What was the first English
settlement in North America?
Why was it founded?
Jamestown, to establish a
colony well suited for growing
tobacco in the Chesapeake
region
Why did the Puritans want to
leave England? What boat did
they travel on? What was their
purpose?
religious persecution, the
Mayflower, to form a perfect
community through their
covenant with God
Name 2 characteristics of the
New England colonies.
education, small farms, harbor
cities, Puritanically based
morals and religion
Name 2 characteristics of the
middle colonies.
religious tolerance, commerce,
craftsmanship, heavy Dutch
influence, big cities like New
York and Philadelphia
Name 2 characteristics of the
southern colonies.
Loyalty to the crown,
plantations & cash crops, low
population density, controlled
by small group of wealthy
plantation owners
What religious movement was
focused on getting an emotional
response from its audience?
What was its “non-religious”
impact?
Great Awakening, caused
people to start thinking more
democratically and
questioning authority
How did this movement help
feed revolutionary fervor?
equality in the eyes of God,
pushed people to think
democratically
Which enlightenment thinker
pushed for a three branch
government and a system of
checks and balances?
Montesquieu
Which enlightenment thinker was an
advocate for the protection of
“natural rights” (life, liberty,
property) and the idea that people
should overthrow a government
that does not protect these rights?
John Locke
Which enlightenment thinker
pushed a social contract that
emphasized government by the
general will?
Rousseau
Which Enlightenment thinker
was a serious advocate for civil
liberties like freedom of religion,
speech, and the press?
Voltaire
What did Thomas Paine argue
in his pamphlet Common Sense?
That the time had come to
declare our independence
What is the name for the British
policy of lax enforcement of
colonial navigation and trade
restrictions? When did they end
this policy?
Salutary neglect, after the
French and Indian War
Why did the British begin taxing
the colonists in 1763?
pay for the debts they ran up
in the French & Indian (or 7
yrs.) War
What was the first major tax
placed on the colonists after the
Seven Years’ War? Why did
many colonists feel taxation was
unfair?
Stamp Act, colonists felt they
had no representation in
Parliament
Name two ways the colonists
protested this tax.
boycotts, demonstrations,
harassment of public officials,
formed groups like Sons of
Liberty
What British law required
colonists to feed and house
British soldiers?
Quartering Act, a form of
taxation that was resented by
the colonists
What group of colonists wanted
to remain loyal to Great Britain?
Why?
Tories/Loyalists, strength of
empire, rights as British
citizens, etc.
Who led the mob to the
Customs House to set off the
Boston Massacre in 1770? What
organization was he from?
Samuel Adams, Sons of Liberty
How did the British respond to
the Boston Tea Party in 1774?
Intolerable (Coercive) Acts (in
these the British closed the
port of Boston, took over the
MA gov’t, quartered soldiers
in colonists homes)
What group called made the
decision to split with Britain and
called for the Declaration of
Independence?
Second Continental Congress
Declaration signed on July 4,
1776
Who was the primary author of
the Declaration of
Independence? Who were his
two primary Enlightenment
influences?
Thomas Jefferson, Locke and
Voltaire
What were the two main
purposes of the Declaration of
Independence?
Establish the ideology behind
revolution and list grievances
vs. King George and
Parliament
Where was the first actual
fighting of the Revolutionary
war? Why did it happen?
Lexington and Concord, British
sent troops to arrest colonial
leaders and clashed with
Minutemen
What Colonial victory brought
increased support from the
French? Why were the French
willing to help us?
Saratoga, French were hoping
to regain influence in North
America they’d lost in 7 yrs
war
What was the British strategy at
the start of the Revolutionary
War?
Take control of New York (esp.
Hudson River) and cut off
Massachusetts from the rest
of the Colonies
What was the freezing cold low
point for the Continental Army?
Why was it significant?
Valley Forge, it showed the
Colonial Army’s resolve in
sticking with it and winning
the war
Where did the British surrender
to Washington? What Treaty
officially gave us our
independence?
Yorktown, Treaty of Paris
(1783)
What document set up our
nation’s first national
government? What was the
basic configuration of this
government?
Articles of Confederation, loose
Confederation of states run
by a unicameral legislature
Name two weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation.
no power to tax, no power to
coin money, no executive
branch, weak central
government
What was the significance of
Shay’s Rebellion (1786)?
Demonstrated the weaknesses
of the government under the
Articles of Confederation,
showed gov’t couldn’t
respond effectively to crisis
How did the Connecticut
Compromise help create our
Congress?
It established a bicameral (2
house)Congress with rep by
population in the House of
Reps and equal rep in the
Senate
Who appoints Justices &
Ambassadors? Who approves
them?
President, Senate
What branch has the power to
veto propose legislation?
Executive (the President)
How did the Constitutional
Convention resolve the issue of
slavery?
3/5 Compromise – which made
every 5 slaves count for 3
people when counting a
state’s population
41) Which part of the
Constitution gives Congress to
make all laws deemed
“necessary and proper”?
Elastic Clause
What determines the number of
representatives that a state gets
in the House of Reps.? In the
Senate?
its population (each state has
Congressional Districts), each
state gets two Senators
(originally chosen by state
legislatures – now by people of
each state)
Who has the power to enforce
laws?
President (Executive Branch)
Who has the power to declares
laws/acts unconstitutional?
Judicial Branch, headed by the
Supreme Court
What is the group of the
President’s advisors called?
Who were the two most
influential advisors to President
Washington?
Cabinet, Hamilton (Treasury) &
Jefferson (State)
Who has the power to tax and
declare war?
Congress
How many amendments are
included in the Bill of Rights?
What group pushed for it? Why?
10, Anti-Federalists – they
were afraid the new national
gov’t would be too powerful
and infringe on the rights of
the people
What amendment protects you
from unlawful search & seizure?
4th
Which amendment protects
your right to bear arms?
2nd
What right do some people feel
is violated by the Death
Penalty?
No cruel or unusual
punishment (8th)
What amendment protects the
rights of the accused?
6th
What amendment protects you
from self-incrimination?
5th
What freedoms are guaranteed
by the First Amendment?
Speech, religion, press,
assembly, petition
What was Hamilton’s (Federalist
Party) vision for America?
A country based on
manufacturing and a strong
central government, national
bank, lots of commerce
What was Jefferson’s
(Democratic-Republican Party)
vision for America?
Agricultural society, everybody
owns land, individual rights,
weak central gov’t
What did Washington warn
against in his farewell address
as he left office after his second
term?
The formation of political
parties, which pretty much
happened right away after he
left (Feds and Dem-Reps)
What laws were passed by the
Federalists in 1798 to limit
opposition to the government
and slow membership in the
Dem-Reps?
Alien & Sedition Acts
Why was Jefferson’s election in
1800 significant?
Peaceful transition of power
from Federalists to Democratic
Republicans, tie vote decided
in House of Reps
Who did Jefferson send to
explore the Louisiana Territory?
Why did he send them?
Lewis & Clark, promote the
territory & build excitement
about the West
How did we get “sucked in” to
the war of 1812?
GB & France were at war &
we’re caught in the middle
(impressment, blockades,
etc.)
What were the key outcomes of
the War of 1812?
Brits give up so we win,
survive first big foreign policy
crisis, establish ourselves as a
truly independent nation
What was the basic message
that the Monroe Doctrine sent
to Europe? Why was this
significant?
stay out of our hemisphere &
we’ll stay out of yours’ , sets
the course for U.S. foreign
policy in Latin America
(Nationalist Diplomacy)
Who was the first President to
supposedly represent the
common man? What party did
he help build?
Andrew Jackson, the
Democrats
Identify two things Jackson was
famous for.
Trail of Tears, vetoing Nat’l
Bank, spoils system, “bare
knuckle” politics, expanding the
use of Presidential Power
What major economic
transformation occurred during
the Age of Jackson?
Market Revolution, our
economy became a modern
market based economy