US History Flashcards
Press Show answer to turn a card: an event or a clue in front, the year, person or term behind.
All 108 cards
Colonial America 12
Term? Atlantic slave voyage Middle Passage: the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas. Term? Pilgrims' self-rule pact Mayflower Compact: 41 men signed it aboard ship in 1620 and agreed to make and obey fair laws. Term? Virginia's 1619 assembly House of Burgesses: Virginia's elected assembly, which first met at Jamestown in 1619. Term? Worked to pay passage Indentured servant: a person bound to work for some years to pay for the voyage to America. Who? Founded Pennsylvania William Penn, a Quaker, received the charter for Pennsylvania in 1681. Who? Founded Rhode Island Roger Williams, banished from Massachusetts, founded Providence in 1636. Who? Helped the Pilgrims farm Squanto, or Tisquantum, a Patuxet man, showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn in 1621. Year? English take New York 1664: England took New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renamed it New York. Year? Jamestown founded 1607: Jamestown, Virginia, became the first lasting English colony in North America. Year? Pilgrims reach Plymouth 1620: the Mayflower brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth, in today's Massachusetts. Year? Salem witch trials begin 1692: the Salem witch trials began in Massachusetts. They ended in 1693. Year? Slavery reaches Virginia 1619: a ship brought about 20 enslaved Africans to Point Comfort, Virginia.
Show all 108 cards (96 more)
Colonial America
The Revolution
Constitution and new nation
Westward expansion
Civil War and Reconstruction
Industry and Progressive Era
World War II
Cold War and civil rights
The Revolution 12
Term? 1765 tax on paper goods Stamp Act: the 1765 law that taxed newspapers, legal papers and playing cards in the colonies. Term? Colonist for the king Loyalist: a colonist who stayed loyal to Britain. Patriots called them Tories. Term? Militia on instant call Minutemen: New England militia who trained to turn out at a minute's notice. Term? Refusing to buy goods Boycott: refusing to buy goods. In 1774 the colonies agreed to stop buying British goods. Who? Led the Continental Army George Washington commanded the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783. Who? Wrote Common Sense Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense, January 1776, argued for independence in plain words. Who? Wrote the Declaration Thomas Jefferson of Virginia drafted the Declaration of Independence in June 1776. Year? Boston Tea Party 1773: on December 16, colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. Year? Independence declared 1776: Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Year? Lexington and Concord 1775: the first battles of the Revolutionary War, at Lexington and Concord on April 19. Year? Revolutionary War ends 1783: the Treaty of Paris ended the war, and Britain recognized American independence. Year? Yorktown surrender 1781: Cornwallis surrendered his British army to Washington and the French at Yorktown.
Constitution and new nation 12
Term? Branches curb each other Checks and balances: each branch can limit the others, as with the president's veto. Term? Constitution change Amendment: a change to the Constitution. There are 27, and the first 10 are the Bill of Rights. Term? Power shared with states Federalism: power is shared between the national government and the states. Term? Power split: 3 branches Separation of powers: Congress makes laws, the president carries them out, the courts judge them. Who? Drafted the Virginia Plan James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan, kept notes at the Convention and became the 4th president. Who? First Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury, set up the first national bank. Who? Second US president John Adams, Washington's vice president, was the 2nd president from 1797 to 1801. Year? Bill of Rights ratified 1791: the first 10 amendments, the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15. Year? British burn Washington 1814: in the War of 1812, British troops burned the Capitol and the White House on August 24. Year? Constitution signed 1787: delegates in Philadelphia signed the Constitution on September 17. Year? Louisiana Purchase 1803: the US bought the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million and nearly doubled in size. Year? Washington sworn in 1789: George Washington took the oath as the first president on April 30 in New York City.
Westward expansion 12
Term? 1849 gold seeker Forty-niner: a person who rushed to California for gold in 1849. Term? 2,000-mile wagon route Oregon Trail: a wagon route of about 2,000 miles from Missouri to the Oregon Country. Term? Cherokee forced march Trail of Tears: the Cherokee's forced march to Indian Territory, 1838 to 1839. Thousands died. Term? Coast-to-coast belief Manifest Destiny: the 1840s belief that the United States was meant to spread across the continent. Who? Guided Lewis and Clark Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone woman, interpreted and guided for Lewis and Clark in 1805 and 1806. Who? President, Mexican War James K. Polk, the 11th president, led the war with Mexico, 1846 to 1848, which added the Southwest. Who? Signed Indian Removal Act Andrew Jackson, the 7th president, 1829 to 1837, signed the Indian Removal Act. Year? Erie Canal opens 1825: the Erie Canal opened across New York, linking the Hudson River to Lake Erie. Year? Gold at Sutter's Mill 1848: James Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill, California. The rush of 1849 followed. Year? Indian Removal Act 1830: the Indian Removal Act let the president move eastern tribes west of the Mississippi. Year? Lewis and Clark set out 1804: Lewis and Clark set out up the Missouri River in May and reached the Pacific in 1805. Year? Texas joins the Union 1845: Texas, independent from Mexico since 1836, became the 28th state.
Civil War and Reconstruction 12
Term? Rebuilding the South Reconstruction: the years 1865 to 1877, when the Southern states were brought back into the Union. Term? The 11 states that left Confederacy: the 11 Southern states that left the Union and formed their own government in 1861. Term? To leave the Union Secede: to leave the Union. Eleven Southern states seceded in 1860 and 1861. Term? Worked to end slavery Abolitionist: a person who worked to end slavery, such as Frederick Douglass. Who? Civil War president Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, led the Union from 1861 until his death in April 1865. Who? Led about 70 to freedom Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in 1849, then made about 13 trips back to free some 70 people. Who? Published the North Star Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in 1838 and wrote against it in his paper, the North Star. Year? 14th Amendment ratified 1868: the 14th Amendment made those born in the US citizens, with equal protection of the laws. Year? Emancipation proclaimed 1863: the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1. Gettysburg was fought in July. Year? Fort Sumter attacked 1861: Confederate guns fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12. The Civil War began. Year? Lee surrenders 1865: Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9. Year? Reconstruction ends 1877: the last federal troops left the South, and Reconstruction ended.
Industry and Progressive Era 12
Term? One firm owns a market Monopoly: one company controls a whole industry, as Standard Oil nearly did with oil refining. Term? Reporter exposing wrongs Muckraker: a Progressive Era reporter who exposed corruption and unsafe conditions. Term? The right to vote Suffrage: the right to vote. The 19th Amendment, 1920, extended it to women across the country. Term? Workers join to bargain Labor union: workers who join together to bargain for pay, hours and safety. Who? Arrested for voting, 1872 Susan B. Anthony led the campaign for women's right to vote and was arrested for voting in 1872. Who? Light bulb patent, 1880 Thomas Edison patented his electric lamp in 1880 and opened a New York power station in 1882. Who? President, trust buster Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, 1901 to 1909, broke up trusts and protected wild lands. Year? Coast-to-coast railroad 1869: the first transcontinental railroad was joined at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10. Year? Ellis Island opens 1892: Ellis Island opened in New York Harbor. About 12 million immigrants passed through by 1954. Year? Spanish-American War 1898: the US fought Spain and took Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. Year? US enters World War I 1917: Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, and the US entered World War I. Year? Wright brothers fly 1903: Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first powered airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
World War II 24
Term? 1941 law to arm Allies Lend-Lease: the March 1941 law that let the US send arms and supplies to Britain and other Allies. Term? Civilians' war effort Home front: civilians at home who built ships and planes, rationed food and bought war bonds. Term? Coupons for scarce goods Rationing: limits on sugar, meat, gasoline and tires, bought with coupon books from 1942. Term? Germany, Italy and Japan Axis: Germany, Italy and Japan, allied by the Tripartite Pact of September 1940. Term? Murder of 6 million Jews The Holocaust: Nazi Germany and its helpers murdered about 6 million Jews between 1941 and 1945. Term? Navajo Marine radio men Code talkers: Navajo Marines who sent radio messages in a code based on their language. Term? Secret atomic bomb work Manhattan Project: the secret US program, begun in 1942, that built the first atomic bombs. Term? US, Britain, USSR side Allies: the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, China and the nations that fought the Axis. Who? Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill was Britain's prime minister from May 1940 to July 1945. Who? Commanded D-Day Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, led D-Day and became the 34th president. Who? Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler ruled Germany from 1933, started the war in Europe and died in April 1945. Who? President at war's end Harry S. Truman became president in April 1945 and ordered the use of the atomic bomb. Who? President, 1933 to 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt won 4 elections, led the US through most of the war and died in 1945. Who? Soviet leader in the war Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union, which fought Germany on the Eastern Front from June 1941. Year? Atomic bomb on Hiroshima 1945: the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima, August 6, and Nagasaki, August 9. Year? Battle of Midway 1942: at Midway, June 4 to 7, the US Navy sank 4 Japanese aircraft carriers. Year? D-Day 1944: on D-Day, June 6, Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. Year? Executive Order 9066 1942: Executive Order 9066 led to the internment of about 120,000 Japanese Americans. Year? Germany takes France 1940: France signed an armistice with Germany on June 22, after 6 weeks of fighting. Year? Pearl Harbor attacked 1941: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7. The US declared war the next day. Year? Stalingrad surrender 1943: the German army at Stalingrad surrendered to the Soviets on February 2. Year? V-E Day 1945: V-E Day, May 8, marked Germany's surrender and victory in Europe. Year? V-J Day 1945: V-J Day. Japan gave up on August 15 and signed the surrender on September 2. Year? World War II begins 1939: Germany invaded Poland on September 1. Britain and France declared war 2 days later.
Cold War and civil rights 12
Term? Race to build more bombs Arms race: the US and the Soviet Union each built more and stronger nuclear weapons. Term? Races kept apart by law Segregation: keeping Black and white people apart by law in schools, buses and public places. Term? US and Soviet rivalry Cold War: the rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union, about 1947 to 1991, without direct war. Term? US-Soviet Moon contest Space Race: the US and Soviet contest from Sputnik, 1957, to the Apollo 11 Moon landing, 1969. Who? First Black justice Thurgood Marshall argued Brown v. Board of Education and joined the Supreme Court in 1967. Who? Kept her bus seat, 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955, for keeping her bus seat. Who? Led the bus boycott, 1955 Martin Luther King Jr. led the Montgomery bus boycott and won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. Year? Berlin Wall falls 1989: the Berlin Wall opened on November 9. The Soviet Union broke up in 1991. Year? Brown v. Board ruling 1954: in Brown v. Board of Education the Supreme Court found segregated schools unconstitutional. Year? Civil Rights Act 1964: the Civil Rights Act banned discrimination by race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Year? Cuban Missile Crisis 1962: for 13 days in October the US and the Soviet Union faced off over missiles in Cuba. Year? Korean War begins 1950: North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25. An armistice stopped the fighting in 1953.
How this list was compiled: Own deck of 108 cards, written for this page. Every year, date, name and number was checked on 2026-09-19 against English Wikipedia's article on the event, person or term, 115 articles in all, among them Boston Tea Party (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party ), Louisiana Purchase (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase ), Emancipation Proclamation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation ), Attack on Pearl Harbor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor ), Battle of Midway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway ) and Civil Rights Act of 1964 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 ). The years on 25 cards also match the National Archives' list of milestone documents (https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/list ). Each of the 27 people on a Who? card has died; the deck names no living person and quotes no one. All sources checked 2026-09-19. Licence: own work
How it works These US history flashcards cover 1607 to 1989 in 108 cards and 8 eras, from Jamestown to the Berlin Wall. A Year? card wants the date, a Who? card the person, a Term? card the word; World War II has 24 cards.
Read the full guide
Eight eras, plus dates, people and terms
Seven eras hold 12 cards each: 5 dates, 3 people, 4 terms. Colonial America opens with Year? Jamestown founded, and Cold War and civil rights closes with the Berlin Wall. Dates only pulls the 45 year cards from every era, a good fit for a timed round, since each answer is 4 digits. People only has 27 cards, Terms only 36.
WW2 flashcards: 24 cards, 1939 to 1945
World War II is a double set: 10 dates from the invasion of Poland to V-J Day, 6 leaders, and 8 terms such as Lend-Lease, rationing and code talkers. It prints on 2 sheets of Letter or A4 paper, every other era on 1, all 108 on 9. Backs print mirrored, so 1944 lands behind D-Day.
Three date cards share the answer 1945: V-E Day in May, Hiroshima in August, V-J Day after it.
Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826, 50 years to the day after the Declaration.
The deck skips the 1920s, the Depression and Vietnam, and names no living person, so it ends in 1989.
Questions and answers
Which grades do these United States history flashcards suit?
Grades 5 to 8 fit best. Fronts are short, and each back adds one plain line, such as the 342 chests of tea on the Boston Tea Party card. A high school class can use Dates only as a warm-up but will need more depth.
How were the dates and names checked?
Each year, name and number was checked on 19 September 2026 against Wikipedia's article on the event, and 25 years also match the National Archives' list of milestone documents. Where two dates are in use, the back gives both, as on V-J Day.
What does quiz mode accept as an answer?
A year must be exact. For a person the last name is enough, so Tubman and Eisenhower pass, as do FDR and MLK. Capital letters and punctuation are ignored. Term cards take close forms: secession for secede, 49er for forty-niner.