OFFICIAL STUDY GUIDE
2017-18
PART 1 - U.S.
(PART 2 - World)
Western Hemisphere
THE UNITED STATES
The following is an abbreviated chronology of the history of the United States
(U.S.). Each section is followed by a list of significant people, places and events,
but it is important to note that you cannot stop here. Study all presidents,
presidential elections and critical politicians and Supreme Court justices. Research
people by decade or era to unearth other important authors, philosophers, poets, Early America*
artists, musicians, entertainers, athletes, scientists, criminals, state admissions,
Anasazi & Pueblo
Constitutional Amendments and more that are not included specifically in these
Leif Eriksson
lists. History is a broad subject, and at the higher rungs of this contest, knowledge
Christopher Columbus
of trivia, pop culture and geography can enable contestants to answer questions at an
Columbian Exchange
early stage. Find your areas of interest and "rabbit" through the Internet and books,
John Cabot
exploring what piques your interest. Please note that there will be questions on
Northwest Passage
terms not included in this study guide and, conversely, some terms mentioned here
Ponce de León
may not be used at the bee. Use this list as a starting point, and work from there.
Fountain of Youth
St. Augustine
EARLY AMERICA Jacques Cartier
In prehistoric times, people from Asia migrated across a land bridge that crossed Hernando de Soto
the Bering Strait to the northwest corner of North America to Asia. These original Seven Cities of Cíbola
immigrants, now known as Native Americans, moved down through the North Francisco Vázquez de
Coronado
American continent to Mexico and South America. By the 11th century, Vikings had
Walter Raleigh
arrived in the Western Hemisphere, and in the late 15th century European explorers
Juan de Oñate
began trips to the New World. Slowly, Native American groups were decimated by
disease and armed conflict or displaced. Many were pushed westward from their * For research purposes. No
homelands. terms in this study guide
are guaranteed to be on any
official test.
2
THE UNITED STATES
COLONIAL TIMES
Colonial Times*
The British began to explore Virginia Dare Jonathan Edwards
and settle the New World. Iroquois Confederacy Vitus Bering
Roanoke, one of their first Samuel Champlain Pontiac's Rebellion
Algonquin Proclamation of 1763
settlements, mysteriously
Henry Hudson Townshend Acts
vanished. Jamestown was the
John Smith Daniel Boone
first successful British colony.
Powhatan Liberty Bell
As other European countries
Pocahontas Boston Massacre
scrambled to gain a toehold
Pilgrims & Puritans Boston Tea Party
in the New World, new
Mayflower Compact George Washington
colonies were begun. Many
Plymouth George III
of these new settlers were
Samoset Thomas Jefferson
fleeing religious persecution. Squanto Alexander Hamilton
Over time, relations between Peter Minuit Patrick Henry
colonies and their European "mother" countries were strained. Anne Hutchinson Continental Army
This ultimately led to the French and Indian War and, later, to Roger Williams Redcoats & Tories
the Revolutionary War. At the onset of this conflict, the colonies Pequot War Paul Revere
banded together to form a Continental Congress and drafted a William Penn & Quakers Lexington & Concord
Declaration of Independence in 1776. They adopted the Articles of New England Confederation Common Sense
Confederation and later replaced these with the U.S. Constitution, Metacomet Battle of Trenton
combining the original 13 colonies into the United States. Nathaniel Bacon's Rebellion Battle of Saratoga
Great Pueblo Revolt Benedict Arnold
Salem Witch Trials Federalist Papers
EXPANSION WESTWARD Benjamin Franklin Battle of Yorktown
Great Awakening Bill of Rights
Settlers moved westward and, through the Louisiana Purchase,
the U.S. acquired a huge amount of territory from France * Terms shown are for research purposes and not guaranteed to
be on any official test.
in 1803. The British opposed American expansion in the
Northwest and Florida, culminating in the War of 1812. After
this conflict, Florida was purchased from Spain. Slavery, a part
of life in the New World almost from the beginning, became
an issue that divided the agricultural Southerners and the
increasingly industry oriented Northerners. This continued to be
problematic as the country expanded and added new territories.
Westward migration populated territories all the way to the
Pacific Coast, and railroads were constructed. Contention with
Native American tribes continued as they were pushed from
their homelands and, ultimately, forcibly moved to reservations.
Manifest Destiny Lewis & Clark McCulloch v. Maryland Samuel Morse Dred Scott v. Sanford
Northwest Territory Sacajawea Missouri Compromise Mexican-American War Harper's Ferry
Tecumseh Robert Fulton Monroe Doctrine California Gold Rush Pony Express
Northwest Ordinance War Hawks Indian Removal Act Forty-niners Homestead Act
XYZ Affair Creek War Nat Turner's Rebellion Henry David Thoreau
John Marshall Francis Scott Key John Deere Kansas-Nebraska Act
Marbury v. Madison Andrew Jackson Oregon Trail Bleeding Kansas
3
THE UNITED STATES, continued
U.S. CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION
Conflict between the
industrialized North and
agricultural South led to the
Civil War. Slavery was a critical
issue during the election of 1860.
Abraham Lincoln was elected,
giving control of the government
to Republicans of the North.
Many Southern states chose
to secede from the Union and
form the Confederate States of
America. This conflict between
the Union forces of the North U.S. Civil War &
and the Confederate forces of Reconstruction*
the South resulted in a Civil Fort Sumter
War that lasted from 1861 to 1865. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln-Douglas debates
Lincoln in 1863, and the 13th Amendment later officially abolished slavery in the U.S. Robert E. Lee
Slaves, now freedmen, became tenant farmers or relocated, struggling to find their "Stonewall" Jackson
position in the political climate. The Confederacy surrendered and the Reconstruction Ulysses S. Grant
period followed. During this time, the North dictated how the South could operate. Battle of Antietam
Much of the South was left impoverished, and Carpetbaggers and Scalawags preyed Battle of Gettysburg
on Southerners. The 14th Amendment extended equal protection to all people born or Sherman's March to the Sea
naturalized in the U.S., and the 15th Amendment enfranchised all male citizens, but Freedman's Bureau
not women. Enforcement of these amendments was gradual. Native American men Appomattox Courthouse
who had not yet been given citizenship continued to be excluded from voting. Lincoln's assassination
Ku Klux Klan
Civil Rights Bill of 1866
National Labor Union
Jim Crow law
Goodnight-Loving Trail
Bozeman Trail
Seward's Folly
Transcontinental Railroad
Mark Twain
Gilded Age
Yellowstone National Park
Alexander Graham Bell
George Armstrong Custer
Chief Joseph
Free Silver Movement
Booker T. Washington
Clara Barton
Geronimo
Above: East and West shaking hands at the laying of the last rail of Union Pacific Railroad, May 10, 1869. Source: Yale Oklahoma Land Rush
University Libraries (public domain) Wounded Knee Massacre
4
THE UNITED STATES, continued
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION & PROGRESSIVE ERA*
Haymarket Affair
Thomas Edison
More European immigrants flooded into the new country Eli Whitney
due to their depressed economy. The U.S. entered a Andrew Carnegie
Sherman Antitrust Act
prosperous period around 1900, and movement from
Jacob August Riis
an agricultural to an industrial and service oriented
Chicago World Fair
nation continued. The Industrial Revolution began in
Liliuokalani
Britain and later spilled into the U.S. American Industry
Plessy v. Ferguson
expanded rapidly due to advances in technology, such
Spanish-American War
as production lines, cotton gins, automobiles, airplanes
Theodore Roosevelt
and other innovations. Expansion continued in the West,
McKinley's assassination
and Native American uprisings were forcibly put down.
Square Deal
Due to the growth of railroads and automobiles, people Henry Ford
were no longer restricted to living near their work place. Wright brothers
This brought increased mobility and the growth of Panama Canal
suburban communities. Government continued growing during the Progressive Era, Pure Food Act
and the government and big businesses clashed. The Sherman Antitrust Act gave the Upton Sinclair
government power to regulate big business in order to prevent large monopolies. Both muckraking
Prohibition and the Women's Suffrage Movement began NAACP
during this era. Segregation was approved by Plessy v.
Ferguson, a Supreme Court case. The Monroe Doctrine
" hether you W W. E. B. DuBois
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
had protected the continent from European expansion, think you can or RMS Titanic
and in the early 1900s, Theodore Roosevelt expanded you think you 16th Amendment
this protection to the entire Western Hemisphere with can't -- you're Federal Reserve Act
the Roosevelt Corollary. This led to the U.S. support of Clayton Antitrust Act
Panamanian independence from Colombia and enabled right." Henry Ford Jack London
the construction of the Panama Canal. Helen Keller
* Terms shown are for research purposes and not guaranteed to be on any official test.
WORLD WAR I (WWI)* Birth of a Nation Leon Trotsky
This war began in Europe and pitted the Allies, which Franz Ferdinand Selective Service Act
included Britain, France and Russia, against the Central Kaiser Wilhelm II Battle of the Somme
Albert I tanks
Powers, or Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman
Tsar Nicholas II Paris Peace Conference
Empire. The sinking of the RMS Lusitania infuriated U.S.
David Lloyd George Big Four
citizens and the government, and the U.S. was finally drawn
Winston Churchill Weimar Republic
into the conflict by the interception of the Zimmermann
Battle of Gallipoli
Telegram. At the conclusion of the war, the Spanish flu was
Battles of Ypres
spread by movement of troops, and the pandemic infected 20%
Battle of Verdun
of the global population. The Treaty of Versailles set the terms
Red Baron
for the end of the war and established the League of Nations,
chemical warfare
which the U.S. failed to join in spite of President Woodrow U-boats & unrestricted
Wilson and his Fourteen Point Plan. The terms of this treaty submarine warfare
were contentious and left the world open to enter a second war John J. Pershing
two decades later. Vladimir Lenin
5
THE UNITED STATES, continued
THE ROARING Hollywood
flappers
TWENTIES* George Washington Carver
Black Sox Scandal
Just before 1920, the 18th
Teapot Dome Scandal
Amendment was passed and
Lost Generation
Prohibition began. Bootlegging
Scopes Trial
and secret, illegal alcohol stills
F. Scott Fitzgerald
flourished, and private clubs, or
Ernest Hemingway
speakeasies, sold alcohol, which
Louis Armstrong
was against the law. Prohibition
Duke Ellington
was unsuccessful and repealed by
Irving Berlin
the 21th Amendment. In 1920, Charlie Chaplin
the women's suffrage movement Albert Einstein
culminated in the passage of George & Ira Gershwin
the 19th Amendment which Harry Houdini
gave women the right to vote. Above: Louis Armstrong, 1953. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photo-
Harlem Renaissance
graphs Division
Economic prosperity enabled Charles Lindbergh
the growth of leisure activities, including sporting events and innovation in literature Will Rogers
and music in the form of jazz and blues. The period's booming economic growth proved Babe Ruth
unsustainable, and the decade ended on the eve of the Great Depression. The Jazz Singer
Walt Disney
* Terms shown are for research purposes and not guaranteed to be on any official test.
Hoovervilles
THE GREAT DEPRESSION*
John Wayne The Stock Market Crash of 1929, or Black Tuesday, marked the beginning of the Great
Glen Miller
Depression. When fear hit the populace, people began pulling their assets from banks,
Sacco-Vanzetti case
which in turn caused bank failures. This period saw massive unemployment in cities
Three Stooges
and was compounded by the Dust Bowl in the Midwest and Southwest that crippled
Amelia Earhart
agriculture. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was elected president in 1932 and worked to pull
Shirley Temple
the country from the Depression. He combatted economic instability by enacting the New
Benny Goodman
Deal and creating jobs that improved public works, like the Tennessee Valley Authority and
Billie Holiday
the Hoover Dam. Many federal acts were instituted that aided farmers and paid subsidies to
Frank Sinatra
protect farmers in bad times.
John Steinbeck
Grant Wood
Left: Amelia Earhart;
Berlin Olympics Second from left: Hin-
Jesse Owens denburg disaster
Joe DiMaggio
Hindenburg disaster
Ella Fitzgerald
Orson Welles
William Faulkner
Gone with the Wind
Wizard of Oz
Rodgers & Hammerstein
Casablanca
Humphrey Bogart
6
THE UNITED STATES, continued
WORLD WAR II (WWII)*
This war originated in Europe and pitted the Axis against the Allies. The Axis was centered in Germany and led
by the Nazis and their führer, Adolf Hitler. It also included Japan under Emperor Shōwa, or Hirohito, and Italy
under Benito Mussolini. The Allies included the British Commonwealth, France, Poland and later the U.S. German
blitzkrieg warfare was initially successful. Germany perpetrated a large-scale genocide of Jews and minorities
called the Holocaust. The Japanese bombed the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As a result, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan in a speech proclaiming December 7, 1941, "a date which
will live in infamy." Unlike the previous world war, much of the fighting was between airplanes with ace pilots.
The beginning of the end of the war in Europe was a massive amphibious invasion on the beaches of Normandy
in France called Operation Overlord and referred to as D-Day. Shortly after, Italy surrendered. The Germans
surrendered in 1945. Later in the year, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, and this
ended the war in the Pacific.
POST-WORLD WAR II* WWII POST WWII
Negotiations at the end of the war redrew many European Fascism Lost Generation Martin Luther King, Jr.
borders and broke Germany into two parts. Berlin was Third Reich ENIAC March on Washington
Adolf Hitler Jackie Robinson Betty Friedan
split into East Berlin, controlled by the Soviet Union
Mein Kampf Jackson Pollock Kennedy assassination
(USSR), and West Berlin, controlled by Britain and
Joseph Stalin McCarthyism Great Society
the U.S. These two were split by the Berlin Wall until
Black shirts Peanuts Muhammad Ali
1990. After WWII, the Cold War, a period of tension
Dwight D. Eisenhower Korean War Malcolm X
between communist and democratic governments, ensued.
George Patton Rosenbergs Miranda v. Arizona
Wartime industrialization had helped pull the U.S. from
Charles de Gaulle 22nd Amendment Neil Armstrong
the Depression. Women had taken on jobs originally held
European Theatre The Catcher in the Rye Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin
by men and were displaced as men returned from the war.
Maginot Line Lucille Ball Woodstock Festival
This displacement would prove to be a factor contributing concentration camps Brown v. Board of disco music
to the ignition of the Women's Rights Movement. Battle of Dunkirk
Education
Kent State massacre
African American rights also came to the forefront of Geneva Conference
Operation Barbarossa Roe v. Wade
political issues, and Plessy v. Ferguson was overturned by Montgomery Bus
Battle of Stalingrad Boycott Richard Nixon
the decision in the Brown v. Board of Education, which Battle of the Bulge Warsaw Pact Watergate scandal
declared segregation illegal. Civil unrest followed as the Mediterranean Theatre Jonas Salk
government began to enforce the integration of public Omar Bradley rock & roll
schools and buildings. The USSR put missiles in Cuba Pacific Theatre Elvis Presley
aimed at the U.S. in 1962. Under President John F. Douglas MacArthur Marilyn Monroe
Kennedy ( JFK), the U.S. blockaded Cuba and threatened Chester W. Nimitz Sputnik
invasion. This Cuban Missile Crisis was finally defused Manhattan Project Little Rock Nine
when the U.S. agreed to remove missiles from Turkey and Executive Order 9066 NASA
the Soviets agreed to remove their Cuban missiles. The Korematsu v. U.S. Cuban Revolution
Vietnam War lingered from 1965 to 1973 in Southeast Battle of Guadalcanal Civil Rights Acts
Asia between the communists in North Vietnam and the Battle of Midway Bay of Pigs Invasion
democratic government of South Vietnam. The Soviets Battle of Iwo Jima OPEC
backed the North and the U.S. fought for the South United Nations Conservative Movement
in what was to become a very unpopular war. The U.S. Dr. Seuss British Invasion
Above: JFK proposes
George Orwell To Kill a Mockingbird
eventually withdrew, and the North Vietnamese overtook "landing a man on the
baby boomers Andy Warhol Moon and returning
the peninsula. The Space Race began during this period,
pop art him safely to the Earth"
and the Apollo 11 mission put the first men on the moon.
7
THE UNITED STATES, continued
CURRENT PERIOD* Iran Hostage Crisis
Sally Ride
The computer industry advanced rapidly during this period, aptly dubbed the 'Computer Challenger space shuttle
Age.' Before this time, computers were primarily used only by large corporations and the Christa McAuliffe
military. The addition of user-friendly features caused the demand for computers to rise Exxon Valdez
until computers finally became common household items. The IBM Corporation grew NAFTA
enormously in large business installations and later entered the personal laptop area. In Waco Siege
1976, Apple Inc. began developing small computers for individuals, growing to a range of Oklahoma City bombing
products based on computer technology that now includes phones, watches, tablets and Internet
more. This technology has pushed society to become increasingly global and enabled the World Wide Web
U.S. to take on the role of an international mediator. During this era, the U.S. has been Columbine High School
massacre
very involved in Middle Eastern affairs. This includes Operation Desert Shield, Operation Y2K
Desert Storm, and the Persian Gulf War. Later, a terrorist group called Al-Qaeda hijacked Taliban
and crashed planes into both World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. As a result of Osama bin Laden
this, President George W. Bush declared a War on Terror. A part of this movement was
the Iraq War of 2003 in which the U.S. invaded Iraq and deposed Hussein. This current
period is less "history" and more "current events" for today's students. The timbre of the
times primarily addresses social issues, relations with other countries, environmental issues,
technology and other large areas.
* Terms shown are for research purposes and not guaranteed to be on any official test. Note: We will not ask about anything that
happened after the September 11th attacks; that is our cut-off between "current events" and "recent history."
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