History Finals

Questions for History Finals

PART I: 1492-1754

1) What was Columbus looking for?
India

2) Why was a passage to India important for European countries to find?
The Europeans looked for a way to start a direct trade between Europe and Asia

3) How did the crusades change European and how did it lead to the exploration of the "New World"?
They awake Europe to trade, to make money

4) How did tobacco change the course of America (particularly the Virginia colony)?
Made America more than ‘getting rid of people’, enabled Jamestown to survive, “you can make money in America”, gave people who came over to America land, but also led to slavery

5) Discuss the rise of self-government in America (make sure you note the House of Burgesses, the Mayflower Compact and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut).

6) How did religion play an essential role in the shaping of the early colonies?
Freedom of religion was important; people from Europe looked for a place to practice their own beliefs in peace because they were persecuted in their home countries.

7) Discuss why early colonists came to America (the various reasons - begin to relate these to the American Dream and the American Character).
Came with idea of religious freedom, idea of owning land, idea of capitalism, making money (all part of today’s American Dream)

8) What was the Great Migration?
The Puritan’s migration to New England; they looked for religious freedom because of persecution in their home country

9) What was the renaissance and how does it fit with the exploration of the Americas?
A revival of interest in art, humanities, science, stimulated through the connection with the Middle East after the crusades, stimulated by trade, people had more time to dedicate themselves to art and education because they made money with trading, people were trying to find even better trade routes (which led to Columbus)

10) Where the 1st Europeans to the Americas "Explorers" or "Invaders"? Please justify your answer.
 


11) How did the English distance the relationship between indentured whites and black slaves? Why did they fear a relationship between the two?
The English feared the slaves would get together against the British; indentured whites formed bonds, which could have trained slaves how to rebel, they rewarded indentured whites with land when they were free (if you were black, slavery was never over; whites were released after a certain time)

13) Know the following people:
John Rolfe: Married Pocahontas, was able to harvest the first tobacco plant for Virginia -> saved the Virginia Company

John Smith: Military man, went along to set up the Virginia plantations, helped them survive for the first years

John Winthrop: Founder of the Massachusetts Bay colony

Anne Hutchinson: Kicked out of Massachusetts because she began questioning religious authority, she believed that god spoke to her directly (no-go because she was a woman), went to rhode island after being banned

Roger Williams: Founder of Rhode Island, believed that the government should not make people worship in a certain way and not take away land from natives

William Bradford: Responsible for the Mayflower Compact

John Wheelright: Founder of New Hampshire

Jacques Marquette: Explores the Mississippi River, French

Samuel de Champlain: Explorer, Founder of Montréal

Francis Drake: English pirate, steals from the Spanish ships that are returning from the New World, first Englishman to sail around the world

John Cabot: Explores Newfoundland

Henry Hudson: Exlores Hudson Bay and River

Ferdinand Magellan: Spanish, first person to sail around the world

Francisco Pizarro: Conqueres the Incas, Spanish

Hernan Cortes: Spanish, conquers the Aztecs

Squanto, Samoset: Natives who helped the Pilgrims

14) What is the difference between the Separatists and Puritans?
Puritans wanted to reform the Anglican religion, separatists wanted to break off

15) Discuss King Phillips War and how it changed America?
King Phillip = Native leader, changed America because it completely wiped out his group, made Massachusetts open (Native-free) for new people to settle there

16) When did the 1st Africans come to the English colonies? Where? What was the purpose of importing them (be specific)?
Virginia colony, to farm tobacco, in 1619

17) According to Zinn why were Africans easier to force into labor than Native Americans or poor white immigrants?
They didn’t know the country, didn’t know each other or each other’s culture, disconnected from their culture, didn’t know anybody

19) How did religious freedom, slavery, and self-government shape the first 13 colonies (be exact - this should be an paragraph for each).
Religious freedom: the Northern States were founded for being able to worship freely, people from Europe were escaping religious persecution and went to the Northern States (rhode island, Maryland etc.)

Slavery: slavery was popular in the southern states because slaves were used and needed for labor, states were based on agriculture (rice and tobacco), slaves were cheap labor

Self-government: starts in Virginia, it became important for the colonists to have some sort of government, in the beginning there were charters, colonies asking for own government

20) How did the Massacre at Mystic change America?
It made it acceptable to kill Native Americans, made it legitimate to kill Natives as a way to remove them

22) What was Nat Bacon's rebellion really about?
Rebellion against the English government; settlers in Virginia wanted to continue to move west, the government didn’t allow them to move into Native territories; shows the colonists were not willing to be directed by a king thousands of miles away

23) Why did Philadelphia become an important city?

It became sort of the capital of the US, had a large population, big thinkers (ben franklin) lived there, had theatres and libraries and newspapers, a place that was open for everybody (religion), 1st and 2nd continental congress met in Philadelphia

PART II: FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

* What are the reasons the war starts and spreads to become a world war?
Struggle for land and territory, control over the Ohio valley, religious differences
Colonists wanted to move west, British wanted to get the French out of America, French wanted to get the british out of “their” territory, Native unbalanced power in the region, didn’t want the English there

*What are the reasons the French lost?
French government stopped providing their army with supplies, French have trouble keeping their Native allies because they upset them

*How do the British turn the tide of the War?
They take over Ticonderoga, convince the Natives to not support the French, give the colonists pretty much all they want to make them join them and get rid of their French ally

* What are the results of the war?
French: removed from North America, lose their power

Natives: colonist invading their land more and more

British: a large war debt to pay off (although they won)

* How did the war begin?
George Washington was sent with a group of Natives to move the French out of Pittsburgh, the Natives attacked and killed the French leader -> sparked the war

*What was George Washington's role in the war and how did it prepare him for the Revolution?
Aid of General Braddock, learned a lot about discipline and how to train an army, it set up his ideas what a professional army needed

* Why were the following people important:
Edward Braddock: The English leader against the French, the first British general in America, underestimates the French and Indian method to fight (thoght they would never stand up to a professional army like the British’s)

Half-King: Native leader, killed the French leader (actually starts the war)

Marquis de Montcalm: French leader, won basically all his battles until Montréal

James Wolfe: Leader in the battle of Quebec

General Forbes: British general who built the road from Pennsylvania to what becomes Fort Pitt, made ally with the Natives

William Pitt: British minister, gave the colonies pretty much what they wanted

* Discuss the Native Indians role and importance in the war. What battles did they fight in? How did they change the power structure? What agenda did they have?
Fought with the French

Fought in Fort William Henry, Fort Dequisne, Fort Oswego
The side they were on won most of the early battles

They wanted a group to win that would not take away their land

* The French and Indian war begin over what area of land?
Ohio country

* Why did the Native Americans take captives? Was this an effective practice?
Used them to threaten colonists, to replace warriors, to exchange warriors or goods, to warn settlers in their area

PART III: The Revolution

1) According to Paul Johnson what was the most deciding factor in the colonists victory over the British.
Better leaders

2) How did the colonists win the media war, the ideological battle and the emotional battle?
Media war: had control over all the media, used it for propaganda, used certain events as propaganda (boston massacre)
Ideological battle: better leaders, declaration of independence, reasons for actual war, Thomas Jefferson is able to synthesize their philosophy into political ideas, British didn’t have a real reason for war
Emotional battle: idea of a common good, also propaganda (such as Common Sense, the Crisis written by Thomas Paine)

3) What important things did Patrick Henry do?
“Give me liberty or give me death”-speech, one of the grat orators of the revoluton, convinced Virginia to vote for independence (-> big influence)

4) How was Thomas Jefferson a “mass of contradictions”
he did one thing and was convinced of the opposite: He owned slaves but was against slavery; voted against importation from british goods but bought a lot from Britain

5) What was Thomas Jefferson’s most important quality (according to Johnson)
Had the ability to look at the philosophy of history (the moment) and to synthesize it for the general public; wrote the Declaration of Independece

6) What did Common Sense do? Who wrote it?
Thomas Paine

Propaganda, persuasive in an emotional way, brings together the masses, 1000 copies, bought and sold all over the country, everyone who could read bought it

7) What was the 1st constitution? What powers did it give the government?
The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution and it granted the government power to conduct war

8) What was the paradox of the war (at least from Britain's point of view)?
The British didn’t really want to win the war; if they won it would have cost them only more money and trouble to keep their colonies in line, if they lost they basically just lost their pride

9) What was Washington's main strength as a commander? Why did he win the war?
Discipline; he knew how to train an army. He won the war because he was able to keep the army alive and made the soldiers hold out until the British surrendered

10) What were the four points of the Peace of Paris - as laid out by John Adams?
1. Independence for America
2. Fishing rights in Newfoundland
3. Definite boundary between Canada and the US
4. Boundaries of the 13 colonies

11) Why did slavery increase during the revolution?
Soldiers needed to be replaced on the fields, the slaves were cheap labor, a lot more demand for goods needed to be satisfied

12) Who were the big losers of the war (name three)? List what they lost and explain why they are the biggest losers.
France= didn’t get anything from the war, they supported the Americans but were forgotten in the end
Britain= lose their colonies and pride, just got further in debt
Natives= were removed, their land was taken away

13) What happened to the Loyalists in America after the war?
The options:
1. Stayung in America but being put up with rebukes from their countrymen -> were treated as permanent outsiders
2. Going to Britain (British didn’t really want them either)
3. Going west (best option!)

14) What were the most important battles of the war? Why do you think they are the most important? (Note battles is plural)?
Trenton – gave Washington’s army a much needed victory
Yorktown – last major battle in the war, made America win
Princeton – another Washington victory, surprise attack on New Year’s Day
Saratoga – showed the French that the Americans could actually win -> made French join the American side

15) List at least five reasons why the Americans won.
Better leaders, population was growing, defending is easier than attacking, support of the people, America a reason to win, home court advantage, alliance with the French

16) List the importance of the following people in the cause of the Revolution.
A) Thomas Paine: wrote The Crisis and Common Sense, a propagandist

B) Thomas Jefferson: wrote Declaration of Independence, won the ideological war, but was not a was not a speaker

C) John Adams: One of the Founding Fathers, spoke on the floor of the first and second continental congress, which helped voting for independence

D) Samuel Adams: formed the Sons of Liberty, the important agitator behind the propaganda (Boston Massacre, Tea Party)

E) John Hancock: rich man from Boston, first person to sign the Declaration of Independence, the money behind the revolution (without money he wouldn’t have been important)

F) George Washington: the leader of the army and therefore face of the revolution

G) James Otis: Came up with the slogan “No taxation without representation”, Boston lawyer, influenced the Founding Fathers

H) Benjamin Franklin: convinced the French to join America, the face of America in Europe, internationally known

I) Benedict Arnold (think beyond his treason): defeats the British several times (Saratoga)

J) Patrick Henry: Give me liberty or give me death - speech, without him America probably wouldn’t have the Bill of Rights

K) Alexander Hamilton: was born in the West Indies, set up the bank of America, became right hand of Washington

17) Who was Molly Pitcher?
Took over the canon after her husband went away

18) Why did the British strategy for the war make little sense?
Just took over the major capitals, they took their time, were too kind with the Americans (thought the Americans were misguided and just needed to be brought back to normal)

19) How did the British fail to win the war in 1776? Who was the General in charge?
General Howe;
Waited too long and didn’t fight in the winter (European strategy)

20) "America was already developing the notion that all were entitled to the best if they worked hard enough, that aiming high was not only morally acceptable but admirable." Discuss the importance of this statement.
American dream

21) Who were the two most important people involved with the push towards a new constitution?
Madison, Hamilton

22) Give examples of how the Articles of Confederation failed.
They didn’t establish a strong central government:
When shay’s rebellion happened they didn’t really know what to do
Made 13 different states regulating things like trade amongst each others and dealing and breaking treaties with foreign countries on their own
They couldn’t tax money
--> 13 separate countries doing whatever they wanted

23) In your option why would some people prefer State rights over a strong Central government. What are the arguments for both sides?
Strong Central Government: Would give stability
State Rights: Government can’s misuse the power and limit the state’s rights

24) What is a nomiocracy? How do you feel about this term connected with the U.S. government?
A government run by lawyers

25) What were the three compromises on the Constitution? Which one of these seems the strangest to you?
1. slavery
2. Electing a president
3. Rights of house and senat


26) What is the irony about the President vs. a King as example by Johnson?
The President had more power than the king

27) Know the importance of Valley Forge. What happened there? What the troops had to overcome? Compare this with the British winter quarters.
Was the winter quarter for the American army, the troops become closer, built up the basis of what becomes the army that wins the war, made America win a victory of strength and mind (In contrast: The British were comfortable in Philadelphia)

28) What help did France, Spain, and the Netherlands offer the colonies?
France: money and troops
Netherlands and Spain: money

29) What is important about Judith Sargeant Murray and Abigail Adams?
Fought for women’s rights

30) Discuss the war in the west.
31) Discuss the war in the south.
32) What is the importance of the following people: A) George Rogers Clark. B) John Paul Jones. C) Nathanael Greene. D) Comte de Rochambeau. E) Admiral Francois de Grasse.33) What is important about Washington's farewell address?
34) Why did the natives give support to the British?
35) Why did the British think their military forces were superior to those of the Americans?
36) Why was fighting on their own land an advantage for the Americans?

PART IV: The Constitution, Jefferson, War of 1812, Jackson

1) Discuss the significance of Thomas Jefferson's quote: "A little rebellion now and then is a good thing...God forbid that we should ever be twenty year without such a rebellion...The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

2) Why did Shay's Rebellion happen?

3) The constitution is "a political creation, hammered together in a series of artfully negotiated compromises. Discuss these compromises.

4) What was the Virginia Plan?

5) "No person held in service" was a euphemism for what?

6) List the basic Powers and Checks of the three branches of the government.

7) Who wrote the Federalist Papers and why did they write them?
Madison, Hamilton and john jay, to get support for the ratification of the constitution, why the constitution should be ratified

9) Who could wrote in the first election (what parts of the population)?

10) How did Washington D.C. come be located on the banks of the Potomac?
The leaders of Virginia wanted to have influence, they wanted to have infuence on the government

11) What did Jay's Treaty do?
    Was under john adams, kept the united states out of the war with britain

12) What was the "Whiskey Rebellion" and how was it put down?
    Uprising by western farmers putting tax on whiskey, to raise the money, farmers could make money out of whiskey

13) Describe the election of 1800? How was it finally resolved?

14) Who was John Marshall?

15) Why did France sell its North America possessions (the Louisiana territory) to the U.S.?
Napoleon no longer had the right over Haiti, he needed money, needed to concentrate on the war in Europe

With this purchase, Jefferson made the Central Government stronger.

16) What did Lewis and Clark do? Describe their journey?

17) How did Hamilton incur the wrath of Aaron Burr? Was he right in what he did? How did the ordeal end?
He interfered with or stopped Burr’s ability to win President, stopped the ability to become Governor of new york, Burr war pretty much dead after that
Was he right? Hamilton thought Burr was corrupt and did things that were better for himself than for the country

18) What was Jefferson's Embargo Act? Why was it unpopular and what was it supposed to do?
During the war between France and England, Jefferson was trying to not take sides and keeping the US out of the war -> one way to do that was keeping the US out of trade -> made him extremely unpopular

19) What did Tecumseh try and do?
He tried to bring together all the Native tribes, put together an alliance against the invaders

20) Describe the Battle of Tippecanoe?

21) Most historians call the War of 1812 a draw. Why?
The treaty (outcome of the war) did nothing, didn’t answer the question that led to the war

22) Describe the Battle of New Orleans.

23) What did the Monroe Doctrine state?
No interference in the American powers by the Western hemisphere, warning to the European powers to stay out of American business

24) What was the Missouri Compromise?

25) How was the election of 1824 decided? Why was it called a "corrupt bargain"?
There were 4 candidates (Andrew Jackson, John Q Adams, Henry Clay…), while Jackson had the most votes, no candidate had the majority -> Jackson went to the House of Representatives, Henry Clay was the head of the House of Representatives
John Adams was a better candidate, Andrew Jackson was hot-headed, Adams won because he was named by Henry Clay

26) List some of the labels attached to Andrew Jackson.

27) Was Andrew Jackson an Indian hater? What did the natives call him? What "Indian Wars" did he fight in and what was the outcome? What was his native "policy" as President?

28) How did Jackson come to symbolize the common people?

29) Name the 1st seven Presidents of the United States

War of 1812

1) Importance of Fort McHenry: the National Anthem

2) Burning of D.C. by the British:

3) Battle of Baltimore (Plattsburg): where the British general is killed, war is going to an end

4) Battle of New Orleans: After the treaty had been signed, combined American forces (militia, common people, black people, pirates etc.) were fighting, most lopsided victory in American history, made Andrew Jackson a national hero, symbolized that America could stand up to a foreign invasion

5) Native Defeats: Tecumseh and the Creeks (Battle of Thames and Horseshoe Bend)

Compromises of the consitution:

1. The division of House (amount of senators based on population) and Senat (amount of senators divided equally, every state has 2 senators)

2. Slavery (not the word slave in the constitution etc.)

3. How the President was elected

1) Discuss the following during Jackson administration:
a) The changes in voting policies

Voting policy opened up; 1. only white males who owned land and paid taxes were allowed to vote, 2. all white were allowed to vote
b) The Spoils System
Jackson gave positions in the Government to his friends and followers (people who helped him get elected)
c) Changes in the Electoral College
Before Jackson: the states chose who they wanted to vote for president,

During Jackson: the actual people voted for president -> it became more democratic
d) The fight between State Rights and the Central Government (think about the Tariff Debate, the Issue of Nullification, John C. Calhoun and the threat of secession). How do these issues foreshadow the Civil War?
The South didn’t like the tariff that Jackson put on imported goods, they believed that the states had a right to nullify the law if it didn’t help them at all

Calhoun plays with the idea of secession (does a state have the right to secede?)

Jackson supported the Central Government, Calhoun quits being Vice President to strengthen the state rights

2) Describe the Cherokee removal from their lands. Make sure you include the following:
a) How the Cherokee lived in 1830.
One of the five civilized tribes, they lived in farming societies, had a lot of things that United States people had (written language, books, newspapers), lived on land that settlers wanted (the Government of Georgia)
b) The previous treaties made to the Cherokee by the U.S. Government.
US had signed a treaty with the Cherokee as recognition, guarantee their property and their land; Georgia wanted this land
c) The Cherokee suing the state government and the ruling in the Supreme Court by John Marshall.
    

d) Andrew Jackson's reaction to John Marshall.

e) General Winfield Scott's role.

f) The Trail of Tears.
Thousands of cherokees died

3) Discuss Jackson's fight against the Bank of the United States.
a) What were his arguments against the bank?
He thought the bank was only for wealthy people; made wealthy people wealthier, it did nothing for the common men (Jackson himself was a selfmade man)
b) How does he win against the bank?
He took all the government’s money out of it -> bankrupt

Possible Essay Questions for Test:

4) Be able to trace self-government and the democracy from Virginia Plantation to the Jacksonian Era. Make sure you include reasons why self-government was important to the early colonies (and the earliest examples of colonists self-government), how the local governments come to have a separation of church and state, control of education, contain ideas of freedom of the press; how the French and Indian War was influence by the colonial self-government and how this begin the Revolution; the ideas found in the Declaration, Bill of Rights, and the fight between the ideas of State rights and a Strong Central Government; and who got to vote and how these voters expanded during Jackson's reign.

Self government starts with the House of Burgesses (Virginia plantations). It was important for the people in Virginia because it allowed them to make their own laws and to separate from the Virginia company. This was an important step because the company was thousands of miles away (in Britain) and it didn’t know what was going on on the plantations
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut and the Mayflower Compact (the Pilgrims land outside of the Virginia charter, needed to have a reason/agreement to work together in order to survive) were the earliest forms of Self-Governments (South: formed for economical purposes, North: religious freedom;
Separation of church and state: Salem Witch Trials)

The control of education comes from the revival of the Great Awakening. It was a rebirth of religion, but also helped establish a lot of colleges in the US.

John Peter Zenger was responsible for the freedom of press, he tried to print articles about the Royal Government, he was found not guilty. He pushed the idea of publishing something about the royalties and not being punished.
French and Indian War was influenced by colonial self governemt: Colonies wanted to expand, British wanted the colonies’ support by giving money to them, the colonists felt that they didn’t have to listen to the British. They didn’t want to automatically follow the British Government because the British looked down on the colonists.
The Declaration of Independece included that all men are created equal. It contained the idea of democracy and that all men have certain rights. The Bill of Rights insured those rights.
Central vs. state government: what is the best for the people? Strong Central Government wins first, but idea of State Rights continues -> It’s not being revolved until the civil war
The discussion about who gets to vote was an argument of time; at first it was only white men who paid taxes, then all white men, eventually after the civil war all white men plus black men. After that, finally women were also included.

5) Be able to trace the idea of the American Dream or the Image of what it means to be an American from the Virginia Plantation (making money), to Plymouth Rock (came because of religious freedom) and the North Colonies, to the ideas of expansion, the Revolution, and the ideas of the self-made man. Be sure to include: Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, the ideas of the Revolution, and the Louisiana Purchase.

Idea of American dream starts way back in the beginning while the coonists came over, people who came over for the Virginia company came over for either making money or for religious freedom
Then the idea of expansion, the idea of going West developes because after the Eastern Coast was settled, settlers saw the possibilities of moving to the Western Coast and starting new farms there. The revoluton brought that all men are created equal and have equal rights to happiness. Everyone can own things, men who come from nothing (Ben Frankling, etc) became symbol
The Lousinia Purchase opens up the west and the United States suddenly have the right to expand and to settle on the other coast.

6) Discuss the role of slavery and its growth from its inception in 1619 through 1830. Make sure you bring up the following: the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, the Constitution, the Compromise of 1820, Jackson's invasion of Florida, the difference between North and South economies.

Slavery started on the Virginia plantations because people were needed to harvest rice and tobacco, and slaves meant cheap labor. In the Declaration of Independence was written that all men are equal. Only slaves were not mentioned, so slaves were not included in this statement.

Thomas Jefferson was a great writer but a mass of contradiction.
The Constitution insured slaves (3/5th comprmise) as a property that will be taxed. Like in the Declaration, the word slavery was not mentioned. The Compromise of 1820: The new states must equal out the power between free and slave states

One of Jackson’s excuse for invadind Florida was that there were runaway slaves
The North was slavery-free, in contrast to the South where slaves were needed because of economic reasons. The weather conditions in southern states offered a lot of plantation and therefore, a lot of labor was needed.