Geography
Which states are non-contiguous?
The non-contiguous states of the U.S. are:
These states are not connected to the contiguous United States (the 48 mainland states).
Who were the Paleo-Indians, and how did they survive?
Paleo-Indians were the first humans to inhabit North America, migrating from Asia via the Beringia Land Bridge around 15,000–20,000 years ago.
How They Survived:
What do the “Three G’s” represent in exploration?
The Three G’s drove European exploration:
Who founded the New York colony?
The colony of New York was originally founded by the Dutch in 1624 as New Netherland but was taken over by the English in 1664 and renamed after James, Duke of York.
What is a Boycott?
To boycott means to stop buying or using the goods or services of a certain company or country as a protest.
What type of government did the U.S. wanted?
A republic.
What was the Louisiana Purchase?
The U.S. bought a huge amount of land from France in 1803, which doubled the size of the country.
Why did the Southern states secede?
They wanted slavery and believed states should have the right to choose their own laws.
What is the difference between relative location and absolute location?
Relative location describes a place's position in relation to other landmarks or locations.
Absolute location is the exact spot on Earth using latitude and longitude coordinates.
What is significant about the Clovis people and their tools?
What were the names of Columbus’ ships, and why did he set sail?
Columbus' ships were the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María. He set sail in 1492 to find a sea route to Asia, but instead, he reached the Americas, changing world history.
Who Was the Quaker Who Founded Pennsylvania, and Why Is He Remembered?
William Penn founded Pennsylvania (1681) as a Quaker colony promoting religious freedom, democracy, and fair treatment of Native Americans. His ideas helped shape American values and government.
Who wrote the declaration of Independence? Give me the date. (the date is when the United States was founded)
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and approved on July 4, 1776, officially declaring the American colonies free from Britain.
What are the Articles of Confederation and why did it fail?
created a weak central government with power mostly with states, but it failed because it couldn't tax, regulate trade, or enforce laws, leading to economic chaos and disputes.
What is Manifest Destiny?
The belief that the U.S. had the right and duty to expand west to the Pacific Ocean.
Who are the Confederates? Who are the Union?
Confederates = South, wanted slavery and left the U.S.
Union = North, fought to keep the U.S. together
What is a U.S. territory, and how does it differ from a state?
A U.S. territory is a region under the jurisdiction of the United States that is not a state.
Differences Between a U.S. Territory and a State:
What was the Beringia Land Bridge, and why was it important in human migration?
The Beringia Land Bridge was a strip of land that connected Asia (Siberia) and North America (Alaska) during the last Ice Age, when sea levels were lower.
Importance in Human Migration:
Who was Leif Erikson, and why is he significant in exploration history?
Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer from Greenland, believed to have been the first European to reach North America around 1000 AD, nearly 500 years before Columbus.
Who founded Jamestown and in what colony?
Jamestown was founded in 1607 by the Virginia Company in the Colony of Virginia as England’s first permanent settlement in North America. Captain John Smith is credited as the founder alongside the Virginia Company.
What is the name of the first battle of the American Revolution and who shot first?
The "Shot Heard 'Round the World" refers to the first gunfire at Lexington and Concord, starting the American Revolution in 1775. Nobody knows who shot first.
What are checks and balances?
This system allows each branch some power to limit the actions of the others, requiring cooperation to govern effectively.
Who did the president send to explore the Louisiana Territory and why?
President Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore the land, map it, and learn about the plants, animals, and Native American tribes.
What is the Emancipation Proclamation and who wrote it?
A document written by President Abraham Lincoln that freed enslaved people in Confederate states during the Civil War.
What do latitude and longitude measure, and why are they important in geography?
Latitude and longitude are coordinate systems used to determine exact locations on Earth.
Name the three sisters in agriculture.
The Three Sisters in agriculture are:
Why Are They Important?
What is Ferdinand Magellan famous for? What happened to him? (and in what place?)
Ferdinand Magellan is famous for leading the first expedition to sail worldwide, proving that the Earth is round and could be circumnavigated. He also discovered the Strait of Magellan but died in the Philippines before completing the journey.
How was the climate in the New England colonies and what did the people do for a job?
Climate: Cold winters and mild summers, which helped limit the spread of diseases.
Economy: Focused on shipbuilding, fishing, whaling, and trade due to rocky soil and a short growing season.
Name of the people ready to fight at any moment during the American Revolution.
The Minutemen were colonists trained to be ready to fight at a moment's notice, and they were instrumental in the early days of the American Revolution.
Give me 3 out of the 10 Amendments of the Bill of Rights.
Amendment 1 Freedoms, Petitions, Assembly
Amendment 2 Right to bear arms
Amendment 3 Quartering of soldiers
Amendment 4 Search and arrest
Amendment 5 Rights in criminal cases
Amendment 6 Right to a fair trial
Amendment 7 Rights in civil cases
Amendment 8 Bail, fines, punishment
Amendment 9 Rights retained by the People
Amendment 10 States' rights
What were the 3 rules that Mexico gave to the Texans?
Learn Spanish, be Catholic, and follow Mexican laws (no slaves).
What is the difference between a casualty and a fatality?
Casualty: A soldier who is killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
Fatality: A soldier who dies in battle.
Which two hemispheres is the U.S. located in?
The United States is located in the Northern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.
What factors can lead to cultural change in a society? (How civilizations form?)
The loss of big game animals and climate changes forced early Native peoples to farm, which led to permanent settlements, job specialization, and the formation of civilizations.
What were the accomplishments of Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco de Gama?
How was the climate in the southern colonies and what did the people do for a job?
These colonies had warm climates and fertile soil, making them ideal for plantation agriculture, where they grew crops like tobacco, rice, and indigo.
Give me the first two laws that British passed to start collecting money from the colonies.
The Sugar Act (1764) and Stamp Act (1765) were the first two major British laws that taxed the colonies to raise money, leading to protests and growing tensions between Britain and the American colonists.
What are the powers of the Executive Branch and how is it formed?
The executive branch consists of the President, his or her advisors and various departments and agencies. This branch is responsible for enforcing the laws of the land.
What happened to the U.S. during the war of 1812 against Great Britain?
The U.S. fought Great Britain again. Some major cities were attacked and the White House was attacked, in Washington D.C., but the war ended in a tie.
What tactics did General Sherman use? Why were they effective?
He used "total war" — destroying railroads, farms, and supplies in the South. Also called Scorched Earth Policy. It worked because it weakened the South’s ability to fight.
How many continents and oceans are there? Name them.
Continents: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica
Oceans: Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Southern Ocean
What was the capital of the Aztec Empire, and what happened to it?
Tenochtitlán was the powerful capital of the Aztec Empire, but it was conquered and destroyed by the Spanish in 1521, leading to the creation of Mexico City.
What was the Columbian Exchange, and how did it affect the world?
The Columbian Exchange transformed the world by introducing new foods, animals, diseases, and cultures between the Old and New Worlds. While it boosted global trade and population growth, it also caused devastation to Indigenous peoples and expanded slavery.
Name all New England Colonies
What happened when British troops arrived to Boston to reinforce British control over the colonies?
How did the sons of liberty protested the tax on tea? What happened and what did they do?
The colonists started throwing snowballs, seashells, then rocks to the British soldiers, who then opened fire and killed 5 people. This event is called the Boston Massacre.
The sons of liberty dressed as Mohawks and boarded 3 ships with tea cargo. They dropped the tea into the ocean as protest.
What are the powers of the Judicial Branch and how is it formed?
The judicial branch consists of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal Judicial Center. They interpret the laws.
What is the name of the treaty that ended the war against Mexico and what territories did Mexico lost after losing the war against U.S.?
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico lost California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming (Mexican Cession).
Who assassinated President Lincoln?
John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate supporter.
Name the major regions of the United States.
Which civilization built cliff dwellings to protect themselves?
The Anasazi
Name four advancements in navigation that helped European explorers.
Name all middle colonies.
The Middle Colonies were:
Why was the battle of Saratoga so important in changing the outcome of the war?
The Battle of Saratoga (1777) was crucial because it led to the French alliance, boosting American morale and providing military support. It also marked a major turning point in the war by disrupting British strategies and encouraging other nations to support the American cause.
What are the powers of the Legislative Branch and how is it formed?
The legislative branch is made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies.
What is an embargo? And what did the Embargo act of 1807 do?
An embargo stops trade with other countries.
The Embargo Act stopped all U.S. trade, which hurt the U.S. economy.
What are the 3 phases of Plan Anaconda?
Blockade Southern ports (stop trade and supplies)
Control the Mississippi River (split the South in half)
Capture Richmond (Confederate capital)
Name the five Great Lakes.
How many years are between 10,000 BC to 2,000 AD?
11, 999 years
Add 10,000 and 2,000, then subtract 1 because there is no year 0 (even google gets it wrong).
Who did Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizarro conquer and how?
Name all Southern Colonies.
The Southern Colonies were:
In the first continental congress, what was the plan of action of the colonists?
In the First Continental Congress, the colonists' plan of action was to boycott British goods, send a petition to King George III, prepare militias for defense, and meet again if their concerns were not addressed. This marked the beginning of unified colonial resistance to British rule.
Explain the process of how a bill becomes a law.
A bill starts as an idea for a new rule. A member of Congress writes the bill and both the House of Representatives and the Senate must vote to approve it. If they both say yes, the bill goes to the President. The President can sign it to make it a law, or veto (reject) it. If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can vote again, and if two-thirds of Congress agrees, the bill still becomes a law. The Supreme Court can later look at the law and decide if it follows the Constitution.
What did the Monroe Doctrine do?
It told European countries not to take over or make new colonies in the Americas.
Tell me the advantages of the North.
Tell me the advantages of the South.
The Union (North) had many strengths. They had more factories, more railroads, and more people, which helped them make weapons and move soldiers faster. They also had a strong navy to block Southern ports.
The Confederacy (South) had strengths too. They had strong military leaders like Robert E. Lee and they were fighting on their home land, which gave them motivation. They were good at defending their territory.