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Flashcards in American History Deck (34)
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1
Q

American History

How did Homo sapiens likely first make it to the Americas?

A

Via the Beringia land bridge

(during the height of the last ice age)

2
Q

American History

What is the name of the oldest known civilization in the Americas (contemporaneous with Ancient Egypt), and where was it located?

A

The Caral civilization;

modern-day Peru

3
Q

American History

Describe the regions of the 1000 BCE Americas in regard to hunter-gatherer and farming societies.

A
4
Q

American History

What three regions of the pre-Colombian Americas were the only regions to have sustained large-scale civilizations (beyond simpler tribal societies)?

A

The Southeast of what is now the U.S.

Mesoamerica

The Andes

5
Q

American History

Name the first major Mesoamerican civilization (1500 - 400 BCE) (and one of the world’s six cradles of civilization).

A

The Olmec

6
Q

American History

Describe the Olmec civilization.

A

The most ancient Mesoamerican civilization

City-state structure

Produced calendars, pyramids, aquaducts, and jade and clay artistry

7
Q

American History

The mounds seen in parts of the U.S. were created circa 1000 CE by civilizations in what regions?

A

Along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers

8
Q

American History

Describe the chronological order of the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations (Aztec, Inca, Olmec, and Maya) as they came to be.

A

Olmec (1400 BCE - 400 BCE)

Maya (1000 BCE - 900 CE)

Aztec + Inca (1300 CE - 1500 CE)

9
Q

American History

Describe the location of the Aztec, Incan, and Mayan societies.

A
10
Q

American History

True/False.

Aztec and Incan cities were as large, complex, and organized as any of the largest in the Old World.

A

True.

With an estimated population of 200,000 to 350,000 in Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.

11
Q

American History

True/False.

The vast majority of Pre-Colombian North America was ruled by four separate tribes, which only divided into smaller groups after the arrival of the colonizers.

A

False.

Pre-Colombian North America was a complex hodgepodge of numerous tribes and civilizations.

12
Q

American History

Although estimates vary drastically, what is the current middle-of-the-road estimate for the population of the Americas just prior to the arrival of Colombus?

A

50 million

13
Q

American History

What led to the drastic decline in native populations after the arrival of European influence?

A

Infectious disease epidemics may have wiped out as much as 95% of the ~50 million individuals

14
Q

American History

Which were the first European countries to colonize portions of the Americas in the years after 1492?

A

Spain

Portugal

Britain

15
Q

American History

Describe the eventual European divvying up of American colonies that began in the 1490s and continued through the early 1800s.

A
16
Q

American History

In 1607, the __________ settlement was founded by John Smith.

A

In 1607, the Jamestown settlement was founded by John Smith.

17
Q

American History

The Mayflower landed where and in what year?

A

Plymouth, Massachusetts;

1620

18
Q

American History

Where did the famous 1692 witch trials take place in the Americas?

A

Salem, Massachusetts

19
Q

American History

Name three of the major trade exports of the Americas/Caribbean produced via slave labor.

A

Cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane

20
Q

American History

Name the only country of the Americas/Caribbean in which slaves freed themselves and successfully overthrew their colonizers, forming a new nation.

A

Haiti

21
Q

American History

Who led the revolution / creation of what are now Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama to independence from the Spanish Empire?

A

Simón Bolivar

(He created Gran Colombia, a unified state covering the region of the countries listed previously.)

22
Q

American History

Name the revolutionary who led the removal of the Portuguese and created modern-day Brazil.

A

Dom Pedro I

23
Q

American History

Who led the revolution / creation of what is now Argentina (and other parts of southern South America) to independence from the Spanish Empire?

A

José de San Martin

24
Q

American History

What war between Great Britain and France began in 1752 in North America?

A

The French and Indian War

(Both allied with different Native American tribes)

25
Q

Fill in the blanks for events leading up to the Declaration of Independence:

1765 - legislation of the ___________ Act.

1770 - the ___________ massacre.

1773 - the ___________ ___________ party.

1774 - first ______________ congress.

A

Fill in the blanks for events leading up to the Declaration of Independence:

1765 - legislation of the Stamp Act.

1770 - the Boston massacre.

1773 - the Boston Tea party.

1774 - first Continental congress.

26
Q

American History

Name the first two battles of the America Revolutionary War (1775).

A

The battle of Lexington and Concord

The battle of Bunker Hill

27
Q

American History

The U.S. revolution officially began in 1776 with the _______________ and ended in 1781 with the _______________.

A

The U.S. revolution began in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence and ended in 1781 with the Siege of Yorktown.

28
Q

American History

What treaty officially ended the Revolutionary War?

A

The Treaty of Paris

29
Q

American History

Who negotiated the 1803 Louisiana Purchase?

A

Thomas Jefferson

30
Q

American History

In 1804, Explorers ______ and ______ set out on their journey to cross North America and find the Pacific Ocean.

A

In 1804, Explorers Lewis and Clark set out on their journey to cross North America and find the Pacific Ocean.

31
Q

American History

Was the American Revolution the final U.S. war against the British?

A

No, remember the War of 1812

32
Q

American History

Name the final battle (1815) of the War of 1812 which actually occurred days after the war-ending treaty of Ghent.

A

The Battle of New Orleans

(led by Andrew Jackson)

33
Q

American History

What was the Monroe Doctrine of 1823?

A

A U.S. policy that opposed European colonialism in the Americas

34
Q

American History

In 1838, the ___________ Nation was forced to march from the Southeast to Oklahoma in what is known as the ‘Trail of Tears.’

A

In 1838, the Cherokee Nation was forced to march from the Southeast to Oklahoma in what is known as the ‘Trail of Tears.’