Unit 4 APUSH Vocab

Thank goodness such a great study resource exists!!!

Mass Democracy

A modern form of a representative government characterized by universal suffrage and the rise of mass political parties

Constituencies

Groups of voters in specified areas who elect representatives to a legislative body, e.g., the U.S. Congress

Interest Group

An organization of people who share a common goal and work to influence the government to create policies that benefit them (lobbying)

Federalists/Democratic-Republicans

The two major parties in the U.S. at the early portion of the period

Democrats/Whigs

The two major parties in the U.S. after the Federalist Party collapsed after the War of 1812 and the Democratic-Republican Party split into two factions with different ideologies (these parties)

Second Great Awakening

A Protestant Christian religious revival (c. 1795-1835) that featured a focus on individual salvation through personal effort, leading to widespread social reforms like abolition and temperance, and the growth of new denominations, often characterized by camp meetings and less rigid, more democratic religious expressions

Liberal

A supporter of a politically and socially progressive philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and laissez-faire economics

Romantic Beliefs

Part of a cultural movement (American Romanticism; c. 1820-1860) that emphasized individualism, emotion over reason, and a deep connection with nature as a source of truth and spiritual renewal

Abolitionism

The movement to outlaw slavery completely

Old World v. New World

In Period 4, the dynamics between these two regions were characterized by the growth of the New World with the United States as the main power dominating over other countries and colonies in their influence and wealth in the region, challenging the status quo of European prowess over geopolitical affairs in the Old World and beyond

Textiles

Materials made from natural or synthetic fibers (clothes, fabrics, etc.)

Steam Engine

Converts heat energy from hot, pressurized steam into mechanical work, typically used by the steam to push a piston back and forth in a cylinder; major innovation during the First Industrial Revolution that transformed the U.S. economy & technology

Interchangeable Parts

Components that are made to such precise standards that they can be easily substituted for one another in the manufacturing process

Canals/Roads

Henry Clay’s American system had these federally funded & designed to connect different regions, facilitate trade, and promote westward expansion by making it easier and cheaper to transport goods and people

Semi-subsistence Agriculture

A farming system where households produce crops for both their own consumption and for sale

Specialization

As industrialization occurred, people began to take up occupations other than farming and developed certain niches in specific industries

American System

An economic plan devised by Henry Clay to strengthen and unify the U.S. through a combination of protective tariffs, a national bank, and federally funded infrastructure projects

Midwest

The region of the U.S. mainly including states in the east north-central part of the country, including but not limited to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Iowa

Market Revolution

A period in 19th-century America (roughly 1815–1860) where the economy transitioned from small-scale, self-sufficient production to a commercial system focused on mass production, wage labor, and vast consumer markets, fueled by innovations in transportation (canals, steam engines) and communication (telegraph)

National Bank

A commercial bank chartered under the federal government

Louisiana Purchase

A move by Thomas Jefferson to buy the Louisiana Territory from France, resulting in the U.S. more than doubling its size and moving closer to eventually touching the Pacific Ocean

1820 Missouri Compromise

A series of legislative measures passed in 1820 that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power in Congress between free and slave states; also prohibited slavery in the remaining Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30' parallel, creating a line that divided the nation's territories into free and slave areas.  

Andrew Jackson

The 7th president of the United States; characterized by his military career, affiliation with the Democratic party, advocacy for universal white male suffrage, and forced removal of Native Americans (Trail of Tears)

Henry Clay

An American lawyer and stateman who rivaled Andrew Jackson and was known for his American System

Seneca Falls

A convention in 1848 that formally launched the women’s suffrage movement and produced the Declaration of Sentiments

Utopian Movements

19th-century efforts to create ideal communities in America, responding to industrialization and social issues like poverty and inequality by implementing communal living, social reform, and experiments with marriage and labor

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. policy that asserted U.S. control over the Western Hemisphere, telling European powers to essentially not interfere with the region’s affairs and further colonize it

Slave Rebellions

Uprisings that fueled abolitionism yet let to harsher slave codes and suppression by slave owners to prevent such rebellions from occurring again

Indian Removal

Policies that forcibly relocated Native Americans to western territories & reservations to allow for white settlers to have more space to themselves