U.S. History Semester 1 Review
Unit 1 Foundations: Background to American History
1. What effect did the French and Indian War have on colonists relations with the British? - It strained relations. Great
Britain levied taxes such as the Stamp Act, Townshend Acts and Tea Acts on colonists to pay off the debt left from the
French and Indian War
2. Briefly describe what started the American Revolution. – Boston Tea Party + Battles of Lexington and Concord
3. What was the Second Continental Congress? What actions did they take following the outbreak of war? - Governed the
colonies during the American Revolution + appointed George Washington as commander of Continental Army
4. What role did George Washington play at the start of the American Revolution? – Commanded the Continental Army +
became the 1st president of the United States
5. What role did Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. Play in the American Revolution? – Only colonial governor to side with colonists +
supplied Continental army with food, clothing, and munitions
6. Who was John Peter Muhlenberg? What is his significance? – Minister became member of the “Black Regiment” which
were ministers who recruited volunteers for the Revolutionary War
7. What influence did the writings of John Locke and other enlightenment thinkers have on America's view of
independence? – Idea of self-government + governments role was to protect the people + unalienable rights
8. Why is the date July 4,1776 significant? – Declaration of Independence
9. What are unalienable rights? – Life, liberty, and land (later the pursuit of happiness)
10. What justifications does the Declaration of Independence give for the American Revolution? – Citizens had right to
overthrow an oppressive government, “no taxation without representation”
11. What do the following phrases in the Declaration of Independence mean?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." – Obvious/clearly stated + all men are equals in
society
“...that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights....” - Our rights as people come from God
“...deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” - Government gets their powers from the people in which
they govern
“That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.”
- Once a government becomes “unfair/oppressive”, the people have the right to overthrow it
“ the history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object
the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these colonies...” - The king has consistently ruled the colonists unfairly and
unjustly
12. What is the significance of each of the following signers of the Declaration of Independence?
John Hancock – signed name hugely; became symbol of American Revolution
Benjamin Rush - Father of American Medicine; financed oldest African – American church
Charles Carroll - Financed American Revolution with his own money; Catholic
John Witherspoon – 1st president of Princeton; served in 1st Continental Congress
13. What is the Articles of Confederation? What were its weaknesses? - 1st governing document in the United States; no
power to tax, keep a militia, regulate trade, Congress had only 1 house, etc.
14. What happened at the Constitutional Convention in 1787? – Articles of Confederation were scrapped and Constitution
was written
15. Describe the following principles of the U.S. Constitution, and be able to identify the part of the Constitution that gives
legitimacy to that principle:
Limited Government: - powers of federal government are limited to those specifically provided in the Constitution
Republicanism: democratic government of representatives elected by the people
Federalism: powers of federal government are divided between national government and the states
Separation of Powers: powers of federal government are divided amongst 3 separate branches – Congress, Supreme court
and the President
Popular Sovereignty: the people hold the supreme power; thus power of government comes from the consent of the
governed
Checks and Balances: each branch has ways to stop or “check” the power of other branches
16. How can the Constitution be amended? Why was this included? and list some examples of changes over the years.
- made flexible to be able to change over time; example would be bill of rights
17. Who was John Jay and why was he significant? – author of Federalists papers which argued for support of ratification
of the constitution
18. Why was the Bill of Rights added to the United States Constitution? – to protect individual rights and freedoms
19. List the five rights protected by the first amendment. – religion, speech, press, assembly, petition
20. Briefly describe the remaining amendments in the Bill of Rights (amendments 2-10). 2 – militia/carry weapons, 3 –
quartering of troops, 4 – unreasonable search and seizure, 5 – due process of law/ self incriminaiton, 6 – fair and impartial
trial, 7 – right to trial by jury, 8 – excessively high bail, 9 – unstated rights, 10 – federal government only has rights given to it
by the Constitution
21. Why is the case of Marbury v Madison significant? – established judicial review
22. Briefly define the 5 values Alexis de Tocqueville found crucial to America’s success as a constitutional republic.
A. Egalitarianism – society of equals
B. Populism – participation of the common people in political life
C. Liberty – protection against tyrannical government; freedom
D. Individualism – ability to rise in society; ability to be different
E. Laissez-faire – government takes a “hands off” approach
23. Why were the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments added to the U.S. Constitution? What does each do?
13th – abolished slavery; 14th – gave anyone born in the U.S. citizenship rights; 15th – prohibited denying individuals the right
to vote on the basis of race: collective these amendments aimed at giving creating an equal society
Unit 2 Industrialization and the Gilded Age
24. What was the bessemer process? how did it change America? – process of turning iron into steel; greatly speed up
industrialization
25. What changes occurred in due to the commercial uses of electricity? – factories , cities, telephones
26. How did each of the following contribute to America becoming an industrial giant?
A. Railroads - way to transport goods/connected different parts of the country
B. National Market – affected trade/connected different parts of the country
C. Population Growth – grew tremendously during the Gilded Age
D. Corporations – made business more competitive by searching for stockholders
27. What does the term Gilded Age mean? – time period in which there was tremendous economic growth and prosperity
overlapping treacherous working/living conditions
28. What does the term “Captain of Industry” mean? - forgers of the modern industrial ecnomy What is a “robber baron”? –
used ruthless tactics to destroy competition and keep worker’s wages low
29. Who was Andrew Carnegie? – Steel Mogul; used vertical and horizontal integration methods
30. define philanthropy - charitable contributions
31. What is the Gospel of Wealth? Carnegies justification for his actions; Why is it significant? – he explains that if wages
were higher, philanthropy would not be possible
32. Who was John D. Rockefeller? Oil tycoon; controlled 90% of oil refining in the U.S. in 1879
33. define monopoly - company having complete control over the supply of a product or service
34. What is the purpose of the Interstate Commerce Act? To regulate railroad rates; Why is it important? – 1st time
Congress stepped in to regulate American Business
35. What is the purpose of the Sherman Antitrust Act? To encourage fair competition and eliminate monopolies: Why is it
important? Changed Congress’ idea on big business
36. What conditions did labor face during the Gilded Age? – Long hours, low wages, child labor, poor conditions, and
repetitive tasks, lack of security
37. Describe early Labor Unions and their founders - Founded in an effort to improve worker conditions (Samuel Gompers,
Terrence Powderly
38. define union, strike, closed shop. Union – groups who fought for better worker conditions; strike – stoppage of work;
closed shop – places where only union members could work
39. What was the Haymarket Affair of 1886? How did this influence public opinion regarding Unions? Bomb explodes in
Chicago killing 7 policemen and 67 strikers; public saw unions as violent and radical
40. What was the government attitude toward unions? Saw them as illegal combinations in restraint of trade
Unit 3 - American Society in Transition
41. What factors led to rapid urbanization? Railroads, technological advances, availability of jobs
42. What problems were created by rapidly growing cities? Overcrowding, crime, fire, pollution, social tension
43. What political corruption did cities face? Political machines
44. Who was Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall? – leader of most powerful political machine in New York City
45. Why did immigrants come to America? - Push factors (oppression, poverty, war, religious persecution)/ Pull factors
(freedom, economic opportunity, cultural
46. Where were the “new immigrants” from? What challenges did they face? – Southern and Eastern Europe; hostility and
discrimination
47. What is nativism? Belief that people of other races are inferior
48. What was the Chinese Exclusion Act? - 1st federal law to restrict immigration to the United States
49. What impact did each of the following have on the closing of the American Frontier?
A. Gold Rushes – sent flood of settlers west in search of gold
B. Indian Wars - eliminated the threat of Native Americans by forcing them onto reservations
C. Railroads – connected the “wild west” to civilized areas in America
D. Homestead Act 1862 - gave 160 acres of land to settlers who promised to “improve the land”
E. Cattle Industry –demand for beef (cowboys/long drive)
50. define reservation – areas of undesirable land in which the Native Americans were forced to live on
51. What was the purpose of The Dawes Act 1887? What were some of its shortcoming? – forced Native Americans to
undergo Americanization; threatened tribal ways, infertile land, Native Indians were hunters not farmers, poverty, inferior
education
Unit 4 - The Progressive Era
52. What problems faced farmers from 1870-1900? – overproduction, farmer indebtedness, natural disasters, high costs
53. What was the purpose of the Grange movement? – serve as a social club for farmers; urged economic and political
reforms
54. What was the populist party? Describe the effect it had on elections as a third party. – party of the common man;
forced major parties to adopt their principles
55. Describe the progressives? What was the primary goal of the progressive movement? – people who wanted to correct
political, social, and economic injustices; to reform society
56. What was the Social Gospel Movement? – effort to reform social issues (child labor, safer worker conditions, poverty)
57. define Muckrakers - journalist who exposed the “dirt” in American society
58. Describe the contributions of the following muckrakers:
A. Jacob Riis – photographer of tenement living; wrote “How the Other Half Lives”
B. Ida Tarbell – wrote “History of Standard Oil Company”
C. Upton Sinclair – wrote “The Jungle” – helped get the Meat Inspection Act passed
59. Describe how each of the following Progressive Era Reformers sought to change society?
A. Jane Addams - founder of Hull House; settlement house provided child care, nursing services, and English
lessons
B. Who was Ida B. Wells – fought against the lynching of African Americans
C. WEB DuBois – believed that African Americans would advance in society by furthering their education;
supporter of integration
D. Booker T. Washington – advocate of separation; believed that African Americans would advance through
technical trades
E. Robert LaFollette – progressive governor of Wisconsin; challenged political bosses and reduced the influence
railroads
F. Theodore Roosevelt – Progressive/Imperialist President; “Speak softly and carry a big stick”; “Square Deal”
60. What were some progressive era political reforms? How did they make government more accountable to the people? –
Secret Ballot, Initiative, Referendum, Recall, Direct Party Primaries, Direct Election of Senators (17 th amendment)
61. What was the Pendleton Act? - Created the Civil Service Commission which gave competitive exams and selected
appointees based on merit
62. Describe each of the following Progressive Era Presidents programs and reforms:
A. Theodore Roosevelt - speak softly and carry a big stick
B. William Howard Taft – dollar diplomacy
C. Woodrow Wilson – moral diplomacy
63. What effect did the Triangle Shirtwaist fire have on views about unions? What legislation was passed as a result and
how did it help workers? - Congress passes legislation sympathetic to unions; Child Labor Act, Department of Labor,
Clayton Anti – Trust Act
64. What is the purpose of the Federal Reserve? – to control the monetary policy/amount of money in circulation; decides
how much money banks can lend, buys government bonds
65. What was the Seneca Falls convention? – convention that organized to fight for women’s right to vote
65. Who was Susan B. Anthony? - leader in Women’s suffrage movement
66. What is the purpose of the 19th amendment? – gave women the right to vote
67. During the Progressive Era, describe how art and literature moved to reflect realism. Cite specific examples. –reflected
“real” life
Unit 5 - America Builds an Empire
68. Why did the Spanish American war begin? – explosion of the U.S.S. Maine
69. define - yellow journalism - misrepresentation of the truth in an effort to garner support and sell more papers
70. What was the De Lome Letter? – criticized President McKinley by calling him weak
71. What was the significance of the explosion of the USS Maine? – sparked the Spanish American war
72. Who was Alfred T. Mahan? – president of Naval War College – leading advocate of imperial expansion
73. Explain how each of the following led to America becoming an Imperial power:
A. Cuba becomes a protectorate - America gets to maintain naval base in Cuba
B. annexation of Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam
C. Hawaii - helped overthrow queen; economic ties
D. Open Door Policy – no one should have exclusive influence in China
E. Panama Canal – helped overthrow government; shortened the shipping distance
F. Big Stick Policy – Roosevelt; make changes without a lot of debating
74. Define Dollar Diplomacy – Taft’s policy; protect American business interests in Latin America
75. Describe Wilson’s Latin American Policy - Moral Diplomacy – moral duty to spread democracy, ensure freedom
Unit 6 - America in World War I
76. What contributed to the outbreak of WWI in Europe in 1914? – militarism, nationalism, imperialism, alliance system,
propoganda
77. List new types of technologies that made this a new kind of war. – airplanes, tanks, poison gas
78. How did Wilson try to maintain American neutrality after the outbreak of war in Europe? – “freedom of the seas” –
wanted to maintain trade and peace with nations
79. Why did attempts at neutrality fail? and what caused our entrance into the war? - unrestricted submarine warfare –
Germany violated the Sussex Pledge
80. What changes occurred on the homefront? – Selective Service Act, Espionage Act of 1917
81. Explain the significance of the case Schenck v. U.S. 1919 – Supreme ruled that there were limits to “free speech”
82. What was the American Expeditionary Force? – American soldiers who helped stop Germany’s advance through
France in WWI
83. Who was John J. Pershing? – led the American Expeditionary Forces
84. Who was Alvin York? – avoided military service as a conscientious objector; killed 25 Germans and captured 132
prisoners in the Battle of Argonne Forrest
85. What was the aims of the Fourteen points? - to ensure world peace. What happened at the Paris Peace Conference?
Allied Leaders rejected Wilson’s plan but agreed to join League of Nations
86. What did the Treaty of Versailles do? – ended WWI; made Germany accept sole responsibility for the war (war – guilt
clause); forced Germany to pay $33 billion in reparations; broke up Ottoman and Austria – Hungarian empires
87. Why were Americans concerned about the League of Nations? – afraid that it would involve America in future foreign
affairs
88. Who was Henry Cabot Lodge? – Senator who led the opposition of the United States joining the League of Nations
87. Why did America fail to ratify the Treaty of Versailles? – Treaty did not get 2/3 majority of votes in the Senate