists introduced this harsh, inhuman system of forced labor in the Americas.
What is Chattel Slavery?
900
This 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine argued for independence from Britain.
What is "Common Sense"?
900
This 1820 legislation aimed to maintain the balance of power between free and slave states in the US by doing the following:
- Missouri Admission: Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state.
- Maine Admission: Maine was admitted as a free state, maintaining the balance between free and slave states in the Senate.
- 36°30′ Line: Slavery was prohibited in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory north of the latitude 36°30′, except for Missouri.
What is the Missouri Compromise.
The Missouri Compromise, enacted in 1820, was a legislative agreement aimed at maintaining the balance of power between free and slave states in the United States.
Key Provisions:
- Missouri Admission: Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state.
- Maine Admission: Maine was admitted as a free state, maintaining the balance between free and slave states in the Senate.
- 36°30′ Line: Slavery was prohibited in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory north of the latitude 36°30′, except for Missouri.
Why It Was Significant:
The Missouri Compromise temporarily resolved sectional tensions over the expansion of slavery, but it highlighted the deepening divisions between the North and South. These tensions would continue to escalate, eventually leading to the Civil War.
900
Although the Union had more resources and manpower, the Civil War is often called this type of war because the Confederacy used defensive strategies and home-field advantage to prolong the conflict, forcing the Union to wear them down over time.
What is a "war of attrition"?
Attrition means gradually wearing down an opponent over time by causing them to lose resources, supplies, and people.
In a war, it refers to a strategy where one side tries to exhaust the other’s strength by prolonging the conflict, rather than winning quickly through decisive battles. In the Civil War, the Confederacy used this approach to make the war as difficult and costly as possible for the Union, even though the Union had more soldiers and supplies.
1000
A site in South Dakota where the U.S. Army massacred hundreds of Lakota Sioux in 1890, including men, women, and children, marking the tragic end of Native American armed resistance in the Plains.
What is Wounded Knee, led by Chief Red Cloud.
1000
Colonists grew this crop as their first successful cash crop, especially in Virginia.
What is Tobacco?
1000
The turning point of the Revolutionary War, this 1777 victory in upstate New York convinced France to join the war as an American ally.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
1000
This 1854 law repealed the Missouri Compromise, allowing settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide on slavery, escalating tensions between North and South.
What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
1000
The Civil War ended when this general surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Sadly, president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated just 5 days later.
Who is General Robert E. Lee?
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, just five days after the Civil War ended with General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., during a performance of the play Our American Cousin.
Why Was Lincoln Assassinated?
John Wilkes Booth strongly opposed Lincoln's policies, particularly his efforts to abolish slavery and reunite the nation. Booth believed that by killing Lincoln, he could inspire the South to continue fighting or disrupt the Union's ability to govern during Reconstruction. However, instead of reviving the Confederate cause, Lincoln's death united the North in their resolve to complete Reconstruction and secure his vision for the nation.