U.S. History 2004 Taks Review

U.S. HISTORY – 2004 TAKS REVIEW

* CHAPTER 1

Ice Age – period of time about 100,000 years ago when earth’s surface began to cool and water froze into huge sheets of ice
glaciers – huge sheets of ice that covered part of the earth’s surface during the Ice Age
nomads – people who continually move from place to place in search of food
civilization – a highly organized society that consists of advanced knowledge of trade, government, the arts, science, and a written language
Nomads stopped wandering and settled down in to one place due to learning to plant and raise crops
pueblos – large multi-story buildings of adobe and stone
kachinas – the good spirits that were summoned through dancing by men when they married
slash-and-burn agriculture – cutting down the forests, burning the cleared land, and using the nitrogen-rich ashes to make the soil more fertile
longhouses – large rectangular houses of the Iroquois that housed up to 10 families
feudalism – a political system in which a king would give estates to nobles in exchange for their military support
manorialism – the economic ties between the lord and the noble – in return for protection, the peasants farmed the lord’s land and made payments of various goods
serfs – peasants who were bound to the manor and the lord’s will
Crusades – expeditions of Christians to the Holy Land to stop the attacks of Muslims (followers of Islam ).
Crusades changed Europe by breaking down feudalism and increasing the power of the kings, and brought them into contact with Middle Eastern cultures which expanded their trade
Renaissance – period in Europe from 1350 to 1600 in which there was a rebirth of the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome
astrolabe – a navigational instrument that determines direction, latitude, and local time
caravels – Portuguese ships that had the latest navigational technology used in exploring
savannah – a kind of rolling grassland
Europeans wanted slaves to work on their sugarcane plantations
line of demarcation – an imaginary north to south line running down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – the Treaty of Tordesillas approved the line so that Spain and Portugal controlled opposite sides of the Atlantic
circumnavigate – sail completely around the world
The Columbian Exchange was a series of interactions between the people of the Americas and Europe – Native Americans introduced the Europeans to new farming methods and crops
One of the most important discoveries of the Europeans was the potato
Unforeseen consequences of the Columbian Exchange – Europeans brought with them diseases such as influenza, measles, chicken pox, mumps, typhus, and smallpox – Native American exposure caused millions to die – in Mayan Mexico, about 95% of the population died
conquistadors – Spaniards that led expeditions to conquer new lands – means “conquerors”
presidios – Spanish forts
haciendas – large Spanish cattle ranches
vaqueros – Spanish cowboys who worked with the sheep and cattle
encomienda – the Spanish system that granted control of Native American towns to Spanish encomenderos
Northwest Passage – a northern water route through North America to the Pacific Ocean that Verrazano wanted to find
Spanish Missions were set up in America by missionaries as fortified religious settlements – location was determined by the availability of wood, water, and fields for raising crops and grazing cattle – missions made of building materials available
Answer the TAKS Test Practice question on page 39 of your textbook

* CHAPTER 2

Puritans – English people who wanted to purify the Anglican Church of any remaining Catholics elements
enclosure movement – when sheep farmers began fencing in the land to raise sheep instead of farming the land
joint-stock companies – companies where merchants pool their money to support big projects
privateers – privately owned ships licensed by the English government to attack merchant ships of Spain and other countries
England wanted to establish outposts in America to give privateers a base of operations against Spanish ships in the Caribbean
The colony of Jamestown, Virginia proved to be a terrible location problem for the English – too close to the sea, on low, swampy land swarming with malaria-carrying mosquitoes
Early troubles of Jamestown – colonists were townspeople who knew little about living in the woods – didn’t know how to make use of area’s abundant fish and game and they could not raise livestock or grow crops
In 1607, winter was approaching in Jamestown – Captain John Smith began exploring the area around Jamestown due to a shortage of food for the colonists
He traded goods for food with a Native American group called the Powhatan Confederacy, led by Chief Powhatan
This helped colonists of Jamestown survive their first two winters there
burgesses – the representatives of the new government in Jamestown
headrights – a system in which settlers were granted land in exchange for settling in Virginia
proprietary colony – a colony owned by an individual rather than a government – could govern the colony any way he wanted
Separatists – a group of Puritans who began separating from the Anglican Church and forming their own congregations
Pilgrims – name given to a group of Separatists who fled persecution by King James and went to Holland
In 1617, they left Holland and headed to Virginia aboard the Mayflower
Set up colony of Plymouth
A native American named Squanto helped the colonists after a plague killed all but 50 of them
Taught them about their new environment – how to grow corn, how to fish, and how to get other items they needed
heretic – person whose religious beliefs differ from the majority, in this case the Puritans – were considered a threat to the society and could be banished from the colony
The town of Providence was set up by Roger Williams – govt. there had no authority in religious matters and different religious beliefs were tolerated
In 1636, Reverend Thomas Hooker asked the General Court of Massachusetts to move his congregation to the Connecticut River valley – did not have enough land to raise cattle
He was also frustrated with the govt. – he believed that everyone should be allowed to vote, not just church members
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the new constitution drawn up by Hooker and others allowed all adult men, not just church members to vote and serve in govt.
Answer Geography Skills questions on page 51 of your textbook
The constitution of Massachusetts and that of Connecticut differed in the area of religious freedom
King Philip’s War was a turning point for Native Americans because the colonists won the war over the Indians, thus leaving very few Native Americans in New England
Answer the Chart Skills question on page 54 of your textbook
King Charles II of England wanted to seize New Netherlands from the Dutch because this would link Virginia and Maryland to New England – took land and granted it to his brother, James, the Duke of York
New Netherlands was renamed New York in his honor
pacifism – the opposition to war as a means of settling disputes – the Quakers were a religious group that was pacifist
Answer the Geography Skills questions on page 55 of your textbook
debtors – people who could not pay their debts
By 1775, about 2.5 million people lived in England’s American colonies
By permitting new patterns of land ownership and new types of worship and government in it’s colonies, the English govt. had planted the seeds of rebellion
cash crop – crop grown primarily for market – usually the crop bringing in the most money – tobacco became the South’s first successful cash crop
indentured servants – peasants who wanted to come to America to acquire their own land – made labor contracts with the colonists, agreeing to work for a set time period when they arrived.
subsistence farming – when a farmer raises only enough food to feed their families
slave code – a set of laws created in Virginia in 1705 that defined the relationship between the enslaved Africans and free people and formally regulated slavery
Answer the Geography Skills questions on page 63 of your textbook
In the Middle Colonies of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, farmers produced large crops of rye, oats, barley, and potatoes. Wheat became the region’s main cash crop
In early 1700’s, demand for wheat soared because of increase population in Europe .
1720 – 1770, wheat prices more than doubled – led to greater prosperity for the people
entrepreneurs – business people who risk money by buying land, equipment, and supplies to sell to emigrants for a profit
capitalists – wealthy people who had money to invest in new businesses – this was due to the wheat boom
triangular trade – system developed by colonists to trade indirectly with England – sell items to Caribbean merchants who would pay with bills of exchange – credits slips from English merchants
Colonists would then trade the bills and sugar with the English merchants for supplies they needed
mercantilism – a set of ideas about the world economy and how it works – believed that to become wealthy and powerful, a country had to accumulate gold and silver
do this by selling more goods to other countries than buying from them
John Locke wrote Two Treatises of Government – suggested that there were times when revolution was justified
Locke said that the people and government had essentially made a contract with each other – people agreed to obey the government’s laws, and the govt. agreed to uphold their rights – if ruler violated these rights, rebellion was justified
Answer Geography Skills questions on page 68 of your textbook
Many Africans resisted their enslavement by escaping to the North, by refusing to work hard, or even losing their tools
Enlightenment – a period in Europe during the 1700’s in which thinkers believed that people should use reason and natural law to shape society
John Locke said that people are not born sinful – minds are blank slates that would be shaped by experience and education
revivals – large public meetings held by ministers for preaching and prayer
Great Awakening – the new resurgence of religious excitement during the Enlightenment
The Great Awakening brought many converts to the new churches – older, more traditional churches lost members
poor farmers and African Americans were welcomed by the new churches

* CHAPTER 3

customs duties – taxes placed on imports and exports
After French and Indian War, Britain hoped to solve its financial problems by strictly enforcing custom duties, raising taxes on sugar and molasses, and placing new taxes on silk, wine, coffee, pimento, and indigo
nonimportation agreement – a pledge by 200 New York merchants not to buy any British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act ( placed a direct tax on the colonists )
Review the Graphic Organizer Skills chart on page 78 of your textbook
In response to the Stamp Act, the colonists ignored it and boycotted British goods
writs of assistance – legal search warrants that enabled customs officers to enter any location during the day to look for evidence of smuggling
Read You’re the Historian on pages 80 & 81 and answer the questions that follow
committee of correspondence – a plan by Thomas Jefferson for each colony to communicate with the other colonies about British activities – this helped to unify the colonies
Tea Act – allowed the East India Company to sell directly to shopkeepers, bypassing colonial merchant who normally distributed the tea
The East India Company shipped chests of tea to Boston – on night before customs officials planned to unload the tea, about 150 men boarded the ships and dumped 342 chests of tea overboard – thousands of people cheered from the shore
This raid became known as the Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party made King George of Britain angry – Parliament passed four new laws known as the Coercive Acts
The Coercive Acts only applied to Massachusetts, but were made to keep other colonies from challenging British authority
These acts violated several traditional English rights, including the right to trial by jury of one’s own peers and the right not to have troops quartered in one’s home
On September 5 1774, colonists who were upset with restrictions placed on the colonies by the British met in Philadelphia in what was known as the First Continental Congress
The colonies agreed to boycott British goods
In October, 1774, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was set up with John Hancock as leader – this led to a full-scale rebellion to British authority
A revolution had begun
Minutemen – a Mass. militia group trained in Concord to “stand at a minute’s warning in case of alarm.”
Loyalists – name given to Americans who backed Britain – also called Tories
Patriots – name given to Americans who opposed Britain – also called Whigs
On April 18, 1775, British troops set out for Concord, Mass. – went through Lexington on the way
Patriot leaders heard about the plan of the British, so they sent Paul Revere and William Dawes to spread the alarm around the colony
Revere reached Lexington by midnight and warned the people the British were coming
When the British troops arrived in Lexington, there were 70 minutemen lined up in the village – the British fired on the men and killed 8 while wounding 10
The British then headed to Concord, only to find 400 colonial militia waiting for them – fighting broke out and the British had to retreat
British decided to return to Boston – along the way, colonists fired at them as they passed by, killing 73 of the British – 174 were wounded
Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in June 1775 – named the militia surrounding the British at Boston the “Continental Army.”
Congress appointed George Washington as the commander of the new army
Americans defeated the British at Bunker Hill – the Battle of Bunker Hill proved to Americans that their untrained army could stand up to one of the word’s best armies from Britain
Continental Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George of England – said colonists were loyal to the king and asked him to call off the fighting until a peaceful solution could be made
When King George got the petition, he said the colonies were the enemy and ordered the military to stop the rebellion in America
In January, 1776, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called Common Sense in which he attacked the king as being the enemy not just Parliament
George Washington commented that Common Sense was “working a powerful change in the minds of men”
In July, 1776, a committee made up of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson submitted a document Jefferson had drafted in which the colonies declared themselves to be independent of England
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence – the colonies were now the United States of America
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania was the site of a very difficult stand of the patriots against the powerful British army
The winter and a lack of food and supplies proved difficult for the Americans
Answer the Chart Skills questions on page 95 of your textbook
Local colonial militias used guerilla warfare tactics, which were sneak attacks and hit-and-run attacks on the British
Answer the Geography Skills questions on page 96 of your textbook
On the night of Dec. 25, 1776, General Washington launched an unexpected winter attack on the British
2400 men crossed the icy Delaware River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey
They were able to win battles at Trenton and Princeton
On October 17, 1777, British General Burgoyne surrendered to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga – over 5000 British soldiers were taken prisoner
Proved to be a turning point of the war – improved American morale and convinced the French to commit troops to the war
General Howe of Britain had hoped to capture New York City to intimidate the Americans and to begin peace negotiations offering pardons to colonial rebels
letters of marque – licenses issued by Congress to private ship owners authorizing them to attack British merchant ships – proved successful because it seriously harmed Britain’s trade and economy
One of biggest defeats of the Americans came at Charles Town, South Carolina – British troops surrounded the city in May, 1780, and took nearly 5,500 Americans prisoner
General Charles Cornwallis was placed in command of the British troops at that time
In May, 1781, General Cornwallis led British troops to Yorktown, Virginia
General George Washington and French commander Jean Baptiste Rochambeau led a joint force against the British
Three weeks later, the British surrendered – about 8,000 British soldiers left Yorktown and laid down their weapons
Parliament voted to end the war after the surrender at Yorktown
The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783 - Britain now recognized America as a new nation
By breaking away from the king of England, Americans now set up a republic, which is a form of government in which power resides with a body of citizens entitled to vote
Women played a huge role in the American Revolution on the home front and the battlefront
Women took over running the family farm, traveled with the army to cook, wash, and nurse the wounded
Some women also served as spies and as couriers – some even joined in on the fighting
Many African Americans were freed during the revolution – planters offered them freedom if they would fight against the British
General Washington permitted African Americans to join the Continental Army and also the state militias
ratification – approval by the states
Answer the Geography Skills questions on page 103 of your textbook
Answer the Geography Skills questions on page 104 of your textbook
The Articles of Confederation set up a very weak central government in America
Under the Articles, each state would select a delegation once per year to send to the Confederation Congress – this was the entire government at that time
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided the basis for governing western lands and developing them into states
Answer the Chart Skills questions on page 105 of your textbook
recession – economic slowdown – caused by wartime debt and the British trade imbalance
inflation – a decline in the value of money
In 1786, the Massachusetts govt. raised taxes to pay off its debts instead of issuing paper money
Angry mobs numbering about 1200 and led by Daniel Shays went to Springfield, Mass. to seize weapons from an arsenal before marching on Boston
The governor sent more than 4,000 volunteers to defend the armory – this ended the Shays Rebellion
By 1787, many people began to argue for a stronger central government because of the Confederation Congress’s continuing problems in trade and diplomacy
Answer the Skillbuilder questions on page 107 of your textbook
One of the most heated arguments of the Constitutional Convention was that of allowing enslaved people to be counted when figuring out population in a state for determining the number of Representatives they would have
To solve this, the Three-Fifths Compromise was reached – it said that five enslaved people in a state would count as three free persons for determining both representation and taxes
popular sovereignty – rule by the people
federalism – power is divided between the federal, or national govt. and the state governments – this allowed the central govt. to be strengthened, but still preserve the rights of the states
separation of powers – provided for in the Constitution – the two houses of Congress made up the legislative branch of the govt. – they would make the laws. – the executive branch, headed by the President, would implement and enforce the laws passed by Congress – the president would also serve as commander in chief of the armed forces – the judicial branch, a system of federal courts, would interpret federal laws and render judgment in cases involving those laws – to keep these branches separate, no one serving in one branch could serve in either of the other branches at the same time
checks and balances – created by the Constitution – a means for each branch to monitor and limit the power of the other two
veto – to reject a proposed law – the legislature could override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses
impeach – could be done by Congress to the president and other high-ranking officials in the executive or judicial branch – means that Congress could formally accuse such officials of misconduct – if officials were convicted in during trial, they could be removed from office
amendments – means to change the Constitution
Federalists – supporters of the Constitution
Antifederalists – opposed the Constitution
a collection of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay were called The Federalist
explained how the new Constitution worded and why it was needed – today, judges, lawyers, legislators, and historians rely on the papers to help them interpret the Constitution
Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution on Dec. 7, 1787

* THE CONSTITUTION HANDBOOK – pages 120 - 129