APUSH Period 7 Flashcards (Cumulative)

Topics 1-8

1491

Pre Columbian North America was highly diverse; societies ranged from nomadic hunter-gatherers (Great Plains) to complex agricultural civilizations (Iroquois Confederacy, Mississippian mound builders). Regional adaptations shaped social, political, and economic structures, including matrilineal systems and trade networks. Connects to later conflicts over land with Europeans.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas, Europe, and Africa after 1492. Europe gained crops like maize and potatoes, supporting population growth; Americas lost large portions of Native populations to diseases; Africa was drawn into the Atlantic slave trade. Shows early globalization and long term demographic, economic, and cultural effects.

Encomienda System

Spanish crown granted colonists the right to extract labor and tribute from Native Americans. Led to severe exploitation and population decline. Influenced later systems of labor like African slavery and haciendas, illustrating the intersection of economics, religion, and imperial power.

Spanish Colonization

Focused on converting natives to Christianity, extracting wealth (gold/silver), and enforcing a rigid caste system (peninsulares, mestizos, indigenous). Contrasts with French and English colonial approaches. Motivated by mercantilism and the spread of European cultural and religious norms.

French Colonization

Centered on fur trade and alliances with Native Americans rather than large scale settlement. Led to relatively cooperative relationships with indigenous groups compared to Spanish colonies. Connects to later Anglo-French conflicts in North America.

Dutch Colonization

Trade oriented (New Amsterdam), religiously diverse, minimal initial settlement; established commercial networks that influenced Atlantic trade patterns.

African Slavery Introduction

Began in Caribbean and South America to supplement labor for plantations after Native American population collapse. Connected to European colonial economies and laid foundation for transatlantic slave trade.

Jamestown

First permanent English colony (1607) in Virginia; faced starvation and disease. Tobacco cultivation made it economically viable. Shows early challenges of colonization and links to the later rise of African slavery.

Plymouth

Founded by Pilgrims (1620) seeking religious freedom; Mayflower Compact established self governance via majority rule. Set precedent for colonial self-governance via majority rule. Set precedent for colonial self-government and social contracts. Connects to Enlightenment ideas and later revolutionary ideals.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Puritan theocracy (1630) emphasizing education, moral conformity, and community governance through town meetings. Contrasts with religious tolerance in Rhode Island. Leads to Puritan influence on American culture and politics.

New England Economy

Small farms, shipbuilding, fishing, trade. Relied on family labor, commerce, and transatlantic trade networks. Connects to Atlantic World economic patterns and social structures.

Middle Colonies Economy

Fertile land and trade oriented; grain production earned nickname “Breadbasket Colonies.” Diversity (ethnic and religious) shaped moderate political structures.

Southern Colonies Economy

Plantation agriculture: tobacco, rice, indigo; initially used indentured servants, later shifted to African slavery for labor. Demonstrates economic motivations for slavery and regional development.

Indentured Servitude

Individuals worked for a set number of years in exchange for passage to the Americas. Declined as African slavery became more profitable.

Headright System

50 acres granted per immigrant brought to colony; encouraged settlement but led to inequality and land disputes.

Powhatan Wars

Conflicts in Virginia between settlers and Native Americans over land and resources. Connects to European expansion and indigenous displacement.

Pequot War

1636–1638; over trade and territory in New England; resulted in near destruction of Pequot tribe. Early example of colonial-Native American violent conflict.

King Philip’s War

1675–1676; Native uprising led by Metacom (King Philip) against English encroachment; significant population losses on both sides; solidified English dominance in New England.

Colonial Government

Representative assemblies like House of Burgesses and town meetings; early examples of self rule; laid groundwork for revolutionary ideas of republicanism.

Atlantic World

Triangular trade: Europe sent goods to Africa, Africa sent enslaved people to Americas, Americas sent raw materials to Europe. Interconnected economies, labor systems, and cultural exchanges.

French and Indian War

1754–1763; Britain vs. France in North America over Ohio Valley; Native Americans allied with both sides. British victory led to massive debt, prompting taxes on colonies (Sugar Act, Stamp Act). Connects directly to colonial unrest and Revolution.

Proclamation of 1763

Prohibited colonial settlement west of Appalachians to reduce Native conflict. Angered colonists, fueling tension with Britain.

Stamp Act

1765 tax on paper; first direct tax; sparked protests, “no taxation without representation,” formation of Sons of Liberty. Connects to revolutionary ideology.

Sons of Liberty

Colonial resistance group; organized protests, boycotts, and intimidation of tax collectors. Early example of political activism shaping policy.

Declaration of Independence

1776; articulated natural rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness); justified rebellion against Britain. Influenced by Locke; foundation for revolutionary legitimacy.

Articles of Confederation

1781; weak central government, could not tax or regulate commerce; state sovereignty emphasized; problems led to Constitutional Convention.

Battle of Saratoga

1777; turning point in Revolution; convinced France to ally with U.S.; internationalized conflict.

Battle of Yorktown

1781; British surrender; effectively ended major Revolutionary fighting.

Constitutional Convention

1787; created Constitution balancing federal and state power; key compromises: Great Compromise (bicameral legislature), 3/5 Compromise (slavery representation), Electoral College.

Federalists

Hamilton led; supported strong central government, industry, loose interpretation; favored national bank; connected to debates over power distribution.

Democratic Republicans

Jefferson-led; supported states’ rights, agrarian economy, strict Constitution; opposed central bank; opposed Federalist policies.

Jay Treaty

1794; attempted to settle tensions with Britain post Revolution; unpopular but maintained peace.

Pinckney Treaty

1795; resolved Spain U.S. boundary disputes; ensured Mississippi River navigation.

Jefferson Presidency

Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled U.S. territory; Lewis & Clark mapped west; Embargo Act (1807) attempted neutrality but hurt U.S. economy; illustrates tension between ideals and practical governance.

War of 1812

Causes: British impressment, trade restrictions, Native alliances; outcomes: Treaty of Ghent ended war, strengthened nationalism, Federalist Party declined, Native resistance weakened.

Market Revolution

Industrialization, mechanization, and improved transportation (canals, railroads, steamboats); expansion of wage labor; increased regional economic specialization. Connects to urban growth and social reform.

Second Great Awakening

Religious revival emphasizing personal salvation; inspired abolition, temperance, women’s rights, and education reform; led to social reform movements.

Reform Movements

• Education: Horace Mann, standardized schooling

• Abolition: William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass

• Women’s Rights: Seneca Falls Convention (1848), Elizabeth Cady Stanton

• Prison/Mental Health: Dorothea Dix
  Connects religious revival to societal reform.

Jacksonian Democracy

Expanded white male suffrage, spoils system, Indian Removal Act (Trail of Tears), opposition to national bank; populist approach to government; tensions with Native Americans and central authority.

Westward Expansion

Manifest Destiny ideology, annexation of Texas, Oregon Trail, Mexican American War; Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo added California and Southwest; led to sectional conflicts over slavery in new territories.

Compromise of 1850

California entered as free state; stricter Fugitive Slave Law; popular sovereignty in remaining territories; attempted to balance North/South tensions.

Kansas Nebraska Act

1854; allowed settlers to decide slavery; repealed Missouri Compromise; led to “Bleeding Kansas,” showing violence of sectional conflict.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857; ruled African Americans were not citizens; Congress could not ban slavery in territories; intensified North South divide.

Abraham Lincoln

President during Civil War; preserved Union; issued Emancipation Proclamation; promoted 13th Amendment; connected political leadership to moral issues and military strategy.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863; freed slaves in Confederate states; reframed war as moral struggle; discouraged European recognition of Confederacy.

Civil War Battles

Fort Sumter (start), Antietam (bloodiest day, led to Emancipation), Gettysburg (turning point), Sherman’s March (total war in South).

13th Amendment

1865; abolished slavery nationwide; transformed Southern labor system.

14th Amendment

1868; citizenship, equal protection; basis for future civil rights cases.

15th Amendment

1870; voting rights for Black men; limited by later Jim Crow laws.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Assisted freed slaves with education, jobs, legal protection; crucial for Reconstruction; opposed by Southern resistance.

End of Reconstruction

1877; Compromise withdrew federal troops from South; allowed segregation and disenfranchisement; set stage for Jim Crow era.

Gilded Age

Rapid industrialization, urbanization, immigration; growth of monopolies (Carnegie, Rockefeller); political corruption (Tweed Ring, patronage); labor unrest (Haymarket, Homestead, Pullman).

Railroads

Connected markets, facilitated westward expansion, created monopolies and corruption (Credit Mobilier); spurred national economy and labor disputes.

Carnegie & Rockefeller

Carnegie (steel, Gospel of Wealth, philanthropy); Rockefeller (oil, trusts, horizontal integration); exemplified industrial capitalism and inequality.

Homestead Act

1862; offered 160 acres for settlement; encouraged westward migration; displacement of Native Americans.

Indian Wars

Conflicts over land and sovereignty; forced onto reservations; Dawes Act attempted assimilation; connected to Manifest Destiny and federal policies.

Labor Unions

Knights of Labor (inclusive, lost influence after Haymarket), AFL (skilled workers, collective bargaining); represented struggle for worker rights in industrial economy.

Populist Party

Advocated silver coinage, railroad regulation, direct election of senators, support for farmers; precursor to Progressive Era reforms.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896; upheld “separate but equal,” legalizing segregation; entrenched systemic racism in South.

Munn v. Illinois

1877; states could regulate private industries affecting public interest; precedent for government intervention in economy.

Period 7 Overview (1890-1945)

The United States transitioned from a rapidly industrializing nation recovering from the Gilded Age into a global superpower through overseas imperialism, Progressive reform, participation in two world wars, economic transformation toward consumer capitalism, and recovery from the Great Depression. This period is defined by tensions between reform and conservatism, isolationism and interventionism, democracy and discrimination, and economic growth and instability.

Closing of the Frontier (1890 Census)

The declaration that the western frontier was closed marked the end of continental expansion and contributed to a psychological and economic shift toward overseas expansion. Frederick Jackson Turner argued the frontier shaped American democracy and individualism; its closing fueled support for imperialism as Americans sought new markets, resources, and outlets for national energy.

Industrial Expansion and Global Markets

By the 1890s, the U.S. produced more manufactured goods than it could consume domestically. Overproduction crises and depressions (like 1893) encouraged business leaders and politicians to seek overseas markets, tying imperialism directly to industrial capitalism.

Social Darwinism in Foreign Policy

The belief that stronger nations were destined to dominate weaker ones justified imperialism. Supporters argued Anglo Saxon Americans had a duty to civilize “inferior” peoples. This ideology linked earlier Manifest Destiny thinking with overseas expansion.

Alfred Thayer Mahan and Naval Expansion

Argued that world power depended on a strong navy, coaling stations, and strategic naval bases. His ideas directly influenced the annexation of Hawaii, construction of the Panama Canal, and growth of the U.S. Navy, marking a shift toward global military readiness.

Imperialists vs Anti Imperialists

Imperialists argued expansion would spread democracy, secure markets, and strengthen national power. Anti-imperialists argued it violated American ideals of consent of the governed and risked entanglement in foreign conflicts. This debate reflected long-standing tension between isolationism and expansionism dating back to Washington’s Farewell Address.

Spanish American War Causes

Causes included Cuban revolt against Spain, yellow journalism exaggerating Spanish brutality, the De Lome Letter insulting McKinley, and the explosion of the USS Maine. The war demonstrated the growing influence of media in shaping public opinion and foreign policy.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized reporting by William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer that inflamed public opinion and helped push the U.S. toward war. It reflected the power of mass media in the emerging industrial society.

Teller Amendment vs Platt Amendment

The Teller Amendment promised Cuban independence, reflecting anti imperialist pressure. The Platt Amendment later limited Cuban sovereignty by allowing U.S. intervention and establishing Guantanamo Bay, revealing contradictions between American rhetoric and imperial actions.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S. The U.S. paid $20 million for the Philippines. This marked the formal emergence of the U.S. as an overseas empire.

Philippine American War

Filipino nationalists expected independence but instead faced U.S. occupation. The brutal conflict revealed hypocrisy in America’s claim of spreading democracy and intensified domestic debate about imperialism.

Open Door Policy

Proposed equal trade access in China without formal colonization. It reflected America’s desire for economic influence without direct territorial control and demonstrated growing U.S. interest in Asia.

Roosevelt Corollary

Extended the Monroe Doctrine by declaring the U.S. had the right to intervene in Latin America to prevent European involvement. This justified frequent U.S. interventions and established the U.S. as a hemispheric “police power.”

Panama Canal

Roosevelt supported Panamanian independence from Colombia to secure canal rights. The canal drastically improved naval mobility and trade efficiency, reinforcing U.S. strategic dominance.

Big Stick Diplomacy

Roosevelt’s philosophy of negotiating peacefully but backing it with military strength. It reflected belief in American superiority and active global involvement.

Dollar Diplomacy

Taft’s strategy of encouraging American business investment abroad to extend U.S. influence. Often resulted in military intervention when investments were threatened.

Moral Diplomacy

Wilson claimed the U.S. would support democratic governments, yet still intervened in Mexico and the Caribbean. Demonstrates tension between idealism and realism in foreign policy.

Continuity and Change in Foreign Policy (1890-1917)

Continuity: Protection of economic interests and Western Hemisphere dominance. Change: Shift from continental expansion to overseas empire and greater global involvement.

Connection to Earlier Periods

Imperialism in Period 7 builds on Manifest Destiny (Period 5) and industrial capitalism (Period 6), but differs by focusing on overseas territories rather than continental expansion.

Long Term Significance of Early Imperialism

Set precedent for U.S. involvement in global conflicts (WWI and WWII) and established military and economic structures that positioned the U.S. as a 20th-century superpower.

Progressive Era (1890-1920)

Reform movement responding to problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, political corruption, economic inequality, and corporate power. Progressives sought to use government as a tool to regulate business, expand democracy, improve social conditions, and promote efficiency. Unlike Populists, they were largely middle class and urban.

Progressivism vs Populism

Populists (1890s) were primarily rural farmers seeking economic reform (free silver, railroad regulation). Progressives were mostly middle class urban reformers focused on political reform, social justice, efficiency, and regulation of big business. Progressives succeeded where Populists failed because they had broader support.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists who exposed corruption, corporate abuses, and social injustice. They used mass circulation magazines to build public support for reform.

Ida Tarbell

Exposed Standard Oil’s monopolistic practices, leading to greater support for antitrust enforcement.

Lincoln Steffens

Exposed political corruption in cities in The Shame of the Cities, contributing to municipal reform movements.

Jacob Riis

Used photography in How the Other Half Lives to expose urban poverty and tenement conditions, increasing support for housing reform.

Upton Sinclair

The Jungle exposed unsanitary meatpacking conditions, leading to federal food regulation.

Pragmatism

Philosophy emphasizing practical solutions and experimentation rather than rigid ideology. Influenced Progressive belief that government could solve social problems.

Political Reforms (State Level)

Secret ballot reduced voter intimidation; direct primaries weakened party bosses; initiative, referendum, and recall expanded direct democracy. These reforms weakened political machines and increased citizen participation.

17th Amendment

(Direct Election of Senators) Removed Senate selection from state legislatures, reducing corruption and increasing democratic participation.

16th Amendment

(Income Tax) Established graduated federal income tax, shifting government revenue away from tariffs and allowing greater federal power.

18th Amendment

(Prohibition) Banned manufacture and sale of alcohol; reflected Progressive moral reform efforts and influence of temperance movements.

19th Amendment

(Women’s Suffrage) Granted women the right to vote nationally; culmination of decades of activism by NAWSA and other reformers.

Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal

Program focused on controlling corporations, protecting consumers, and conserving natural resources. Marked shift toward active federal regulation. Aimed to balance the interests of business, labor, and consumers through the “3 Cs”: Conservation of natural resources, consumer protection, and control of corporations.

Trust Busting

Roosevelt used Sherman Antitrust Act to break up monopolies he considered harmful (“bad trusts”), signaling federal willingness to regulate big business.

Elkins Act (1903)

Strengthened regulation of railroad rebates; reinforced Interstate Commerce Commission authority.

Hepburn Act (1906)

Expanded ICC power to set maximum railroad rates.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Required accurate labeling of food and medicine; increased federal consumer protection.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

Mandated federal inspection of meat products; response to public outcry after The Jungle.

Conservation vs Preservation

Conservationists (Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot) supported scientific management of natural resources for long term use. Preservationists (John Muir) sought to protect wilderness areas from development entirely. Both led to expansion of national parks.