Chapter 1 AICE U.S. History

Electoral College

A body of electors established by the United States Constitution that formally elects the President and Vice President of the United States.

Veto

The power of a president or governor to reject a bill passed by the legislature.

House of Representatives

The lower chamber of Congress, consisting of representatives from each state based on population.

Senate

The upper chamber of Congress, in which each state is represented by two senators.

Separation of Powers

The division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.

Checks and Balances

Mechanisms put in place to prevent one branch of government from overpowering the others.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution that outline the rights and freedoms of individuals.

Abolitionists

Individuals who advocated for the end of slavery in the United States.

Tariff

A tax imposed on imported goods and services.

Sectionalism

Excessive or narrow-minded concern for local or regional interests, often at the expense of national unity.

Secession

The act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or political entity, notably seen in the context of Southern states leaving the Union.

Annex

To add or attach a territory to an existing political unit.

Missouri Compromise 1820

A legislative agreement that allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws passed to ease tensions between slave and free states, including the admission of California as a free state.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law that provided for the return of enslaved people who escaped from one state into another.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 law that established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, allowing for popular sovereignty to determine their slave status.

Dred Scott

An enslaved African American man who sued for his freedom, leading to a landmark Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship to African Americans.

Roger Taney

The 5th Chief Justice of the United States, known for delivering the majority opinion in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case.

John Brown

An abolitionist who believed in offensive actions to achieve the abolition of slavery and led a raid at Harpers Ferry.