History Exam Full Notes

Culture

The beliefs, customs, traditions, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time.

Politics

The people or groups who have or want power.

Economics

The creation, use, and trade of wealth.

Geography

The study of the earth’s surface, specifically its physical features and climates.

Science/Technology

Machines and tools that help people with jobs.

Urban

Big city areas with many people crowded in.

Rural

The country, where people are spread out.

Suburban

Many people live here, but it is more spread out than a city.

Industry

Factories.

Agriculture

Farming or raising animals.

Plantation

A rich farm where many slaves work.

Cash crop

A plant that is worth a lot of money.

Factory

Where things are made using machines.

Slavery

When a person is treated like an animal, they’re property, and have no rights.

Cotton Economy

The South grew 50% of the world's cotton.

Emancipation Proclamation

Ended slavery in the south, making the war about slavery.

Secede

To leave or split away from.

Sectionalism

Thinking the region or local area you are from is better than all the rest.

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

Required all citizens to help catch runaway slaves.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

A popular book that illustrated the cruelty of slavery.

States Rights

The belief that local or state governments are more important than the federal government.

John Brown's Raid

An attempt by abolitionist John Brown to start a slave uprising.

Fort Sumter

The location of the first battle of the Civil War.

Anaconda Plan

The North's plan to blockade all southern ports.

Ironclad

A warship covered with iron armor.

Battle of Gettysburg

A major turning point in the Civil War.

Gettysburg Address

A speech by Abraham Lincoln emphasizing equality.

Radical Republicans

A group that wanted to punish the south and assist African Americans.

Freedmen’s Bureau

An agency to help former slaves get on their feet.

Black Codes

Racist laws meant to restrict African American rights.

Ku Klux Klan

A white terrorist group aiming to suppress African American rights.

Sharecropping

A system where farmers rent land and give a portion of their crop to the owner.

Push Factor

A problem that causes people to leave their home.

Pull Factor

An attraction that draws people to a new place.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the U.S. must expand across the continent.

Oregon Trail

A popular route to the rich farmland of the west.

Homestead Act

Law that provided land to Americans who built and farmed it.

Reservations

Areas Native Americans were forced to live on.

Forced Assimilation

Forcing one group to adopt another culture.

Battle of Little Bighorn

A significant Native American victory over the U.S. Army.

Wounded Knee Massacre

A U.S. Army massacre of Native American civilians.

Robber Baron

A business leader who used exploitative practices to amass wealth.

Captain of Industry

A wealthy individual who contributes positively to society.

Monopoly

When a single company controls an entire industry.

Labor Union

An organization of workers aiming for better conditions.

Collective Bargaining

Negotiation of wages and other conditions by an organized group.

Strikes

Refusal to work to force an employer to meet demands.

Progressive Era

A period aimed at addressing social issues and reforming society.

Muckraker

A journalist focused on exposing social problems.

Theodore Roosevelt

The first progressive president known for his reforms.

Panama Canal

A canal built to shorten the travel distance for ships.

Nativists

People who opposed immigration and wanted to preserve existing culture.

Sweatshop

A factory with bad working conditions that pays workers very little.

Alice Paul

A leader in the fight for women's suffrage.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator who promoted vocational training.

W.E.B. Du Bois

A civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP.