APUSH FINAL REVIEW

Bartolome de Las Casas

Spanish priest who criticized mistreatment of Native Americans under Spanish rule; advocated for their rights.

Encomienda System

Labor system where Spanish landowners forced Native Americans to work in exchange for 'protection' and conversion to Christianity.

French Empire

Focused on building trade alliances (fur trade) and cooperating with Native Americans.

English Empire

Settled for agriculture and religious freedom.

Spanish Empire

Focused on conquest, conversion, and resource extraction.

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of goods, ideas, diseases, and people between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Changes to Native American Societies

European colonization led to land loss, cultural disruption, and new trade opportunities for Natives.

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights; key figure: John Locke.

Mercantilism

Economic theory where colonies existed to benefit the mother country through trade and resources.

Navigation Acts

British laws requiring colonies to trade only with Britain to enforce mercantilism.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Forced transportation of Africans to the Americas as labor for plantations.

Colonial Regional Specialization

Regions in colonies specialized in different economies: New England (trade, fishing), Middle Colonies (agriculture, trade), Southern Colonies (plantations).

The Great Awakening

Religious revival encouraging personal spirituality and challenging established churches.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. government; weak federal power (no power to tax or enforce laws).

Constitutional Convention

Meeting to replace Articles of Confederation; resulted in the U.S. Constitution.

Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments to the Constitution protecting individual freedoms like speech and religion.

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

Federalists supported strong central government, Anti-Federalists advocated for states’ rights and demanded a Bill of Rights.

Shays’ Rebellion

Farmers’ revolt against high taxes; exposed weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation.

Northwest Ordinance

Law establishing rules for settling the Northwest Territory; banned slavery there.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 land deal where Jefferson bought territory from France, doubling the size of the U.S.

Jacksonian Democracy

Political movement expanding suffrage to all white men and promoting the 'common man.'

Nullification Crisis

South Carolina nullified federal tariffs; President Jackson opposed strongly, showing federal power over states.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand westward across North America.

Missouri Compromise

1820 agreement where Missouri entered as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and slavery was banned north of the 36°30’ line.

Gold Rush

1849 mass migration to California in search of gold, leading to population growth.

Causes of the Civil War

Sectional tensions over slavery, tariffs, and states’ rights.

Mexican Cession

Land acquired after the Mexican-American War under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848).

Civil War Strategies

Union: Anaconda Plan; Confederacy: Defensive war hoping for European support.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 decree by Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate states.

Reconstruction

Presidential led lenient policies under Lincoln and Johnson; Congressional emphasized civil rights and Southern punishment.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws enforcing racial segregation in the South post-Reconstruction.

Compromise of 1877

Ended Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the South; Hayes became president.

Homestead Act

1862 law granting settlers 160 acres of free land if they farmed it for 5 years.

Native American Policy

U.S. government forced Native removal, assimilation (e.g., Dawes Act), and conflict (e.g., Wounded Knee).

Transcontinental Railroad

Connected East and West; promoted economic growth but displaced Native Americans.

Robber Barons vs. Captains of Industry

Debate over whether industrial leaders were ruthless or innovative.

Labor Reform & Unions

Workers sought better wages, hours, and conditions; key groups included the Knights of Labor and AFL.

Social Darwinism

Theory applying 'survival of the fittest' to society, justifying wealth inequality.

Immigration (Second Wave)

Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe formed ethnic communities; faced nativism.

Populism

Farmers' political movement demanding reforms like silver-backed currency and government regulation of railroads.

First Wave of Immigration

Immigration to the U.S. primarily from Northern and Western Europe (mainly from Germany, Ireland, and England) during the 19th century, particularly before the Civil War.