APUSH Unit 2 Key Terms

Division of Labor

A system of manufacture that divides production into a series of distinct and repetitive tasks performed by different workers

Porkopolis

Nickname for Cincinnati in the 1830s highlighting its role as a major center for hog processing

Francis Cabot Lowell

An American businessman who built the first integrated textile factory in Waltham Massachusetts pioneering the American factory system

Waltham Plan

A labor model using young unmarried women (housed in dormitories) to work in New England textile factories

Eli Whitney

American inventor known for inventing the cotton gin and pioneering the use of interchangeable parts

Artisan Republicanism

An ideology of production based on liberty and equality where craftsmen saw themselves as independent producers free from wage labor

Labor Theory of Value

An economic theory proposing that the value of a good is determined by the amount of labor required to produce it

Market Revolution

The dramatic expansion and integration of markets in the early 19th-century U.S. fueled by new transportation and industrialization

John Jacob Astor

A German-American businessman who became America's first multi-millionaire primarily through the fur trade

Panic of 1819

The first widespread financial crisis in the U.S. causing depression bank failures and unemployment linked to land speculation and a fall in exports

Commonwealth System

An American political economy that funneled state aid and corporate charters to private businesses (like roads and canals) deemed beneficial for the public good

Suffrage

The right to vote in political elections

Sentimentalism

A cultural attitude emphasizing emotion feeling and sensibility over reason influencing marriage choices (for love) and literature

Republican Motherhood

The post-Revolutionary ideology that women's primary political role was to raise virtuous sons and daughters for the new republic

Mary Wollstonecraft

English writer and early feminist known for "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" arguing for women's education

Noah Webster

American lexicographer whose "American Dictionary" helped standardize American spelling and language

Manumission Act

A Virginia law allowing individual slaveholders to legally free their slaves leading to an increase in the free Black population

Necessary Evil

A term used particularly in the South to describe slavery as morally wrong but essential for the economy and social order

American Colonization Society

An organization that advocated for sending free African Americans to Africa establishing the colony of Liberia

Henry Clay

A prominent 19th-century politician known as the "Great Compromiser" for his role in the Missouri Compromise and other national agreements

Richard Allen

An African American minister who founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church the first independent Black denomination in the U.S.

Missouri Compromise

A congressional agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state and prohibiting slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ parallel

Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom

A Virginia statute drafted by Thomas Jefferson that guaranteed religious freedom and disestablished the Anglican Church

Second Great Awakening

A Protestant religious revival movement in the early 19th century characterized by emotional camp meetings and a focus on personal salvation

Reverend Ezra Stiles Ely

A Presbyterian minister who advocated for a "Christian Party" in politics to elect moral godly leaders in the 1820s

Middlebury Female Seminary

An early institution of higher education for women founded in Vermont by Emma Willard

Judiciary Act

The law that established the federal court system including the Supreme Court district courts and circuit courts

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1791 guaranteeing fundamental individual liberties

Alexander Hamilton

A Founding Father and the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury who advocated for a strong central government and a national bank

Report on the Public Credit

Hamilton's plan for the federal government to assume state debts and fund the national debt at full value

Bank of the United States

A national bank chartered by Congress proposed by Hamilton to stabilize the economy and manage federal funds

Whiskey Rebellion

A protest by western Pennsylvania farmers against a federal excise tax on whiskey suppressed by federal troops

Jay’s Treaty

A controversial treaty with Great Britain that resolved issues from the Revolutionary War but was seen as too favorable to Britain

XYZ Affair

A diplomatic incident where French agents demanded a bribe from U.S. envoys leading to the undeclared Quasi-War

Alien and Sedition Acts

Four laws passed by Federalists restricting the activities of foreigners (aliens) and limiting free speech (sedition) critical of the government

Federalists

An early political party led by Hamilton and Adams that supported a strong central government a manufacturing economy and a pro-British policy

Greenville Treaty

A treaty ceding large tracts of Ohio land from Native American tribes to the U.S. after the Battle of Fallen Timbers

Marbury v. Madison

The landmark Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Statements by Jefferson and Madison arguing that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional and asserting states' rights (nullification)

Toussaint L’Ouverture

The leader of the Haitian Revolution a successful slave revolt that established Haiti as the first independent Black republic

Louisiana Purchase

The U.S. acquisition of the Louisiana territory from France doubling the nation's size

Lewis and Clark

The expedition commissioned by President Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase and find a route to the Pacific

Aaron Burr

The third U.S. Vice President who famously killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel

Embargo Act

A law prohibiting all American ships from trading in foreign ports which devastated the U.S. economy

Tecumseh

Shawnee leader who led a pan-Indian resistance movement against U.S. expansion in the early 19th century

Treaty of Ghent

The peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Great Britain restoring pre-war boundaries

John Marshall

The fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court whose decisions (like Marbury v. Madison) strengthened federal power

McCulloch v. Maryland

A Supreme Court case affirming the implied power of Congress to create a national bank and denying states the right to tax it

Second Bank of the United States

A national bank chartered in 1816 which became a major political battleground during Andrew Jackson's presidency

Gibbons v. Ogden

A Supreme Court case that broadly interpreted the Constitution's commerce clause giving the federal government exclusive power over interstate commerce

John Quincy Adams

The sixth U.S. President and son of John Adams known for his diplomatic skill and later his anti-slavery stance in Congress

Adams-Onis Treaty

The treaty in which Spain ceded Florida to the UnitedS States

Hessians

German mercenaries hired by Great Britain to fight against the American colonists during the Revolutionary War

Continental Army

The main army of the Thirteen Colonies formed and led by General George Washington

General William Howe

British Commander-in-Chief during the early part of the Revolutionary War known for capturing New York City and Philadelphia

Battle of Saratoga

The decisive American victory that convinced France to form an official alliance with the United States

Baron von Steuben

A Prussian military officer who trained the Continental Army at Valley Forge professionalizing the force

Valley Forge

The harsh winter encampment of the Continental Army where soldiers suffered greatly but also underwent crucial training

Treaty of Alliance

The formal alliance between France and the United States promising mutual military support against Britain

Philipsburg Proclamation

A British decree offering freedom protection and land to any enslaved person who deserted their rebel master to join the British

Nathanael Greene

An American general who led the successful "Southern Campaign" that wore down British forces in the South

Benedict Arnold

An American general who defected to the British army becoming America's most famous traitor

General Charles Cornwallis

The British general who commanded forces in the South and surrendered his army at Yorktown

Battle of Yorktown

The final major battle of the Revolution where combined American and French forces trapped and forced the surrender of Cornwallis

Treaty of Paris

The treaty that officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized U.S. independence

Bicameral Legislature

A legislative body composed of two separate chambers or houses like the U.S. Congress (Senate and House)

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States which created a weak central government

Northwest Ordinance

A law under the Articles that organized the Northwest Territory provided a system for admitting new states and banned slavery there

Shays’s Rebellion

An uprising of Massachusetts farmers protesting high taxes and debt highlighting the weakness of the Articles of Confederation

Philadelphia Convention

The meeting (Constitutional Convention) where delegates drafted the new U.S. Constitution to replace the Articles

James Madison

A Founding Father known as the "Father of the Constitution" for his crucial role in drafting it and the Bill of Rights

Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan

Competing proposals at the Constitutional Convention regarding legislative representation (proportional vs. equal)

Three-Fifths Compromise

The agreement at the Constitutional Convention to count three-fifths of the enslaved population for both representation and taxation

Federalists v. Anti-Federalists

The two groups that debated the ratification of the Constitution

Federalists supported it while Anti-Federalists opposed it fearing centralized power

Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays by Hamilton Madison and Jay arguing in favor of ratifying the Constitution

Ratification Conventions

Special conventions held in each state where delegates voted to either approve or reject the U.S. Constitution

Battle of Long Island

A major British victory in the Revolutionary War that forced the Continental Army to retreat from New York

currency tax

An implicit tax on holders of paper money as inflation (like during the Revolution) reduced its value

Pennsylvania constitution

A radical state constitution adopted in 1776 that created a unicameral legislature and granted suffrage to all tax-paying men

mixed government

A political theory (influencing the U.S. Constitution) that blends elements of monarchy aristocracy and democracy

Federalist No. 10

An essay by James Madison arguing that a large republic would best control the dangers of factions

General George Washington

The Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolution and the first U.S. President

General Horatio Gates

An American general during the Revolution credited with the victory at Saratoga but later defeated at Camden

Robert Morris

A wealthy Philadelphia merchant who served as the superintendent of finance and helped fund the final years of the Revolution

Judith Sargent Murray

An early American essayist and advocate for women's educational equality arguing women's minds were equal to men's

Report on Manufactures

Alexander Hamilton's financial plan urging the federal government to promote industrialization through tariffs and subsidies

Proclamation of Neutrality

George Washington's declaration that the U.S. would remain neutral in the conflict between France and Great Britain

French Revolution

A period of radical social and political upheaval in France that deeply divided American political opinion

Jacobins

Radical French revolutionaries who implemented the "Reign of Terror" and were supported by many Jeffersonian Republicans

Haitian Revolution

The successful slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue that led to the first independent Black republic

Battle of Tippecanoe

A U.S. victory over Tecumseh's confederacy in the Indiana Territory that propelled William Henry Harrison to fame

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. foreign policy declaration stating that European nations should not interfere with or colonize independent nations in the Americas

Thomas Jefferson

The principal author of the Declaration of Independence the third U.S. President and leader of the Democratic-Republican party

John Adams

A Founding Father the second U.S. President and a prominent Federalist leader

Little Turtle

A war chief of the Miami tribe who led a Native American confederacy to major victories against U.S. forces in the Northwest Territory

neomercantilism

A 19th-century American system of government-assisted economic development using tariffs and transportation projects

herrenvolk Republic

A political concept that defines a nation as a "master race" republic reserving liberty and equality for white citizens only

established church

A church officially funded by the government and recognized as the state religion which was common in the colonies

voluntarism

The principle of funding churches and religious organizations through voluntary contributions from members rather than government taxes