Colonial America
This economic theory, prevalent in the 16th and 17th centuries, posited that colonies should be established to benefit the mother country by providing raw materials, creating markets for finished goods, and maintaining a favorable balance of trade.
Mercantilism
Fought in June 1775, this battle was technically a British victory but marked a significant morale boost for the colonial forces due to their fierce resistance and heavy casualties inflicted on the British, showing that they could stand up to the might of the British Army.
Battle of Bunker Hill
Issued in 1863, this executive order, issued by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, declared all enslaved people in Confederate-controlled territories to be free, changing the character of the war and allowing for the enlistment of African Americans in the Union Army.
Emancipation Proclamation
Sparked by the explosion of the USS Maine and U support for Cuban independence, this 1898 war resulted in American acquisition of overseas territories.
+300 BONUS: Name the three overseas territories acquired as a direct result of this war.
Spanish-American War
+300 BONUS: Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines
A policy in the early Cold War to prevent the spread of communism by providing military and economic assistance to nations that were threatened by Soviet influence during the early years of the Cold War.
+200 BONUS: Name the two countries first be provided this aid.
Truman Doctrine (Containment)
+200 BONUS: Greece & Turkey
Founded in 1619, this legislative assembly in Virginia marked the beginning of representative government in colonial America, where local landowners and settlers were granted the right to elect members to make laws and levy taxes.
House of Burgesses
Adopted on July 4, 1776, this document separated the American colonies' from Britain but also grounded the justification for rebellion in Enlightenment principles such as natural rights and the social contract, drawing on the works of philosophers like John Locke.
Declaration of Independence
Fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, this three-day battle in Pennsylvania ended General Robert E. Lee’s second attempt to invade the North and is often cited as the turning point of the Civil War, as it marked the first major defeat for the Confederacy and turned the tide in favor of the Union.
Battle of Gettysburg
A former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he gained national fame for leading the volunteer cavalry unit known as the 'Rough Riders' during the Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War, a rise that propelled him to the vice presidency and then the presidency after McKinley's assassination.
Theodore Roosevelt
In October 1962, the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles stationed near Florida, leading to a tense 13-day standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war before a diplomatic resolution was reached.
Cuban Missile Crisis
This colony, founded by Puritans in 1630, was envisioned as a religious utopia and a model society that would serve as a beacon of moral and civic righteousness to the rest of the world.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The significant flaw in the Articles of Confederation was the inability of the national government to __________________________.
[Inability To] Levy Taxes
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
The ___________________ Act of 1867 divided the Southern states that had seceded into Five Military Districts, each governed by a Union general, as part of the process of re-integrating them into the Union under new conditions, including ratification of the 14th Amendment.
Reconstruction [Act of 1867]
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
As part of the muckraking movement during the Progressive Era, this investigative journalist published a series of articles in McClure’s Magazine that exposed the monopolistic practices of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, contributing to growing public support for antitrust reform.
Ida Tarbell
Announced in 1947, this American initiative provided over $12 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild war-torn Western European countries, curb the spread of communism, and stabilize the region's economies, marking a key moment in U.S. foreign policy during the early Cold War.
Marshall Plan
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
This 1676 uprising reflected growing resentment among frontier settlers who felt neglected by the colonial government in Jamestown, sparking a rebellion against both Native American groups and the wealthy planter elite.
Bacon's Rebellion
Held in Philadelphia in 1787, this gathering of delegates aimed to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and resulted in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, creating a more centralized federal government with checks and balances.
Constitutional Convention
Passed by Southern states after the Civil War, these discriminatory laws severely limited the rights of newly freed African Americans by restricting their mobility, labor, and access to public facilities, and were an attempt to maintain a labor force similar to slavery.
Black Codes
Ratified in 1913 during the Progressive Era, this constitutional amendment overturned a previous Supreme Court ruling by granting Congress the authority to levy a direct tax on individuals’ earnings without apportioning it among the states.
16th Amendment
Federal Income Tax
Established in 1949, this military alliance of North American and Western European nations was created as a collective defense pact to counter the growing threat of Soviet expansion in Europe, marking a key step in the Cold War's military and political dynamics.
BONUS +300: Name the Soviet alliance in opposition.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
BONUS +300: Warsaw Pact
Unlike the more homogeneous colonies, this colonial region was characterized by a UNIQUE blend of cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity, as settlers from various European countries, including the Dutch, Germans, and Swedes, came to escape religious persecution and seek economic opportunities.
Middle Colonies
To settle the contentious issue of how enslaved individuals would be counted for representation and taxation, this compromise was negotiated at the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
Three-Fifths Compromise
Ratified in 1868, this amendment to the US Constitution guaranteed citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including formerly enslaved individuals, and extended equal protection under the laws.
+500 BONUS: Name a modern case (within ~70 years) where this Amendment has been used.
14th Amendment
+500 BONUS: Obergefell v. Hodges or Brown v. Board
Public outrage following Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Jungle, which exposed unsanitary and dangerous conditions in Chicago’s meatpacking industry, directly influenced the passage of this federal law aimed at regulating the cleanliness and safety of meat products sold across state lines.
Meat Inspection Act
This doctrine, central to U.S. and Soviet nuclear policy during the Cold War, held that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two opposing sides would cause complete annihilation of both the attacker and defender.
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)