Vocab

Jamestown Colony

The first permanent English settlement in North America established in 1607.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement for self-government signed by the Pilgrims in 1620.

Anne Hutchinson

A Puritan leader who was expelled from Massachusetts Bay for her religious beliefs.

Roger Williams

A religious dissenter who founded Rhode Island for its policy of religious tolerance.

Bacon’s Rebellion

A 1676 uprising in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor William Berkeley.

Navigation Acts

A series of laws regulating colonial trade to benefit England.

Salutary Neglect

An unofficial British policy of relaxed enforcement of trade regulations in the colonies.

Joint Stock Companies

Business entities where different stocks can be bought and owned by shareholders.

French Indian War (Seven Years War)

A conflict between Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763.

Proclamation of 1763

Issued by Britain, it prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances.

Sugar Act

A 1764 law that raised duties on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies.

Stamp Act

A 1765 act requiring colonists to purchase special stamped paper for legal documents and publications.

Albany Plan of Union

A proposal by Benjamin Franklin to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies.

Continental Congress

A convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body during the American Revolution.

Common Sense

A pamphlet by Thomas Paine that argued for American independence from Britain.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest against British taxes in which Boston colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts)

A series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The agreement that officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized American independence.

Olive Branch Petition

A final attempt by the colonists to avoid a war with Britain by asserting their loyalty.

Articles of Confederation

The first written constitution of the United States, ratified in 1781.

Shays’ Rebellion

A 1786-1787 uprising by farmers in Massachusetts protesting economic injustices.

Whiskey Rebellion

A 1794 protest against the government’s tax on whiskey in the United States.

Constitutional Convention

A meeting in 1787 where the Constitution was created to replace the Articles of Confederation.

NJ/VA Plan

Plans proposed at the Constitutional Convention for the structure of the U.S. government.

Connecticut Compromise

An agreement during the Constitutional Convention that created a two-house legislature.

Federalist Papers

A series of essays written to promote the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution during the ratification process.

Anti-Federalists/Democratic-Republicans

Opponents of the Constitution who favored states’ rights.

Hamilton’s financial plan

Alexander Hamilton's proposal to stabilize the American economy through federal assumption of debt.

Jay’s Treaty

A 1794 agreement that settled disputes between the U.S. and Great Britain.

XYZ Affair

A 1797 diplomatic incident where French officials demanded bribes from U.S. diplomats.

Election of 1800

The election where Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams, marking the first peaceful transition of power.

Neutrality Proclamation

A formal announcement by President Washington declaring the U.S. neutral in foreign conflicts.

Genet Affair

A diplomatic incident involving French ambassador Edmund Genet that raised questions about U.S. foreign policy.

Marbury v. Madison

The landmark case that established the principle of judicial review in 1803.

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional.

Louisiana Purchase

The acquisition of the Louisiana territory from France in 1803.

Embargo Act

A law that imposed a full ban on U.S. trade with foreign countries in 1807.

Orders in Council

British regulations that restricted neutral trade with France, aggravating U.S. relations.

War Hawks

Members of Congress who advocated for war against Britain in the lead-up to the War of 1812.

Treaty of Ghent

The treaty that ended the War of 1812, restoring relations between the U.S. and Britain.

American System

An economic plan by Henry Clay promoting industry and infrastructure improvements.

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. policy opposing European colonization in the Americas, established in 1823.

Corrupt Bargain

Refers to the alleged deal between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay in the 1824 presidential election.

Spoils System

The practice of a political party giving government jobs to its supporters.

Era of Good Feelings

A period of political unity in the U.S. following the War of 1812.

Indian Removal Act

A law passed in 1830 that authorized the removal of Native American tribes to lands west of the Mississippi.

Whig Party

A political party formed in the 1830s opposed to the Democrats, supporting federal economic intervention.

Gag Rule

A rule in Congress that prevented the discussion of certain issues, particularly concerning slavery.

Manifest Destiny

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

54’40 or Fight!

A slogan used during the Oregon boundary dispute between the U.S. and Britain.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The 1848 treaty ending the Mexican-American War and ceding territory to the U.S.

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 agreement that allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws aimed at resolving tensions between slave and free states.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposed legislation to ban slavery in territories acquired from Mexico.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 legislation that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed popular sovereignty.

Bleeding Kansas

A series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces.

Raid on Harpers Ferry

An 1859 attempt by John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt by capturing a U.S. arsenal.

Dred Scott Decision

An 1857 Supreme Court ruling that declared African Americans were not citizens and could not sue.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

An 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that exposed the cruelty of slavery.

Forming of Republican Party

The political party established in the 1850s to oppose the expansion of slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation

Executive order by Abraham Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate states, issued in 1863.

Reconstruction

The period of rebuilding the South after the Civil War and addressing the status of former slaves.

13th Amend

Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery, ratified in 1865.

14th Amend

Constitutional amendment guaranteeing civil rights and equal protection under the law, ratified in 1868.

15th Amend

Constitutional amendment prohibiting the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, ratified in 1870.

Credit Mobilier

A scandal involving a railroad construction company that inflated costs and bilked investors.

Tenure of Office Act

A law that restricted the President's power to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election and ended Reconstruction.

Panic of 1873

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