American History Unit 4 Key Terms

American System

Name for the proposed economic plan that included a second National Bank, protective tariffs, and internal improvements

John Marshall

Supreme Court Chief Justice whose rulings represented nationalism and strengthened the power of the federal government over states

Erie Canal

Major canal that connected eastern and western New York, increasing settlement and trade between the two areas

Urbanization

Term for the growth in cities, which happened mainly in the North

“Cotton Kingdom”

Term given to the South because of its economic dependence on cotton and slavery

Adam-Onis Treaty

Deal in which Spain gave Florida to the United States

Monroe Doctrine

Foreign policy that declared that European countries could not interfere with North and South America

Henry Clay

Known as the “Great Compromiser,” he proposed the American System and the Missouri Compromise

Cyrus McCormick

Invented the mechanical reaper, which made large-scale farming possible

Interchangeable Parts

Invention of Eli Whitney that helped cause the North to become more industrialized

Missouri Compromise

This deal said that all states admitted above the southern border of Missouri would be free and all states below this line would be slave, temporarily easing tension over the expansion of slavery

Election of 1824/”Corrupt Bargain”

Incident in which Henry Clay made a deal that “stole” the presidency from Andrew Jackson and gave it to John Quincy Adams

Era of Good Feelings

Time period after the War of 1812 characterized by strong nationalism/national pride during James Monroe’s presidency 

Protective Tariff

A tax on imported goods that guards American businesses from foreign competition

Samuel Morse

Inventor of the telegraph, which revolutionized communication

Slave Codes

Southern laws meant to suppress slaves and make them easier to control

Sectionalism

This term describes the growing separation between the political beliefs, economies, and lifestyles of the North and South

Robert Fulton

Invented the steamboat, which increased the speed of trade and transportation on rivers

Transportation Revolution

Increase in roads, canals, and railroads that caused the country to expand westward and increased trade between the North, West, and South

Antebellum Period

Term for the time in the United States before the Civil War

Hudson River School

Group of American landscape painters whose work represented nationalism 

Democratic Party

Political group that formed to support Andrew Jackson, splitting from the Democratic-Republicans

Industrial Revolution

Time period characterized by the mechanization of labor and the growth of factory-based manufacturing 

Election of 1828

Event in which Andrew Jackson won the presidency, largely because of the rise of Universal White Male Suffrage, which allowed more “common” people to vote 

Cotton Gin

Invention of Eli Whitney that led the South to be dependent on cotton and expanded slavery