World History: Exploration to Revolution

Pre-Contact Era

• Time period before European arrival in the Americas
• Features Genghis Khan, leader of the Mongol Empire

Age of Exploration

• Period of European exploration of the world
• Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, reached the Americas in 1492
• Columbian Exchange: exchange of goods between Europe and the Americas

American Revolution

• Colonies fought for independence from Britain
• Key figures include George Washington, the first President of the United States
• Battle of Monongahela was a significant battle during the French and Indian War

Colonial America

• Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America
• Tobacco was a cash crop in colonial America
• Proclamation Act of 1763: British law restricting westward expansion
• Saratoga was a turning point battle in the American Revolution
• Yorktown was the final battle of the American Revolution

Early American Republic

• The New Republic refers to the early years of the United States after independence
• Cincinnatus was a Roman model of civic virtue
• Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father and Treasury Secretary
• The Dinner Party was a significant event or gathering
• Marie Antoinette was the Queen of France during the French Revolution

Early 19th Century

• Age of Jefferson refers to the presidency of Thomas Jefferson
• Election of 1800 was a contentious presidential election
• Lewis and Clark led an expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase
• Sacagawea was a Shoshone woman who guided Lewis and Clark
• Age of Jackson refers to the presidency of Andrew Jackson
• The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of Native Americans

American Civil War

• The Civil War was a war between Northern and Southern states
• Gettysburg was a major battle during the Civil War
• Vicksburg was a key Union victory during the Civil War
• 54th Massachusetts was the first African American regiment
• John Brown was an abolitionist known for his raid at Harper's Ferry
• Harriet Tubman was a conductor of the Underground Railroad
• Gettysburg Address was Lincoln's speech during the Civil War

Reconstruction and Industrialization

• Reconstruction was the period after the Civil War of rebuilding the South
• KKK was a white supremacist group
• Sharecropping was a farming system after the Civil War
• The West refers to western expansion in the United States
• Cowboys were figures in the American West known for cattle herding
• The Homestead Act was a law granting land to settlers
• Manifest Destiny was the belief in expansion across North America

Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

• Industrial Revolution was a period of rapid industry growth
• Social Darwinism was the application of Darwin's ideas to society
• Laissez Faire was a policy of minimal government intervention in the economy
• Wright Brothers invented the first successful airplane
• Progressivism was a movement for social reform
• Muckrakers were journalists who exposed social issues
• The Jungle was a book exposing the meatpacking industry
• WWI was a global conflict from 1914 to 1918
• MANIA refers to the causes of WWI (Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism, Assassination)

20th Century

• 1920s were a decade of economic prosperity and social change
• Speakeasies were secret bars during Prohibition
• Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company
• Charles Lindbergh made the first solo transatlantic flight
• Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement celebrating African American art
• Great Depression was an economic downturn in the 1930s
• Okies were term for Dust Bowl migrants
• Dust Bowl was a severe drought and dust storms in the 1930s
• Monopoly refers to exclusive control of a market
• Causes of Great Depression included economic factors leading to the Depression
• New Deal was FDR's economic recovery program

World War II

• WWII was a global conflict from 1939 to 1945
• Pearl Harbor was the Japanese attack on a U.S. naval base
• Manhattan Project was the development of the atomic bomb
• Stalingrad was a major battle on the Eastern Front
• Battle of Midway was a key naval battle in the Pacific
• D-Day was the Allied invasion of Normandy
• Kamikaze were Japanese suicide pilots
• Holocaust was the Nazi genocide of Jews
• Rosie the Riveter was a symbol of women in the workforce during WWII

Cold War Era

• 1950s were a decade of economic growth and Cold War tension
• Anxiety refers to a feeling of worry or unease
• Interstate Highway Act was the construction of the U.S. highway system
• Sputnik was the first artificial satellite
• Cuban Missile Crisis was a standoff between the U.S. and Soviet Union
• Fidel Castro was the Communist leader of Cuba
• Cold War refers to the tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union
• Domino Theory was the fear of communist expansion