US History First Semester Final Exam Study Guide 2023 PDF

U.S. History First Semester Final Exam The semester exam is worth 20% of your final grade. It is very important that you study ahead of time and do not just cram. This is a comprehensive test; this means it will cover all material learned up to the...

U.S. History First Semester Final Exam The semester exam is worth 20% of your final grade. It is very important that you study ahead of time and do not just cram. This is a comprehensive test; this means it will cover all material learned up to the end of the semester. Your test will consist of approximately 100 questions: mostly four-option multiple choice questions, a few Document Based Questions (DBQs), and a map matching section covering the territorial acquisitions of the U.S. between 1783 (Territory Ceded to the U.S. after the Revolution) and 1853. Below is a list of potential topics for exam questions. Please note that some items will not be directly on the test, but understanding them will assist in answering exam questions. Module 1 & 2 Identify the first permanent English settlements in North America. How was Jamestown able to survive? Describe the impact of disease on Native American populations. How did the colonies of the Northeast and the South develop differently in social and economic terms? Where and why did the Salem Witch Trials take place? Define mercantilism. Identify motives for French settlement in North America. Describe the causes (how it started) and effects (how it ended) of the French and Indian War. Module 3 Explain why the British began to tax the colonists more heavily in the mid-1760s. Describe colonial reaction to the new taxes in the mid-1760s. Who were the Sons of Liberty and what did they seek to accomplish? Identify the key acts: ex: Stamp Act, Sugar Act, etc. passed by Britain and protested by the colonials in the period leading up to the Revolution. Where did the Continental Congresses meet? Where were the first shots of the Revolution fired? Who were the Loyalists? Who were the Patriots? Identify the main advantages & disadvantages held by the Americans and British at the outset of the war. Why was the Battle of Bunker Hill important to the Patriot cause? Describe the impact of Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence. Why did the French choose to ally with the United States during the war for independence? What battle brought the Revolution to a close in the colonies? What did the Americans gain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris? Module 5 What roles did Jefferson and Hamilton play in Washington’s first administration? How did Hamilton work to raise the country out of debt? Describe the significance of the Whiskey Rebellion. Compare and contrast the Democratic Republicans and Federalists in terms of their political philosophies. How did Washington respond to the French Revolution? Describe the response by the country to the XYZ affair? What was the purpose of the Alien and Sedition Acts? Explain the significance of Marbury v. Madison (be sure to define judicial review) What did the U.S. gain from the Louisiana Purchase? Who were the WarHawks and what did they hope to gain from war with Britain in 1812? Describe the outcome of the War of 1812. Module 6 How did the Industrial Revolution change the American workforce? Describe the impact of the cotton gin. Why did whites in the South support slavery? How did the U.S. acquire Florida from the Spanish? Explain the terms and the impact of the Missouri Compromise. Why and with whom was John Quincy Adams charged with making a “corrupt bargain” in the election of 1824? How did Jackson use the spoils system to reward political supporters? Describe the impact of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Module 7 Define Manifest Destiny. What role did Brigham Young play in westward migration? Where did the Mormons settle? What did the experience of the Donner Party reflect about westward migration? Describe the events surrounding the Texas war for independence. Why was Texas denied admission to the Union? How did the U.S. acquire Oregon? Describe the causes and effects of the Mexican War (1848). Module 9 What did the North and South gain in the Compromise of 1850? Define popular sovereignty Describe the impact of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on the relationship between North and South. What was the Underground Railroad? Describe the impact of the Underground Railroad. Who was Harriet Tubman and what did she accomplish? When was the Republican Party founded, and what did it stand for? Why did the Kansas territory come to be labeled “Bleeding Kansas” in the aftermath of the Kansas- Nebraska Act of 1854? Explain the importance of the Dred Scott decision. Who was John Brown? Describe the events that transpired at Harper’s Ferry. Who were the candidates in, and what was the outcome of the election of 1860? How did southern states react to the election of Lincoln in 1860? Why was Fort Sumter significant? What was the Anaconda plan? What roles did Lee and Grant play in the war? Explain the significance of the following key battles: Bull Run, Antietam, Shiloh, Gettysburg, Vicksburg. Define total war and explain how it was implemented by General William Tecumseh Sherman. Describe the dangers/challenges inherent in medical treatment of soldiers during the war. What were Camp Douglas and Andersonville examples of? Describe the purpose/impact of the Emancipation Proclamation. What was the purpose of conscription and how was it used by both sides? Where and when was the treaty that ended the Civil War signed? Describe the events surrounding Lincoln’s assassination Module 10 Which amendments legally ended slavery in the United States? What was Lincoln’s goal for Reconstruction? What did the 10% plan require? Explain why the Republican Party grew in strength in the South following the Civil War. Define carpetbagger, scalawag, sharecropping, and tenant farming. What role did the Ku Klux Klan play during Reconstruction? Summarize the reasons that Grant struggled as President – what sorts of issues plagued or tarnished his administration? What was the Compromise of 1877? Map Section: This is a matching section with these 8 items which will be labeled with letters on a map. Final Exam Outline Map.pdf United States 1783 Louisiana Purchase 1803 British Cession 1818 Adams-Onis Treaty 1819 /Texas Annexation 1845 nOregon Country 1846 Mexican Cession 1848 Gadsden Purchase 1853