Fall Semester Exam Review

1. The Supreme Court case which established the power of the Court to declare a law unconstitutional was Marbury v. Madison.

2. The Supreme Court declaring a minimum-wage law unconstitutional is an example of the right of the Court to judicial review.

3. To decrease foreign competition, Alexander Hamilton recommended the use of a protective tariff which would raise the price of imported goods.

4. Alexander Hamilton: Without revenues, a government can have no power . . .He was referring to the government’s power of federal taxation, a power the government lacked under the Articles of Confederation.

5. In 1793 George Washington delivered the Proclamation of Neutrality, stating the United States would not take sides in the war between England and France.

6. High tariffs on imports, paying off the Revolutionary War debt, and creation of a national bank were the financial goals of the Secretary of Treasury of the Washington administration, Alexander Hamilton.

7. One of the causes of the War of 1812 which was a violation of international law was the impressment of American sailors by the British navy.

8. President Washington: • Europe has a set of primary interests, which to

us have none or a very distant relation . . a haven. Our detached and distant situation invites us to pursue . . .our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any foreign power.

• In his Farewell Address Washington urged the nation to adhere to a policy of neutrality, which became the basis of our foreign policy until WWII.

9. Americans in the West supported the War of 1812 because the British were encouraging Native Americans to attack American settlements.

10. Washington, D. C., was captured and burned by the British during what war? War of 1812

11. Restrictions upon American merchants and manufacturers led to the United States declaring war upon Britain in 1812.

12. A military conflict between France and England resulted in the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States.

13. The Treaty of Ghent officially marked the end of the War of 1812.

14. Lewis and Clark explored the Louisiana Territory.

15. Immediate access to the port of New Orleans was a direct benefit of the Louisiana Purchase.

16. The Louisiana Territory was purchased from what country?France

17. The Louisiana Territory is located primarily between what two natural boundaries?

The Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains

18. The issue of states’ rights was at the basis of the arguments in favor of the doctrine of nullification in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

19. President Jefferson was particularly interested in the

location of rivers in the Louisiana Territory because in the early 1800s

rivers proved to be an efficient means of transportation.

20. The United States in 1803 doubled in size as a result of the

Louisiana Purchase.

21. The Louisiana Purchase directly benefited western farmers

who shipped goods through the port city of New Orleans

22. Jefferson’s economic policy of laissez faire promoted the idea that

government should encourage a free market and not heavily tax

industrial development.

23. In writing the decision in the case of Marbury v. Madison Chief Justice

John Marshall supported the Constitution as the supreme law of the

land and established the right of the court to judicial review in declaring acts of Congress unconstitutional if

they were contrary to the Constitution.

24. What do these individuals have in common? The Marquis de Lafayette, Bernardo de Galvez,

and Frederick von Steuben

• All were foreigners who assisted U. S. during Revolution

25. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle of the

American Revolution which proved by the amount of British casualties that the militia could fight against a

well-trained army.

26. The Court’s interpretation of the Constitution led to the decision in Marbury v. Madison establishing

the right of the Court to judicial review.

27. List the “unalienable rights” found in the Declaration of Independence.

• Life• Liberty• and the pursuit of happiness

28. The issue of ratification of the new U. S. Constitution was a major controversy between the Federalists and the Antifederalists from 1787-

1789.

29. The battle during the American Revolution which proved to be the turning point of the war was the Battle of Saratoga. It is considered the turning point because it convinced the French to sign a treaty of alliance with the United States.

30. List the three main parts (ideas) of the Declaration of Independence:

• Natural rights of man• British wrongs• Independence

31. What 1787 law provided a means by which new states could be admitted to the Union?

• Northwest Ordinance

32. According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the purpose of government?

• Protection and preservation of individual rights

33. When Burgoyne surrendered to American forces after the Battle of

Saratoga in 1777, it became the turning point of the war because

France entered the war on the American side.

34. The last major battle of the Revolutionary War resulting in an American victory was fought at Yorktown in 1781. The official end of the war came 2 years later with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

35. The Senate approval of a President’s nominee to the Supreme Court is an example of the system of checks and balances, one of the principles of the U. S. Constitution.

36. The principle of federalism involves the division of power between the state and national

governments.

37. Hamilton, Jay, and Madison wrote the essays compiled in The Federalist Papers in support of the ratification of the U. S. Constitution.

38. The Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament were in response to the Boston Tea Party and closed the port of Boston along with allowing the quartering of British troops in private homes. The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774 to decide what actions the colonists should take in response to Parliament’s action.

39. The news of the Boston Massacre in 1770 along with the engraving by Paul Revere of the event published in newspapers throughout the colonies increased opposition to British rule.

40. The Sons of Liberty were responsible for organizing the Boston Tea Party.

41. The Mayflower Compact was signed in 1620 to establish a government in Plymouth.

42. The first written Constitution in North America was the Fundamental Orders of

Connecticut.

43. The growth of representative government in the original 13 colonies was due in part to British neglect of colonial affairs.

44. The idea that the purpose of government was to preserve the rights of the people was a belief strongly promoted by the political philosopher John Locke.

45. The Southern Colonies were founded as a prime agricultural region due to the rich soil available for farming.

46. The Proclamation of 1763 passed by the British Parliament ordered the colonists not to settle in lands west of the Appalachian Mountains; colonists viewed this as unnecessary interference by the British government.

47. Jamestown survived as the first permanent English colony in North America after the introduction of tobacco , a major cash crop.

48. The Magna Carta of 1215, the Mayflower Compact of 1620, the English Bill of Rights of 1689, and the Declaration of Independence of 1776 are historic documents which influenced the growth of representative government in our country.

49. The Magna Carta placed limits upon the power of the monarchy (the government) by stating the king no longer could raise taxes without the approval of the representatives of the people, thereby limiting the power of the monarchy.

50. The Battle of New Orleans (1814) made Andrew Jackson a national hero.

51. Religious freedom was a primary factor in the founding of

colonies such as Plymouth, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.

52. The first representative assembly in the English colonies was the Virginia House of Burgesses.

53. The early settlers of Jamestown came in hopes of finding gold.

54. Events leading to the American Revolution included the following:

• The Sugar Act of 1764• 1765: Stamp Act and the Quartering Act• The Townshend Acts of 1767• The Boston Massacre of 1770• The Boston Tea Party of 1773 • The Intolerable Acts of 1774

55. The purpose of the Three-Fifths at the Constitutional Convention was to address the concerns of Southern states over the loss of

representation.

56. The political philosopher John Locke influenced the founding fathers by advocating (promoting) the idea of the separation of church and state.

57. The political philosopher Charles de Montesquieu a political thinker and writer, developed the idea of the separation of powers

among three individual branches of government.

58. William Penn established Pennsylvania to provide a haven for Quakers who established a form of representative self-government through the First Frame of Government of Pennsylvania.

59. The Great Compromise at the Constitutional Convention provided for a two-house legislature AND established a formula for congressional representation.

60. The need for agricultural workers in the tobacco fields of colonial Virginia led to the use of enslaved Africans.

61. Good harbors, abundant forests, rocky soil, and a short growing season influenced the economy of the New England Colonies.

62. A common (or shared) characteristic of the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, and the English Bill of Rights is the principle that all English subjects enjoy certain basic human rights.

63. Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, supported religious freedom and religious toleration.

64. The geographic feature which served as the western boundary for British colonial settlements PRIOR

(before) the American Revolutionary War were the

Appalachian Mountains.

65. In 1776 Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, supporting the idea of declaring independence from England.

66. The Great Compromise during the Constitutional Convention created a formula to address the issue of representation in Congress.

67. To prevent any one branch of the government from becoming too

powerful, our founding fathers created a system of checks and

balances.

What are the dates of the following events in U. S. History?

• Establishment of Jamestown 1607• Mayflower Compact 1620• Signing of Declaration of Independence 1776• Writing of U. S. Constitution 1787• The Louisiana Purchase 1803

69. No national court system, no power of taxation, no power to enforce laws/treaties were inherent weaknesses (shortcomings) of our nation’s first constitution, known as the Articles of Confederation

70. “For imposing taxes without our consent” was a grievance

stated in the Declaration of Independence in response to

Parliament’s passage of the Stamp Act of 1765.

71. The Proclamation of 1763 was passed by Parliament near the end of the French and Indian War to protect colonists and prevent a bloody Indian uprising.

72. “Consent of the governed,” rooted in the Magna Carta, most aptly refers to the grievance “no taxation without representation” expressed in the Declaration of

Independence.

73. The Embargo Act of 1807 crippled U. S. merchants and manufacturers hindering their ability to profit from foreign trade.

74. Article 5 of the U. S. Constitution provides for the amendment process, which reflects the changing needs of society and the nation.