APUSH regents nmeonomics

Mercantilism

MERChants CANT let colonies compete — England kept all the money for themselves! Colonies existed to make England rich, not to compete with it.

Salutary Neglect

England was basically a LAZY PARENT — let the kids do whatever as long as chores got done (raw materials shipped back to England).

Triangular Trade

Three-sided deal: GOODS go to Africa, ENSLAVED PEOPLE go to Colonies, RAW MATERIALS go to Europe. Triangle = three stops, three horrors.

Mayflower Compact

Pilgrims on a tiny boat said "Let's COMPACT — agree to govern ourselves before we drown arguing." First example of self-government in America.

House of Burgesses

The BURGERS of Virginia voted — burger = common people electing reps to a HOUSE (legislature). First elected legislature in the colonies.

Puritans

“Pure Puritans wanted a PURE church.”
🧼 Imagine a Puritan scrubbing a church with a giant bar of soap yelling, “MAKE IT PURE!”

Plantations

“Plants on a plantation.” 🌱
Imagine a huge farm where the plants are so big they have their own mansion.

Natural Rights

John LOCKE-ed them in — Life, Liberty, Property are NATURAL like nature, can't be taken away. Government must protect them or it's out!

French and Indian War

“French friends with feathers fight the British.” 🪶🇫🇷
Imagine a French chef wearing a giant feather headdress throwing baguettes at a British soldier.

Remember: The French and many Native American groups fought against the British for control of land in North America.

DOI

“Declaration = DECLARE ‘I’m out!’” ✌
Imagine the colonies slamming a door and shouting, “Britain, we’re breaking up!”

Remember: The colonies officially announced their independence from Britain.

Unaliable Rights

“An ALIEN can’t steal your rights.” 👽🚫

Imagine an alien trying to grab your rights and you say, “Nope! You can’t take these!”

Remember: Rights that are naturally yours and cannot be taken away (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness).

Democarcy

“Demo = people DEMOnstrate their choice.” 🗳

Imagine a crowd of people holding signs saying “WE CHOOSE!”

Remember: A government where the people have power and vote.

Republic

“REP chooses for you.”
REP = representative

Imagine a person named Rep Rick wearing a “Vote for Me” hat saying, “I’ll represent you!”

Remember: A government where people elect representatives to make decisions.

Thomas Jefferson

Jeff wrote a LETTER.” ✉
Jeff + letter = Jefferson wrote the Declaration.

Imagine Thomas Jefferson holding a giant pen writing a letter to King George saying, “Dear Britain, we quit.”

Remember: Main writer of the Declaration of Independence.

Social Contract

Rousseau said: government is like a CELL PHONE CONTRACT — you agree to follow rules, they agree to protect you. Break the deal? Cancel it (revolution!).

John Locke

“Lock your rights in a LOCK.” 🔒

Imagine John Locke putting Life, Liberty, and Property inside a giant lock.

Remember: He believed people have natural rights and governments must protect them.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

“Rousseau says ‘RULE? So? The people rule!’” 👥👑

Think: Rousseau → “Rule so?” → People rule!

Remember: He believed in popular sovereignty—the idea that government gets its power from the people.

Consent of the Governed

The people are the BOSS — government only works IF you say "I consent!" Like signing a permission slip. Government gets power FROM the people.

Northwest Ordiance

Mnemonic: “The NORTHWEST got a new rule book and a ‘Future States’ map.” 🧭📖
Imagine the Northwest Territory opening a book that says “Rules for government and how to become a state!”

➡ Think: Northwest = organized territory + pathway to statehood.

Constutional Convention

Mnemonic: “A convention where everyone brings puzzle pieces to build the Constitution.” 🧩📜

Imagine delegates shouting, “This piece makes the government work!”

➡ Think: Convention = meeting where leaders created the Constitution.

Limited Government

Mnemonic: “The government car hits a giant speed LIMIT sign.” 🚗🚧

The government says, “Aw man, the Constitution says I can’t go any further!”

➡ Think: The Constitution puts limits on government power.

Seperation of Powers

Mnemonic: “Three siblings fight over a giant POWER battery, so Mom splits it into three pieces.” 🔋👧👦👦

One gets a Congress hat, one gets a President hat, and one gets a judge wig.

➡ Think: Power is divided among the three branches.

Checks and Balances

Mnemonic: “Three kids play a game where everyone can say ‘STOP!’ to each other.” ✋👑

The President says, “I veto!”

Congress says, “We override!”

The Court says, “Unconstitutional!”

➡ Think: Each branch checks the others so nobody becomes too powerful.

Bicameral Legislature

Mnemonic: “BI = two cameras filming two rooms in Congress.”

One camera records the House, and the other records the Senate.

➡ Think: A legislature with two houses.

Equal Repersentation

Mnemonic: “Every state gets the SAME-sized chair at the Senate table.”

Big states and small states all get two chairs.

➡ Think: Each state gets equal representation in the Senate.

The Federalist Papers

Mnemonic: “Federalists write a giant essay titled: ‘PLEASE PASS THE CONSTITUTION!’”

They hand it to everyone saying, “Read why we need this government!”

➡ Think: Essays that convinced people to support the Constitution.

Veto

Mnemonic: “The President has a giant red NO stamp.”

Congress hands him a bill and he slams the stamp down: “NO!”

➡ Think: The President rejects a bill.

Admendment

Mnemonic: “The Constitution gets a BAND-AID because it needs a MEND-ment.”

Someone says, “Let’s fix or add something to it!”

➡ Think: A change or addition to the Constitution.

Elastic Clause (Nessacary and Proper Clause)

Mnemonic: “Congress stretches a giant rubber band labeled ‘POWERS’ to reach new jobs it needs to do.”

They say, “This helps us carry out our listed powers!”

➡ Think: Congress can make necessary laws to carry out its powers.

Electoral College

Mnemonic: “A school called ‘Electoral College’ has students called electors who choose the President.”

They put a crown on the winning candidate.

➡ Think: Electors officially choose the President.

Bill of Rights

Mnemonic: “You open a BILL and it’s filled with your RIGHTS.”

The bill lists speech, religion, press, and other freedoms.

➡ Think: The first 10 amendments that protect freedoms.

Federalists

Mnemonic: “Federalists wear shirts saying ‘YES to the Constitution and a STRONG government!’”

➡ Think: They supported the Constitution and a strong national government.

Anti Federalists

Mnemonic: “ANTI-Federalists hold a STOP sign saying, ‘No Constitution until you protect our rights!’”

➡ Think: They opposed the Constitution at first and wanted a Bill of Rights.

Federalism

Mnemonic: “The national government and states share a chore chart.”

One says, “I’ll do defense,” the other says, “I’ll do schools!”

➡ Think: Power is shared between national and state governments.

Articles of Confederation

A Really Terrible Idea, Couldn't Levy (taxes), Even Spent (nothing). Weak, broke, and useless! No executive branch, no power to tax = total fail.

Shays' Rebellion

Farmer Shays was so SHAY-ked (shaken) by debt he grabbed his pitchfork and proved the government had no power to stop him. Proved Articles were broken.

Great Compromise

Big states vs. small states — GREAT idea: give BIG states the House (population-based), SMALL states the Senate (2 each). Everybody mad, but everybody wins.

Three-Fifths Compromise

The shameful math: 3 out of 5 enslaved people counted for representation. 3 fingers down, 2 fingers up — a deeply wrong compromise that enabled slavery to persist.

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

FEDeralists = FED up with weak gov't, want FEDERAL power (Hamilton). ANTI-Feds = afraid of a king, want BILL OF RIGHTS first (Jefferson). Both sides got something.

Checks and Balances

Like a 3-person friend group where each one can veto the others' bad ideas — no one becomes the boss. Executive, Legislative, Judicial all check each other.

Elastic Clause

Congress's ELASTIC WAISTBAND — stretches to fit ANY law they think is "necessary and proper." Very flexible! Hamilton loved it; Jefferson hated it.

Judicial Review

Marbury v. Madison: Judge Marshall said "I get to REVIEW laws like a JUDGE ON A TALENT SHOW — and I can buzz you out (unconstitutional)!" Gave courts huge power.

Foregin Policy

Mnemonic: “America opens a giant book called ‘How We Deal With Other Countries.’”

Inside the book are pages labeled trade, alliances, war, and peace.

➡ Think: A nation’s plans and decisions for dealing with other countries.

ISolationism

Mnemonic: “America closes the world map, locks the door, and says, ‘We’ll handle our own problems.’”

The country chooses to avoid getting involved in foreign wars and conflicts.

➡ Think: A policy of staying out of other nations’ affairs.

Hamilton vs. Jefferson

Mnemonic: “Hamilton builds a giant national Capitol, while Jefferson builds strong state capitols.”

Hamilton says, “A powerful national government will make the country stronger.”

Jefferson replies, “The states should keep more power and protect the people.”

➡ Think: Hamilton favored a stronger national government; Jefferson favored stronger state governments and a smaller federal government.

Unwritten Constution

Mnemonic: “The Constitution has a hidden chapter written by tradition, not by ink.”

Leaders follow practices that have developed over time, even though they are not written in the document.

➡ Think: Traditions and customs that guide the government but are not found in the Constitution.

Unconstutional

Mnemonic: “A judge compares a law to the Constitution and stamps it ‘REJECTED.’”

The law does not follow the rules of the Constitution.

➡ Think: Something that goes against the Constitution.

John Marshall

Mnemonic: “Chief Justice Marshall holds the Constitution like a shield and says, ‘The Court will protect this document.’”

He uses the power of judicial review to strike down laws that violate the Constitution.

➡ Think: He strengthened the Supreme Court and established its power to declare laws unconstitutional.

Lobbying

Mnemonic: “Citizens stand outside Congress holding papers that say, ‘Hear our arguments before you vote.’”

They try to convince government officials to support their ideas.

➡ Think: The act of influencing lawmakers and government decisions.

Marbury v. Madison

Mnemonic: “Marbury brings a case to the Court, and Marshall opens the Constitution like a rulebook and says, ‘The Court decides what follows this document.’”

The Supreme Court gains the power to strike down unconstitutional laws.

➡ Think: The case that established judicial review.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Mnemonic: “The government builds a gate for immigrants and a lock on criticism.”

The gate becomes harder for immigrants to enter, and the lock silences people who speak against the government.

➡ Think: Laws that restricted immigrants and limited criticism of the government.

Loose vs. Strict Constructionist

Hamilton = LOOSE: stretch the Constitution like SILLY PUTTY. Jefferson = STRICT: follow it like IKEA instructions — not one extra step! This debate still exists today.

Manifest Destiny

God's GPS said GO WEST — Manifest = obvious, Destiny = meant to be. Americans thought they had divine permission to take everything to the Pacific Ocean.

Louisiana Purchase

Jefferson DOUBLED the country for $15 million — that's like buying a mansion for the price of a car. Best real estate deal EVER. Gained New Orleans + Mississippi River.

Trail of Tears

Jackson forced Cherokee off their land in winter — it's called Trail of TEARS because it was heartbreaking and deadly. Indian Removal Act = forced relocation west.

Sectionalism

The country was cut into SECTIONS like a pie — North slice vs. South slice — and they HATED each other's toppings (mainly slavery). Led to Civil War.

Dred Scott Decision

DREADFUL Scott decision — Supreme Court said enslaved people aren't citizens and can't sue. So DREAD-ful it basically pushed the country closer to Civil War.

Reconstruction Amendments

1-3-5 = Freedom, Citizenship, Vote: 13th FREES enslaved people, 14th makes them CITIZENS, 15th gives Black men the right to VOTE. Three steps forward.

Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow CROAKED equality — named after a racist caricature, these Southern laws enforced segregation and voting barriers after Reconstruction ended.

Plessy v. Ferguson

PLEASE-y Ferguson — Supreme Court said "separate but equal" is constitutional (1896). But PLEASE, separate was NEVER equal. Upheld segregation until Brown (1954).

Laissez-Faire

French for "let it do" — government covers its eyes: "I don't SEE child labor, I don't SEE unsafe food, LA-ISSEZ FAIRE!" No regulation = robber barons run wild.

Social Darwinism

Rich people ROAR: "We're rich because we're the FITTEST!" (Survival of the richest.) Used to blame poor people for being poor and justify huge inequality.

Monopoly/Trust

Just like the BOARD GAME — one player buys everything and charges whatever they want. No competition = bad for everyone else. Carnegie (steel) and Rockefeller (oil).

Robber Barons

Carnegie, Rockefeller = ROBBERS in BARON suits — stole through unfair business practices but wore fancy clothes while doing it. Controlled entire industries.

Labor Union

Workers UNITE like the Avengers — alone you're powerless, together you can STRIKE and actually scare the boss. AFL, railroad strikes, Haymarket Riot.

Muckraker

Journalists who RAKED through the MUD of society — dug up gross truths about food, child labor, and corruption. Upton Sinclair, Jacob Riis, Lincoln Steffens.

Upton Sinclair

He wrote The JUNGLE about meatpacking — so gross the SINCLAIR-ly revolted public demanded the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act.

Jane Addams

JANE opened her home (Hull House) to immigrants — ADD-AMS means she ADDED help to urban poor. First settlement house. Basically the original social worker.

19th Amendment

19 = Women's suffrage — NINE-TEEN sounds like NINE-Queen: queens (women) finally got the vote in 1920 after decades of protest by Susan B. Anthony and others.

Roosevelt Corollary

Teddy said "Speak softly but carry a BIG STICK" — COROLLARY = add-on to Monroe Doctrine. US = Western Hemisphere's policeman. Justified intervention in Latin America.

Yellow Journalism

YELLOW = cowardly, fake reporting — sensational, exaggerated headlines scared people into supporting the Spanish-American War. "REMEMBER THE MAINE!" was a classic example.

Zimmermann Note

Germany sent Mexico a NOTE: "Hey, attack the US and we'll give you Texas back!" ZIMMERMANN = "zim, what a dumb plan." Helped drag the US into WWI.

Clear and Present Danger

Schenck case: yelling FIRE in a crowded theater — CLEAR (obvious) + PRESENT (right now) + DANGER = free speech can be limited. Espionage Act was constitutional during WWI.

Harlem Renaissance

Harlem was BORN AGAIN (Renaissance) with jazz, art, poetry — Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston made Black culture ROAR in the 1920s.

Prohibition

PRO-HIBIT booze = PROFESSIONALLY FORBID alcohol (18th Amendment). Result: gangsters, speakeasies, Al Capone got RICH. Totally backfired. Repealed by 21st Amendment.

Scopes Trial

A SCOPE-d out teacher was put on trial for teaching EVOLUTION — old religion vs. new science, Darwin vs. the Bible in a Tennessee courtroom. Symbol of 1920s cultural clash.

Overproduction

Factories OVER-cooked — made TOO MUCH stuff nobody could afford to buy anymore. Like baking 1,000 cakes and nobody comes to the party. Major cause of Great Depression.

Hooverville

Hoover did nothing → homeless people built shacks and sarcastically named them HOOVERVILLES. Cardboard cities = Hoover's failure to respond to the Depression.

Dust Bowl

Great Plains turned into a giant DUST BOWL — bad farming practices + severe drought = massive dirt storms. Farmers fled to California. Oklahoma hit hardest.

New Deal

FDR dealt America a NEW HAND of cards — relief (direct money/jobs), recovery (economic programs), reform (banking fixes like FDIC). Reshaped role of federal government.

Lend-Lease Act

US LENDS weapons, allies LEASE them — like loaning your lawnmower: "Just give it back when you're done defeating Hitler." Helped Britain before US officially entered WWII.

Internment Camps

Japanese Americans were imprisoned in camps during WWII — KOREMATSU case said it was legal (it was racist and wrong). US apologized and paid reparations in 1988.

Manhattan Project

MAN built the BOMB in secret — not in Manhattan, but code-named that. Einstein + top scientists = first atomic bomb, tested 1945, dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Containment

CONTAIN communism like a CONTAINER — don't let it SPREAD out of the box. Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine, Korea, Vietnam all tried to keep the communist lid on.

McCarthyism

Senator McCarthy POINTED FINGERS screaming "COMMUNIST!" at everyone — a witch hunt. Are you now or have you ever been…? Violated civil liberties; eventually collapsed.

Domino Theory

If one country goes communist, ALL its neighbors fall like DOMINOES — US used this to justify sending 500,000+ troops to the Vietnam War.

Brown v. Board of Education

Brown BURNED "separate but equal" to the ground — overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, made school segregation illegal in 1954. MLK era begins.

Civil Disobedience

CIVILLY DISOBEY — break unjust laws PEACEFULLY like MLK. Sit-ins at lunch counters, bus boycotts, freedom rides. Disobedient but dignified. No violence.

Great Society

LBJ's GREAT shopping cart of programs: Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, voting rights — war on poverty = GREAT SOCIETY. Biggest expansion of federal programs since New Deal.

War Powers Act

After Vietnam, Congress said: "Mr. President, you have 60 DAYS to fight before you need OUR permission." WAR POWERS = our powers too. Limits presidential war authority.

Détente

Day-TONT = DE-TENSION — Nixon chilled out the Cold War, visited China (first president to do so), signed SALT treaty limiting nukes. Like releasing pressure from a balloon.

Watergate

Nixon's men broke into WATERGATE hotel to spy on Democrats — GATE = the door to scandal. Every political scandal since = ___gate. Nixon resigned rather than be impeached.

Supply-Side Economics

Reagan said: give rich people tax cuts and money TRICKLES DOWN like a fountain. Critics said it just made the fountain owners richer. Also called "Reaganomics."

NAFTA

North America Free Trade Agreement — US + Mexico + Canada trade freely. NAFTA sounds like NAP-TA, like a comfortable, cozy trade arrangement between neighbors.