American Beginnings
What was the name of the land bridge early Americans used to migrate from Asia?
Beringia
What event marked the first battles of the American Revolution?
Battle of Lexington & Concord
What belief justified American expansion across the continent?
Manifest Destiny
What was the immediate cause of the Civil War?
Secession
What was the primary reason many immigrants came to the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s?
Economic opportunity, religious freedom, and escape from political unrest or persecution.
Which Native civilization was known for its extensive road system in the Andes Mountains?
Inca
Who wrote Common Sense and what was its purpose?
Thomas Paine; to persuade colonists to support independence from Great Britain
What legislation allowed settlers to move west and claim land by farming it?
Mexican-American War
What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
freed slaves in South
What was Ellis Island, and why was it important?
Main U.S. immigration station in NYC.
Which two major Native American groups were conquered by Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro?
Aztec and Inca
What was one major weakness of the Articles of Confederation?
no tax power
What legislation allowed settlers to move west and claim land by farming it?
Homestead Act
What were Black Codes?
limited rights
What were tenements, and what problems were associated with them?
Crowded city apartments with poor conditions.
Describe one impact of the Columbian Exchange on Native American populations.
disease
Explain the 3/5 Compromise and why it was controversial.
counted slaves
What was the Trail of Tears?
Cherokee removal
What did the 14th Amendment guarantee?
citizenship
What is a political machine, and how did it operate in urban areas?
Groups that traded services for votes.
Compare the exploration goals of Spain and France in the Americas.
conquest vs. trade
Compare the Virginia and New Jersey Plans and how the Great Compromise resolved their differences.
bicameral compromise
Evaluate the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on the American West.
economic boom + Native loss
Compare Radical and Presidential Reconstruction policies.
Radical = strict / Presidential = lenient
Evaluate how immigration and rapid urban growth affected American society in the Gilded Age.
Caused growth, crowding, and need for reforms.