AP U.S. History Midterm Study Guide

A set of flashcards containing key terms and definitions from AP U.S. History covering periods 1-5.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of goods, ideas, and diseases between the New World and Old World following Columbus's voyages.

Encomienda system

A labor system that rewarded Spanish colonists with the labor of Native Americans in exchange for protection and conversion to Christianity.

Great Awakening

A series of religious revivals in the American colonies during the 1730s and 1740s that emphasized individual faith.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that holds that a nation's prosperity is determined by its supply of capital, often involving a favorable balance of trade.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States, ratified in 1781, which created a weak central government.

Manifest Destiny

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

Emancipation Proclamation

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

Reconstruction Amendments

The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments that aimed to secure rights for former slaves.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws passed to resolve tensions between slave and free states, including the Fugitive Slave Act.

Shays' Rebellion

An armed uprising in 1786-1787 by angry farmers in Massachusetts that highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.