American Revolution
Name 3 causes of the American Revolution .
Enlightenment and Great Awakening, Taxes on the Colonies, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Declaration of Independence, Olive Branch Petition, French and Indian War, Continental Congress
What was 1 weakness of the Articles of Confederation?
No executive or judicial branch
No power to tax
States had more power than the federal government
Who was the president during the War of 1812? Who did the US fight in the War of 1812?
James Madison
British
Andrew Jackson ordered Native Americans to move to the West
What was the Compromise of 1850?
Admitting California as a free state
New & more effective fugitive slave law
Utah & New Mexico territory use popular sovereignty to decide on slavery
Who were "Patriots" and who were "Loyalists"?
Patriots: Supported Independence
Loyalists: Opposed Independence & sided with the British
What is the importance of Shays Rebellion?
What was 1 important thing that happened during John Adams Presidency? Describe it.
XYZ Affair: Lower French officials X,Y, and Z demanded a $250,000 bribe as payment to speak with Talleyrand
Alien & Sedition Acts:
Alien Acts: raised immigrant residency requirement from 5 → 14 years before being able to become a citizen & the president was authorized to deport or imprison “dangerous” immigrants
Sedition Act: set fines & jail terms for anyone expressing opinions that were “damaging” to the government
Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions: A protest against the Alien & Sedition Acts
Asserted the principles of nullification: the states had the right to void acts of Congress that they thought were unconstitutional
Define Manifest Destiny.
God had ordained the growth of an American nation stretching across North America
What was the ruling of the Dred Scott case?
Scott lacked legal standing in a court because he was not a citizen
Court ruled that being in a free territory did not make a slave free
He was property & the Constitution protected property
Southern slaveholders begin to think that the ruling permitted the extension of slavery
What was the last battle of the American Revolution?
The Battle of Yorktown
Name 2 freedoms under the first amendment.
Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition
What was the spoils system under Andrew Jackson?
He awarded political supporters a job in the government
What was the Wilmot Proviso?
David Wilmot in Congress proposed that slavery would be banned from all territories that Mexico ceded to the United States.
Why did the South secede after the election of Abraham Lincoln?
Lincoln’s victory convinced Southerners that they had no political voice in the national government
What was importance of the Battle of Saratoga?
British openly declared allyship with the Patriots
What are the three branches of government?
Legislative (Congress)
Executive (president & cabinet)
Judicial (Court system)
What did the Monroe Doctrine state?
The U.S & Europe should stay out of each others affairs
What was the outcome of the Mexican-American War?
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo:
Mexico agreed to the Rio Grande border for Texas
Mexico ceded New Mexico & California to the U.S
U.S agreed to pay $15 million for the Mexican cession → California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming
What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
Freed slaves in the Confederacy during the war
What were the colonists strengths and weakenesses going into the Revolutionary War? What were the British strengths and weaknesses going into the Revolutionary War?
Colonies Strengths: Familiarity of home ground, good leadership, Inspiring cause
Weaknesses: Untrained & undisciplined soldiers, shortage of food and ammunition, inferior navy, no central government
British Strengths: Strong and well trained army and navy, strong central government with money, support of colonial loyalists and natives
Weaknesses: Large distance between Britain & the battlefield, and Troops unfamiliar with land
Name 1 Compromise from the Constitutional Convention & describe what it was.
Great Compromise: created a 2 house Congress - one based on representation and one with equal representation
Three-Fifths Compromise: Slaves count as 3/5ths of the population for representation for Congress
What was important about the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison?
The Supreme Court gaining the power of judicial review: they have the final say in what is constitutional
What was the Missouri Compromise?
Maine was admitted as a free state
Missouri was admitted as a slave state
Remaining Louisiana Territory was split into 2 parts at the 36, 30 Line
South of the line, slavery was legal
North of the line (except Missouri) slavery was banned
What are the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments?
13th: Abolished slavery
14th: Citizenship & equal protection clause
15th: Right to vote cannot be taken away for race, color, or previous condition of servitude