AP U.S. History Final Exam Study Guide (Units 1–5)

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Units 1 to 5 of AP U.S. History.

Columbian Exchange

Biological exchange of people, plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas and the rest of the world from 1492 to the end of the 16th century.

Maize cultivation

Corn farming practiced by Native Americans that allowed for permanent settlements and population growth.

Pueblo Revolt (1680)

An uprising of Pueblo Indians against Spanish forces in New Mexico, sparked by mistreatment and cultural suppression.

Encomienda system

A system established by Columbus allowing Spanish leaders to receive land and labor from Native Americans.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

A Spanish priest who defended Native Americans and condemned the abuses of the encomienda system.

Juan de Sepúlveda

An argument that justified Spanish conquest and forced labor, claiming Native Americans were inferior.

Great Basin tribes

Nomadic hunter-gatherers who adapted to arid environments.

Great Plains tribes

Nomadic tribes that relied heavily on buffalo after the introduction of horses.

Iroquois Confederacy

A powerful alliance of Native American nations influencing later U.S. democratic ideas.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer whose voyages initiated sustained European contact with the Americas.

Jamestown (1607)

The first permanent English settlement in North America, established by the Virginia Company.

House of Burgesses

Elected assembly in Virginia formed in 1643, marking the beginning of representative government.

Mayflower Compact

The first written constitution adopted in North America by the Pilgrims upon arrival in Plymouth.

Puritans

Radical English Protestants who sought to reform the Church of England.

John Winthrop (‘City upon a Hill’)

A Puritan leader who envisioned the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a moral example to the world.

Anne Hutchinson

A Puritan dissenter who challenged church authority and faced banishment from Massachusetts.

Roger Williams

A religious dissenter who advocated for separation of church and state and founded Rhode Island.

Bacon’s Rebellion

An uprising in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon against Virginia's governor over representation and conflicts with Native Americans.

Navigation Acts

Acts that established guidelines for colonial trade and prohibited smuggling.

Mercantilism

An economic system centered on maintaining a favorable balance of trade for the home country.

First Great Awakening

A series of religious revivals in colonial America from 1720 to 1750.

Jonathan Edwards

A Puritan minister known for his sermon 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God'.

George Whitefield

An evangelical preacher who drew large crowds with emotional sermons and revivalist ideas.

Salutary Neglect

British policy relaxing supervision of colonial affairs in exchange for raw materials and revenue.

Middle Passage

The brutal transatlantic journey of enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas.

French and Indian War

A global conflict from 1754-1763 primarily between Britain and France over territorial rights in North America.

Proclamation of 1763

An act restricting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains after the French and Indian War.

Stamp Act

A 1765 act imposing a tax on paper goods in the colonies.

Townshend Acts

A series of acts in 1767 imposing taxes on various imported goods.

Boston Tea Party

A protest against British tax policy where colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

Common Sense (Thomas Paine)

A pamphlet arguing for independence from Britain, advocating for republican government.

Declaration of Independence

A document outlining colonial grievances and justifying independence from Great Britain.

Articles of Confederation

The first plan for national government, ratified in 1781 with limited powers.

Shays’ Rebellion

An uprising from 1786-1787 by Massachusetts farmers against economic injustices.

Constitutional Convention

The 1787 meeting in Philadelphia where the Constitution was drafted to replace the Articles of Confederation.

Federalists

Supporters of ratifying the Constitution who advocated for a strong central government.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the Constitution, fearing overreach of federal power.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution guaranteeing basic individual rights.

Washington’s Farewell Address

A 1796 speech warning against political parties, sectionalism, and foreign alliances.

Hamilton’s Financial Plan

Economic policies proposed by Hamilton including federal assumption of state debts and creation of a national bank.

Alien & Sedition Acts

Acts passed in 1798 allowing the president to deport noncitizens and outlawing criticism of the federal government.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Resolutions claiming the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional and void in their states.

Jeffersonian Democracy

A political philosophy promoting agrarianism, limited government, and expanded political participation.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 acquisition of land from France, doubling the size of the U.S.

War of 1812

Conflict between the U.S. and Great Britain, driven by trade restrictions and national sovereignty.

Monroe Doctrine

The policy stating that the Western Hemisphere is off-limits to further European colonization.

Missouri Compromise

An agreement maintaining the balance of power between slave and free states.

Market Revolution

A period of innovation in agriculture, industry, communication, and transportation in the early 1800s.

Second Great Awakening

A series of Protestant revivals in the early 19th century spurring social reform movements.

Abolitionism

The movement aimed at ending slavery throughout the United States.

William Lloyd Garrison

A radical abolitionist who published The Liberator and demanded immediate emancipation.

Frederick Douglass

A former enslaved person and powerful abolitionist advocate for emancipation and rights.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

The first women's rights convention in the U.S., issuing the Declaration of Sentiments.

Jacksonian Democracy

A political movement that expanded suffrage to most white men and emphasized populism.

Indian Removal Act

An act in the 1830s forcing American Indians in the East to relocate west of the Mississippi.

Trail of Tears

The forced march of Cherokees to designated Indian Territory in the 1830s.

Nullification Crisis

A law passed in 1832 declaring federal tariffs null and void in South Carolina.

Whig Party

A political party formed in the 1830s to oppose the Democratic Party and Andrew Jackson.

Manifest Destiny

The belief in the 1840s that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America.

Mexican American War

The conflict from 1846-1848 resulting in the U.S. acquiring a large territory from Mexico.

Compromise of 1850

A series of acts aimed at resolving issues regarding slavery and territorial expansion.

Fugitive Slave Act

Part of the Compromise of 1850, strengthening laws to recapture runaway slaves.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 act allowing settlers to determine the status of slavery in newly created territories.

Bleeding Kansas

The violent conflicts over slavery in Kansas during the mid-1850s.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

An 1857 Supreme Court case that denied citizenship rights to Black men.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

A series of debates focused on the issue of slavery during the 1858 Illinois Senate race.

Election of 1860

The presidential election that led to the secession of Southern states following Lincoln's victory.

Secession

The formal withdrawal of Southern states from the Union leading to the Civil War.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's 1863 declaration freeing all enslaved people in rebelling states.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln's speech emphasizing the struggle for freedom and equality during the Civil War.

Reconstruction Amendments

13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments addressing slavery and civil rights post-Civil War.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Agency established in 1865 to assist freedpeople with economic and legal resources.

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states aimed at restricting the rights of freedpeople.

Radical Republicans

Political figures who supported abolition and aimed for strict regulations in the South after the Civil War.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement that resolved the disputed election of 1876, ending Reconstruction.