Download Choose the letter of the best answer

The Americans – Chapters 1 through 12 Midterm Review – Social Studies Department – December 2009
 "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight" referred to a boundary dispute between the United States and Great Britain
over the location of the border with Canada. Some Americans were willing to go to war over the
disputed territory.
 "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did
here." is a quote from the Gettysburg Address (speech) by President Abraham Lincoln. It refers to the
sacrifice of the thousands of soldiers who fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in July of 1863.
 A belief in personal responsibility for salvation (not saved by a minister or priest) was one important
feature of the Second Great Awakening.
 A member of the House of Representatives is elected to a term of two years. They are called
“representatives” and are apportioned according to the population count every ten years (census).
 A U.S. Senator serves for a term of six years. There are 2 senators per each state (currently 100).
 According to the theory of mercantilism, a country has a favorable balance of trade when the value of
exports is greater than the value of imports.
 Adding a bill of rights to the Constitution was largely supported by the Antifederalists. They were
against the constitution because they believed that it would give too much power to the central
government. By adding a Bill of Rights they tried to prevent the central government from taking too
much power and limiting their individual rights.
 Admiral David Farragut's victory in April 1862 taking the city of New Orleans in Louisiana was
important because it advanced the Union plan to split the Confederacy along the Mississippi River.
 After the Europeans arrived in the Caribbean, diseases caused the deaths of countless Native Americans.
These were diseases that Europeans were used to, but natives had never been exposed to, thus they
caused lots of illness and death.
 As a result of England's policy of "salutary neglect," (just leave them alone to do whatever they want)
the American colonies developed a desire for self-government.
 Clara Barton's role in the Civil War was as a nurse on the battlefield, there she was exposed to incredible
suffering and carnage, thus she was inspired to start the American Red Cross organization.
 Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal connected the Atlantic Ocean with what the Great Lakes. It began in
the State of New York, near Albany. Pioneers traveled on the canal by canal barges, pulled by mules
from the shoreline.
 Crispus Attucks played a significant role in the Boston Massacre. He was an African American freeman
who was shot dead during the riot.
 During the French and Indian War (also known as the 7 years war), Native Americans fought on the side
of both the British and the French. The tribes that chose to fight with the French against the British and
the American colonists suffered loss of land and were pushed west after the war.
 During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army lacked food and ammunition. It was very hard for
General Washington to obtain the necessary funds to purchase food and supplies because the
Continental Congress had no power to tax.
 Edwin Stanton was the secretary of war whose firing led to Andrew Johnson's impeachment. Johnson
was Lincoln’s Vice-President and became President when Lincoln was murdered.
 Hiram Revels was elected as the first African-American U.S. senator (from Mississippi) during
Reconstruction. He was born free and was half Indian half black.
 In order to become the law of the land, the Constitution had to be ratified by nine states. However, the
founders decided to wait until the large states (Virginia included) had ratified it before conducting
elections for the first Congress and President.
 Ironclad ships could resist burning, could withstand cannon fire, and could splinter wooden ships. Two
ironclads fought for an entire day during the Civil War, the CSS Virginia (Merrimack) and the USS
Monitor, there was no winner since neither ship could damage or sink the other.
 Thomas Jefferson drew upon John Locke's (English philosopher) ideas as he drafted the Declaration of
Independence.
Page 1 of 6
The Americans – Chapters 1 through 12 Midterm Review – Social Studies Department – December 2009
 Journeymen are skilled artisans who are employed by master artisans. Journeymen begin as apprentices,
become journeymen, and eventually are themselves masters.
 Lincoln did not respond with force to the Confederate threat to attack Fort Sumter (on Charleston
harbor) because he did not want to anger Republicans and slave states still in the Union.
 New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley ran against Grant in the 1872 presidential election which
Grant won.
 One of the accomplishments of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was to establish requirements for
admitting new states to the Union. The NW Ordinance is considered one of the few accomplishments of
the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation.
 One of the most active conductors on the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman, who had herself
been a slave, escaped to the north and then helped other do the same, at considerable risk.
 People known as indentured servants agreed to a limited term of servitude in exchange for passage to
North America as well as food and shelter. After they served the term (usually 5-7 years) they went out
on their own and acquired land and settled down, usually on the frontier (western) areas of the colonies.
 President Andrew Johnson (took over after Lincoln’s death) vetoed important civil rights and
Reconstruction legislation because he was in a fight with Congress over how to carry out
Reconstruction. This fight eventually lead to his impeachment by the House and trial by the Senate.
 Ralph Waldo Emerson was a leader of the transcendentalism movement.
 Settlers in Jamestown, the first American settlement, planned only to search for gold and not to farm.
 Shays's Rebellion was a protest by farmers who faced problems from debts they owed to creditors.
 Slavery in West Africa was different from later slavery in the Americas because West African slaves
could escape their bondage.
 The Shawnee leader Tecumseh attempted to unite Native Americans into a confederacy to protect their
homeland against white intruders. He joined the British (Canada) against the United States during the
War of 1812. He was killed at the battle of the Thames.
 Thaddeus Stevens was the House representative who was the leader of the Radical Republicans. He
favored a war of extermination and re-colonization of the south (Civil War).
 The "middle passage" refers to the part of the transatlantic trade network that carried Africans (as slaves)
from Africa to the West Indies and North America.
 The "supreme law of the land" is the Constitution.
 The abolition movement promoted ending the institution of slavery.
 The Adams-Onís Treaty was responsible for the United States acquiring Florida along with settling the
western frontier with Spain (Mexico) in 1819.
 The Articles of Confederation gave the national government the power to declare war.
 The Battle of Gettysburg considered a turning point in the Civil War because it made the South give up
the idea of invading the North. General Robert E. Lee (South) was defeated there in a three day pitched
battle that saw over 60,000 casualties (dead/wounded/missing) on both sides.
 The Cherokee tribe was forcibly relocated from the southeast of the US by means of the "Trail of Tears"
a forced march to the Oklahoma territory reservation.
 The cotton gin (Eli Whitney) led to a sharp rise in the number of slaves imported to the southern United
States because it allowed for a much greater quantity of cotton to be milled (cleaned up) at a faster rate,
which allowed for more land to be cultivated for cotton (thus more labor needed)..
 The cult of domesticity refers to the 19th-century (1800s) belief that married women's activities should
be limited to housework and family.
 The Democratic Party candidate for president in the election of 1876 who won the popular vote but lost
the election was Samuel J. Tilden. The eventual winner was Rutherford B. Hayes, in a complicated
back room-dealing congressional election. There were many disputed electoral votes.
 The Enlightenment (18th century philosophy) was a movement that emphasized the value of reason.
 The final borders of the lower 48 states were established in the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico.
Page 2 of 6
The Americans – Chapters 1 through 12 Midterm Review – Social Studies Department – December 2009
 The first fighting between redcoats and minutemen occurred during the Battle of Lexington on April 19,
1775 (shot heard around the world).
 The first people to arrive in the Americas over the land bridge from Asia (Siberia-Alaska) supported
themselves by hunting big animals (hunter-gatherers).
 The formal withdrawal of a state from the Union is known as secession.
 The Great Awakening, a period of heightened religious activity, primarily in the northeastern US during
the 1730's and 1740's, caused some colonists to abandon their Puritan and Anglican congregations.
 The Great Compromise was an agreement about how to determine a state's representation in Congress.
It was based on a combination of the Virginia (equal) and New Jersey (by population) plans for
representation in the Legislative branch of the new government.
 The idea of state’s rights is promoted by the concept of nullification (that a state has the right to
disregard or nullify a Federal law).
 The inventor of a mechanical reaper that did the work of five farm workers was Cyrus McCormick.
 The inventor of a new rubber product that didn't freeze or melt was Charles Goodyear.
 The Judiciary Act of 1789, one of the first acts by the new congress, created the Supreme Court with a
Chief Justice and five associate justices.
 The last group to whom the Constitution granted the right to vote was eighteen-year-olds with the 26th
amendment in 1971.
 The Monroe Doctrine aim was to free the Western Hemisphere from European influence.
 The name of a man killed by an anti-Mormon mob in 1844 is Joseph Smith. He was the leader of the
Mormon church.
 The nation became divided in the 1790s over whether the central government or state governments
should be stronger. The division resulted in the first 2 political parties along the lines of the Federalists
and Anti-federalists.
 The president is elected to a term of four years. In 1951 a two term limit was established by the 22nd
Amendment.
 The president must have been a U.S. citizen since birth. This is also known as a “natural citizen”.
 The Pueblo Indian tribes are known for kivas (underground round structures for religious ceremonies),
pottery, and multistory buildings.
 The Renaissance (Europe circa 1350) led to a new confidence in human achievement.
 The right of the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional (judicial review) was
affirmed in the Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison.
 The South have an advantage over the North in the Civil War in military leadership.
 The Spanish system that forced native workers to farm, ranch, or mine for landlords is known as
encomienda.
 The stated aim of the Emancipation Proclamation was to free slaves behind Confederate lines. It was
issued by President Lincoln after the battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) in 1962.
 The system that maintains the separation of powers among the branches of the federal government is
called checks and balances.
 The Thirteenth Amendment, not the Emancipation Proclamation, abolished slavery in the North.
 The three main branches of the U.S. government are executive, legislative, and judiciary.
 The topic of the Lincoln-Douglas debates during the 1856 congressional election was slavery in the
territories.
 The Treaty of Paris (1783) confirmed American independence and set the boundaries of the new nation.
 The United States went to war against Britain in 1812 (War of 1812) because Britain was interfering
with U.S. foreign trade on the high seas and impressing American sailors.
 Thomas Jefferson was president when the United States acquired and began to explore the Louisiana
Territory. Jefferson bought the territory from France (Napoleon).
 During the revolutionary period Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense, arguing that the
time had come for American independence.
Page 3 of 6
The Americans – Chapters 1 through 12 Midterm Review – Social Studies Department – December 2009
 Ulysses S. Grant’s administration after the Civil War was plagued with scandal. Although he was never
implicated, many of his friends took advantage of his poor management skills.
 Uncle Tom's Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a minister’s daughter, and became a bestseller and an important instrument in the fight for abolition of slavery.
 In the 1830s under Mexican rule, the main appeal that Texas held for American settlers was cheap land.
 Union general William T. Sherman promised freed slaves who followed his army "40 acres and a mule"
 When the Civil War began, Abraham Lincoln's main goal was to restore the Union.
 With the Proclamation of 1763 (at the end of the French and Indian War), the British government
attempted to stop American colonist settlement west of the Appalachians.
Approximately how many miles would you have to travel from Wilmington, North Carolina, to reach
Williamsburg, Virginia? Which colonies lie between 30° N and 35° N latitude? Which is the northernmost
colony represented on the map? Which of the Great Lakes lies closest to New York? Which two colonies are
the smallest in area?
Page 4 of 6
The Americans – Chapters 1 through 12 Midterm Review – Social Studies Department – December 2009
Can you find the most western point of the expedition? The Western boundary (think high) of the Louisiana
Purchase? Where was the starting point of the expedition? Which is a present-day state that is located entirely
within the Louisiana Purchase? Which is a present-day state that is located partly within the Louisiana
Purchase?
How many trails are shown on the map? In what territory is Santa Fe located? What are the start and end
points of the Old Spanish Trail? Which trail ends in Salt Lake City? Which two trails could travelers take west
from Fort Hall?
Page 5 of 6
The Americans – Chapters 1 through 12 Midterm Review – Social Studies Department – December 2009
How long did the siege of Vicksburg last? How many miles south of Vicksburg did Grant cross the
Mississippi? What did Sherman's troops do after leaving Vicksburg? What was the order of Union forces
victories? Which of the following statements is supported by the map?
Essay Section of Midterm:
A. In your opinion, should Americans today view Christopher Columbus as a hero or as a villain? Explain your
answer.
Think About: - his voyages and the risks involved
- his purposes for exploration
- his acceptance of the system of colonization
- the long-term effects of his voyages
B. Name two advantages the British had in the Revolutionary War and two that the Continental Army had. In
your opinion, why were the Americans able to win the war?
Think About: - the location of the war
- training of the soldiers
- financial support
- allies
C. What effects did the publication of <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i> have on the American people? Why did the
book have such a strong impact?
Think About: - how the North and the South felt about slavery
- the message of the book
- the way the message was expressed
D. Why are the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments considered the greatest achievements of Reconstruction?
Think About: - why the amendments were needed
- how each amendment affected the rights of African Americans
- the role of the Constitution in protecting people's rights
Page 6 of 6