History Vocab Final

Mercantilism

An economic system in which colonies exist to benefit the mother country by supplying raw materials and buying finished goods.

Age of Enlightenment

An intellectual movement that emphasized reason, science, and natural laws to understand society and government.

Great Awakening

A religious revival in the 1700s that emphasized emotional faith and challenged traditional religious authority.

Glorious Revolution

The 1688 overthrow of King James II that strengthened Parliament’s power over the English monarchy.

Virtual representation

The idea that members of Parliament represented all British subjects, even if they did not vote for them.

Actual representation

The belief that representatives should be elected directly by the people they represent.

Country ideology

A political belief that emphasized virtue, independence, and opposition to corruption in government.

Grand Settlement of 1701

An agreement that recognized colonial assemblies’ power over taxation and local affairs.

Albany Plan of Union

Benjamin Franklin’s plan to unite the colonies for defense during the French and Indian War.

French and Indian War

A conflict between Britain and France in North America over land and power from 1754–1763.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

The treaty that ended the French and Indian War and gave Britain control of much of North America.

Proclamation of 1763

A British law that banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Quartering Acts

Laws requiring colonists to house and supply British soldiers.

Sugar Act

A tax on sugar and molasses designed to raise revenue for Britain.

Republicanism

A political ideology emphasizing civic virtue, opposition to monarchy, and rule by the people.

Stamp Act

A law that taxed printed materials in the colonies.

Declaration of Rights and Grievances

A colonial document protesting British taxation and lack of representation.

Sons of Liberty

A secret organization that resisted British policies through protests and intimidation.

Declaratory Act

A law stating that Parliament had full authority over the colonies.

Nonimportation movement

A colonial boycott of British goods to protest taxes.

Boston Massacre

A 1770 incident in which British soldiers killed five colonists.

Committees of correspondence

Groups that spread information and coordinated resistance among colonies.

Tea Act of 1773

A law that gave the British East India Company control over tea sales.

Boston Tea Party

A protest where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive Acts

Punitive laws meant to punish Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party.

First Continental Congress

A meeting of colonial delegates to organize resistance against Britain.

Continental Association

An agreement to enforce a boycott of British goods.

Natural rights

Rights all people are born with, such as life, liberty, and property.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution that protect individual freedoms.

Articles of Confederation

The first U.S. government framework that gave most power to the states.

Nationalists

Leaders who supported a stronger federal government.

Shays’ Rebellion

An uprising by farmers protesting debt and taxes, showing weaknesses of the Articles.

Land Ordinance of 1785

A law that created a system for surveying and selling western land.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

A law that organized the Northwest Territory and banned slavery there.

Southwest Ordinance of 1790

A law that organized territories south of the Ohio River.

Annapolis Convention

A meeting that called for revising the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Convention

A 1787 meeting where the U.S. Constitution was written.

Virginia Plan

A proposal for a strong national government based on population.

New Jersey Plan

A proposal for equal state representation in Congress.

Great Compromise

A solution combining population-based and equal representation.

Judicial review

The power of courts to declare laws unconstitutional.

Federalism

A system that divides power between national and state governments.

Federalist

A supporter of the Constitution.

Antifederalist

An opponent of the Constitution who favored states’ rights.

Judiciary Act of 1789

A law that established the federal court system.

Tariff Act of 1789

A tax on imports designed to raise government revenue.

Republican Party

A political party led by Jefferson that favored limited federal power.

Treaty of Greenville

A treaty that opened Ohio lands to American settlement.

Whiskey Rebellion

A protest against a federal tax on whiskey.

Jay’s Treaty

A treaty with Britain that avoided war and resolved trade issues.

Treaty of San Lorenzo

A treaty with Spain granting U.S. access to the Mississippi River.

XYZ Affair

A diplomatic scandal involving bribery demands from French agents.

Quasi-War

An undeclared naval conflict between the U.S. and France.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws that restricted immigration and limited free speech.

State’s rights

The belief that states have authority over the federal government.

Nullification

The idea that states can ignore federal laws they believe are unconstitutional.

Franco-American Accord of 1800

An agreement that ended the Quasi-War with France.

Marbury v. Madison

A Supreme Court case that established judicial review.

Impressment

The forced service of American sailors into the British navy.

Chesapeake Incident

A British attack on a U.S. naval ship in 1807.

Embargo Act of 1807

A law banning American trade with foreign nations.

War Hawks

Congressional leaders who pushed for war with Britain.

War of 1812

A conflict between the U.S. and Britain over trade and sovereignty.

Treaty of Ghent

The treaty that ended the War of 1812.

Battle of New Orleans

A major American victory that boosted national pride.

Era of Good Feelings

A period of political unity after the War of 1812.

Second Bank of the United States

A national bank that regulated currency and credit.

McCulloch v. Maryland

A case that strengthened federal power over the states.

Rush-Bagot Agreement

An agreement limiting naval forces on the Great Lakes.

Anglo-American Accords

Agreements improving U.S.-British relations.

Transcontinental Treaty of 1819

A treaty that gave Florida to the U.S.

Monroe Doctrine

A policy warning Europe against interfering in the Americas.

Missouri Compromise

A deal that balanced free and slave states.

American System

Henry Clay’s plan to promote economic growth.

Plantation

A large farm using enslaved labor.

Gang system

A labor system where enslaved people worked in groups.

Slave code

Laws restricting the rights of enslaved people.

Gabriel Prosser’s Rebellion

A planned slave revolt in Virginia.

Denmark Vesey’s Conspiracy

A planned slave uprising in South Carolina.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

A violent slave revolt in Virginia in 1831.

Underground Railroad

A secret network that helped enslaved people escape.

Black codes

Laws restricting the rights of free African Americans.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws addressing slavery in new territories.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposal to ban slavery in lands gained from Mexico.

Popular sovereignty

The idea that settlers vote on slavery.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law requiring escaped slaves to be returned.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A law allowing settlers to decide slavery by vote.

Bleeding Kansas

Violence between pro- and anti-slavery groups.

Know-Nothing Party

A political party opposed to immigrants.

Republican Party (1850s)

A party formed to oppose the spread of slavery.

Dred Scott Decision

A ruling that denied citizenship to African Americans.

Lecompton Constitution

A pro-slavery constitution for Kansas.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Debates over slavery during the 1858 Senate race.

John Brown’s Raid

An abolitionist attack on a federal arsenal.

Constitutional Union Party

A party seeking to avoid civil war.

Fort Sumter

The site of the first shots of the Civil War.

Enrollment Act

A Civil War draft law.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s order freeing enslaved people in Confederate states.

First Confiscation Act

A law allowing the seizure of Confederate property.

Second Confiscation Act

A law freeing enslaved people of Confederates.