Modern American History Review Flashcards

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering key topics in Modern American History from the mid-19th century through the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.

New England Colonies

A region consisting of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island, characterized by a cold climate and an economy based on lumber and fishing.

Mid-Atlantic Colonies

A region consisting of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, known for its mild climate and produce-focused economy.

Southern Colonies

A region consisting of Maryland, West Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, and Virginia, characterized by a hot climate and cotton farming.

Geography

A field of study that determines the resources a place has and its economic independence in a supply and demand relationship.

Imperialism

When one country takes over another economically, socially, and politically.

Social Contract

An agreement among the people to form a liberal and equal government, as described by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

St. Augustine (Florida)

The location of the first Spanish settlement in $1555$.

Jamestown (Virginia)

The location of the first English settlement in $1607$.

Mayflower (Massachusetts)

The ship carrying English settlers who arrived in $1620$.

Puritans

A religious group characterized by their desire for religious purity, modest dressing, and strict beliefs against Catholics.

Puritanical work ethic

A concept that involves working hard no matter what.

Louisiana Purchase

The most important achievement of Jefferson's presidency, involving the purchase of vast western lands.

California Gold Rush

An economic shift that acted as a significant catalyst for women to obtain jobs as shop owners, merchants, doctors, and nurses.

Middle Passage

A forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic during the triangle trade.

Polyamory

The Mormon belief where men married multiple women at a time, leading many in the group to move out west.

Manifest Destiny

The nationalistic belief that America was destined to expand westward as a divine mission.

Exceptionalism

The belief that a nation is an exception to a usual rule or is exceptional compared to others of its kind.

John L. O’Sullivan

The author of 'The Truth Title' who argued that exploring westward was a God-given right for Americans.

Nationalism

A deep sense of pride for one's own nation that can drive imperialism.

Sam Houston

The leader under whom Texas declared its independence in $1836$.

James K. Polk

The president who orchestrated the annexation of Texas into the United States in $1845$.

54'40 or fight

The aggressive campaign slogan used by Polk to demand the entire Oregon territory.

49th parallel

The boundary line both nations agreed upon to peacefully divide the Oregon Territory between the United States and Britain.

John Wilkes Booth

An actor and Confederate sympathizer who shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln on April $14$.

Second Inaugural Address

The speech in which Lincoln urged a benevolent approach to the South with the phrase 'with malice toward none; with charity for all.'

Unionist Party

The temporary name adopted by the Republican Party in $1864$ to attract 'War Democrats.'

Morrill Tariff Act (1861)

A law that raised tariff rates to protect American manufacturers and increase revenue.

Homestead Act (1862)

A government program that offered $160$ acres of free land in the Great Plains to those who farmed it for $5$ years.

Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)

Legislation that encouraged states to fund agricultural and technical colleges through federal land grants.

Pacific Railway Act (1862)

Authorization for the construction of a transcontinental railroad to connect the West Coast with the Eastern states.

Greenbacks

Paper currency totaling \\$430 million issued by the North during the Civil War, which contributed to an $80\%$ price inflation.

Writ of habeas corpus

A legal protection suspended by Lincoln in some areas, allowing arrests without immediate charges for those suspected of aiding the enemy.

Ex Parte Milligan

A case involving the strengthening of federal power and civil liberties during the Reconstruction era.

Juneteenth

June $19$, a day celebrating the spread of the news of emancipation to enslaved people.

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1863)

Lincoln's plan granting full pardons to Confederates who took a loyalty oath, requiring only $10\%$ of voters to take the oath to reestablish a state government.

Andrew Johnson

Lincoln's vice president who disenfranchised former Confederate leaders and those with over \\$20,000 in taxable property.

Black Codes

Restrictive laws passed by Southern states during Reconstruction to limit the rights of freedpeople.

Radical Republicans

A political group that advocated for civil rights for Black citizens and military rule in the South, led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Legislation declaring all African Americans to be U.S. citizens and nullifying the Dred Scott decision.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment ratified in $1868$ that granted citizenship and 'equal protection of the laws' to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment ratified in $1870$ that prohibited denying the right to vote based on 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude.'

Civil Rights Act of 1875

A law guaranteeing equal accommodations in public places and prohibiting the exclusion of African Americans from juries.

54th Regiment

A fully black male-led military regiment that served during the American Civil War.

War of Attrition

A military strategy described as being the 'last man standing' or 'last team standing.'

Wade-Davis Bill 1864

An unsuccessful proposal requiring Southerners to take a vow of loyalty in order to vote.

Natural rights

The belief in rights that people are born with and which cannot be taken away by others.

Great Compromise

A legislative agreement that created the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with $2$ votes per state.

Census

A count of all people in all states used for population tracking that occurs every $10$ years.

3/5 Compromise

An agreement where each enslaved person counted as $\frac{3}{5}$ of a free person for population and representation purposes.

Due Process of Law

Legal rights including representation in court, the right to a trial, and the principle of being innocent until proven guilty.

First Amendment

The amendment that prevents the government from censoring your voice or interfering with your religion.

Second Amendment

Protects the right of individuals to keep and bear arms for self-defense.

Fourth Amendment

Protects privacy by requiring the government to have an official warrant before searching a home or belongings.

Fifth Amendment

Ensures fair legal treatment, protects the right to remain silent, and prevents double punishment.

Eighth Amendment

Protects individuals from being treated too harshly by the government through excessive punishment.

Sectionalism

The practice of a region putting its own interests over the interests of the rest of the country.

36’30 line

The line of demarcation that decided if a state would enter the Union as a slave or free state.

Abolitionist

A group of people committed to eradicating or getting rid of the institution of slavery.

Temperance Movement

A women-led social movement that worked toward the elimination of alcohol.

Civil disobedience

The practice of peacefully not obeying unjust laws, popularized by writers like Emerson and Thoreau.

Hudson River school

A group that trained people to create landscapes as a way to show nationalistic pride.

Utopia

A communal experiment where everyone is equal, though such attempts historically tend to fail.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law allowing white persons to turn in escaped slaves for money, even if they were freed in the North.

Popular sovereignty

A policy leaving the decision of whether a territory is slave or free to the vote of the local population.

Bleeding Kansas

A nickname for the fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups after the New England Emigrant Aid Company shipped settlers to sway the vote.

Dred Scott Decision (1857)

A Supreme Court case ruling that a slave who moved to a free territory remained a slave and was not a citizen.

Gilded Age

An era named by Mark Twain where a shiny gold exterior covered a duller reality of settlement and industrial struggle.

Frontier

A term referring to the interior of the United States.

National Grange Movement

A union led by Oliver Kelley where farmers struck against the high cost of railroad transportation.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A Supreme Court case that established the 'Separate but Equal' doctrine.

Capitalism

An economic system where individuals and businesses have the opportunity to make money with minimal government regulation.

Standard Oil

The company owned by Rockefeller that utilized horizontal integration to control smaller companies.

Muckrakers

Individuals like Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair who used journalism to expose social problems and push for reform.

Jane Addams

The founder of Hull House in Chicago, which provided a safe space and social welfare for women.

Seventeenth Amendment

A progressive amendment that established the direct election of senators by the people.