AP US History Terms

This was the governing body of the Massachusetts Bay colony. They functioned as a legislature, administrative agency, and judicial body. Initially puritan dominated, it was established by a royal charter, responsible for creating laws and administering business. It was a local governing body in the colony.

General Court

He was the leader of the voyage sent to Massachusetts Bay. He announced the goals of the colony during the voyage, claiming that their success would shame England into reforming the Church of England. He also talked about what the relationship between the rich and the poor would be, with the rich showing charity and mercy towards the poor, and the poor accepting rule by those above them. After facing some hardships during the first winter, the colony thrived. He played a key role in the success of this early colony, and was extremely important to the development of New England and the religion expressed there.

John Winthrop

After a decade of living without a king as a result of the English Civil Wars, the this revived England's monarchy, putting King Charles II on the throne. King Charles II established more of them in North America as a result of the this, including New Jersey, New York, and the Carolinas. This was extremely important, as it marked the return of the English monarchy, led to the establishment of more of these, and significantly altered the religious systems in England. Beginning in 1660 there was a wave of new English colonies formed mainly out of territory taken from rival European nations.

Restoration Colonies

This was an uprising that took place in New York as a part of the anti-Stuart (reigning British monarchs) uprising after the Glorious Revolution. The city's militia took the harbor's main fort, and Captain Jacob ___ took command of the colony. he ruled for two years before royal authority was restored, when English troops arrived and charged him with treason, removing him from power. This was a significant event because, though ultimately unsuccessful, it highlighted political divisions in New York, reflected the impact of the Glorious Revolution within the colonies, and it contributed to the development of New York in the future.

Leisler's Rebellion

They were people who believed that there was a Holy Spirit that could inspire any soul. They believed that people should be recognized for their spiritual state instead of wealth or status. Because of this, they would treat everyone equally, often disrespecting authorities and their social superiors in the process.

Quaker

These were a set of acts that were based on mercantilist ideas, controlling commerce between England and its colonies. For instance, colonial merchants were prohibited from exporting certain goods to places other than England, and from importing goods in non-English ships. These acts were extremely important, as they boosted England's economy and trade successes. They had long term impacts on the English economy, shaping the British trade policy and giving them more economic and naval power.

Navigation Acts

This permitted children of all baptized adults, whether or not they were saints, to be baptized. There had been a crisis over church membership because of the rule that only children of saints could receive baptism, and as the number of saints lessened due to the lack of wanting to go through the conversion experience, so did the number of children baptized. Because of this, they created this, allowing children to be ___ members of the church, with the inability to participate in many church affairs. This was important because it addressed the growing issue in the declining church memberships. It allowed a greater number of children to be baptized and maintain Puritan church influence.

Half-Way Covenant

This was an administrative unit that consisted of the territories of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Plymouth, and later New York and the Jerseys. Established by King James II, this was created in response to colonial resistance to crown policies with the goal of centralizing control. All legislatures in these colonies were terminated, and Sir Edmund Andros was the sole governor of the large colony. In response to the hatred for this by colonists, Andros suppressed the legislature and strictly enforced the Navigation Acts. This represented a major shift in England's colonies, challenging their independence. It was an extremely important part of history, as the overthrow of this fueled resistance to British rule, which is what led to the establishment of the United States.

Dominion of New England

This was mainly caused by economic hardship, social tensions, political factors, and conflicts with the Native Americans. There were low very tobacco prices as well as high taxes, which took great tolls on many farmers. There was a growing resentment towards the elites and wealthy people in the colony. People were getting frustrated by Governor Berkeley's Actions and his unwillingness to address their concerns. There were growing tensions between the colonists and Native Americans concerning the sharing of land and resources. This rebellion ended in late 1676, when the leader of the rebellion, died of dysentery. The rebellion stirred frustrations about economic issues from the lower class, bringing more conflict between the rich and the poor. The rebellion also revealed their willingness to murder and enslave Native Americans no matter their religious or political status, showing the depth of the racism in the area.

Bacon's Rebellion

This was an intellectual and philosophical movement that emphasized individualism, and human rights, with a faith in reason rooted in natural sciences. Instead of relying on faith or religion, people began to favor the use of reason and evidence. There was an emphasis on individual liberties, and there were more social and political reforms. This also paved the way for many scientific advancements, and the ideas of diverse thinkers were promoted. There was more reading and writing, and these scientific advancements were able to explain the laws of nature. This was important because it promoted new ways of thinking about things such as society, government, and science. These ideas fueled and inspired revolutions and reformed, and laid the foundation for new political structures, all things that continue to affect modern day life.

Enlightenment

This had significant impacts on life in the British colonies. There was a surge in religious revivals, increased religious toleration, and an encouragement for a more personal religious connection with God. There was also more support for education, and many institutions, including universities that are well known to us today, were founded.

Great Awakening

Taking place in 1754, this was a meeting consisting of representatives from seven northern British colonies to discuss a unified defense against France and to negotiate with Native Americans. This is where Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union, a plan for a central colonial government with a Grant Council and a president-general appointed by the king, though the plan was rejected.

Albany Congress

This was part of the global Seven Years' War, where Great Britain and its colonies fought against France and its Indigenous allies over control of North America's Ohio River Valley. Great Britain achieved victory, gaining new territories, but the cost of the war led to more taxes on American colonies. The war concluded with the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

French and Indian War

These were open-ended search warrants issued by British colonial courts that allowed customs officials to search for smuggled goods at any place or time without needing to show specific cause. These were enforced by the Navigation Acts, and were highly controversial, as they violated colonial rights and freedoms. The original purpose of the writs of assistance was to enforce the Townshend Acts and combat smuggling, which often happened to avoid taxes on goods.

Writs of assistance

This was a 1765 British tax that required colonists to purchase tax-stamped paper for various documents and printed materials. The tax was implemented to raise revenue to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies after the French and Indian War. The act was widely opposed in the colonies, and the intense resistance ultimately forced Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act in 1766.

Stamp Act

These were a series of British laws passed on many goods such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea into the American colonies. It aimed to raise revenue and pay for colonial administration and assert British authority.

Townshend Acts

This was a British law that allowed East India Company to sell tea directly to American colonies. While this made tea cheaper, colonists opposed it because it maintained the tea tax from the Townshend Acts and granted the company a monopoly, which they saw as a violation of their rights and an attempt to force them to accept British taxation.

Tea Act

This was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that used Enlightenment ideals to argue for independence for American colonies from Great Britain. This swayed public opinion and radicalized the revolutionary cause by presenting it as a natural step for America's future.

"Common Sense"

This was a governing body of delegates from the thirteen American colonies that convened in Philadelphia in 1775, after the start of the Revolutionary War. They managed the war effort, conducted foreign relations, and performed administrative duties until 1781, when it was dissolved. Meeting of the colonies where they resolved that Britain had declared war on them, extended an olive branch petition, and organzied the Continental Army.

Second Continental Congress

This was a turning point of the American Revolutionary War, occurring in 1777 when the American Continental Army defeated the British, forcing the surrender of British General Burgoyne's army. This victory convinced France to form a military alliance with the United States.

Saratoga

This officially ended the American Revolutionary War by formally recognizing the independence of the United States from Great Britain. The treaty also established the boundaries of the United States, granted American fishing rights off Newfoundland, and secured access to the Mississippi River for both the United States and Great Britain.

Treaty of Paris of 1783

This was the United States' first national government, with a weak, decentralized system to avoid monarchy. It has a one house legislature, no executive or judicial branch, and a league of independent states. States retained significant power, leading to a lack of authority to tax or regulate commerces, which contributed to economic instability and internal unrest.

Articles of Confederation

This was a movement in March 1783 by Continental Army officers to threaten the Confederation Congress into paying them back for their unpaid wages and a promised pension, which congress had failed to honor. General Washington ultimately defused the crisis by appearing before the officers and making an emotional speech.

Newburgh Conspiracy

This was a historic act passed by the Continental Congress that established a system for governing the territory northwest of the Ohio River, the process for resting new states from this land, and a bill of rights for its settlers. It banned slavery in the region, promoted public education, and guaranteed civil liberties.

Northwest Ordinance

This was an armed uprising in Massachusetts from 1786-1787. Veteran farmers protested high taxes, heavy debt, and oppressive court practices under the Articles of Confederation, which they saw as unjust. There were protests, court shutdowns, and an attempt to seize the Springfield federal arsenal.

Shays' Rebellion

This was the 1787 meeting in Philadelphia where 55 delegates from 12 states gathered to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, ultimately deciding to abandon them and write a new constitution.

Constitutional Convention

These were a series of 85 essays written to persuade the citizens of New York to support the newly proposed U.S. Constitution during its ratification process. The essays explain the principles of the new government and were a primary source for understanding the intent of the constitution.

Federalist Papers

These were a political faction that opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution of 1787 because they feared that a strong central government would threaten individual liberties and state sovereignty. They advocated for a more decentralized government and pushed for the inclusion of a Bill of Rights to protect personal freedoms.

Anti-Federalists

This is the first ten amendments to the constitution, spelling out Americans' rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to individuals.

Bill of Rights

This established the structure of the U.S. federal court system and defined the jurisdiction of federal courts, as the Constitution only provided for a Supreme Court.

Judiciary Act of 1789

This was the first federal law establishing requirements for U.S. citizenship, requiring a two-year residency and limiting eligibility to "free white persons".

Federal Naturalization Law of 1790

These are the first reports submitted by Hamilton as the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. They outlined his vision for a strong, centralized national economy by proposing solutions for the nation's war debt, establishing a central bank, and fostering industrial development through protective tariffs and other incentives.

Hamilton's Reports

This was an agreement in 1794 between the United States and Great Britain that resolved lingering issues from the American Revolutionary War, including border disputes. It was deeply unpopular, intensifying the divide between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties.

Jay's Treaty

This was a 1795 agreement between the United States and Spain that resolved a boundary dispute by establishing a U.S. southern border with Spanish Florida and granting Americans free navigation of the Mississippi river and access to the port of New Orleans.

Pinckney Treaty

This was an uprising by farmers and distillers in Western Pennsylvania against the tax on whiskey. The tax was promoted by Hamilton to pay off the Revolutionary War debt.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

This was a diplomatic incident between the United States and France, where French agents demanded bribes and a loan from American diplomats to begin negotiations. It led to anti-French sentiment and the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

XYZ Affair

This was an election between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, that had an Electoral College tie that sent the decision to the House of Representatives. Ultimately, Jefferson won the election.

Election of 1800

These were a series of four laws passed to protect national security. These laws made it harder to become a U.S. citizen, allowed the president to deport non-citizens deemed dangerous, and criminalized "false writing" against the government. Some saw these acts as an attempt to suppress political opposition and stifle the Democratic-Republican Party.

Alien Sedition Acts

These were political statements adopted by the respective state legislatures. They asserted that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional, and declared that individual states had the right and duty to nullify federal laws deemed to violate the Constitution. Acts passed in response to the Alien-Sedition Acts, declaring that the federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it in the Constitution.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

This was a Supreme Court case that arose from political tensions between the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party after the 1800 election. It established the principle of judicial review, which is the power of the courts to review laws passed by Congress and take action to determine if they violate the Constitution.

Marbury vs. Madison

This was a deal made in 1803 where the United States bought approximately 828,000 square miles of territory from France for 15 million dollars. This nearly doubled the size of the United States, with new territory stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. This gave the United States access to the port New Orleans, despite some concerns that it was possibly an unconstitutional act since the Constitution did not specify whether the U.S. could acquire territory.

Louisiana Purchase

This explored the newly acquired territory from the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean, with the goal of finding a water route across the continent, map the territory, establish relations with Native American tribes, and collect scientific information.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

This was a land fraud scheme in Georgia, where corrupt legislators were bribed to sell millions of acres of public land to several companies for a very low price. It led to public outrage, a legislative rollback attempt, and a Supreme Court case that upheld the contracts despite the fraud. A corrupt land deal that gave the Quids another reason to be upset with Jefferson.

Yazoo Claims

This was an incident in 1807 where a British warship attacked and boarded an American frigate, killing three Americans and taking four sailors. The attack was to find British deserters, but it only outraged Americans and fueled anti-British sentiment. Incident in which a British warship attacked and boarded and American ship off the coast of Norfolk, VA. The event helped escalate tensions between the United States and Britain, moving the two clower to the War of 1812.

The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair

This was a law signed by Thomas Jefferson that prohibited American ships from exporting cargo and restricted imports. It aimed to pressure Britain and France to stop interfering with neutral American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars. This act severely damaged the American economy, and failed to change European policy. It was repealed in 1809 because of the widespread unemployment and the protests it caused. President Jefferson’s response to Great Britain’s harassment of American ships on the open seas—this act prohibited all exports of U.S. cargo to foreign ports.

Embargo of 1807

He was a Shawnee war chief and leader who formed a confederation of Native American tribes in the Ohio River Valley to resist American expansion. He allied with the British during the war of 1812 and played a key role in the capture of Detroit. Shawnee warrior who tried to put together a vast Indian confederacy to oppose the white settlement in the western frontier.

Tecumseh

This was signed on December 24, 1812, and officially ended the War of 1812. It restored pre-war boundaries, returned prisoners, and marked a significant step in establishing independence and national identity in the United States. The treaty returned things to the way they were before the war as well as secured lasting peace, but it also left American Indians vulnerable to U.S. expansion. This marked the end of the War of 1812 and saw the Americans agree to abandon their goal of expanding into Canada.

The Treaty of Ghent

This was a set of economic policies in the early 19th century that sought to balance the nation’s agriculture, commerce, and industry. It aimed to create a more unified and prosperous nation after the War of 1812. It was inspired by Hamilton’s economic vision, and was a cornerstone to the Whig Party platform.

“American System”

This was a secret meeting in 1814 of New England’s Federalist Party to Jefferson’s trade policies, which were seen as detrimental to their economy. They drafted a list of constitutional amendments designed to protect states’ rights and regain political influence. This ultimately failed and contributed to the Federalist Party’s decline, as its demands were largely ignored by Congress. Due to the unpopularity of Jefferson’s anti-foreign trade policies, Massachusetts met in secret to discuss the secession of New England.

Hartford Convention

This was a treaty signed in 1817 between the United States and Great Britain that demilitarized the Great Lakes. It created a foundation for the longest demilitarized border and fostered peaceful relations and trade between the two nations.This agreement was indicative of the improving relations between Great Britain and the United States during the time period following the end of the War of 1812, laying the basis for a demilitarized boundary between the United States and Canada.

The Rush-Bagot Treaty

This was a series of conflicts, primarily between the US and North African states over piracy and tribute demands. The first war occured because the US refused to pay the tribute the Barbary states demanded in exchange for safe passage. The second was fought for similar reasons and solidified US naval power and independence in the region.

Barbary Wars

This was an agreement between Spain and the United States where Spain ceded all of Florida to the United States. It also defined the western boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. This act settled a border dispute between the U.S. and Spain, with Spain ceding Florida to the U.S. in exchange for the U.S. agreeing to pay claims against the Spanish government up to a total of $5 million.

Adams-Onis Treaty

This is a US foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere off limits to European colonization and warned against European interference in the Americas. It asserted that the United States would not interfere in European affairs and that European powers should not attempt further colonization or intervention in the Americas.

Monroe Doctrine

This was the first major economic depression in the United States, triggered by a post-War of 1812 boom in land sales and credit that collapsed when European economi adjustments led to falling US commodity prices. There were bank failures, widespread foreclosures, and unemployment.

Panic of 1819

This was a Supreme Court case that ruled that the college’s original charter from King George III was a contract, and the New Hampshire legislature’s subsequent attempt to change it and transform the private college into a public university violated the Contract Clause of the US Constitution. 

Dartmouth College vs. Woodward

This was an 1819 Supreme Court case where the court ruled the Congress had the power to create a national bank and that states could not tax federal institutions.

McCulloch vs. Maryland

This was a Supreme Court case that set the stage for future expansion of congressional power over commercial activity and a vast range of other activities once throught to be within jurisdiction of the states. This case originated over a dispude over shipping monopolies in New York.

Gibbons vs. Ogden

This was a US federal law that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining a delicate balance of power between slave and free states in Congress.

Missouri Compromise

This was the societal and economic system built around the cultivation and production of cotton. It created a dominant cash crop in the South, expanding slavery and the plantation system, which fueled sectional tensions over slavery.

The Cotton Culture

He was an industrialist who brought British textile machinery technology to the United States, establishing the first successful water-powered cotton mill.

Samuel Slater

Labor and production model for textile manufacturing with vertically integrated mills, mechanized operations, and the employment of young, unmarried women.

Lowell System

A series of religious revivals in the early 19th century that emphasized personal piety, emotional experience, and the moral reformation of society.

Second Great Awakening

Political scandal in which Andrew Jackson and his supporters accused Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams of making a secret deal during the 1824 presidential election, allegedly allowing Adams to win the presidency.

Corrupt bargain

This was a U.S. protective tariff designed to shield northern industries from foreign competition by heavily taxing imported goods. Southern states viewed the tariff as an unfair tax that raised their cost of living and reduced their profits, as they relied on selling products to foreign markets and buying cheap manufactured goods. This led to the Nullification Crisis.

Tariff of Abominations

This was an informal group of friends, andvisors, and political supporter's of President Andrew Jackson. They had significant influence over the administration’s policy, particularly during his first term.

Kitchen Cabinet

This was a proposed federally funded road in Kentucky and Jackson vetoed because he believed that federal funding of intrastate trasportation projects was unconstitutional and a drain on national finances.

Maysville Road

This was a Supreme Court Case where Chief Justice John Marshal ruled that the Cherokee Nation was a distinct political community with its own territory, making Georgia’s laws inapplicable within the Cherokee lands. Though it reinforced federal authority over Native American relations and tribal sovereignty, it was ultimately ignored by the state and by President Jackson.

Worcester vs. Georgia

This was a U.S. Senate confrontation that discussed states’ rights verus national power. The debate stemmed from economic issues but escalated into a fundamental disagreement over the nature of the U.S. Constitution, with one viewing it as a compact of sovereign states and the other defending the concept of a unified nation.

The Webster-Hayne Debate (1830)

This was a law passed in 1833 by Congress that allowed President Jackson to use military force to enforce federal tariffs and compel South Carolina to comly with tariffs that it had declared null and void. It was a show of federal authority, asserting that states could not defy federal law.

Force Bill

He was the president of the Second Bank of the United States as well as President Jackson’s main antagonist in the Bank War. His efforts to recharter the Bank forced a confrontation with Jackson, leading to the Bank’s eventual downfall and a national economic crisis.

Nicholas Biddle

This was an executive order issued by President Jackson in 1836 that required all purchases of federal lands to be payed with hard currency like gold or silver rather than paper money. It aimed to curb the circulation of unreliable paper money, especially after the Bank War.

Specie Circular

This was an analysis of how democracy as a social and political system succeeded in the U.S. due to its emphasis on equality of condition, individualism, and civil society through voluntary associations. It also warns of potential drawbacks such as tyranny of the majority and the risk of soft despotism.

Tocqueville’s Democracy in America

This was an influential anti-slavery newspaper that advocated for the immediate emancipation of all slaves.

The Liberator

He was an American educational reformer known for his work in the Common School Movement. He was the first Secratary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, and advocated for free, non-secretarian, and tax-supported public schools accessible to all children.

Horace Mann

These were a series of popular American school textbooks that thought reading and instilled social and moral values like hard work, honesty, and patriotism.

McGuffey Readers

This was the belief that the United States was destined to expand the nation across the continent.

Manifest Destiny

This was a failed legislative amendment proposed in 1846 that aimed to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico after the Mexican-American War. It passed the House of Representatives but was defeated in the Senate.

Wilmot Proviso

This was a series of laws that addressed the issue of slavery by admitting California as a free state, allowing popular sovereignty in the territories of Utah and New Mexico, ending slave trade in Washington D.C., and enacting a stricter Fugitive Slave Act to appease the South.

Compromise of 1850

This was a political party active from 1848 to 1854, founded on the platform of opposing expansion of slavery into the newly acquired western territories.

Free Soil Party

He was a U.S. naval commodore who commanded the expedition that forced Japan to open its ports to trade with the West in 1854.

Commodore Matthew Perry

“The American Scholar”

…

Seneca Falls Declaration

…

Hudson River School

…

Minstrel Shows

…

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

…

Kansas-Nebraska Act

…

Bleeding Kansas

…

Dred-Scott Decision

…

Yeoman farmers

…

Hinton R. Helper

…