American History: From the Revolution to Antebellum – Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering major events, acts, laws, and concepts from the American Revolution through the antebellum era.

Sugar Act (1764)

Tax on sugar and molasses to raise revenue for Britain.

Stamp Act (1765)

Required colonists to purchase an official stamp for paper goods.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Taxes on imports such as glass, paint, and tea.

Tea Act (1773)

Gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies.

Boston Massacre (1770)

Incident where British soldiers killed five colonists; used as Patriot propaganda.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Protest against the Tea Act in which colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

Shot Heard 'Round the World" (1775)

First shots of the Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord.

Articles of Confederation (1781–1789)

First U.S. government; weak central authority and no power to tax.

Ratification of the Constitution (1787–1789)

Process replacing the Articles with a stronger federal government.

Federalism

Division of power between national and state governments.

Separation of Powers

Division of government powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Checks and Balances

System allowing each branch to limit the others.

Common Sense (1776)

Pamphlet by Thomas Paine urging independence from Britain.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Final major battle; British surrender to American and French forces.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

U.S. purchased vast territory from France, doubling the country's size.

War of 1812 (1812–1815)

Conflict with Britain over trade and impressment; boosted U.S. nationalism.

Mexican-American War (1846–1848)

U.S. gained Southwest territory; intensified slavery debates.

Compromise of 1850

California admitted as a free state; Fugitive Slave Act strengthened; popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico.

Popular Sovereignty

Idea that territories should vote to decide slavery status.

Election of Abraham Lincoln (1860)

Lincoln's victory led Southern states to begin seceding and threatened slavery.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Missouri admitted as a slave state; Maine as a free state; slavery banned north of 36°30′.

Antebellum Period (1820s–1860)

Era before the Civil War; marked by reform movements and rising slavery tensions.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Allowed popular sovereignty in new territories; repealed Missouri Compromise.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent clashes between pro- and anti-slavery factions in Kansas.