APUSH Key terms

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Civil rights law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

Barry Goldwater

Unsuccessful presidential candidate against Lyndon Johnson in 1964; he called for dismantling the New Deal, escalation of the war in Vietnam, and the status quo on civil rights. Many see him as the grandfather of the conservative movement of the 1980s.

Bill Clinton

President of the United States, 1993-2001. Member of the Democratic Party whose leadership represented a more centrist approach to government which included policies passed with a Republican-controlled Congress. His major achievements included the North American Free Trade Agreement, welfare reform, and a balanced budget. He became only the 2nd president in American history to have been impeached by Congress.

Camp David Accords (1979)

Agreement reached between the leaders of Israel and Egypt after protracted negotiations brokered by President Carter; Israel surrendered land seized in earlier wars and Egypt recognized Israel as a nation. Despite high hopes, it did not lead to a permanent peace in the region, however.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Proposed by John Kennedy and signed by Lyndon Johnson; it desegregated public accommodations, libraries, parks, and amusements and broadened the powers of federal government to protect individual rights and prevent job discrimination.

Contract with America

Document drafted under the leadership of Republican congressman Newt Gingrich that promised to enact ten items if they won control of Congress. They included congressional term limits, a balanced budget amendment, tax cuts, tougher crime laws, and welfare reform.

Crisis of Confidence (Malaise) Speech

Televised national address by President Carter in which he complained that a weak national spirit struck "at the very heart and soul of our national will." Carter's address made many Americans feel that their president had given up.

Deregulation

The cutting back of federal regulation of industry. In the 1980s, Reagan removed price controls on oil, eliminated federal health and safety inspections for nursing homes, reduced rules governing the airline industry and the savings and loan industry.

Earl Warren

Controversial Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1953-1969); he led the court in far- reaching racial, social, and political rulings; including school desegregation and protecting rights of persons accused of crimes.

George H.W. Bush

President of the United States, 1989-1993. He ran his 1988 campaign building on President's Reagan's legacy with the promise, "Read my lips: no new taxes." Despite a swift and successful military campaign against Saddam Hussein in the Person Gulf War, the 1990s economic recession and his ultimate reversal of that promise cost him his bid for re-election in 1992.

George McGovern

Unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president in 1972; he called for immediate withdrawal from Vietnam and a guaranteed income for the poor. When his vice presidential choice got into trouble, he waffled in his defense, which cost him further with the electorate.

George W. Bush

President of the United States, 2001-2009. Member of the Republican Party who espoused a more "compassionate conservatism" whose policies included tax cuts and education reform. His presidency was largely defined by a "War on Terror" following the September 11 terrorist attacks, which included the Patriot Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, War in Afghanistan, and the controversial War in Iraq.

George Wallace

Alabama governor and third-party candidate for president in 1968 and 1972; he ran on a segregation and law-and-order platform. Paralyzed by an attempted assassination in 1972, he never recovered politically.

Gerald Ford

President, 1974-1977, who served without being elected either president or vice president; appointed vice president under the terms of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment when Spiro Agnew resigned, he assumed the presidency when Nixon resigned.

Geraldine Ferraro

House Representative from New York chosen by Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Walter Mondale to be his Vice-Presidential running mate in 1984. She became the first woman on a major political party's presidential ticket.

Great Society

President Lyndon Johnson's social and economic program that helped the poor, the aged, and the young. The program of civil rights and a "war on poverty" included the passage of Medicare, Medicaid, Immigration Act of 1965, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Henry Kissinger

Advisor to Presidents Nixon and Ford; he was architect of the Vietnam settlement, the diplomatic opening to China, and détente with the Soviet Union.

Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

A law that opened the door for many non-European immigrants to settle in the United States by ending quotas based on nationality.

Iran Hostage Crisis (1979-1981)

Incident in which Iranian radicals, with government support, seized 52 Americans from the U.S. embassy and held them for 444 days; ostensibly demanding the return of the deposed Shah to stand trial, the fundamentalist clerics behind the seizure also hoped to punish the United States for other perceived past wrongs.

Iran-Contra Affair (1986-1987)

Scandal that erupted after the Reagan administration sold weapons to Iran in hopes of freeing American hostages in Lebanon; money from the arms sales was used to aid the Contras (anti-Communist insurgents) in Nicaragua, even though Congress had prohibited this assistance. Talk of Reagan's impeachment ended when presidential aides took the blame for the illegal activity.

Jimmy Carter

President, 1977-1981; he aimed for a foreign policy "as good and great as the American people." His highlight was the Camp David Accords; his low point, the Iran Hostage Crisis. Defeated for reelection after one term, he became very successful as an ex-president.

Lyndon Johnson

President, 1963-1969; his escalation of the Vietnam War cost him political support and destroyed his presidency. He increased the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam from 16,000 in 1963 to 540,000 in 1968. After the Tet Offensive, he decided to not seek reelection.

New Left

Label for the political radicals of the 1960s; influenced by "Old Left" of the 1930s, which had criticized capitalism and supported successes of Communism, the New Left supported civil rights and opposed American foreign policy, especially in Vietnam.

No Child Left Behind

Education reform plan that called for more accountability by states for students' success, mandatory achievement testing, and more school options available for parents.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Legislation championed by President Clinton based on the idea that flourishing trade was essential to U.S. prosperity and world economic and political stability. The treaty was signed by Mexico, the United States, and Canada and was ratified by the U.S. Senate.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Cartel of oil-exporting nations, which used oil as a weapon to alter America's Middle East policy; it organized a series of oil boycotts that roiled the United States economy throughout the 1970s.

Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm)

Successful military campaign supported by a robust international coalition to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi control. The United States and its allies staged a massive air assault and subsequently launched a successful ground offensive from Saudi Arabia.

Richard Nixon

President, 1969-1974; he extracted the United States from Vietnam slowly, recognized Communist China, and improved relations with the Soviet Union. His foreign policy achievements were overshadowed by the Watergate scandal.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Landmark Supreme Court ruling that first-trimester abortions were protected by a woman's right to privacy.

Ronald Reagan

President, 1981-1989, who led a conservative movement against détente with the Soviet Union and the growth of the federal government; some people credit him with America's victory in the Cold War while others fault his insensitive social agenda and irresponsible fiscal policies.

Sandra Day O'Connor

Appointed by President Reagan, she became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

September 11, 2001

In a coordinated effort by members of the terrorist group al Qaeda, two highjacked commercial jets struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one crashing minutes after the other. About an hour later, a third plane tore into the Pentagon building, the U.S. military headquarters outside Washington. A fourth highjacked plane crashed near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

Silent Majority

Label Nixon gave to middle-class Americans who supported him, obeyed the laws, and wanted "peace with honor" in Vietnam; he contrasted this group with students and civil rights activists who disrupted the country with protests in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Stagflation

Name given the economic condition throughout most of the 1970s in which prices rose rapidly (inflation) but without economic growth (stagnation). Unemployment rose along with inflation. In large part, these conditions were the economic consequences of rising oil prices.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

A proposed defense system popularly known as "Star Wars," intended to protect the United States against missile attacks.

Sunbelt

Term used to describe the South and Southwest because of their warm climate. This region has experienced a significant population boom since the late 1970s.

Supply-side economics (Reaganomics)

The economic policies of President Ronald Reagan, which were focused on budget cuts and the granting of large tax cuts in order to increase private investment, savings, and jobs and ultimately increase government revenue.

Thurgood Marshall

Leading attorney for NAACP in 1940s and 1950s, who headed the team in Brown vs. the Board of Education case; later, Lyndon Johnson appointed him the first black justice on the United States Supreme Court.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

It expanded the federal government's protection of voters and voter registration; it also increased federal authority to investigate voter irregularities and outlawed literacy tests.

War on Terror

Label for the antiterrorism efforts begun after the September 11 attacks, which included government detention of foreigners suspected of terrorism, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, increased aviation security, and a military campaign in Afghanistan to break up Al Qaeda.

Warren Burger

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 1969-1986; although considered more conservative in leadership than Earl Warren, his court upheld school busing, a women's right to an abortion, and ordered Nixon to surrender the Watergate tapes.

Watergate scandal

Name applied to a series of events that began when the Nixon White House tried to place illegal phone taps on Democrats in June 1972; the burglars were caught, and rather than accept the legal and political fallout, Nixon and his aides obstructed the investigation, which cost him his office and sent several of his top aides to prison.

Agenda

An underlying (often ideological) plan or program

Bureaucracy

A body of non-elected government officials; those involved in the administration of policy

Coalition

Groups allied for a common purpose

Constituency

Those being represented

deficit

A shortage; excess of spending over revenue

demographic

Characteristics relating to population

discrimination

To show partiality in treatment

entitlement

Belief that one is deserving of certain privileges

fiscal

Relating to public revenue or public debt

ideology

A set of beliefs

inflation

Rising prices

marginalized

Lacking power

polarization

A division into two extremes of groups or interests

proliferation

An increase in the number of something

radical

One who wants immediate, extreme change

reactionary

One who wants to return to an idealized past

socioeconomic

Relating to class, wealth, and status

surplus

The amount that remains when use or need is satisfied

Bartolomé de las Casas

Dominican priest who in the early 1500s criticized the cruelty of Spanish policy toward Indians; denounced Spanish actions for their brutality and insensitivity. His criticism helped end the encomienda system.

Christopher Columbus

Claimed islands in the Caribbean for Spain 1492-1504. He established the Spanish empire as he sought a western passage to the Indies. A poor administrator, he died disgraced in 1506.

Columbian Exchange

transfer, beginning with Columbus's first voyage, of plants, animals, and diseases between the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere. This included squash, potatoes, and corn (maize) from the New World and cattle, horses, and smallpox from Europe.

Encomienda system

Early Spanish colonial system where officials provided protection to Indian populations in return for their labor and production; really a form of slavery that lasted until the mid 1500s; stopped because of exploitation and inefficiency.

Hernándo Cortés

Conquered Aztecs in Mexico. He captured the capital of Tenochititlán, with its leader Montezuma in 1521; pillaged and destroyed the Aztec civilization.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Louis XIV's minister who rejuvenated the French empire in the Western Hemisphere. In 1660s, he reorganized and strengthened the colonies of New France.

Northwest Passage

Mythical water route to Asia. The search for the western path to India and China propelled the encounters and exploration of the Western Hemisphere in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Pueblo Revolt

Indian uprising in New Mexico in 1680 against Spain and the Catholic Church. Rebels killed 400 colonists, destroyed mission around Santa Fe; held off the Spanish for 14 years.

Richard Hakluyt

British writer who, in the 1580s, encouraged England to explore and settle in North America. His writings prompted England to embark on its North American empire.

Act Concerning Religion (Maryland Toleration Act)

An act passed in Maryland in 1649 that granted freedom of worship to all Christians; although it was enacted to protect the Catholic minority in Maryland, it was a benchmark of religious freedom in all the colonies. It did not extend to non-Christians, however.

Anne Hutchinson

Charismatic colonist in Massachusetts Bay who questioned whether one could achieve salvation solely by good works; she led the Antinomian controversy by challenging the clergy and the laws of the colony. She was banished from Massachusetts in 1638 and was killed by Indians in 1643.

Anglican Church

Church of England started by King Henry VIII in 1533; the monarch was head of the church, which was strongest in North America in the Southern Colonies. By 1776, it was the second-largest church in America behind the Congregationalists.

Bacon's Rebellion

Attacks by frontiersmen led by Nathaniel Bacon against the Native Americans in the Virginia backcountry; when the governor opposed Bacon's action, Bacon attacked Jamestown, burned it, and briefly deposed the governor before the rebellion fizzled. This revolt is often viewed as the first strike against insensitive British policy, as a clash between East and West, and as evidence of the dangers of the indentured-servant system.

Congregationalist (Puritans)

Believed the Anglican Church retained too many Catholic ideas and sought to purify the Church of England; the Puritans believed in predestination (man saved or damned at birth) and also held that God was watchful and granted salvation only to those who adhered to His goodness as interpreted by the church. The Puritans were strong in New England and very intolerant of other religious groups.

First Great Awakening

Religious revival in the colonies in 1730s and 1740s; George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards preached a message of atonement for sins by admitting them to God. The movement attempted to combat the growing secularism and rationalism of mid-eighteenth century America.

Halfway Covenant

Puritan response to the dilemma of what to do with the children born to nonchurch members as fewer and fewer Puritans sought full membership (visible sainthood) in the church; leaders allowed such children to be baptized, but they could not take communion, nor could nonchurch males vote in government/church affairs.

Headright system

Means of attracting settlers to colonial America; the system gave land to a family head and to anyone he sponsored coming to the colony, including indentured servants. The amount of land varied from fifty to two-hundred acres per person.

House of Burgesses

First popularly-elected legislative assembly in America; it met in Jamestown in 1619.

Indentured servants

Mainstay of the labor needs in many colonies, especially in the Chesapeake regions in the seventeenth century; indentured servants were "rented slaves" who served four to seven years and then were freed to make their way in the world. Most of the servants were from the ranks of the poor, political dissenters, and criminals in England.

Jonathan Edwards

Congregational minister of the 1740s who was a leading voice of the Great Awakening; his Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God attacked ideas of easy salvation and reminded the colonists of the absolute sovereignty of God.

John Smith

Saved Jamestown through firm leadership in 1607 and 1608; he imposed work and order in the settlement and later published several books promoting colonization of North America.

John Winthrop

Leader of the Puritans who settled in Massachusetts Bay in the 1630s; he called for Puritans to create "a city upon a hill" and guided the colony through many crises, including the banishments of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson.

Mayflower Compact

Written agreement in 1620 to create a body politic among the male settlers in Plymouth; it was the forerunner to charters and constitutions that were eventually adopted in all the colonies.

Mercantilism

Economic doctrine that called for the mother country to dominate and regulate its colonies, the system fixed trade patterns, maintained high tariffs, and discouraged manufacturing in the colonies

Navigation Acts

Series of English laws to enforce the mercantile system, the laws established control over colonial trade, excluded all but British ships in commerce, and enumerated goods that had to be shipped to England or to other English colonies. The acts also restricted colonial manufacturing.

Roger Williams

Puritan who challenged the church to separate itself from the government and to give greater recognition of the rights of Native Americans; he was banished in 1635 and founded Rhode Island. (Critics called it Rogue Island.)

Salem witchhunt

Period of hysteria in 1692, when a group of teenaged girls accused neighbors of bewitching them; in ten months, nineteen people were executed and hundreds imprisoned. The hysteria subsided when the girls accused the more prominent individuals in the colony, including the governor's wife.

Salutary neglect

Policy that British followed from 1607 to 1763, by which they interfered very little with the colonies; through this lack of control, the colonies thrived and prospered. It was an attempt to end this policy that helped create the friction that led to the American Revolution.

Society of Friends (Quakers)

Church founded by George Fox which believed in "The Inner Light" - a direct, individualistic experience with God; the church was strongly opposed to the Anglican Church in England and the Congregationalist Church in America. In 1681, William Penn established Pennsylvania as a haven for Quakers persecuted in England and in the colonies.

Stono Rebellion

Slave rebellion in South Carolina in September 1739; twenty to eighty slaves burned seven plantations, killed twenty whites, and tried to escape to Florida. The rebellion was crushed. All the slaves were killed and decapitated, and their heads were put on display as a deterrent to future uprisings.

Theocracy

Government organized and administered by the church; in Massachusetts Bay colony, only church members could vote in town meetings. The government levied taxes on both church members and nonmembers and required attendance for all at religious services.

William Penn

Quaker founder of Pennsylvania; he intended it to be a Quaker haven, but all religions were tolerated. The colony had very good relations with Native Americans at first.

Epidemic

Widespread occurrence of an infectious disease, such as smallpox, in a community at a particular time.

New England Colonies

Northernmost British colonies inclusive of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded primarily as a refuge for Pilgrims and Puritans seeking religious freedom for themselves.

Middle Colonies

British colonies between the New England and Chesapeake Colonies inclusive of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Middle Colonies were primarily characterized by their religious and social diversity.

Chesapeake Colonies

British colonies inclusive of Virginia and Maryland. Further south, these colonies were characterized by an economic dependence on cash crops like tobacco.

Southern Colonies

Inclusive of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. South Carolina in particular became increasingly reliant on slavery because of an economy dependent on labor-intensive crops like rice and indigo.

Metacom's (King Phillip's) War (1675-1676)

Conflict between New England colonists and Native American groups. The alliance of Native Americans was organized in resistance to restrictive Puritan laws that deprived them of their land and livelihood.

Chattel Slavery

Characterized by the dehumanizing treatment of people as personal property and commodities to be bought and sold.