Download 100 Crucial Facts Fall 2014

US History Fall 2011 Crucial Facts
Early Government and Colonization
1. John Locke and his social contract theory influenced our founding fathers
including Thomas Jefferson, with the idea that government should protect
citizens’ natural rights.
2. The Enlightenment is based on the idea that people should approach religious,
political, and economic issues through reason and science.
3. The Magna Carta limited power of the king, by forcing him to seek advice of the
House of Lords on laws and taxes, and provided a trial by jury to those accused of
crimes. (guaranteed legal and political rights)
4. The English Bill of Rights signed by the king in1689, limited the power of the
monarch by requiring Parliament consent on taxes and guaranteed people certain
basic rights
5. The Mayflower Compact written aboard ship established a form of self
government to provide law and order for the Plymouth Colony.
6. Overpopulation, religious intolerance, and economic difficulties led
Europeans to seek new opportunities in the New World.
7. The first lawmaking body in the colonies, was the Virginia House of Burgesses.
8. The period of religious revival that expanded religious and political freedom was
the Great Awakening. It unified colonists from varying regions and indirectly
taught that political power does not rest in the hands of the monarch.
9. Someone who trades the cost of passage to America for services they would give
for the next 4-7 years in an indentured servant.
10. A common trade route between Europe, the West Indies, and America was the
Triangular Trade Route.
Pre Revolution and Revolutionary War
11. Following the French and Indian War, Britain passed the Proclamation of 1763,
which forbade the colonists from settling west of the Appalachians Mountains.
12. The American Revolution influenced other democratic movements such as the
French Revolution.
13. One of the main reasons why Colonist rebelled against Great Britain was that
they had no voice in Government.
14 The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War because
the Patriot victory showed the world that the American’s could win the war.
15. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, stated the
reasons for revolt from Britain. It contains the phrase” all men are created
equal,” and guarantees individual liberties.
16.The Declaration of Independence states that governments derive their power
from the consent of the governed. It means that governments get their power
from the people
17. In the last battle of the Revolutionary War, at Yorktown, British General
Cornwallis surrenders to American General Washington.
Constitutional Convention
18. The Articles of the Confederation created a system of representative
government and was the first document that unified the colonies
19. The Ordinances of 1785 and 1789 were important because they transferred
Federally owned land into private holdings.
20. Shay’s Rebellion frightened political leaders to revise the Articles
of Confederation and ultimately led to the drafting of the Constitution and
the Bill of Rights.
21. Shay’s Rebellion was in protest of taxes and debts faced by farmers
22. Alexander Hamilton was a leader of a political party known as the Federalist
23. Edmund Randolph proposed the Virginia Plan which supported a bicameral
Congress with representation of each state bases on population
24. The Great Compromise called for two houses in Congress, the lower house
would be filled with representatives based on the states population, while
the upper house would have two representatives per state
25. The Federalist Papers were a collection of essays, written by James Madison,
John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, which supported ratifying the
Constitution.
26. The uprising of farmers called the Whiskey Rebellion, led Washington to prove
that he would use the power of the federal government to put down any
rebellion.
27. After the Battle of Fallen Timbers, Native Americans were forced to give up
their homeland in the Ohio Valley.
Constitution
28. Federalism is a system of government where power is shared between the
national and state governments.
29. The system established in the Constitution allowing each branch some authority
over the other and making sure that no one branch gets too much power is
called checks and balances.
30. The branch of government that creates (makes) the laws is the legislative
branch.
31. The branch of government that carries out (enforces) the laws made by the
legislative branch is the executive branch.
32. The branch of government that interprets the constitutionality of the laws is
the judicial branch.
33. The First Amendment guarantees the right to freedom of: speech, press,
assembly, religion, and the right to petition the government for a redress of
grievances.
34. The need to keep citizens informed and encourage discussion is guaranteed
through freedom of the press.
35. Thomas Jefferson’s Statue of Religious Freedom was a forerunner of the First
Amendment and suggested a separation between church and state.
36. Representative Democracy is a government where people elect official to act
on their behalf.
37. In a Civic Republic, citizens have three duties, pay taxes, obey the law , and
defend the country.
38. Separation of Powers, an idea proposed by Montesquieu, is the division of
power among all three branches of government.
39. The power to declare war, levy taxes, and coin money are reserved for
Congress.
40. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights.
41. The voting system used to elect the president is called the Electoral College.
42. The preamble to the Constitution tells why it was written.
43. James Madison is considered to be the “father of the Constitution.”
various issues(Alien Sedition Acts, National Bank, and Revolutionary debt) led
to the development of the first two political parties
The Federalist Era
44. The Judiciary Act of 1789 marked the first steps towards creating a strong and
independent judiciary (court)
45. The differing opinions of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson over
various issues(Alien Sedition Acts, National Bank, and Revolutionary debt) led
to the development of the first two political parties.
46. The Monroe Doctrine established 2 ideas; Europe could nor colonize in the
Western Hemisphere, and America would not interfere in European conflict
47. Marbury vs. Madison was the court case that established Judicial Review.
48. President Washington wanted the nation to maintain a position of neutrality in
foreign affairs but trade and land issues made that difficult.
American Expansion
49. Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchase for 15 million dollars which
doubled the size of the US.
50. Lewis and Clark explored the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains in search
of the Northwest passage.
51. Sacagawea aided Lewis and Clark’s expedition by interpreting for them and
finding plants that could be used for medicine and food.
52.The War of 1812 was fought against Great Britain over land and the
impressments of sailors, resulting in Britain recognizing America’s
independence in the Treaty of Ghent.
53. Francis Scott Key wrote the the Star Spangled Banner during the War of 1812 .
It later became our National Anthem.
54. Manifest Destiny was the belief that America should extend it’s borders to the
Pacific Ocean.
55. The treaty gave the U.S. Florida, and resolved the territorial disputes between the
U.S and Spain, was the Adams-Onis Treaty.
56. Strained relations over disputed areas in the southwest led to the MexicanAmerican War.
57. Mexico gave up all claims to Texas, California and New Mexico (the southwest)
in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
58. The Indian Removal Act allowed the federal government to pay Native
Americans to move west.
59. The U.S. Army moved 15,000 Cherokee west during the winter of 1838-39
resulting in the deaths of 4,000. This event is known as the Trail of Tears.
60. In the 1820’s Congressmen, Henry Clay of Kentucky, proposed the American
System to improve transportation between the South, Northeast and West.
61. The National Road was made to connect the east with the Ohio Valley in the
west through the Appalachian Mountains
62. In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead Act, which gave 160 acres of land to
settlers who paid a filling fee and lived on the land for five years.
63. Our founding fathers believed that Cincinnatus’ idea of “Civic Virtue” putting
others needs before our own, was essential in establishing an effective
government.
64. the Hudson River School is important to American art because the school
encouraged its artist to paint natural wonders instead of people
Industrial Revolution
65. The first factories in America produced textiles, or cloth for clothing.
66. The Industrial revolution was an era when factories and machines
were used for mass production for the first time in the United States
67. The north industry development around rivers whereas the south maintained an
agrarian economy because of it’s fertile soil and flat terrain
68.. By the mid-1800’s cotton was “king” of the southern economy and had become
the nation’s top export.
69. Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Candy Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were women in
active in the anti-slavery movement and women’s suffrage. The movement
became known as the Women’s Rights Movement.
70 The Seneca Falls Convention, paved the way for women’s rights movement,
resulting in campaigns for suffrage, temperance and the abolition of slavery.
71. The Roots of Public Education in America began in private schools for a select
few and evolved into education for the masses after Horace Mann campaigned
for free public education
72. The Transcendentalist, Emerson, Thoreau, and Alcott, helped make popular the
ideas of individualism.
73. Samuel Slater was a man from England who brought over plans to create a
mill, ultimately starting the Industrial Revolution.
74. Eli Whitney’s invention (interchangeable parts and the cotton gin) led to mass
production of goods in the north and a economy driven by cotton in the south
75. During the Industrial Revolution an unprecedented number of immigrants came
to American in search of jobs and a better life greatly increasing the population.
This immigration provide a cheap labor force for the factories
76. The Northwest Ordinance outlawed slavery in the territories north of the Ohio
River, making it the United States first attempt to outlaw slavery.
77. Henry Clay presented a plan to preserve the balance between slave and free
states
that resulted in the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which created the state of
Maine as a free state
78. The Civil War was fought over Nations’ Rights vs. States Rights. (really it was
all about slavery)
79 The slave who sued the United States for his freedom but lost when the Supreme
Court ruled him as property was Dred Scott.
80. The Fugitive Slave Act was supported by southern landowners and required all
Americans assist in capturing run-a-way slaves.
81. In 1859 abolitionist John Brown raided Harper’s Ferry to steal weapons and arm
slaves for a revolt.
82 Various homes that were hiding places for run-a-way slaves were called the
Underground Railroad
83. Harriet Tubman was called the ‘Moses of her people,’ because she led so many
slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
84. Freed slave and anti-slave activist Fredrick Douglass, founded the North Star, a
newspaper promoting the anti-slave movement.
85. South Carolina with support of southern states passed the Nullification Act
which was a protest against tariffs which they felt supported Northern
manufactures
86. Abraham Lincoln expressed concern about the morality of slavery and
emphasized the need to preserve the union in his House Divided Speech.
87. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest three day battle fought on American
soil. Lincoln later dedicated this battleground to the dead Union soldiers in the
Gettysburg Address.
89. The Battle of Vicksburg led to Union Control of the Mississippi River, cutting
off trade to the south.
90. The North was in a better overall position to fight he Civil War due to natural
resources, manpower, and industry.
91. The Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln, freed all the slaves in
“rebel” states, it also allowed blacks to enlist in the military.
92. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House,
ending the Civil War.
Reconstruction
93 The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are known as the Civil Rights Amendments
because they are about ending slavery, extending citizenship, and adding suffrage
from the African Americans.
94. The Emancipations Proclamation resulted in the passage of the 13th Amendment,
which officially freed slaves in the south.
95. The rebuilding period following the Civil War was called, Reconstruction.
96. After the Civil War, Jim Crow Laws required that African Americans and whites
be separated in public places and led to segregation.
97.. Many southern states required a poll tax and literacy test in order to prevent
African American men from voting.
98 The grandfather clause allowed individuals who did not pass the literacy test to
vote if their fathers or grandfathers had voted before Reconstruction
99 In the 1896 case Plessey v. Ferguson the Supreme Court upheld Jim Crow laws
and segregation.
100. After the Civil War the Freeman’s Bureau helped African Americans adjust to
freedom by provide food, clothing and setting up schools.
101.By 1866 Southern States set up black codes, which replaced slave codes and
attempted to control free African Americans.