AP US History Ultimate Study Guide (copy)

Bering Land Bridge

A land bridge that connected Eurasia and North America, allowing the first peoples to inhabit North and South America.

Columbian Exchange

The period of rapid exchange of plants, animals, foods, and diseases between the Old World and the New World following the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Encomienda System

A Spanish labor system that granted colonists authority over a specified number of natives in the Americas, requiring the colonists to protect and convert them to Catholicism.

Mercantilism

An economic theory where the government controls trade and economy with the aim of maximizing exports and minimizing imports to enhance national power.

Brown v. Board of Education

The landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.

The Great Puritan Migration

The period from 1629 to 1642, when thousands of Puritans migrated from England to Massachusetts to escape religious persecution.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

The Compromise of 1850

A series of legislative measures aimed at resolving the conflicts over the status of slavery in territory acquired from the Mexican-American War.

The New Deal

A series of programs and policies implemented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression aimed at economic recovery and social reform.

Watergate Scandal

A major political scandal involving the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and the subsequent cover-up by the Nixon administration.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and enforced equal access to public accommodations and employment.

Vietnamization

The policy of the Nixon administration to withdraw American troops from Vietnam and transfer responsibility for the war effort to the South Vietnamese.

Détente

The easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation, used notably in reference to U.S.-Soviet relations during the Cold War.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A resolution passed by Congress in 1964 giving President Johnson authorization to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional, established by the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison.

The Harlem Renaissance

A cultural and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem during the 1920s, celebrating African American culture and identity.

The Progressive Era

A period from the late 1890s to the 1920s characterized by social activism and political reform in the United States.

Now/Not Now Movement

The women’s rights movement that began to gain momentum in the 20th century focusing on issues from the suffrage to workplace equality.

The GI Bill

A law that provides a range of benefits to returning veterans, including funding for education and housing.

The Reagan Doctrine

A strategy by President Reagan to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union by supporting anti-communist movements worldwide.

The Affordable Care Act

A comprehensive healthcare reform law enacted in March 2010 aimed at increasing health insurance quality and affordability.