history

Question 1

What was the Constitutional Convention of 1787?

Answer 1

Meeting where the U.S. Constitution was written to replace the weak Articles of Confederation.

Question 2

What is the Separation of Powers?

Answer 2

Divides government into three branches: legislative, executive, judicial.

Question 3

What is the purpose of Checks and Balances?

Answer 3

Each branch can limit the others to prevent tyranny.

Question 4

Define Federalism.

Answer 4

Power is shared between national and state governments.

Question 5

What was the Great Compromise?

Answer 5

Created two houses of Congress: Senate (equal for each state) and House of Representatives (based on population).

Question 6

What did the 3/5 Compromise entail?

Answer 6

Each enslaved person counted as 3/5 of a person for representation and taxes.

Question 7

What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 establish?

Answer 7

Set up the federal court system.

Question 8

What was the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794?

Answer 8

Farmers rebelled against a whiskey tax; Washington crushed it, showing the strength of the new government.

Question 9

What was the significance of Marbury v. Madison (1803)?

Answer 9

Gave the Supreme Court the power of judicial review.

Question 10

What was the Monroe Doctrine (1823)?

Answer 10

U.S. policy warning Europe not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere.

Question 11

What was the Era of Good Feelings?

Answer 11

Period after the War of 1812 with national unity.

Question 12

What did the Missouri Compromise (1820) accomplish?

Answer 12

Missouri became a slave state, Maine a free state; maintained Senate balance and banned slavery north of 36°30′ line.

Question 13

What was the Indian Removal Act (1830)?

Answer 13

Law forcing Native Americans west of the Mississippi River.

Question 14

What was the outcome of the Mexican-American War (1846–1848)?

Answer 14

U.S. defeated Mexico and gained California and the Southwest.

Question 15

Define Manifest Destiny.

Answer 15

Belief that Americans were meant to expand across the continent.

Question 16

What was the Nullification Crisis?

Answer 16

South Carolina tried to nullify a federal law; almost led to civil war.

Question 17

What event marked the start of the Civil War?

Answer 17

First shots fired at Fort Sumter in 1861.

Question 18

What was the Emancipation Proclamation (1863)?

Answer 18

Lincoln freed slaves in Confederate states.

Question 19

What was the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg (1863)?

Answer 19

Major turning point battle; Union victory.

Question 20

What happened at the Surrender at Appomattox (1865)?

Answer 20

General Lee surrendered to General Grant, ending the Civil War.

Question 21

What were the Union and Confederacy fighting for in the Civil War?

Answer 21

Union wanted to preserve the U.S.; Confederacy wanted independence.

Question 22

What is Total War?

Answer 22

Destroying enemy’s will to fight, including civilian targets.

Question 23

What is Habeas Corpus?

Answer 23

Right to a trial; suspended by Lincoln during the war.

Question 24

What were the Reconstruction Acts?

Answer 24

Divided the South into military districts; required new constitutions and voting rights for Black men.

Question 25

Why was President Johnson impeached?

Answer 25

Opposed Reconstruction efforts.

Question 26

What did the Compromise of 1877 accomplish?

Answer 26

Ended Reconstruction; Rutherford B. Hayes became president.

Question 27

What did the 14th Amendment establish?

Answer 27

Gave citizenship to everyone born in the U.S.

Question 28

What did the 15th Amendment guarantee?

Answer 28

Gave Black men the right to vote.

Question 29

What were Black Codes?

Answer 29

Laws in the South to restrict Black people's rights after the Civil War.

Question 30

What was the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?

Answer 30

Supreme Court upheld 'separate but equal' segregation.

Question 31

What was the impact of Railroad Expansion?

Answer 31

Connected the country, boosted trade, and opened the West.

Question 32

What were Labor Strikes?

Answer 32

Workers fought for better pay and conditions; sometimes turned violent.

Question 33

What is Laissez-faire Capitalism?

Answer 33

Government should stay out of the economy.

Question 34

Who were the Robber Barons?

Answer 34

Rich businessmen who used shady methods to gain wealth.

Question 35

Define Social Darwinism.

Answer 35

'Survival of the fittest' applied to society and business.

Question 36

What are Tenements?

Answer 36

Overcrowded, dirty apartment buildings for poor urban workers.

Question 37

What was the outcome of the Spanish-American War (1898)?

Answer 37

U.S. defeated Spain and gained control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Question 38

What happened during the Annexation of Hawaii (1898)?

Answer 38

U.S. overthrew the Hawaiian queen and took the islands.

Question 39

What was the Philippine-American War?

Answer 39

Filipinos resisted U.S. control after Spain lost.

Question 40

What does 'White Man’s Burden' refer to?

Answer 40

Racist idea that it was the U.S.’s duty to 'civilize' other countries.

Question 41

What was the Open Door Policy (1899)?

Answer 41

U.S. said China should be open to trade with all countries equally.

Question 42

What did the Roosevelt Corollary state?

Answer 42

U.S. would act as a 'policeman' in Latin America.

Question 43

What was the Populist Party?

Answer 43

Represented farmers; wanted to regulate railroads and support silver money.

Question 44

What was significant about the Election of 1896?

Answer 44

Populist William Jennings Bryan lost to Republican William McKinley.

Question 45

What did the 16th Amendment allow?

Answer 45

Allowed federal income tax.

Question 46

What did the 17th Amendment establish?

Answer 46

Direct election of senators.

Question 47

What was the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)?

Answer 47

Government inspected food and medicine for safety.

Question 48

What are Initiative, Referendum, and Recall?

Answer 48

Tools for citizens to propose laws, vote on laws, and remove bad officials.

Question 49

What event triggered U.S. involvement in World War I?

Answer 49

Sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.

Question 50

What was the Zimmerman Telegram (1917)?

Answer 50

Germany tried to get Mexico to attack the U.S.

Question 51

What did the Treaty of Versailles (1919) accomplish?

Answer 51

Ended WWI; blamed Germany and created League of Nations.

Question 52

What were Wilson’s Fourteen Points?

Answer 52

Plan for peace and a better world after WWI.

Question 53

What was the purpose of the League of Nations?

Answer 53

Organization to prevent future wars.

Question 54

What were the Espionage and Sedition Acts?

Answer 54

Limited free speech against the government during wartime.

Question 55

What was the Great Migration?

Answer 55

African Americans moved North for jobs and to escape Southern racism.