AP US History Vocabulary: Key Concepts from Chapters 6-14

Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws passed in 1798 that allowed the government to deport foreigners and made it harder for new immigrants to vote.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Political statements in 1798 and 1799 that argued states could nullify federal laws they deemed unconstitutional.

Barbary Pirates

Pirates from North Africa who attacked American ships and demanded tribute during the early 19th century.

Chesapeake-Leopard Affair

An 1807 naval confrontation between the British warship HMS Leopard and the American frigate USS Chesapeake, leading to heightened tensions.

Embargo Act

A law passed in 1807 that prohibited American ships from trading in all foreign ports, aimed at Britain and France.

Nonintercourse Act

An 1809 law that lifted the embargo on trade with all nations except Britain and France.

Treaty of Ghent

The treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain, signed in 1814.

Protective Tariff

A tariff imposed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition by raising the price of imported goods.

American System

An economic plan that aimed to strengthen and unify the nation through a national bank, tariffs, and internal improvements.

Panic of 1819

The first major financial crisis in the United States, marked by bank failures, unemployment, and foreclosures.

Fletcher v. Peck

An 1810 Supreme Court case that established the principle that the Supreme Court could invalidate state laws conflicting with the Constitution.

McCulloch v. Maryland

An 1819 Supreme Court case that established the federal government's implied powers over the states.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

An 1819 Supreme Court case that ruled that private corporations could not be altered by state legislatures.

Gibbons v. Ogden

An 1824 Supreme Court case that established federal control over interstate commerce.

Implied Powers

Powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution but inferred from its text.

Tallmadge Amendment

A proposed amendment in 1819 aimed at prohibiting the further introduction of slaves into Missouri.

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 agreement that allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance.

Treaty of 1818

An agreement between the United States and Britain that resolved border issues and established the 49th parallel as the US-Canada border.

Know-Nothing Party

A political party in the 1850s that was anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic.

Tammany Hall

A political organization in New York City that was known for its corrupt practices and influence over local politics.

Peculiar Institution

A term used to refer to the system of slavery in the Southern United States.

Slave Codes

Laws that defined the status of slaves and the rights of masters, restricting the freedoms of enslaved people.

Commonwealth v. Hunt

An 1842 case that ruled labor unions were lawful organizations and that strikes were lawful.

Nativists

People who favored native-born inhabitants over immigrants and sought to limit immigration.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

An 1831 Supreme Court case that ruled the Cherokee Nation was not a foreign nation but a dependent domestic nation.

Worcester v. Georgia

An 1832 Supreme Court case that ruled that the state of Georgia could not impose its laws within Cherokee territory.

Panic of 1837

A financial crisis that led to a severe economic depression in the United States.

Spoils System

The practice of a successful political party giving public office to its supporters.

Corrupt Bargain

A term used to describe the alleged deal between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay in the 1824 presidential election.

Tariff of 1828

A protective tariff that raised duties on imports, leading to the Nullification Crisis.

Nullification Crisis

A conflict between South Carolina and the federal government over the state's right to nullify federal laws.

Shakers

A religious sect known for their communal living and celibacy, founded in the 18th century.

Temperance

A social movement aimed at reducing or prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Abolitionism

The movement to end slavery in the United States.

Antebellum Period

The period in American history before the Civil War, characterized by social and political changes.

Transcendentalists

A group of writers and philosophers in the 19th century who emphasized individualism and self-reliance.

Second Great Awakening

A religious revival movement in the early 19th century that emphasized personal faith and social reform.

Cult of Domesticity

A prevailing value system among the upper and middle classes in the 19th century that emphasized women's roles in the home.

Seneca Falls Convention

The first women's rights convention held in 1848, which produced the Declaration of Sentiments.

Manifest Destiny

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

Panic of 1857

A financial crisis that resulted in a sudden downturn in the economy and increased unemployment.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed amendment aimed at banning slavery in territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American War.

Ostend Manifesto

A document that suggested the US should acquire Cuba by any means, including force, if Spain refused to sell.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The treaty that ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, granting the US significant territory.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

An 1850 treaty between the US and Britain that provided for the joint control of any canal across Central America.

Gadsden Purchase

An 1854 agreement in which the US acquired land from Mexico to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad.

Free-Soil Movement

A political movement that opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the settlers of a territory should determine whether slavery would be allowed there.

Compromise of 1850

A package of five bills passed in 1850 that aimed to defuse tensions between slave and free states.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 law that allowed residents of Kansas and Nebraska to decide on the legality of slavery in their territories.

Secession

The act of withdrawing formally from membership in a federation or body, especially a political state.

Fugitive Slave Law

Laws that required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, even if they were found in free states.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

An 1857 Supreme Court case that ruled African Americans could not be American citizens and that Congress had no authority to regulate slavery in the territories.

Homestead Act

A law passed in 1862 that provided 160 acres of public land to settlers for a small fee, provided they improve the land.

Habeas Corpus

A legal principle that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that freed slaves in the Confederate states.

13th Amendment

An amendment to the US Constitution that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

Marbury v. Madison

This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review

Sectionalism

Loyalty to one's own region of the country, rather than to the nation as a whole

implied powers

Powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution