Virginia SOL Virginia and US History test: important concepts
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Important concepts for the Virginia & US History SOL test
- this page follows the units structure of the actual test
- the names, places, dates and terms are all taken from the three released Virginia & US History SOL tests
- important concepts and facts are highlighted
- source = SOL Standards and Released tests 2011, 2012, 2014
- key words are in bold
Early America Through the Founding of the New Nation[edit | edit source]
Native Americans[edit | edit source]
- negative impact from European settlements
- disease
- led to decline in population
- disrupted Native American tribes
- loss of land
- pushed westward by colonial settlements and western settlers
- led to reorganization of tribal alliances
- disease
- other impacts
- fur trade with Europeans, especially the French
American Colonies[edit | edit source]
Major Region | Sub regions | Colonies |
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Middle colonies | Mid-Atlantic | Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York |
New England colonies | n/a | Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, |
Southern colonies | Chesapeake | Virginia & Maryland |
Colonial South | Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virgina |
Region | Population | Economic | General notes |
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Middle colonies |
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New England |
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Southern colonies |
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French-Indian War, 1754-1763[edit | edit source]
- war between British and American colonies and the French and their Native American allies over control of the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains
- during the War, Benjamin Franklin told American colonists that they must "Join or Die"
- he told them to forget their differences and join together to fight off the French and Indians
- he expressed this idea in the famous image of a snake divided up (between the colonies)
- the British won the war
Virginia colonial history[edit | edit source]
- Bacon's rebellion
- rebellion of frontier Virginians who objected to Virginia restrictions on western settlements
- Cavaliers
- Virginia Catholics who fought for religious tolerance
American Revolution[edit | edit source]
- after French-Indian War the British exercised more control over the American Colonies
- forbade (prohibited) settlement in "Indian Territories" = lands west of the Appalachians
- required colonists to trade only directly with England
- increased taxes
- required "stamps" (marks of official permission) for legal and commercial actions
- the Colonists objected to the new controls
- Colonists began to circulate "pamphlets" (essays) that
- objected to the new taxes and controls
- declared philosophical reasons for liberty, equality and self-government
Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]
- the war started in 1775 at the battles of Lexington and Concord between colonial militia (private solders) and British professional soldiers
- "Paul Revere's Ride" announced the arrival of British troops
- the first major battle was at Boston (the failed British naval "siege of Boston") in 1775
- George Washington commanded the American forces
- the battle set Washington's general strategy of maintaining defensive positions and not directly attacking the stronger British army and navy
- as the War went on, Washington adopted the strategy of "strategic retreat" = to attack, then move back to avoid being hit back
- this was especially important at Valley Forge, where Washington kept his army away from the British and spent the winter training them and keeping up troop morale (positive fighting spirit)
- the 1777 Battle of Saratoga marked an important victory for American forces over the British in Saratoga, New York (Washington was not the American commander there)
- having shown that the Americans could defeat a part of the British army (which surrendered at Saratoga)
- the French agreed to get involved in the War and started sending materials and, later, a larger fleet of ships
- in 1781, with help from the French fleet, Washington defeated the main British army at the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia
- the British surrendered and the war effectively ended
- in 1783, the now independent United States signed a peace agreement with the British in the Treaty of Versailles
- as part of the treaty, the U.S. took all British lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River
- this greatly expanded the size of the new country
Founding Documents[edit | edit source]
- during the American Revolution, between 1763 and 1791, a series of important documents were issued
- these documents importantly:
- stated the rights of the people and the theories behind them
- stated and justified the causes and reason for American independence and self-government
- ("self-government" = ruling themselves as opposed to being colonies ruled by the British Parliament and the King of England
- established the rules and laws of the "union" of states as the "United States of America"
- these documents importantly:
Political Theory[edit | edit source]
- the 1700s Enlightenment period in Europe established the idea that people were
- born equal
- had fundamental rights
- John Locke of England wrote that people possessed rights
- that they were born with
- and that governments could not take away
Document & Date | Purpose | Impact |
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Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", 1775 |
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Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776 |
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Declaration of Independence, 1776 |
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Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1777 |
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Articles of Confederation of the United States, 1783 |
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Federalist Papers, 1787-1788 |
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United States Constitution, 1789 |
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Bill of Rights, 1791 |
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US Constitution[edit | edit source]
Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, 1787[edit | edit source]
- following George Washington's calls for amendment to the Articles of Confederation
- states sent delegates to Philadelphia to discuss forming of a new government
- James Madison of Virginia was the "thinker" behind the ideas of the Constitution
- George Washington presided over (oversaw, led) the Convention
- after several months of "closed deliberation" (meeting in secret) the Convention sent the new Constitution to the states for ratification (approval)
Ratification of the Constitution by the states[edit | edit source]
- as the states discussed the Constitution, two groups generally supported or opposed it
- the "Federalists" supported the new "federal" (central) government as necesarry for the country to move forward
- the "anti-Federalists" opposed the Constitution as giving too much power to the new government, putting the rights of the people at risk
Arguments for and against the Constitution[edit | edit source]
Group | Argument |
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Federalists
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the country needed a strong central government in order to:
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anit-Federatlists
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the proposed constitution and its strong central government:
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compromise with the Bill of Rights | the anti-federalists successfully argued for a "Bill or Rights" to be added to the Constitution in order to
it was agreed that if the Constitution were adopted (or "ratified") by the states, a Bill of Rights would be added to it
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Principles of the Constitution[edit | edit source]
- Divided government
- Limited government
- Checks and balances
- Presidential veto
- Federalism
- Judicial review
- John Marshall of Virginia
- was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
- he created the idea of "judicial review" in the case, "Marbury v. Madison"
- John Marshall of Virginia
Expansion, Reform, Civil War, and Reconstruction[edit | edit source]
- time period: 1791-1877
Political parties and disputes[edit | edit source]
- while President Washington did not want political parties, they developed during his presidency
- each party represented a basic disagreement in policy
Topic | Supporters | Dissenters | Notes |
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National Bank |
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Tariff
(tax on imports) |
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Slavery |
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Monroe Doctrine[edit | edit source]
- after defeating the British in the War of 1812, the President James Monroe issued the "Monroe Doctrine"
- a "doctrine" = a set of principles or ideas the government is supposed to follow
- the Monroe Doctrine declared that European countries must stay out of the Americas
- it was a very powerful statement of "self-determination" for countries in the Americas
- especially to Spanish colonies in South and Central America that gained independence
Jacksonian Democracy[edit | edit source]
- in 1828, Andrew Jackson won the election for president
- he was widely supported by common (middle and lower class) whites
- his election marked a tremendous expansion of voters
- these poor whites started to vote under Jackson
- before, only land-holders and elites (rich) voted
Slavery & southern Slave economy[edit | edit source]
- with introduction of the "cotton gin", large-scale cotton farming became possible
- (the "gin" separated seeds from the cotton fibers)
- "King Cotton"
- = the dominance and dependence of cotton planting in southern states
- just before the Civil War, southern states accounted for upward 40%+ of U.S. economic wealth
- after the Civil War, with growth of northern industries and immigration, southern states accounted for less than 20% of US economic wealth
- the south continued to produce cotton, only without slavery
- sharecropping replaced slavery
- = a system by which land owners would allow poor farmers (mostly blacks) to plant crops in exchange for a large "share" of the "crops"
- this system entrenched (made to endure) the poverty of former black slaves
Missouri Compromise of 1820[edit | edit source]
- allowed entry of
- Missouri as a slave state
- Maine as a free state
- set a rule that no more slave states would be allowed north of the 36' 30" parallel
- which Missouri was above, but was generally thought of as the line between the North and South
Westward Expansion[edit | edit source]
- US territory greatly expanded following:
- Louisiana Purchase, 1803
- Mexican-American War, 1846
Western economy
- railroads
- allowed movement of crops and cattle for sale in eastern markets
- "cattle drives"
Compromise of 1850[edit | edit source]
- Fugitive Slave Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act[edit | edit source]
Dred Scott Decision[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
- anti-slavery advocates
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- Sojourner Truth
- Hariett Tubman
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Kansas-Nebraska Act, 185>
- Dred Scott decision, 1857
- Fort Sumpter
- Assassination of Lincoln
- Radical Republicans
- Confederacy / Confederate States of America
- southern states "seceded" (broke away) from the Union
- they organized a new government
- called themselves the "Confederate States of America"
- "confederacy" = a reference to the "Articles of Confederation"
- which gave more power to the states than did the US Constitution
- "confederacy" = a reference to the "Articles of Confederation"
- elected Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States (the "Confederacy")
- called themselves the "Confederate States of America"
- Robert E. Lee
- remained loyal to the Virginia and took command of the "Army of Northern Virginia" to fight for the Confederacy
- Lee surrendered to General U.S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia
- after the War, Lee supported reconciliation of the North and South
- he later became president of Washington College
Reconstruction[edit | edit source]
"Industrialized North" & European immigration[edit | edit source]
- during the Civil War northern factories produced huge amounts a metals and textiles for the War
- after the Civil War, those steel and textile factories continued to grow
- these factories needed workers, and many Europeans immigrated to the U.S. to work in them
Transcontinental Railroad[edit | edit source]
Emergence of Modern America and World Conflict[edit | edit source]
- time period 1877-1945
Womens rights movements
- called "suffrage" movement
- suffrage = the right to vote
- "suffragettes" = women who protested for the right to vote
- the original US Constitution guaranteed the rights of free males to vote and hold office
- the 13th & 14th amendments s established citizenship and guaranteed the equality for former slaves
- however, the 15th amendment guaranteed the right to vote for former male and not female slaves
- therefore, no women were able to vote in national elections
- the 19th Amendment of 1920 guaranteed the right to vote for women
- after World War I, when women went to work in factories while many men went to war
- the Constitution was amended to allow women the right to vote
- Womens rights advocates also worked to secure other forms of equality for women, including
- property and legal rights
- rights to work, as well as protections from abuse from employers
- political participation
Industrialization[edit | edit source]
Henry Ford[edit | edit source]
- created the Model T automobile, that revolutionized transportation
- Ford's Model T was affordable and of exceedingly high quality
- he made it with innovative "factory production line" manufacturing
- his "system" allowed for "mass production" of automobiles in the millions
Labor and working conditions[edit | edit source]
- child labor
- work hours
- factory conditions
Immigration[edit | edit source]
- Push and Pull factors
Push | Pull | ||
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economic troubles | economic opportunities | jobs | |
lack of jobs, forced to leave farms | land available | farming, western expansion | |
religious persecution & intolerance | religious freedom | ||
lack of educational opportunities | educational opportunities | education | |
family connections to prior immigrants to the US
(called "chain migration") |
- immigration periods/ peoples
- 1820-50s: German and Irish immigrants
- 1870s: Japanese immigration to West Coast
- 1880s: Chinese immigration, many worked on railroads
- 1880-1910;s: European immigrants, especially from Central Europe
Imperial expansion[edit | edit source]
- "imperialism" = creating colonies and / or controlling overseas (foreign) people, territories, or countries,
- in the late 1800s, American merchants greatly expanded their trade markets, especially across the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean
- the U.S. government in the 1890s decided to build a large coal-powered navy in order to
- protect existing and open new U.S. trade markets (especially China and Japan)
- "project" or send U.S. military power across the oceans
- the U.S. government in the 1890s decided to build a large coal-powered navy in order to
- "Open Door policy"
- U.S. policy that China should be open to trade with all countries
Spanish-American War[edit | edit source]
- U.S. defeated Spanish forces in the Spanish colonies of Cuba, Philippines and Puerto Rico
- US also "annexed" (officially took as a US territory) Hawaii
- Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
- therefore is became an important stopping point for US ships that were crossing the Pacific Ocean
- sailing ships would stop for supplies and fresh water
- steam boats would stop of coal
- i.e., Hawaii was a "refueling station" (a place to pick up more coal for fuel for steam engines)
World War I, 1917-1918[edit | edit source]
- US neutrality
- US entry
- sinking of the Lusitania ship by German submarine (U-Boat)
- after the War, President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech calling for creation of a "League of Nations" to ensure world peace
- the speech was called the "Fourteen Points" speech"
- because he outlined "14 points" about democracy, self-government (national independence) and peace
- the League of Nations was started by other countries, but the U.S. Senate refused to join the treaty and thus the US stayed out of it
- the speech was called the "Fourteen Points" speech"
- women working in factories
- 19th Amendment
Roaring Twenties / 1920s[edit | edit source]
- Jazz
- Harlem Renaissance
- consumer goods
- autos, radio, refrigerators
World War II[edit | edit source]
- neutrality
- Lend-lease Act
- Pearl Harbor
- Labor and war
- Normandy
Home Front[edit | edit source]
- during WWII, the entire country dedicated itself to the War effort
- women went to work in factories
- families planted "Victory gardens" to grow food for themselves
- people invested in "War Bonds" to finance (pay for) the War
- businesses and labor unions agreed upon wages and work hours so there would be few disputes over work conditions and wages
- the US Government supported the War with
- propaganda (publicity) for the war
- anti-German and anti-Japanese propaganda
- wage and price controls
- rationing of important supplies and materials
- esp. rubber tires, gasoline, metal
- propaganda (publicity) for the war
The United States since World War II[edit | edit source]
- time period 1945-today
Civil Rights Movement[edit | edit source]
- Birmingham protests
- violent police attacks on peaceful protestors at the "Birmingham bridge"
- were televised and made national news
- outraged the American public that previously that the Civil Rights movement didn't involve them
- Martin Luther King was arrested and put in jail following Birmingham protest
- he wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
- outlined the reason for his protest
- his commitment to "non-violent protest"
- = peaceful demonstration and peaceful violation of unjust laws
- he wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
Period | Name | Contribution | |
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1840s-1870s | Frederick Douglass |
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Harriet Tubman |
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Sojourner Truth |
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1890s | Booker T. Washington |
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1910s | W.E.B. DuBois |
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1960s | Martin Luther King |
- while it will not be on the Virginia SOL, other important Civil Rights leaders include
- Willam Lloyd Garrison
- a newspaper publisher who attacked slavery starting in the 1830s
- Henry Ward Beecher
- Calvinist (Christian) minister who attacked slavery on religious grounds
- Susan B. Anthony
- Harriett Beecher Stowe
- wrote the anti-slavery book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin, which was the best selling book of the time (1852)
- Willam Lloyd Garrison
March on Washington & Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech[edit | edit source]
- in 1963, the "March on Washington" was organized to demonstrate to the entire country
- Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
- enacted by Congress under President Johnson
- greatly expanded ability of blacks to register to vote and vote in elections in the South
Vietnam[edit | edit source]
Date | Event | Impact | |
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1954 | French lose to communist in North Vietnam |
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1963 | US special forces sent to Vietnam |
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1964 | US sends military forces to Vietnam to directly fight the North Vietnamese and "Vietcong" |
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1968 |
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1969 | Richard Nixon becomes President |
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1970 |
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1970 | Kent State protest |
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1972 | Nixon's bombing campaign brings Vietnam to peace talks |
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1975 | Collapse of South Vietnam and North Vietnam takeover |
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1990s | Bill Clinton recognizes Vietnam |
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- President Johnson, 1963-1969
- launched direct American involvement in Vietnam in the 1964 "Gulf of Tonkin" incident
- oversaw "escalation" of US involvement in Vietnam war
- President Nixon, 1969-1974
- elected in 1968 with goal to "win then end" the Vietnam War
- this meant "Vietnamization"
- = moving responsibility for the war to the Vietnamese people
- supporting them without having to be there directly
- 1970 changes in the draft rules
- Nixon took away the education exemption from the draft
- which meant that college students were eligible for the draft
- this led to huge increase in protests
- including the Kent State shooting
- a protest at Kent State University in Ohio
- Ohio National Guardsman shot at protesters and killed 4
- US public was outraged
Cold War[edit | edit source]
- 1945-1991
- Soviet Union
- Berlin Wall
- 1947 "Berlin Crisis"
- Wall built in 1961 to keep East Berlin people from escaping to West Berlin
- Berlin Wall
Containment policy[edit | edit source]
Ronald Reagan[edit | edit source]
- President 1981-1989
- opposed Soviet Union (communist Russia)
- called it the "Evil Empire"
Collapse of Soviet Union[edit | edit source]
- in 1989, the Soviet Union lost control of its territories
- the "Berlin Wall" was breached (broken)
- and East and West Germany began process of "reunification)
- as of 1991, the Soviet Union no longer existed
- replaced by the "Russian Federation"
- former Eastern European and Asian countries that had been part of the USSR were restored as independent nations
- ex. Lithuania, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc.
- with collapse of the Soviet Union (USSR):
- "eastern block" countries who were communist but not part of the Soviet Union
- they dropped Communism
- Germany was reunited
- it had been split between East Germany (Soviet supported) and West Germany (US supported)
Globalism[edit | edit source]
- spread of economic ties across countries, continents and regions
- massive movement of workers across different countries
- mobilization of workers in one country to support customers in another country
- especially for computer coding, "call centers"
- in the 1990s, early 2000s, the US promoted immigration of skilled computer programmers from other countries, especially India
- these new immigrants replaced many Americans in similar jobs who had higher pay
Modern Immigration[edit | edit source]
- starting the in 1980s, many migrants moved illegally into the United States
- mostly from Latin America
- principally across the Mexico-US southern border
- but also via tourist visas
Internet[edit | edit source]
- connectivity
- globalism
- coding as a job skill
War on Terror[edit | edit source]
- 2001 September 11 terrorist attacks
- Patriot Act
- Afghanistan War
- Iraq War
General Comparative Charts & Concepts[edit | edit source]
- the following charts cover comparative questions
- these questions compare different topics and people across time
- these charts are designed to help students make connections between people, issues, events and dates
- if students can associate a date with each of these concepts, it will lead to stronger recall and ability to identify context
Political Parties[edit | edit source]
Party | Dates | General Positions | People & Regions |
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Federalists | 1790s-1815 | supported:
opposed:
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people:
regions:
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Democratic-Republicans | 1790s-1824 | supported:
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people:
regions:
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Democratic Party | 1824-1865 | supported:
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people:
regions:
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Whig Party | 1824-1854 | supported
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people:
regions:
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Republican Party | 1856-1877 | supported
opposed
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people
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Political Issues & Political Party Alignments[edit | edit source]
Period | Political Topic | Party For | Party Against | Notes |
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1794 | Jay Treaty (w/ Britain) | Hamilton/ Federalists | Jefferson/ Democrats("Democratic-Republicans) |
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1790s-1815 | French Revolution | Federalists supported England and disliked the French Revolution | Democrats favored France & the French Revolution |
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France v. Britain (wars) | ||||
1800s-1865 | War of 1812 (w Britain) | Federalists opposed the war | Democrats and most Americans supported the War |
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National Bank |
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Tariff(taxes on imports) |
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Slavery |
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Voting Rights ("suffrage")[edit | edit source]
Period | Suffrage | Notes |
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1790s-1820s | white males with property had the general right to vote | |
1820s-1850s | white males without property gained the right to vote |
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1870 | 15th amendment secured the right to vote for former slaves (i.e., black men) | |
1920 | 19th amendment guaranteed the right to vote for women | |
196> | the >> amendment abolished poll taxes | |
197> | the legal age of voting in national elections was set at age 18 |
Famous Speeches[edit | edit source]
Orator (speaker) | Dates | Speech title | Purpose/ Details |
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George Washington | 1796 | "Washington's Farewell Address" |
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Abraham Lincoln | 1862/3 | Emancipation Proclamation |
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Abraham Lincoln | 1863 | Gettysburg Address |
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Woodrow Wilson | 191> | "Fourteen Points Speech" |
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Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) | 1933 | "We have nothing fear but fear itself" speech |
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Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) | 1941 | "A day that will live in infamy" speech |
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John F. Kennedy (JFK) | 1962 | "Berlin Wall speech" |
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Lyndon Johnson
(LBJ) |
1964 | "Great Society speech" |
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Martin Luther King
(MLK) |
1963 | "I have a dream speech" |
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Ronald Reagan | 1987 | "Tear down this wall" speech |
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Geography[edit | edit source]
see other Virginia SOL study pages here: Category:Virginia SOL: Virginia & US History test
- for US geography, maps and timelines
Civics and Economics[edit | edit source]
Supply & Demand[edit | edit source]
- supply = things or people available
- demand = things or services that people want
Situation | Supply | Demand | Prices |
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Demand up | up | n/a | up |
Supply up | n/a | up | down |
Supply & Demand up | n/a | n/a | stay the same |
Prices up | up | down | n/a |
Prices down | down | up | n/a |
Economics vocabulary[edit | edit source]
- bank failure = when a bank does not have enough money to "cover" or pay back all of its customer deposits
- bank failures occur when banks have used people's deposits to make loans, and those loans go unpaid
- which leaves the bank unable to "cover" those deposits
- bank failures occur when banks have used people's deposits to make loans, and those loans go unpaid
- boom / bust periods
- boom = periods of economic growth
- bust = periods of economic decline, such as
- recession = mild decrease in the economy
- depression
- business cycle = the ups and downs of markets and the economy in general
- GDP = "gross domestic product"
- = the total value of economic transactions in a country over a year
- markets = any category of economic activity, such as
- oil market = business activity regarding petroleum (drilling, refining, selling oil, gasoline, etc.)
- stock market = a market to buy and sell "stlocks" or "shares" (ownership) in a company
- profit & loss = money gained or lost in economic transactions
- speculation = risky investments or economic activity in hopes of making a large profit
- over-speculation = a time when too many people are taking risks, so prices and/or markets collapse (go down)
- tariff = a tax on imported or exported goods