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Atlantic World
The interactions among Europe, Africa, and the Americas through trade, colonization, and cultural exchange following European exploration.
Columbian Exchange
The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and goods between Europe, Africa, and the Americas after 1492, significantly impacting global populations and economies.
Colonization
The establishment of European settlements in the Americas, often resulting in displacement and conflict with Native Americans.
Consumer Revolution
A period marked by an increase in consumption of goods like sugar, tea, and textiles in the colonies due to expanding trade networks.
Enlightenment
An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights, influencing colonial leaders and political thought.
Great Awakening
A series of religious revivals in the 1730s-40s that emphasized emotional preaching and personal faith, leading to the rise of new denominations.
Indentured Servitude
A labor system where individuals worked for a set number of years in exchange for passage to the Americas and basic necessities.
Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607 in Virginia, initially struggling due to disease and lack of resources.
Mayflower Compact
A 1620 agreement among Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower to create a self-governing community based on majority rule.
Middle Passage
The harrowing sea journey endured by enslaved Africans being transported to the Americas as part of the Atlantic slave trade.
Mercantilism
An economic policy where colonies existed to benefit the mother country by providing raw materials and markets for finished goods.
Navigation Acts
A series of laws passed by England to regulate colonial trade and ensure profits stayed within the British Empire.
Pilgrims
A group of English Separatists who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620 to practice their religion freely.
Protestant Reformation
A 16th-century religious movement led by Martin Luther that challenged Catholicism and resulted in new Protestant sects.
Puritans
A religious group that sought to "purify" the Church of England; they settled in Massachusetts Bay to practice their faith without interference.
Slave Codes
Laws enacted to regulate the behavior and treatment of enslaved people, solidifying racial slavery in the colonies.
Antifederalists
Opponents of the U.S. Constitution who favored stronger state governments and pushed for the Bill of Rights.
Articles of Confederation
The first constitution of the United States, which created a weak central government with limited powers.
Bank of the United States
Proposed by Alexander Hamilton to stabilize the economy and manage federal funds, sparking debate over its constitutionality.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, protecting individual freedoms such as speech, religion, and due process.
Boston Massacre
A 1770 incident in which British soldiers killed five colonists during a protest, fueling anti-British sentiment.
Boston Tea Party
A 1773 protest against British taxation, where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor.
Coercive Acts
Also called the Intolerable Acts, these British laws punished Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and tightened control over the colonies.
Committee of Correspondence
Colonial groups organized to coordinate resistance to British policies and share information.
Continental Army
The colonial military force led by George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Continental Congress
The legislative assemblies of the colonies that organized resistance to British rule and later declared independence.
Constitutional Convention
The 1787 meeting in Philadelphia where the U.S. Constitution was drafted, replacing the Articles of Confederation.
Declaration of Independence
A document written primarily by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, proclaiming the colonies' independence from Britain.
The Federalist Papers
A series of essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay to promote ratification of the Constitution.
Federalists
Supporters of the Constitution who favored a strong central government to ensure national stability.
Impressment
The British practice of forcing American sailors into the Royal Navy, a cause of growing tensions between Britain and the colonies.
Loyalists
Colonists who remained loyal to Britain during the Revolutionary War.
New Jersey Plan
A proposal at the Constitutional Convention that favored equal representation for all states, regardless of size.
Northwest Ordinance
A law that established procedures for territories to become states and banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.
Patriots
Colonists who supported independence from Britain and fought against British forces.
Salutary Neglect
The British policy of minimal interference in colonial affairs, which allowed the colonies to operate with relative autonomy.
Second Continental Congress
The colonial meeting in 1775 that organized the Continental Army and approved the Declaration of Independence.
Seven Years' War
Also called the French and Indian War, this conflict between Britain and France (1754-63) ended with British dominance in North America.
Sons of Liberty
A group of colonial activists who protested British taxation and policies, often using direct action like the Boston Tea Party.
Stamp Act
A 1765 British tax on printed materials in the colonies, sparking widespread protests and calls for "no taxation without representation."
Sugar Act
A 1764 British law that taxed sugar and molasses imports, aimed at raising revenue for Britain.
Three-Fifths Compromise
An agreement at the Constitutional Convention that counted enslaved individuals as three-fifths of a person for representation.
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The agreement that ended the Revolutionary War, recognizing American independence and granting the U.S. significant territory.
Virginia Plan
A proposal at the Constitutional Convention for representation based on population, favoring large states.
Corps of Discovery
The expedition led by Lewis and Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory and find routes to the Pacific Ocean.
McCulloch v. Maryland
A Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States and strengthened federal authority.
Missouri Compromise
A 1820 agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining balance in the Senate.
Nativists
Americans who opposed immigration, fearing cultural and economic changes brought by newcomers.
Panic of 1819
The first major financial crisis in the U.S., caused by land speculation and poor banking practices.
Panic of 1837
An economic depression caused by Andrew Jackson's banking policies and the collapse of state banks.
Indian Removal Act
A law signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830 that forced Native Americans to relocate west of the Mississippi River.
Judicial Review
Established in Marbury v. Madison, this principle allows the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional.
Louisiana Purchase
The 1803 acquisition of French territory that doubled the size of the U.S., purchased by Jefferson for $15 million.
Trail of Tears
The forced relocation of the Cherokee and other tribes to Oklahoma, causing thousands of deaths.
Underground Railroad
A network of abolitionists who helped enslaved people escape to freedom in the North or Canada.
American Equal Rights Association
An organization formed in 1866 advocating for equal voting rights regardless of race or gender.
Black Codes
Laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War to restrict the freedom and rights of newly emancipated African Americans.
California Gold Rush
The mass migration of settlers to California following the discovery of gold in 1848, leading to rapid population growth.
Carpetbaggers
Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often viewed negatively by Southerners as opportunists.
Civil Rights Act of 1875
A law guaranteeing African Americans equal access to public accommodations; later ruled unconstitutional.
Compromise of 1850
A series of laws that admitted California as a free state, included a stricter Fugitive Slave Act, and allowed popular sovereignty in certain territories.
Compromise of 1877
A deal that ended Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the South in exchange for Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president.
Confederate States of America
A group of Southern states that seceded from the Union in 1861, leading to the Civil War.
Copperheads
Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and advocated for peace with the Confederacy.
Dred Scott Case
An 1857 Supreme Court decision stating that enslaved people were property, not citizens, and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, it declared freedom for enslaved people in Confederate states.
Enrollment Act
A 1863 law instituting the first federal draft for the Civil War, causing backlash among working-class Americans.
Exodusters
African Americans who migrated to Kansas post-Reconstruction to escape racial discrimination in the South.
Field Order Number 15
General Sherman's order to redistribute land in the South to freed slaves; it was later reversed.
Fifteenth Amendment
Prohibited voting discrimination based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Fourteenth Amendment
Granted citizenship to all persons born in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people, and guaranteed equal protection under the law.
Freedmen's Bureau
A federal agency established in 1865 to help freed slaves and poor whites in the South by providing education, healthcare, and employment.
Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln's 1863 speech emphasizing the Union's cause, national unity, and a "new birth of freedom."
Great Railway Strike
A nationwide labor strike in 1877 sparked by wage cuts during an economic depression.
Industrialization
The transformation from an agrarian society to one based on manufacturing and industry, occurring prominently in the late 19th century.
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
A white supremacist organization formed during Reconstruction to terrorize African Americans and suppress their rights.
Manifest Destiny
The belief that Americans were destined to expand westward across the continent.
Mexican-American War
A conflict (1846-1848) between the U.S. and Mexico, resulting in U.S. acquisition of territories in the Southwest.
National Woman Suffrage Association
Founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony to advocate for women's voting rights.
Oregon Trail
A major overland route used by settlers migrating westward to Oregon in the mid-19th century.
Panic of 1873
A financial crisis triggered by overexpansion of railroads and industries, leading to economic depression.
Radical Republicans
A faction in Congress that pushed for harsh Reconstruction policies and full civil rights for freed slaves.
Reconstruction
The period after the Civil War when the Southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union.
Republican Party
A political party formed in the 1850s that opposed the expansion of slavery into the territories.
Scalawags
White Southerners who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party.
Sharecropping
An agricultural system where freed slaves and poor whites rented land in exchange for a share of the crops, often leading to debt.
Thirteenth Amendment
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.
Total War
A military strategy used by the Union during the Civil War that targeted both military and civilian resources to weaken the enemy.
Transcontinental Railroad
Completed in 1869, it connected the eastern and western U.S., revolutionizing transportation and commerce.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, ceding large territories to the United States, including California and the Southwest.
American Federation of Labor
A labor union founded by Samuel Gompers that focused on skilled workers and practical economic reforms.
Chinese Exclusion Act
An 1882 law that prohibited Chinese immigration to the U.S., reflecting widespread anti-Asian sentiment.
Dawes Act
A law that broke up Native American reservations, granting land to individuals in an attempt to assimilate them into white culture.
Haymarket Riot
A violent labor protest in Chicago in 1886, where a bomb killed police officers and protesters, discrediting the labor movement.
Homestead Act
A 1862 law that provided free land in the West to settlers willing to farm it, promoting westward expansion.
Horizontal Integration
A business strategy where a company buys out competitors to control an entire industry, used by monopolists like Rockefeller.
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
A radical labor union advocating for worker solidarity and the overthrow of capitalism.
Jim Crow Laws
State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the South after Reconstruction.
Knights of Labor
A labor organization that sought broad social reforms and included both skilled and unskilled workers.
Plessy v. Ferguson
An 1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld racial segregation under the doctrine of 'separate but equal.'
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