APUSH AP Test Key Terms Review

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Columbian Exchange

The movement of people, goods, animals, and diseases between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Encomienda System

A Spanish system where colonists controlled Native labor in return for offering protection and Christianity.

Joint Stock Companies

Businesses where investors pooled money to fund colonies and shared profits or losses.This form of investment allowed for the establishment and management of colonies, minimizing individual financial risk.

Treaty of Tordesillas

A 1494 agreement splitting the New World between Spain and Portugal.

Conquistadors

Spanish adventurers who conquered native civilizations in the Americas.

Jamestown

The first permanent English colony in North America, founded in Virginia in 1607.

Mayflower Compact

An early form of self

Puritan Migration

Movement of thousands of Puritans to Massachusetts seeking religious freedom.

Headright System

Land policy granting plots to settlers and those who financed others' travel.

Salutary Neglect

Britain's policy of loosely enforcing colonial laws, allowing self

French and Indian War

War between Britain and France over North American territory, leading to British dominance and debt.

Stamp Act

A British tax on paper goods that angered colonists and sparked protest.

Boston Massacre

A deadly clash between colonists and British soldiers that increased anti

Declaration of Independence

A document declaring American independence and listing British abuses.

Treaty of Paris 1783

Ended the Revolutionary War and recognized U.S. independence.

Articles of Confederation

America's first government system, which was too weak to handle national issues.

Shays’ Rebellion

Uprising of farmers showing the need for a stronger national government.

Constitutional Convention

1787 meeting where U.S. leaders created a stronger Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments protecting individual freedoms.

Federalism

The division of power between federal and state governments.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 deal that doubled the size of the U.S. by buying land from France.

Monroe Doctrine

U.S. policy opposing European interference in the Americas.

Indian Removal Act

Law forcing Native tribes to move west of the Mississippi River.

Trail of Tears

Forced march of Cherokee people resulting in thousands of deaths.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America.

Compromise of 1850

Deal allowing California to join as a free state and creating a stricter fugitive slave law.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Law letting territories vote on slavery, leading to violent conflict.

Dred Scott Case

Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property and Congress couldn’t ban slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's order to free slaves in Confederate states during the Civil War.

13th Amendment

Officially abolished slavery in the United States.

Progressive Movement

Reform era focused on fixing social, political, and economic problems.

Square Deal

Teddy Roosevelt's policy of fairness and breaking up big businesses.

Espionage & Sedition Acts

Laws during WWI punishing criticism of the government and war effort.

Great Migration

Large

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty ending WWI that punished Germany and created the League of Nations.

First Red Scare

A period of fear of communism after WWI that led to government crackdowns.

Harlem Renaissance

Cultural revival of African American art, music, and writing in the 1920s.

Stock Market Crash

1929 financial disaster that triggered the Great Depression.

New Deal

FDR’s programs to help the economy recover from the Great Depression.

Social Security Act

Created retirement benefits and financial support for the unemployed.

Court Packing Plan

FDR’s failed attempt to add justices to the Supreme Court

Neutrality Acts

Laws aiming to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars before WWII.

Pearl Harbor

Surprise attack by Japan in 1941 that led the U.S. to enter WWII.

Japanese Internment

Forcible relocation of Japanese Americans into camps during WWII.

D-Day

1944 Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France that helped turn the war.
Atomic Bombs on Japan - U.S. dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending WWII.

Atomic Bombs on Japan

U.S. dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending WWII.

Containment

U.S. strategy to prevent the spread of communism worldwide.

NATO

Military alliance formed to counter Soviet influence.

Korean War

War between North and South Korea involving U.S. forces; ended in a stalemate.

Brown v. Board of Education

Supreme Court decision that ended legal segregation in schools.

Civil Rights Act 1964

Banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, or gender.

Great Society

LBJ’s domestic programs to fight poverty and promote equality.

Vietnam War

Controversial war to stop communism in Southeast Asia.

Watergate

Political scandal that led to President Nixon’s resignation.

Reaganomics

Reagan’s economic policy focused on tax cuts and limited government.

Iran-Contra Affair

Scandal where U.S. officials secretly sold weapons and funded rebels

Cold War Ends

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ending decades of tension.

9/11 Attacks

Terrorist attacks that led to the War on Terror.

Patriot Act

Gave the government more surveillance powers after 9/11.

Great Recession

Major economic downturn starting in 2007 due to the housing crisis.

Affordable Care Act

Law aimed at expanding health coverage and lowering costs.

Black Lives Matter

Movement fighting racism and violence against Black communities.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Global virus outbreak that disrupted health, economy, and daily life beginning in late 2019 and leading to widespread illness, lockdowns, and significant changes in societal norms.