Regents Master Review (Full Final Edition)

A comprehensive vocabulary review based on the Regents Master Review notes, covering major themes of United States history from pre-1492 to the Modern Era.

Native Americans

Original inhabitants of North America before Europeans arrived.

Iroquois Confederacy

Political alliance of Native nations in Northeast (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora).

Pueblo Peoples

Native groups in Southwest who used irrigation farming and lived in permanent villages.

European Exploration

Movement of Europeans to discover new lands.

Colonization

Settling and controlling new territories.

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of goods, people, plants, animals, and diseases between Europe and Americas.

Mercantilism

Economic system where colonies exist to benefit the mother country.

Navigation Acts

British laws controlling colonial trade.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of loosely enforcing laws in colonies.

New England Colonies

Colonies focused on trade, fishing, shipbuilding.

Middle Colonies

Colonies with fertile land, farming, and trade.

Southern Colonies

Plantation-based economy using enslaved labor.

Plantation

Large farm producing cash crops using enslaved labor.

French and Indian War

War between Britain and France for control of North America.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Ended war; Britain gained French land in North America.

Proclamation of 1763

British law banning settlement west of Appalachian Mountains.

Taxation

Government collecting money from people.

Representation

Having elected officials in government.

No Taxation Without Representation

Colonists should not be taxed without political voice.

Stamp Act

Tax on printed materials.

Sons of Liberty

Colonial group protesting British policies.

Boycott

Refusing to buy goods as protest.

Boston Massacre

British soldiers killed colonists.

Propaganda

Information used to influence opinion.

Boston Tea Party

Colonists destroyed British tea in protest.

Intolerable Acts

Punishment laws on Massachusetts.

Continental Congress

Meeting of colonial leaders.

Common Sense

Pamphlet by Thomas Paine supporting independence.

Declaration of Independence

Document declaring colonies independent (Thomas Jefferson).

Natural Rights

Rights people are born with: life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.

Consent of the Governed

Government gets power from people.

American Revolution

War between Britain and colonies.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Ended war; US becomes independent.

Articles of Confederation

First US government; very weak system.

Weak Government

Government with little power to enforce laws.

Shays’ Rebellion

Farmer uprising showing weakness of Articles.

Constitutional Convention

Meeting that created the US Constitution.

Constitution

Supreme law of US government.

Great Compromise

Created House (population) and Senate (equal representation).

Bicameral Legislature

Two-house legislature.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Enslaved people counted as $\frac{3}{5}$ for representation.

Federalism

Division of power between national and state governments.

Delegated Powers

Powers given only to federal government.

Reserved Powers

Powers kept by states.

Concurrent Powers

Shared powers between state and federal governments.

Separation of Powers

Government divided into 3 branches.

Legislative Branch

Makes laws (Congress).

Executive Branch

Enforces laws (President).

Judicial Branch

Interprets laws (Supreme Court).

Checks and Balances

Each branch limits the power of others.

Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments protecting freedoms.

Amendment

Change or addition to Constitution.

George Washington

First US president; set many traditions.

Cabinet

Group of presidential advisors.

Neutrality

Policy of not joining foreign conflicts.

Political Parties

Groups with different political beliefs.

Federalists

Support strong national government (Hamilton).

Democratic-Republicans

Support states’ rights (Jefferson).

Marbury v. Madison

Court case that created judicial review.

Judicial Review

Power of courts to declare laws unconstitutional.

Louisiana Purchase

US bought land from France, doubling size.

Andrew Jackson

President representing ‘common man.’

Spoils System

Giving government jobs to supporters.

Indian Removal Act

Forced Native Americans west of Mississippi.

Trail of Tears

Forced relocation causing Native American deaths.

Manifest Destiny

Belief US should expand coast to coast.

Mexican-American War

War leading to US gaining Southwest land.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Ended war; US gained large territory.

Abolition

Movement to end slavery.

Women’s Rights Movement

Movement for equal rights for women.

Seneca Falls Convention

First women’s rights meeting.

Declaration of Sentiments

Document demanding women’s equality.

Sectionalism

Divisions between North, South, West.

Missouri Compromise

Kept balance between slave and free states.

Compromise of 1850

California free state; strengthened Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Allowed popular sovereignty; caused violence.

Popular Sovereignty

People decide slavery in territory.

Dred Scott Case

Slaves not citizens; Congress cannot ban slavery.

Civil War

War between North and South.

Emancipation Proclamation

Freed enslaved people in Confederate states.

Abraham Lincoln

President during Civil War.

Union

North states in Civil War.

Confederacy

Southern states that seceded.

Secede

To withdraw from the Union.

Treaty of Paris (1865 context)

End of Civil War (not same as 1783 treaty).

Reconstruction

Period rebuilding South after Civil War.

13th Amendment

Ended slavery.

14th Amendment

Gave citizenship and equal protection.

15th Amendment

Gave Black men voting rights.

Black Codes

Laws restricting African Americans.

Sharecropping

System where farmers worked land for share of crops.

Compromise of 1877

Ended Reconstruction; federal troops left South.

Industrialization

Growth of factories and industry.

Urbanization

Growth of cities.

Big Business

Large corporations controlling industries.

Monopoly

One company controls entire industry.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industry; vertical integration.

John Rockefeller

Oil industry; horizontal integration.

Labor Union

Organization of workers demanding better conditions.

Progressivism

Movement to fix problems of industrialization.