apush textbook vocab

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798

Four measures passed during the undeclared war with France that limited the freedoms of speech and press and restricted the liberty of immigrants

alliance with France (1778)

Critical diplomatic, military, and economic alliance between France and the newly independent United States, codified by the Treaty of Alliance (1778)

abolitionism

Movement that called for an immediate end to slaver throughout the United States

Agricultural Adjustment Act (1933)

Legislation that paid farmers to produce less in order to raise crop prices for all; the AAA was later declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of United States vs Butler (1936)

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

A failed proposal by the seven northern colonies in anticipation of the French and Indian War, urging the unification of the colonies under one Crown-appointed president

American Anti Imperialist League

Coalition of anti-imperialist groups united in 1899 to protest American territorial expansion, especially in the Philippine Islands; its membership included prominent politicians, industrialists, labor leaders, and social reformers

American Colonization Society (ACS)

Established in 1816, an organization whose mission was to return freed, formerly enslaved people to Africa

American Federation of Labor

Founded in 1886 as a national federation of trade unions made up of skilled workers

American System

Economic plan championed by Henry Clay of Kentucky that called for federal tariffs on imports, a strong national bank, and federally financed internal improvements - roads, bridges, canals - all intended to strengthen the national economy and end American economic dependence on Great Britain

Anaconda Plan

Union's primary war strategy calling for a naval blockade of major Southern seaports and then dividing the Confederacy by gaining control of the Tennessee Cumberland, and Mississippi Rivers

"Axis" alliance

Military alliance formed in 1937 by the three major fascist powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan

Battle of Vicksburg (1863)

A protracted battle in northern Mississippi in which Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant besieged the last major Confederate fortress on the Mississippi River, forcing the inhabitants into starvation and then submission on July 4, 1883

Battles of Saratoga (1777)

Decisive defeat of almost 6,000 British troops under General John Burgoyne in several battles near Saratoga, New York, in October 1777; the American victory helped convince France to enter the war on the side of the Patriots

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

Federal law that barred Chinese laborers from immigrating to America

conquistadores

Term from the Spanish word for "conquerors," applied to Spanish and Portuguese soldiers who conquered lands held by indigenous peoples in central and southern America as well as the current states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California

Daughters of Liberty

Colonial women who protested the British government's tax policies by boycotting British products, such as clothing, and who wove their own fabric, or "homespun"

Great Society

Term coined by President Lyndon B. Johnson in his 1965 State of the Union address, in which he proposed legislation to address problems of voting rights, poverty, diseases, education, immigration, and the environment

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

President Thomas Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 millions, doubling the size of U.S. territory

anti-Federalists

Opponents of the Constitution as an infringement on individual and states' rights, whose criticism led to the addition of a Bill of Rights to the document. Many anti-Federalists later joined Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party

Appomattox Court House

Virginia village where Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union general Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865

Atlanta Compromise (1895)

Speech by Booker T. Washington that called for the Black community to strive for economic prosperity before demanding political and social equality

Atlantic Charter (1941)

Joint statement crafted by Franklin D. Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill that listed the war goals of the Allied Powers

baby boom

Markedly high birth rate in the years following World War II, leading to the biggest demographic "bubble" in U.S. history

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

Unsuccessful revolt led by planter Nathaniel Bacon against Virginia governor William Berkley's administration, which, Bacon charged, had failed to protect citizens from Indian raids

Bank of the United States (1791)

National bank responsible for holding and transferring federal government funds, making business loans, and issuing a national currency

Bank War

Political struggle in the early 1830s between President Jackson and financier Nicholas Biddle over renewing of the Second Bank's charter

Battle of Antietam (1862)

Turning-point battle near Sharpsburg, Maryland, leaving almost 25,000 soldiers dead or wounded, in which Union forces halted a Confederate invasion of the North

Battle of Gettysburg (1863)

A monumental three-day battle in southern Pennsylvania, widely considered a turning point in the war, in which Union forces defeated Lee's Confederate army and forced it back into Virginia

Battle of Midway

A 1942 battle that proved to be the turning point in the Pacific front during World War II; it was the Japanese navy's first major defeat in 350 years

Battle of New Orleans (1815)

Final major battle in the War of 1812, in which the Americans under General Andrew Jackson unexpectedly and decisively countered the British attempt to seize the port of New Orleans, Louisiana

Battle of Trenton (1776)

First decisive American victory that proved pivotal in reviving morale and demonstrating General Washington's abilities

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Last major battle of the Revolutionary War; General Cornwallis, along with over 7,000 British troops, surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown, on October 17, 1781

Bay of Pigs (1961)

Failed CIA operation that deployed Cuban rebels to overthrow Fidel Castro's Communist regime

Beats

Group of bohemian writers, artists, and musicians who flouted convention in favor of liberated forms of self-expression

Berlin airlift (1948-1949)

Effort by the United States and Great Britain to fly massive amounts of food and supplies into West Berlin in response to the Soviet land blockade of the city

Bill of Rights (1791)

First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1791 to guarantee individual rights and to help secure ratification of the Constitution by the states

Black Power movement

Militant form of civil rights protest focused on urban communities in the North that emerged as a response to impatience with the nonviolent tactics of Martin Luther King Jr.

Bleeding Kansas (1856)

A series of violent conflicts in the Kansas Territory between anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions over the status of slavery

blitzkrieg (1940)

The German "lightning war" strategy characterized by swift, well-organized attacks using infantry, tanks, and warplanes

Boston Massacre (1770)

Violent confrontation between British soldiers and a Boston mob on March 5, 1770, in which five colonists were killed

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Demonstration against the Tea Act of 1773 in which the Sons of liberty, dressed as Indians, dumped hundreds of chests of British-owned tea into Boston Harbor

bracero program (1942)

System that permitted seasonal farmworkers from Mexico to work in the United States on yearlong contracts

Brown vs. Board of Education (1954)

Landmark Supreme Court case that struck down racial segregation in public schools and declared "separate but equal" unconstitutional

Bush Doctrine

National security policy launched in 2002 by which the Bush administration claimed the right to launch preemptive military attacks against perceived enemies, particularly outlaw nations or terrorist organizations believed to possess WMD

California Gold Rush (1849)

A massive migration of gold hunters, mostly young men, who transformed the national economy after massive amounts of fold were discovered in northern California

Camp David Accords (1978)

Pace agreement facilitated by President Carter between Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and President Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt, the first Arab head of state to officially recognize the state of Isreal

Carnegie Steel Company

Corporation under the leadership of Andrew Carnegie that came to dominated the American steel industry

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Intelligence-gathering government agency founded in 1947; under President Eisenhower's orders, it secretly undermined elected governments deemed susceptible to communism

citizen soldiers

Part-time non-professional soldiers, mostly poor farmers or recent immigrants who has been indentured servants, who played an important role in the Revolutionary War.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation that outlawed discrimination in public accommodation and employment, passed at the urging of President Lyndon B. Johnson

civil service reform

An extended effort led by political reformers to end the patronage system; led the Pendleton Act (1883), which called for government jobs to be awarded based on merit rather than party loyalty

Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)

Legislation that served to enhance the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) by clarifying what constituted "monopolistic" activities and declaring that labor unions were not to be viewed as "monopolies in restraint of trade"

clipper ships

Tall, slender ships favored over older merchant ships for their speed; ultimately gave way to steamships because clipper ships lacked cargo space

Coercive Acts (1774)

Four parliamentary measures that required the colonies to pay for the Boston Tea Party's damages: closed the port of Boston, imposed a military government, disallowed colonial trials of British soldiers, and forced the quartering of troops in private homes

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of biological and social elements, such as plants, animals, people, diseases, and cultural practices, among Europe, the Americas, and Africa in the wake of Christopher Columbus's voyages to the New World

Common Sense (1776)

Popular pamphlet written by Thomas Paine attacking British principles of hereditary rule and monarchial government and advocating a declaration of American independence

Compromise of 1850

A package of five bills presented to the Congress by Henry Clay intended to avoid secession or civil war by reducing tensions between North and South over the status of slavery

Compromise of 1877

Secret dela forged by congressional leaders to resolve the disputed election of 1876; Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, who had lost the popular vote, was declared the winner in exchange for his pledge to remove federal troops from the South, marking the end of Reconstruction

Congressional Reconstruction

Phase of Reconstruction directed by Radical Republicans through the passage of three laws: the Military Reconstruction Act, the Command of the Army Act, and the Tenure of Office Act

containment

U.S. cold war strategy to exert political, economic, and, if necessary, military pressure on global Soviet expansion as a means of combating the spread of communism

Continental Army

Army authorized by Continental Congress, 1755-1784, to fight the British; commanded by George Washington

corrupt bargain

Scandal in which presidential candidate and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich secured John Quincy Adams's victory over Andrew Jackson in the 1824 election, supposedly in exchange for naming Clay secretary of state

cotton gin

Hand-operated machine invented by Eli Whitney that quickly removed seeds from cotton balls, enabling the mass production of cotton in 19th century America

Cuban missile crisis (1962)

Thirteen-day U.S.-Soviet standoff sparked by the discovery of Soviet missile sites in Cuba; closest the world has ever come to nuclear war since 1945

cult of domesticity

Pervasive 19th century ideology urging women to celebrate thier role as manafer of the household and nurturer of the children

Dawes Severalty Act of 1887

Federal legislation that divided ancestral Native American lands among the heads of each Indian family in an attempt to "Americanize" Indians by forcing them to become farmers working individual plots of land

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Formal statement, principally drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, that officially announced the 13 colonies' break with Great Britain

Declaration of Rights and Sentiments (1848)

Document based on the Declaration of Independence that called for gender equality, written primarily by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and signed by Seneca Falls Convention delegates

DIxiecrats

Breakaway faction of White southern Democrats who defected from the national Democratic party in 1948 to protest the party's increased support for Black civil rights and to nominate their own segregationist candidates for elective office

dollar diplomacy

Practice advocated by President Theodore Roosevelt in which the U.S. government fostered American investments in less developed nations and then used U.S. military force to protect those investments

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

U.S. Supreme Court ruling that enslaved people were not U.S. citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories

Dust Bowl

Vast area of the Midwest where windstorms blew away millions of tons of topsoil from parched farmland after a long drought in the 1930s, causing great social distress and a massive migration of farmland families

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

Key legislation in President Johnson's "War on Poverty" that created the Office of Economic Opportunity and programs like Head Start and the work-study financial-aid program for low-income college students

election of 1800

Presidential election involving Thomas Jefferson and John Adams that resulted in the first Democratic-Republican victory after the Federalist administrations of George Washington and John Adams

election of 1864

Abraham Lincoln's successful reelection campaign, capitalizing on Union military successes in Georgia, to defeat his Democratic opponent, former general George B. McClellan, who ran on apeace platform

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Military order issued by President Abraham Lincoln that freed enslaved people in areas still controlled by the Confederacy

Embargo Act (1807)

A law promoted by President Thomas Jefferson prohibiting American ships from leaving for foreign ports, in order to safeguard them from British and French attacks. This bam on American exports proved disastrous to the U.S. economy

encomienda

A land-grant system under which Spanish army officers (conquistadores) were awarded large parcels of land taken from Native Americans

Enlightenment

A revolution in thought begun in Europe in the 17th century that emphasized reason and science over the authority and myths of traditional religion

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Federal environmental agency created by Nixon to appease the demands of congressional Democrats for a federal environmental watchdog agency

Erie Canal (1825)

Most important and profitable of the many barge canals built in the early 19th century, connecting the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and conveying so much cargo that it made New York City the nation's largest port

ethnic cleansing

Systematic removal of an ethnic group from a territory through violence or intimidation in order to create a homogeneous society; the term was popularized by the Yugoslav policy brutally targeting Albanian Muslims in Kosovo

Fair Deal (1949)

President Truman's proposals to build upon the New Deal with national health insurance, the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, new civil rights legislation, and other initiatives; most were rejectedby the Republican-controlled Congress

"falling domino" theory

The theory that if one country fell to communism, its neighboring countries would necessarily follow suit

fascism

A radical form of totalitarian government that emerged in 1920s Italy and Germany in which a dictator uses propaganda and brute force to seize control of all aspects of national life

Federal Reserve Act (1913)

Legislation passes by Congress to create a new national banking system in order to regulate the nation's currency supply and ensure the stability and integrity of member banks that made up the Federal Reserve System across the nation

Federal Trade Commission (1914)

Independent agency created by the Wilson administration that replaced the Bureau of Corporations as an even more powerful tool to combat unfair trade practices and monopolies

Federal-Aid Highway Act (1956)

Largest federal project in U.S. history, which created a national network of interstate highways

federalism

Concept of dividing governmental authority between the national government and the states

The Federalist Papers

Collection of 85 essays, published widely in newspapers in 1787 and 1788, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of adopting the proposed U.S. Constitution

Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbidding states to deny any male citizen the right to vote on grounds of 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude"

First New Deal (1933-1935)

Franklin D. Roosevelt's ambitious first-term cluster of economic and social programs designed to combat the Great Depression

First Red Scare (1919-1920)

Outbreak of anti-Communist hysteria that included the arrest without warrants of thougsands of suspected radicals, most of whom, (especially Russian immigrants) were deported

flappers

Young women of the 1920s whose rebellion against prewar standards of femininity included waring shorter dresses bobbing their hair, dancing to jazz music, diving cars, smoking cigarettes, and indulging in illegal drinking and gambling

Force Bill (1833)

Legislation, sparked by the nullification crisis in South Carolina, that authorized the president's use of the army to compel states to comply with federal law

Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson's proposed plan for the peace agreement after the Great War, which included the creation of a "league" of nations intended to keep the peace

Fourteenth Amendment (1866)

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing equal protection under the law to all U.S. citizens, including formerly enslaved people

Freedmen's Bureau

Federal Reconstruction agency established to protect the legal rights of formerly enslaved people and to assist with their education, jobs, healthcare, and land ownership

Freedom Riders

Activists who, beginning in 1961, traveled by bus through the South to test federal court rulings that banned segregation on buses and trains

Free-Soil party

A political coalition created in 1848 that opposed the expansion of slavery into the new western territories