Name: ______________________ Date: ________ Period: ____________
AMERICAN HISTORY (10th Grade) MID-TERM EXAM STUDY QUIDE
Chapter 1:Colonizing America
1. The first successful English colony to be established was at _____.
2. At first, what caused the Jamestown colony to struggle?
3. The House of Burgesses was the _____.
4. Separatists from England, later known as ___, sailed to America in 1620 on board the
Mayflower and established a colony at Plymouth.
5. Which of the following best describes the economy of the South?
6. What was the purpose of the Navigation Acts?
7. The Enlightenment thinker who stated that all people have natural rights was ____.
Chapter 2: The American Revolution
8. In the mid-1700s, the British and the French fought over land in the _____ River
Valley.
9. The governor of Virginia sent _____ to tell the French that they were trespassing.
10. In America, the war between the British and the French was called the ____; in
Europe it was called the Seven Years War.
11. At the end of the war, the parties signed the Treaty of Paris which resulted in ____.
12. To prevent more fighting on the frontier (like Pontiac’s War), King George III issued
the Proclamation of 1763 which_____.
13. In 1765, the British Parliament passed the ____ which placed a tax on a number of
paper products like newspapers and diplomas.
14. In October 1765, colonial representatives met in the ____ and petitioned the king to
repeal the Stamp Act.
15. In March 1770, five colonists were killed by British soldiers in an event that became
known as the _____.
16. In May 1773, Parliament passed the ____ which actually lowered the price of British
tea while maintaining a tax.
17. In Boston, colonists (including Sam Adams and John Hancock) disguised as Native
Americans dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor in an event that became known
as the ____.
18. The Coercive Acts and the Quebec Act came to be called the ____ by colonists.
19. Americans who remained loyal to Britain were known as ____ or Tories; there were
many in Georgia, the Carolinas and New York.
20. The Continental Congress named the militia around Boston the Continental Army
and appointed _____ to command it.
21. In July 1775, the Continental Congress sent the _____Petition to King George III.
22. The petition stated that the colonists were loyal to the king and asked him to resolve
the situation peacefully; the king ____.
23. In January 1776, Thomas Paine published ______which argued that King George III
was a tyrant and that it was time to declare independence.
24. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence
which had been written by ______.
25. The commander of the Continental Army throughout the War for Independence
26. The British general who surrendered to General Washington at the end of the war
was General_____.
Chapter 3: Creating a Constitution
27. During the war (November 1777), the Continental Congress adopted the ____ as the
nation’s first plan of government.
28. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress could declare war, raise armies,
and sign treaties, but the Congress could not ____.
29. After the war, there was an economic crisis highlighted by ____ Rebellion (1786)
during which poor farmers in danger of losing their property rebelled against the
government of Massachusetts.
30. This “lawless” activity, added to trade and diplomatic problems, caused many
prominent citizens to call for a _____ of the Articles of Confederation.
31. During the Constitutional Convention, ____ (the Father of the Constitution) kept
notes on the proceedings.
32. Under the Great Compromise, there would be two houses of Congress. In the House
of Representatives, representation would be base on a state’s population while in
the_____, each state would have equal representation.
33. Supporters of the Constitution called themselves____; they favored strengthening the
national government.
34. Opponents of the Constitution were called____; they wanted the states to maintain
most of their power.
35. The Federalists’ arguments for ratification were summarized in The Federalist-a
collection of 85 essays written by____, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.
36. In response to the wishes of many Anti-Federalists in Massachusetts (including Sam
Adams), the Federalists promised to attach a ____ to the Constitution once it was ratified.
Chapter 4: Federalists and Republicans
37. The president’s group of advisors is called a ____.
38. President Washington’s Secretary of State was ____.
39. President Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury was ____.
40. Which if the following was an attempt to raise revenue proposed by Alexander
Hamilton?
41. During the Revolutionary War, the United States had borrowed money by issuing
___ (notes promising to pay back loans).
42. James Madison argued that the federal government was not allowed to establish a
bank because it was not one of the federal government’s ____ powers (powers
specifically mentioned in the Constitution).
43. Alexander Hamilton argued that establishing a bank was permissible under the
federal government’s ____ powers (powers not listed in the Constitution but necessary
for the government to do its job).
44. The ____ Rebellion erupted in western Pennsylvania in 1794 when angry farmers
rebelled in protest against a tax on whiskey.
45. The factions (groups) that developed during the debate over Hamilton’s economic
plan became the nation’s first ____.
46. Alexander Hamilton’s supporters were known as ___.
47. Thomas Jefferson’s supporters were known as ____.
48. In the election of 1796, Washington’s vice-president, John Adams, ran as a
Federalist; Thomas Jefferson ran as a Republican. ____ won the election and became the
nation’s second president.
49. Why did the XYZ Affair anger so many Americans?
50. At the height of public anger at France in 1798, the Federalists pushed four laws
through Congress. These laws became known as the _________.
51. Which of the following steps did President Jefferson take to reduce the size of
government?
52. Why did French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte offer to sell all of the Louisiana Territory
to the United States?
53. What was the goal of the Lewis and Clark expedition?
These judges were called “____ judges” because Adams supposedly stayed up signing
appointments until midnight on his last day in office.
54. President Adams appointed ____ as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was to
serve as Chief Justice for 34 years, and, under him, the power of the Court was greatly
expanded.
55. In the 1803 case of____, the Supreme Court ruled that part of the Judiciary Act of
1789 was unconstitutional.
56. This was the first time that the Court asserted the power of ____-the power to decide
whether laws passed by Congress were constitutional.
57. Why did President Jefferson send the Marines to the Mediterranean Sea?
58. The British stepped up the practice of ____-searching American ships for deserters
and forcing them back on to British ships. On many occasions, the British kidnapped
Americans into service as well.
59. President Jefferson asked Congress to pass the ____ Act of 1807, halting trade
between the U.S. and Europe.
60. Which of the following was an argument used by the War Hawks?
61. Which of the following is associated with the War of 1812?
62. The Star Spangled Banner was written by ___.
63. How did the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans contribute to the demise
of the Federalist Party?
64. On December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed thus ending the War of
1812. Which of the following was an outcome of the war?
Chapter 5:Growth and Division (1816-1832)
65. Why was the era following the War of 1812 called the “Era of Good Feelings”?
66. What is the significance of McCulloch v. Maryland?
67. What is the Monroe Doctrine?
68. How did the free enterprise system of the United States encourage the spread of the
Industrial Revolution?
69. Which of the following is an accurate description of the South at the beginning of the
1800s?
70. What is slave code? Provide examples.
71. What is the Missouri Compromise?
72. When John Quincy Adams became president, he appointed Clay his Secretary of
State. Angry Jackson supporters accused Adams and Clay of striking a “corrupt
bargain”. The incident split the party. Supporters of Andrew Jackson began calling
themselves____.
73. The most famous revolt was led by ____ in Virginia in 1831; he and his followers
killed 50 whites before the revolt was put down.
Chapter 6:The Spirit of Reform (1828-1845)
74. In the early 1800s, hundreds of thousands of Americans gained the right to vote
because of the elimination of _____ requirements.
75. More than any president before him, President Jackson supported the spoils system
which means ____.
76. Jackson’s supporters also introduced the ____ where delegates from the states would
decide on the party’s presidential nominee.
77. A new tariff in 1828 (which critics called the_____) caused many in South Carolina
to threaten to secede (withdraw) from the Union.
78. President Jackson fought against the Second Bank of the United States because ____.
79. Name the political party that emerged to oppose President Jackson’s policies.
80. Explain the significance of the Second Great Awakening.