AlabamaHigh School Graduation Exam Quick Study Guide

101 Facts you need to know!

  1. How did the Native Americans on the Great Plains survive?
  2. Hunting, particularly buffalo
  3. What English document in 1215 began representative government & individual rights in England & later influenced the writing of the Constitution?
  4. Magna Carta
  5. What movement in Europe resulted in new art, technology, and a return to classical thought (Rebirth of Roman & Greek Culture)?
  6. Renaissance
  7. What European movement led to the creation of the Protestant faith?
  8. Protestant reformation
  9. Began by Martin Luther
  10. Reform the Catholic church
  11. What events all connected to eventually lead to European Exploration?
  12. The following help lead Europeans out of isolation & into the Age of Exploration:
  13. Crusades
  14. Renaissance
  15. New technologies

Astrolabe

Compass

Caravel & the lateen sails

  • Protestant Reformation
  1. Why did Martin Luther nail his 95 Thesis to the Church door?
  2. To make a statement against the Catholic Church & their selling of Indulgences (forgiveness of sins) & other corrupt practices; only wanted the Church to reform (change) her ways; later expelled from the Catholic Church for his ideas
  3. Invention of printing press  help to spread his ideas
  4. Split the Church  gave birth to the Protestant faith (Baptist, Methodist, etc.)
  5. Why did Christopher Columbus organize his expedition?
  6. To find a western route to Asia in search of spices
  7. What was the Columbian Exchange?
  8. A complex network of the exchange of agricultural, societal and environmental interactions between the Americas, Africa & Europe; ex. Corn, animals (i.e. horses, cows etc.), fruits, diseases, etc.
  9. When did the Columbian Exchange begin?
  10. After Columbus’ 1st return trip to Spain from the New World
  11. What caused England to colonize America?
  12. The following events led to English colonization of North America:
  13. Est. bases during their war with Spain
  14. To escape religious persecution
  15. To est. new markets for British goods
  16. What year were most of the English colonies settled?
  17. 1609
  18. Which treaty ended the French & Indian War aka 7 Years War?
  19. Treaty of Paris of 1763
  1. What was the Great Awakening?
  2. A series of revivals, which swept through the colonies.
  3. Led by George Whitefield, John Wesley & Jonathan Edwards
  4. Their message: “Belonging to an established church was not enough to assure salvation.”
  5. Taught: Everyone has a free will to repent of their sins, thus the experience of freedom of choice in their religious life helped strengthen the democratic forces in colonial life
  6. What led to the Boston Tea Party?
  7. The Tea Act
  8. Samuel Adams organized the event to dump tea into the BostonHarbor
  9. Individuals participating were known as the Sons of Liberty – not opposed using violence to get their point across
  10. Who was Thomas Paine?
  11. Wrote Common Sense- calling for the colonies to separate from Britain
  12. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
  13. Thomas Jefferson
  14. Influenced by the writings of John Locke
  15. What ideas were associated with John Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau?
  16. John Locke –believed that if a government is not working you need to change it (i.e. vote them out of office)
  17. Montesquieu – a government divided into 3 separate parts (checks & balances)
  18. Rousseau – Social Contract Theory (We, the people, give the government the right to exist)
  19. Why did the Second Centennial Congress meet?
  20. They met to organize the first National or Central Government; created the Continental Army, & appointed Washington as Commander of the newly formed army
  21. Who was the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War?
  22. George Washington
  23. What was the “shot heard around the world”?
  24. The start of the American Revolution, Battle of Lexington
  25. Which battle started the American Revolution?
  26. Lexington
  27. What is Valley Forge famous for?
  28. The endurance of the American Spirit during the Revolutionary War & their fight for independence
  29. More than 2000 of Washington’s soldiers dies due to starvation & the harsh winter
  30. Washington makes a compelling speech to his men, which causes many to re-enlist
  31. Thomas Paine wrote The American Crisis – coined the phrase “These are the times that try men’s souls.”, referring to the problems that Washington & the New Nation were facing
  32. What was the turning point of the American Revolution?
  33. The Battle of Saratoga
  34. The French entered the war on the side of the Americans (colonist)
  35. What Treaty ended the Revolutionary War?
  36. Treaty of Paris of 1783
  37. Why were the Articles of Confederation unsuccessful?
  38. It had a weak Central Government
  1. Who was the father of the U.S. Constitution?
  2. James Madison
  3. What were the Federalist Papers?
  4. A series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, & John Jay explaining the importance of supporting the Constitution:

Federalist #51

“In order to lay a due foundation for that separate and distinct exercise of the different powers of government, . . . it is evident that each department should have a will of its own . . . .We see it particularly displayed in all the . . . distributions of power, where the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that each may be a check on the other. . . .“

  1. What is the opening paragraph to the U.S. Constitution called
  2. Preamble
  3. What are the 3 Branches of Government in the U.S Constitution and what do they provide for?
  4. They provided for a Balance of Power and a system of checks & balances
  5. Judicial – interprets laws
  6. Executive – enforces laws
  7. Legislature – creates laws
  8. What was the Great Compromise aka Connecticut Compromise?
  9. Gave the U.S. a two-house (bicameral) legislature, known as Congress
  10. U.S. Senate – equal representation,
  11. each states has 2
  12. elected for a 6 year term
  13. U.S. House of Representatives
  14. Based on states population
  15. Elected for a 2 year term
  16. How are Senators elected?
  17. Each states has 2 and they are elected by popular vote for a 6 year term
  18. What war was fought w/ the British after the American Revolutionary War (the Second war for Independence)?
  19. The War of 1812
  20. What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
  21. Established a dividing line @ 36°, 30' N between Slave States & Free States
  22. All areas below the line = slave; above the line = free states
  23. Admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state
  24. Admitted Maine as a free state
  25. balanced the power of slave & free states in Congress
  26. What is the Bill of Rights?
  27. The 1st 10 Amendments to the Constitution
  28. Guarantees certain rights/freedoms to all U.S.Citizens
  29. What is Federalism?
  30. A system of government that divides power between the national, or federal. Government and the state governments
  31. Which Supreme Court case established judicial review? Who wrote the opinion (Chief Justice)? What was judicial review?
  32. Marbury v. Madison
  33. John Marshall
  34. Gave the Court the authority to determine whether or not a law is constitutional or not
  1. What was the Compromise of 1850?
  2. Dealt w/ the issue of slavery
  3. California would be admitted to the Union as a free state
  4. Land (Utah & New Mexico territories) acquired from Mexico (from the Mexican-American War) would did decided the issue based on the idea of Popular Sovereignty – the citizens would decide or vote as to whether or not they would allow slavery
  5. Border dispute - U.S. would pay Texas $10 million if Texas abandoned all claims to New Mexico east of the Rio Grande
  6. Slave trade (buying & selling of slaves) would be abolished/ended in D.C.; slavery, however, was still legal
  7. More effective Fugitive Slave Act –Federal government would give stronger enforcement of the act - dealing w/ runaway slaves
  8. What was the main purpose of Washington’s Farewell Address?
  9. Washington Farewell address warned against
  10. political parties
  11. entangling alliances in Europe
  12. What land purchase doubled the size of the United States?
  13. Louisiana Purchase
  14. Authorized by Thomas Jefferson
  15. Purchased from France
  16. What was the spoils system?
  17. The idea that whichever party won the election, they should have its members appointed to government jobs.
  18. Primary means that Andrew Jackson used in order to select his appointees during his presidency
  19. What was the Underground Railroad?
  20. An organized network of homes/individuals who helped escaped slaves make their way North (Canada)
  21. Plessy v. Ferguson
  22. The Supreme Court ruled segregation as legal as long as it was “Separate but Equal”, therefore it was Constitutional
  23. Who were some of the leaders who tried to abolish slavery?
  24. The following fought for the end of slavery:
  25. Frederick Douglas – published North Star and other abolitionist publications
  26. William Llyod Gammon – published theLiberator
  27. Harriet Tubman – began the Underground Railroad, aka “Black Moses”
  28. Harriet Beecher Stowe – wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin
  29. Sojourner Truth – spoke out against slavery (an abolitionist) & supported the idea/concept of “The Equality of Men & Women”
  30. Who was John Brown?
  31. An abolitionist who was willing to use force as a means to get his message across & to end slavery
  32. Led a raid @ Harper’s Ferry, Virginia – known as John Brown’s Raid; his plan to seize the federal arsenal there & free/arm the enslaved people of the neighborhood & begin an insurrection against slaveholders
  1. Dred Scott v. Sanford, what is the importance of this case?
  2. The Dred Scott decision established:
  3. No slave or descendent of a slave was a U.S. citizen according to the Constitution
  4. Therefore, Dred Scott was not a citizen and had no legal right to bring a case into the federal court system
  5. Time spent on “free” soil (territory) did not make him a free man with rights guaranteed under the constitution; he was therefore governed by Missouri laws
  6. The 5th Amendment guarantees that a person can not be derived of their property (including slaves) without due process, therefore Congress could not deprive his slaveholder the right to “Dred Scott”, his property. Result: The federal government was required by law to protect the property rights of slaveholders regardless of where the owners took their slaves.
  7. This court decision made the Missouri Compromise (which forbid slavery above the 36°, 30') unconstitutional
  8. What were the main causes of the Civil War?
  9. The main causes leading to the Civil War:
  10. Debate/disagreement over the legality & morality of slavery
  11. Kansas-Nebraska Act
  12. Dred Scott decision
  13. John Brown’s Raid
  14. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe
  15. Abraham Lincoln’s election
  16. What event actually began the Civil War?
  17. When the South fired upon FortSumter (S. Carolina); Lincoln planned to resupply the fortDavis wanted the fort for the South, since it was in southern territory
  18. What was Lincoln’s main reason for going to war?
  19. He wanted to preserve the union (Civil War)
  20. What did Abraham Lincoln promise in his Gettysburg Address?
  21. A cemetery for all who died in the Civil War
  22. What was the turning point of the Civil War?
  23. The Battle of Gettysburg in July, 1863; lasted 3 days & was the bloodiest battle of all; last time the Confederates fought on Union soil. Marked the beginning of the end for the South.
  24. What Amendment ended slavery?
  25. The 13th Amendment
  26. What were the Black Codes?
  27. Laws restricting the rights of blacks in the South; ex. There could not be more than 3 blacks congregated together at any time. After the Civil War, these codes were est. in the South in order to “keep former slaves in their place” & segregate them from whites. Led to the passing of the 14th Amendment.
  28. What did the 13th, 19th, 15th, & 14th Amendment have in common?
  29. Minority rights
  30. 13th frees slaves
  31. 14th grants citizenship to former slaves because of the Black Codes & the Dred Scott decision
  32. 15thgranted African Americans the right to vote
  33. 19thgave the right to vote to women
  34. Who formed the Women’s Suffrage Association?
  35. Elizabeth C. Stanton & Susan B. Anthony
  1. What was the Temperance Act?
  2. Banning the use/consumption of alcohol (Why? Would cut down on poor men using their paychecks to purchase alcohol, who would then get drunk and physically abuse their wife &/or children.)
  3. Which Robber Baron/Captain of Industry” had libraries & a college named in his honor?
  4. Andrew Carnegie (made a fortune in the steel industry)
  5. Robber Barons – people who looted and industry & gave back nothing
  6. Who was the founder of Tuskegee Institution in 1881?
  7. Booker T. Washington
  8. What was Yellow Journalism?
  9. Sensational journalism where writers exaggerated or even made up stories to attract readers
  10. What did the annexation of Hawaii & the “Open Door Policy” in China have in common?
  11. During the second half of the 1800s, there was a mad rush to gaoin ownership & control of the remaining uncolonized lands
  12. Why? The industrial Revolution was largely responsible for the mounting interesting colonies.
  13. Factories needed raw materials & new markets for their finished products U.S. strengthening its Navy & they began to add colonies to assure it had the necessary economic opportunities available in the future
  14. Imperialism -
  15. Why was the Populist Party started?
  16. It was started to obtain rights for farmers, immigrants, and women
  17. What do windmills, invention of barb wire, & railroads all have in common?
  18. Westward expansion in the United States
  19. Manifest Destiny –idea that the country (U.S.) must expand its boundaries west; it was God ordained
  20. Explain the significance of each of the follow trails in Americans expansion West: Mormon Trail, Trail of Tears, California Trail, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail.
  21. The following trails were the results of –
  22. Mormon Trail – The Mormons, whose founder is Joseph Smith, traveled westward under the leadership of Brigham Young in response to protest against their religious practices (such as the practice of polygamy); established a settlement near the Great Salt Lakes, Utah
  23. Trail of Tears – The marches in which the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from Georgia to the Indian Territory west, thousands died. (Indian Removal Act of 1830)
  24. California Trail – “Forty-niners” –prospectors looking to strike it rich during the Gold Rush; these individuals headed to the CaliforniaTerritory causing the population to explode.
  25. Oregon Trail – Headed by John C. Fremont to surveyed the area in 1842 from Missouri to Oregon & map out the territory. About 12,000 settlers used the trail to reach Oregon. (Originally used by fur traders & missionaries.)
  26. Santa Fe Trail – 780 mile trail from Independence, Missouri to Santa, Fe Mexico; Settlers often traveled in groups (wagon trains) for safety.
  27. What is meant by the term “Fifty-four Forty or Fight!”
  28. Slogan refers to the latitude 54°40'; the northern territory disputed between the U.S.Britain.
  29. Why did people migrate to the WesternCoast in the U.S.?
  30. California Gold Rush of 1849
  31. Called Forty-niners
  1. What did the Monroe Doctrine do?
  2. Closed the Western Hemisphere to European Expansion
  3. During which war did the Rough Riders exist?
  4. Spanish-American War aka “A Splendid Little War”
  5. Fought against Cuba
  6. U.S. gained control of Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, & the Philippines
  7. Sinking of the Battleship USS Maine in Havana Harbor (Cuba) resulted in the American war cry, “Remember the Maine!”
  8. Who headed the Rough Riders?
  9. Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War
  10. Who was the Alabamian who aided with the eradication of mosquitoes in Cuba & during the building of the Panama Canal?
  11. William Gorges
  12. What were the causes of World War I?
  13. WWI was caused by:
  14. Shooting of Archduke Ferdinand
  15. Sinking of the Lusitania
  16. The Zimmerman Telegram
  17. German aggression at sea
  18. Russian Revolution
  19. Who did the U.S. declare war on during WWI?
  20. Germany
  21. What were U-boats?
  22. German submarines used during WWI
  23. What Treaty ended WWI?
  24. The Treaty of Versailles (1919)
  25. Where did the Jazz Age begin?
  26. New Orleans
  27. Who was W.C. Handy?
  28. An Alabama native, Handy played the trumpet and was known as the “Father of the Blues” during the “Jazz Age”
  29. Who were the Flappers?
  30. Young women who smoked, drank prohibited alcohol, bobbed (cut) their hair & wore short skirts during the 1920s
  31. Who was the big-time gangster who made a fortune from bootleg liquor (illegal alcohol) after the passage of the 18th Amendment?
  32. Al Capone – headed a criminal empire in Chicago; bootlegged whiskey & ran illegal speakeasies; used violence & bribes to expand control his empire.
  33. 18th Amendment – Went into effect in 1920 & set off an era known as Prohibition by outlawing the sale, manufacturing, or transportation of alcohol in the U.S.; repealed by the 21st Amendment (1933)
  34. After the Temperance Ban, how was alcohol controlled in Alabama?
  35. Thedistribution & sale of alcohol (whiskey) was controlled entirely by the State of Alabama
  36. What was the Scope’s Trial based upon?
  37. The teaching of the Theory of Evolution in public School (idea that all humans evolved from apes).
  38. Sacco & Vanzetti Case
  39. Sacco & Vanzetti were immigrants who were found guilty of murder & sentenced to death
  40. Why?Because of their political views
  41. Their case discovered they were anarchist – people opposed to all forms of government
  42. Led to an anti-foreign fever across America
  43. What was the Red Scare?
  44. Fear of Communism during the 1920s
  45. Why was there an increase of electrical production in the 1920s?
  46. The production of electricity increased due to the increase in American production (the assembly line)
  47. What had Hoover Dam first been called?
  48. Boulder Dam
  49. Provided much needed employment
  50. Provided a regular supply of water to the Southwest
  51. Produced hydroelectric, which allowed Southwestern cities to grow
  52. What ended the Jazz Age?
  53. The Great Depression
  54. What caused the Great Depression?
  55. The causes of the Great Depression:
  56. Stock Market Crash of 1929
  57. U.S. experienced a strong Bull Market (stock market prices rising)
  58. Investors purchased stock on margin (w/ as little as 10% down)
  59. When stock prices failed to rise, investors still owed the remainder of the purchase price

Many spent more than they could ever payback if the market crashed, which is did  many went broke & lost everything