U.S. History Final Study Guide: Chapters 6-14

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major concepts, people, and events from Chapters 6 through 14 of the lecture notes.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Legislation passed by congress to establish a political structure for the northwest territory and create a system for admission of new states.

Interstate commerce

Trade between two or more states.

Inflation

Reduced value of money and increased prices for goods.

Tariffs

Taxes on imported goods.

Slave Trade Compromise

The importation of slaves couldn’t be restricted or abolished until 1808.

Federalists

Supporters of the constitution.

Anti-Federalists

People who opposite the constitution.

Ratification

Official approval.

Popular Sovereignty

Idea that the people are the ones with political power.

Limited Government

A government with limited powers or restraints as not to be corrupted or power run.

Separation of Powers

A division of basic government roles into three branches; Montesquieu’s Idea found in Articles I, II, and III.

Checks and Balances

A system established by the constitution that prevents any branch of government from becoming too powerful by allowing each branch checks on the other.

Federalism

System of government in which power is shared between a central government and the individual states.

Republicanism

Based on the belief that people exercise their political power by voting for their representatives.

Individual Rights

Personal liberties and privileges of citizens located in the BoR; 1st 10 Amendments that protect the people from an overly powerful government.

Amendments

An official change to a document.

Elastic Clause

Necessary and proper clause’ that gives congress the ability to stretch its powers, and makes the constitution a living document.

Apolitical

Outside of Politics; not involved/interested in politics.

Bicameral legislature

Legislature that has two houses.

Preamble

The first part of the constitution that sets out the reasons for a constitution; has 6 parts.

Double jeopardy

The act of trying a person twice for the same crime; he or she can’t be tried for it twice.

Concurrent powers

Powers shared/same between national and state governments.

Delegated powers

Powers only the National government has, such as regulating interstate commerce.

Reserved powers

Powers only the State government has, such as regulating intrastate commerce.

Precedent

An action or decision that serves as an example.

Judiciary Act of 1789

Created 3 levels of federal courts and established their powers.

George Washington

Unanimously selected to become the 1st President of the US (1732-1799) from Virginia; set many important precedents.

Alexander Hamilton

First Secretary of Treasury from New York (1755-1804); a Federalist leader who created the First Bank of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson

First Secretary of State from Virginia (1743-1826); Leader of the Democratic-Republican Party and 2nd Vice President of the US.

Loose constructionist

Associated with Federalists; the belief that the fed. gov. can take reasonable actions that the Constitution doesn’t specifically forbid using the Elastic Clause.

Strict constructionist

Associated with Dem.-rep.; the belief that the fed. gov. should do only what the Constitution says it can do.

XYZ Affair

A 1797-1798 incident where French agents (X, Y, Z) demanded a $250,000 bribe and $12 million loan to discuss a treaty.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Four laws passed in 1798; the Sedition Act forbade publishing criticism of the fed. gov., canceling freedoms of press and speech.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Documents by Madison and Jefferson arguing the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional as they interfered with state governments.

John Marshall

Federalist from Virginia (1755-1835) who served as the 4th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Judicial Review

The Supreme Court’s power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.

Louisiana Purchase

The Oct. 20, 1803 purchase of Louisiana from France for $15 million during Jefferson's presidency.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

An 1804 mission to explore the Louisiana Purchase, guided by Sacagawea, to learn about the West and find a river route to the Pacific.

Embargo Act

An 1807 law prohibiting American merchants from trading with other countries; it devastated the American economy.

Impressment

The practice of forcing people to serve in the army or navy.

Non-Intercourse Act

An 1809 law replacing the Embargo Act; it banned trade only with France, Britain, and their colonies.

James Madison

The 4th president, called the father of the Constitution, and leader of the United States through the War of 1812.

Treaty of Ghent

The document signed Dec. 24, 1814, that officially ended the War of 1812; it forced Britain to recognize the US as an expanding power.

James Monroe

The 5th President (1816-1820 transitions) from Virginia; president during the Era of Good Feelings.

Adams-Onis Treaty

An 1819 treaty where Spain gave East Florida to the US and settled border disputes in exchange for $5 million in claims.

Monroe Doctrine

The 1823 policy stating the U.S. would not interfere with Europe, but the Western Hemisphere was off-limits to future colonization.

Henry Clay

The 'Great Compromiser' from Kentucky; created the Missouri Compromise (1821) and the Compromise of 1850.

Era of Good Feelings

A time of peace, pride, and progress in the US from 1815-1825.

Sectionalism

Economic and social differences between different regions of the nation.

Missouri Compromise

Agreement where Missouri entered as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and slavery was prohibited north of the 36,30 latitude.

John C. Calhoun

South Carolina politician and Vice President to Jackson; instrumental in the 1832 Nullification Crisis.

Andrew Jackson

Democratic party president elected in 1828 from South Carolina; accused John Quincy Adams of a 'Corrupt Bargain' in 1824.

Tariff of Abominations

A high tariff on raw materials and manufactured goods that outraged Southerners because it favored the North.

Doctrine of Nullification

The theory that a state has the right to nullify, or reject, a federal law that it felt was unconstitutional.

Panic of 1837

Economic depression at the start of Martin Van Buren’s term.

Indian Removal Act

Legislation that removed all Natives living east of the Mississippi to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

Trail of Tears

The 1838 800-mile march of the Cherokee to Indian territory during Martin Van Buren's presidency.

Eli Whitney

Inventor of the cotton gin and developer of interchangeable parts in gun making.

Mass production

The efficient production of large numbers of identical goods.

Robert Fulton

Engineer who built the first commercially successful full sized steamboat, The Clermont.

Samuel F.B. Morse

Inventor who developed the telegraph and Morse Code in 1832.

Hudson River School

A group of 1830s NY painters that focused on national pride and appreciation of the American landscape.

Transcendentalism

Belief that people should depend on themselves and own insights to rise above material things in life.

Henry David Thoreau

Transcendentalist author of Walden who practiced civil disobedience by refusing to pay taxes during the US-Mexican War.

Second Great Awakening

A period of religious evangelism and Christian renewal that became widespread in the US by the 1830s.

Charles Grandison Finney

Leader of the Second Great Awakening; believed individuals were responsible for their own salvation and sin was avoidable.

Horace Mann

Leader of the Common School Movement and first secretary of education in Massachusetts (1837).

Dorothea Dix

Reformer who advocated for state hospitals for the mentally ill instead of imprisonment.

Frederick Douglass

Former slave and African American leader who published the North Star and gave the speech 'What to the slave is the Fourth of July'.

Seneca Falls Convention

The first US public meeting about women’s rights, held July 19, 1848.

Susan B. Anthony

Women's Rights leader who argued for equal pay and co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Leader of the Seneca Falls Convention and Women’s Rights Movement , Helped write the Declaration of Sentiments in 1848, Founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869 with Susan B. Anthony, 1815-1902, New York

Abolition

Complete end to slavery

Common School Movement

Movement that believed all children should be taught

Romanticism

Affected art, lit., and music, Involved a great interest in nature with an emphasis on individual expression + rejection of established rules, Each painter/writer brought a unique view to the world, Painters used emotion, passion, and sensation to guide their creative output rather than intellect and reason

Middle class

Social and economic level between the wealthy and poor