US History
Midterm Proficiency Review
European Exploration- the
Constitution
1. What is the Columbian
Exchange?
2. List the reasons settlers came
to the Americas:
The transfer of plants, animals,
and diseases between the Old
World (Europe) and the New
World (the Americas).
•
•
•
•
•
Religious freedom
Gold/ Treasure
Land
Jobs
Sense of Adventure
3. What was the Mayflower
Compact and how did it help
political development in
America?
 The Mayflower Compact was
an agreement that helped
establish the first form of
government with guidelines
for self rule.
4. Who were the puritans, where
did they settle, and why were
they hypocrites?
 English dissenters who wanted
to reform the Church of
England. Puritans settled in
the New England Colonies.
They were hypocrites because
they came to America to
reform the Church of England
and then made everyone in
America do everything the
Puritan Way with no reforms.
5. Who could vote in early
colonial America?
6. Name the three regions of the
13 colonies:
 White males over the age of 21
who owned property could
vote in Colonial America.
1. New England Colonies
2. Middle Colonies
3. Southern Colonies
7. What were the main products
of the Southern economy?
1. Tobacco
2. Slavery
8. Describe the Triangular Trade:
 A system of exchanging slaves,
rum, sugar, and molasses
between the Americas, Europe,
& Africa.
What was the middle passage
like?
9. Describe the French and Indian War, why it
started and over what, and the turning point:
 The French and Indian War
was a conflict between the
French and some Native
American Allies against the
British and some Native
American Allies over the
Ohio River Valley. The
turning point was the Battle
of Quebec and the British
won the war. King George
and the British Parliament
issued the Proclamation of
1763 which forbade the
colonists from settling
between the Appalachian
Mountains and the
Mississippi River.
10. What was the Albany Plan of
Union?
11. List 5 causes of the American
Revolution ?
 Benjamin Franklin proposed
that the 13 colonies unite and
the colonies turned it down. It
was the first formal idea for
the colonies to unite.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Proclamation of 1763
Navigation Acts
Tea Act
Stamp Act
Townshend Acts
Sugar Act
Quartering Act
Intolerable Acts
12. Who were the Sons and
Daughters of Liberty?
 The Sons of Liberty was a male
group that protested British
policies like the Stamp Act,
Townshend Acts, Tea Act, etc.
with violence like tarring and
feathering tax collectors.
 The Daughters of Liberty was
a female group who showed
their protest in non-violent
ways like boycotting British
products.
13. Who was Thomas Paine and
how was he an influence during
the American Revolution?
 A Patriot who wrote a
pamphlet called Common
Sense which advised
independence from England.
14. Who was John Locke and
describe his purpose of
government:
 John Locke was an
Enlightenment thinker who
believed we had natural rightslife, liberty and property.
16. Describe the Battle of
Lexington & Concord:
 These battles were known as
the first battles of the
American Revolution. It
began on April 18, 1775; 8
militiamen lay dead @
Lexington and British
destroyed ammunition stored
by the Patriots @ Concord and
then the British retreated. It
became known as “The Shot
Heard Around the World.”
15. Identify strengths and weaknesses of
both the British and the Patriots at the
start of the American Revolution:
Strengths
Weaknesses
British
Well-trained army
Best navy in the
world
Patriots
George
Washington
Foreign Allies
Home field
Advantage
Short supply line Poorly trained
Did not know the Undisciplined
land
No supplies/No
Hired mercenaries money
17. Describe the Battle of
Trenton.
18. Describe the Battle of
Saratoga:
 On December 25, 1776, George
Washington and the American
troops crossed the Delaware
into NJ. They surprised the
Hessians @ Trenton who had
been celebrating. It was an
American victory that boosted
the morale of the Patriots.
 These battles were a series of
Battles in Upstate NY near
Albany. British General John
Burgoyne surrenders to the
Continental army at Saratoga.
This was the turning point of
the war for the Americans.
The French were convinced
they would help the Americans
now.
19. Describe the Battle of
Yorktown.
20. Describe the Article of
Confederation.
 On October 19, 1781 in
Yorktown, Virginia British
General Cornwallis
surrendered to George
Washington and the
Continental Army. It was the
final battle of the American
Revolution where the
Americans win!
 The first plan of government
for the United States ratified in
1781. It failed because of the
following problems:
21. List 5 problems with the
Articles of Confederation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
No president
No Army
No courts
No centralized money
system
No way to collect taxes
22. Describe Shays’ Rebellion
and its significance.
23. What is the New Jersey
Plan?
 Massachusetts's farmer Daniel
Shays was upset that the Mass.
gov’t wanted him to pay his
debts immediately after the
war had ended. They
threatened to take his farm
away so he and the farmers
shut down the courts. There
was no army so the Mass.
businessmen hired an army to
stop the rebellion. It was this
event that we realized the
Articles of Confederation were
a failure and we needed a
more centralized government.
 A proposed plan of
government by William
Paterson that favored the
smaller states. It suggested 3
branches of government with a
legislative branch with one
house=one vote per state.
24. What is the Virginia Plan?
 A proposed plan of
government by James
Madison that favored the
larger states. It suggested 3
branches of government with a
legislative branch with one
house based on population of
that state.
25. Describe the Great
Compromise:
 Proposed by Roger Sherman
 Consisted of 3 Branches of
Government:
1. Judicial
2. Legislative
3. Executive
 And two houses:
1. House of Representatives
(Based on state population)
2. Senate (2 votes per state)
26. Describe the 3/5 compromise:
To satisfy both the North and the South the
agreement stated that for every 5 slaves 3 would
count towards the population for representation
in the legislative branch.