APUSH NOTES (copy)

Three Gs

Economic motivations, including Gold, God (Missions/Religion), and Glory, that fueled Spanish exploration.

Columbus

An explorer credited with discovering the Americas, believing he had reached India.

Hispaniola

An island in the Caribbean where Columbus first landed, mistakenly thinking it was part of Asia.

Sedentary societies

Indigenous communities established stable agricultural practices, allowing for complex societal structures.

Iroquois

A prominent Native American confederation in the Eastern region of North America.

Cherokee longhouse

A type of dwelling used by the Cherokee, accommodating multiple generations of families.

Moundbuilders

Notable Native American cultures in the Midwest, famous for constructing earthen mounds.

Mississippian societies

Native American groups that thrived in the Mississippi River Valley, known for their trade networks.

Encomienda system

A Spanish colonial system that allowed settlers to exploit indigenous labor in exchange for protection.

Pueblo Revolt

Indigenous uprising in 1680 against Spanish colonial rule in New Mexico.

Bartolomé de las Casas

A Spanish priest who advocated for the rights and humane treatment of Native Americans.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, and diseases between the Americas and Europe.

Conquistador

Spanish explorers and conquerors who claimed lands in the Americas for Spain.

Sugarcane plantations

Large agricultural operations in the Americas created for the cultivation of sugarcane, reliant on slave labor.

African Chattel slavery

A system where enslaved Africans were treated as property and could be bought and sold.

Bacon's Rebellion

An uprising in 1676 Virginia that highlighted tensions between landless colonists and the colonial government.

Stono Rebellion

A significant slave uprising in 1739 in South Carolina, leading to stricter slave codes.

First Great Awakening

A religious revival in the 1730s and 1740s that encouraged emotional connections to faith.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that emphasizes the importance of profitable trade and colonization.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest against British taxation where colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

Intolerable Acts

A series of punitive measures imposed by Britain in response to the Boston Tea Party.

Common Sense

A pamphlet by Thomas Paine that advocated for American independence from Britain.

Declaration of Independence

The document adopted on July 4, 1776, declaring the American colonies free from British rule.

Federalist Papers

A series of essays written to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.

Whiskey Rebellion

A 1794 uprising against the tax on whiskey, demonstrating the federal government's power.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws enacted in 1798 that restricted the rights of foreigners and limited free speech.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 acquisition of territory from France that doubled the size of the United States.

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. policy opposing European colonialism in the Americas, declared in 1823.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the expansion of the U.S. across the American continents was justified.

Mexican-American War

A conflict from 1846 to 1848 resulting in significant territorial gains for the United States.

Compromise of 1850

A package of five bills passed to defuse political tensions regarding slavery in new territories.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 law that allowed territories to decide on the legality of slavery through popular sovereignty.

Dred Scott decision

An 1857 Supreme Court ruling that stated that African Americans could not be citizens.

Civil War

A conflict from 1861 to 1865 between the Northern states (Union) and Southern states (Confederacy).

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 freeing slaves in Confederate territory.

Reconstruction

The period following the Civil War during which the Southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union.

14th Amendment

An amendment granting citizenship and equal protection under the laws to all persons born in the U.S.

15th Amendment

An amendment prohibiting the denial of voting rights on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Black Codes

Laws passed in Southern states to restrict the rights and freedoms of African Americans after the Civil War.

Freedmen's Bureau

An agency created to assist newly freed slaves in the South after the Civil War.

Sharecropping

A system where farmers, often formerly enslaved people, worked land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crops.

Women's Suffrage Movement

A movement aimed at securing women’s right to vote, particularly prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Supreme Court cases post-Civil War

The judicial decisions that shaped civil rights and the status of African Americans in the reconstruction era.