8th Grade U.S. History Final Exam Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards for 8th Grade U.S. History Final Exam Review.

War Hawks

Members of Congress who supported war with Britain prior to the War of 1812.

Neutral Rights

Rights of a nation to be free from interference while at sea during times of war.

Judicial Review

The power of the Supreme Court to determine whether laws are constitutional.

Privateers

Armed private ships licensed to attack enemy ships.

Frigates

Fast, medium-sized warship of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Census

An official count or survey of a population, typically recording details of individuals.

Erie Canal

An artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships inland.

Free Enterprise

An economic system where private businesses operate in competition and largely free of state control.

American System

Series of measures intended to make the United States economically self-sufficient.

National Harmony

A feeling of pride, loyalty, and protectiveness toward your country

Internal Improvements

The improvement of roads, bridges, canals, and other transportation infrastructure.

Spoils System

Practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs.

Laissez-faire

Policy that government should interfere as little as possible in the nation's economy.

Executive Privilege

The right to keep communications confidential, especially as it applies to the president and Congress.

Mudslinging

A derogatory or insulting comment or attack, especially in a political campaign.

Abstain

The act of officially withdrawing from membership of a federation or body, especially a political state.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the North American continent.

Oregon Trail

American pioneers who migrated to the Oregon Territory in the 1840s.

Joint Occupation

The occupation of an area by two or more countries.

Ranchos

Towns of Mexican residents in California

Vigilantes

General term for a person, typically men, who are self-appointed arbiters of justice who punish offenders without legal authority.

Discrimination

Unfair treatment based on prejudice.

Literacy

The state of being able to read and write.

Capital

An economic system in which resources and means of production are privately owned.

Credit

Money borrowed, usually from a bank.

Nativists

Opposition to immigration.

Spirituals

Religious folk songs.

Mechanical Reaper

A machine for cutting and harvesting grain.

Morse Code

A code using dots and dashes to send messages electrically over a wire

Telegraph

A system of communication by wire that allows rapid transmission of information over long distances

Steel-Tipped Plow

A steel plow is a modern version of the plow

Trade Unions

An organization of workers formed to promote collective bargaining with employers.

Yeomen

Farmer who owns a small plot of land.

Plantation

A large agricultural estate dedicated to growing cash crops.

Underground Railroad

A system to help enslaved people escape to freedom.

Abolitionist

A person who wanted to end slavery in the United States

Prohibition

A campaign to stop the sale of alcohol.

Women’s Rights Movement

The movement to secure equal rights for women.

Civil Disobedience

A form of protest that involves disobeying unjust laws nonviolently.

Secede

To withdraw formally from membership of a federal union, an alliance, or political or religious organization.

Border Ruffians

A person who fled from the Confederate States during the American Civil War.

Total War

A military strategy in which an army attacks not only enemy troops but also economic and civilian resources.

Entrenched

A military blockade of a city or fort.

Habeas Corpus

The state of being imprisoned or detained

Yankees

People from the union during the Civil War.

Rebels

People from the confederacy in the Civil War.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War of rebuilding the United States.

Amnesty

An official pardon for political offenses.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction after the Civil War.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War to profit during Reconstruction.

Segregation

The separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group.