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US Hist. Study Guide
Study guide for US History final.
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Reasons why colonists settled where they did (1607) | - either left to escape religious prosecution, or increase wealth and power outside Europe - Jamestown was easy to defend from Spanish attacks from the sea - new raw materials and crops, opening up window in trade market |
Foundations of American Democracy | - Jamestown grew--1619, Virginia Assembly two citizen representatives (burgesses) from each division. By 1640, known as Virginia House of Burgesses--first elected legislative body in US. -individual worth, equality, majority rule-minority rights, free |
Why did the Anti-Federalists oppose the ratification of the Constitution in 1787? | - concerned national government would become too powerful at the expense of state rights - risk of oppresion |
Thomas Paine and Common Sense (1776) | 2 major points: 1) independence from England 2) creation of a democratic republic |
Declaration of Independence (1776) | - statement from Continental Congress, admitting freedom and urging dissolution of political ties with Europe |
Shay’s Rebellion (1786-1787) | - armed rebellion in Massachusetts - Daniel Shay led 4000 rebels in protest against economic and civil rights injustices - one event that inspired the Articles of Confederation (later to become the US Constitution) |
Louisiana Purchase (1803) | - land deal between US and France, where US acquired ~827,000 square miles west of the Mississippi - $15 mil, 68 million francs. - access to port city New Orleans |
Missouri Compromise of 1820 | - proposed in 1819 by Missouri to become a slave state - designated an imaginary line that separated the Union from the South - admitted Missouri as a slave state, and Maine as free |
Compromise of 1850 | - proposed by Sen Henry Clay, Jan 29, 1850 - Fugitive Slave Act amended - slave trade (not slavery) in D.C. abolished - left the decision of free/slave state up to popular sovereignty |
Manifest Destiny | - 19th century concept - belief that the US and its settlers were destined to expand across North America |
Economic differences of the North and South prior to the Civil War | - North had a more diversified economy, based on free labor - South, agrarian economy, mainly dependent on cotton sales and slave labor |
Lincoln’s goal in the Civil War | - while Lincoln had slavery in mind he intended to preserve the Union |
Seneca Falls Convention | - first women´s rights convention - discussed social, civil, and religious conditions and rights - Seneca Falls, NY, July 19-20, 1848 |
Reconstruction Period | - period after Civil War intended to rebuild the nation´s alliances - Ten-Percent Plan specified 10% of southern voters swore an oath to allegiance to the Union |
President Andrew Johnson and the Reconstruction Period (1865) | - gave white South free hand in regulating their transition from slavery to free state - offered no assistance to blacks in the South |
Result of the Civil War | - amendments XIII, XIV, XV added to Constitution - slavery abolished - US now a single nation, economy and way of life now changed |
Black Codes | - passed by Southern states after Civil War restricting African Americans to low wage work labor - intended to restrict African American freedom |
Native Americans | - welcome to serve in the Union but were not recognized as US citizens - excluded from 14th Amendment giving African Americans the right to vote - pressured to become ´civilized´ |
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 | - signed by Pres Chester A. Arthur, May 6, 1882 - prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers |
Indian Wars between 1860-1890 | - battles on the Western plains - Natives never fought in organized European war, no formal weaponry or uniform - thousands of Natives lost in the lower hand of battle |
Homestead Act of 1862 | - several laws stating an applicant could acquire ownership of government or public land, typically called a "homestead" - 160 acres in exchange for small filing free and five years residence before receiving ownership |
Transcontinental Railroad | - 1,912 mile continuous railroad constructed between 1863-1869 connecting the east and west - operated by Central Pacific and Union Pacific |
Development of the Great Plains | - railroads built after the Civil War brought settlers into the Great American Desert - settlement followed by emigration in times of drought |
Three-fifths Compromise | - compromise reached in 1787 - count slaves as 3/5 of a person, meaning every five slaves counted as three |
Reconstruction goals after the Civil War | - African Americans elected into political positions - 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment - state/local legislation - new state constitutions |
Economic impact of the Civil War | - South had taken a devastating toll with 620,000 deaths (nation wide), destruction of the southern states - war was extremely expensive |
Tenements | - packed living areas in big cities, stacking up stories high - poor living conditions |
Women's’ Suffrage Movement | - fight to win the right to vote for women, and from their gain power to introduce reforms - took over 100 years - Susan B. Anthony |
Battleship Maine | USS Maine - American naval ship that sank in Havana Harbor - blamed Spain for exploding and sinking the ship, killing 260 Americans |
Why was the North worried about Great Britain during the Civil War? | - although they remained neutral throughout the war, the Union feared their support of the Confederacy's legitimacy. |
Impressments | - the taking of men into military/naval status by force and without notice - British Impressments of American sailors became major cause of War of 1812 |
Trail of Tears | - series of forced relocations of Natives to the west of the Mississippi River under Indian Removal Act 1830 - 4000 of 16000 Natives died trudging over 1200 miles of land from disease, famine, and warfare |
Why did the South secede from the Union? | - South Carolina succeeded on Dec. 24, 1860 to fight for ´state rights´ as Union cracked down on slavery reforms |
Emancipation Proclamation | - proclamation and executive order by Pres Lincoln Jan 1, 1863 - declared slaves shall be set free inside rebellious states |
Why could Lincoln not carry out his plan of Reconstruction? | - many believed his Reconstruction plan was too soft and lenient |
Muckrakers | - used in the Progressive Era to characterize reform-minded American journalists who attacked established institutions and leaders as corrupt |
Who had great job opportunities during WWI when they did not before the war? | - women stepped into the role of working class labor that were left vacant as many men left for the war |
Treaty of Versailles | - 28 June 1919 - The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers |
Rapid Growth of Cities | - tenements - immigration labor - heavy industrialization and factory building |
Why did US enter WWI? | - US broke diplomatic relations with Germany in favor of the Allies - hours later American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat |
League of Nations | - headquartered Geneva, Switzerland after WWI to provide a forum for resolving international disputes |
Progressivism | - the support for or advocacy of improvement of society by reform - based on the idea of progress |
Americans reaction to WWI | - emerged from war as leader in military in industry - fascinated to be involved in a war with Europe |
Lusitania sinking | - sinking of the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania occurred on Friday, 7 May 1915 during the First World War - torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 and sank in 18 minutes |
Zimmermann Telegram | - was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico - leading cause involving US in World War, to put a halt to Germany´s prospects |