APUSH Period 4 vocab

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major political, social, economic, and reform developments in early nineteenth-century U.S. history.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Supreme Court case that established judicial review, giving the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional.

Chief Justice John Marshall

Chief Justice (1801–1835) who strengthened federal power through Supreme Court decisions and expanded the authority of the judicial branch.

Judicial Review

The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and government actions unconstitutional.

Barbary Pirates

North African pirates who attacked American merchant ships and demanded tribute payments; Jefferson sent the U.S. Navy to fight them.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

Purchase of approximately 828,000 square miles from France for $15 million under Jefferson, doubling the size of the United States.

Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804–1806)

Expedition commissioned by Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Territory, map western lands, and find a route to the Pacific Ocean.

Aaron Burr

Former vice president who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel and was later accused of plotting to create an independent nation in the western territories.

Impressment

British practice of forcibly taking American sailors and forcing them to serve in the British Navy; a major cause of the War of 1812.

Embargo Act of 1807

Jefferson’s law prohibiting American ships from trading with foreign nations to avoid war with Britain and France; damaged the American economy.

James Madison

Fourth U.S. president (1809–1817) who led the country during the War of 1812.

War of 1812 (1812–1815)

War between the U.S. and Britain caused by impressment, trade restrictions, and British support for Native American resistance; increased American nationalism.

Tecumseh

Shawnee leader who attempted to unite Native American tribes to resist American westward expansion; allied with Britain during the War of 1812.

Battle of Tippecanoe (1811)

Battle in which William Henry Harrison defeated Native American forces associated with Tecumseh’s confederacy, weakening Native American resistance.

War Hawks

Young, nationalist members of Congress who pushed for war against Britain; included Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun.

Francis Scott Key

American lawyer who wrote the poem that became “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing the British attack on Fort McHenry.

Treaty of Ghent (1814)

Treaty that ended the War of 1812 and restored prewar boundaries without resolving major disagreements between the U.S. and Britain.

Hartford Convention (1814–1815)

Meeting of New England Federalists who opposed the War of 1812 and discussed constitutional amendments and possible secession; weakened the Federalist Party’s reputation.

Battle of New Orleans (1815)

Major American victory led by Andrew Jackson against Britain after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed; made Jackson a national hero.

Macon’s Bill No. 2 (1810)

Law that reopened American trade with Britain and France but promised to stop trading with whichever nation continued violating American neutrality.

Erie Canal (1825)

Waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Hudson River that reduced transportation costs, encouraged western settlement, and helped New York City become a major commercial center.

Samuel F. Morse

Inventor of the telegraph and Morse code, which revolutionized long-distance communication.

Eli Whitney

Inventor of the cotton gin, which increased cotton production and demand for enslaved labor; also promoted interchangeable parts.

Cyrus Hall McCormick

Inventor of the mechanical reaper, which made harvesting crops faster and increased agricultural productivity.

Lowell System

Factory system in Lowell, Massachusetts, that employed young, unmarried women in textile mills for wages, often under difficult working conditions.

Market Revolution

Economic transformation that connected regional economies through improved transportation, communication, and manufacturing, increasing commercial farming and wage labor.

Industrial Revolution

Transition from handmade goods and agricultural production to machine-based manufacturing and factory production.

Cult of Domesticity

Belief that women’s proper role was in the home, focusing on religion, morality, child-rearing, and household responsibilities.

Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852)

Famine caused by potato crop failures in Ireland that killed many and forced millions of Irish people to immigrate, especially to the United States.

Nativism

Anti-immigrant sentiment that favored native-born Americans over immigrants, often driven by religious prejudice and economic competition.

Know-Nothing Party

Anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic political party that emerged in the 1850s and supported restricting immigration and Catholic political influence.

German Immigration

Large-scale immigration of Germans during the 1840s and 1850s due to economic hardship and political unrest; many settled in the Midwest.

Irish Immigration

Large-scale immigration caused especially by the Potato Famine; Irish immigrants often settled in northeastern cities and faced anti-Catholic and ethnic discrimination.

John C. Calhoun

South Carolina politician and vice president who defended states’ rights, slavery, and nullification.

Henry Clay

Kentucky politician known as the “Great Compromiser” who developed the American System and helped negotiate major compromises.

Daniel Webster

Massachusetts senator who strongly supported federal authority and national unity and opposed nullification.

Tariff of 1816

First protective tariff in U.S. history, designed to protect American manufacturers from cheaper British imports.

American System

Henry Clay’s economic plan consisting of protective tariffs, a national bank, and federally funded internal improvements to strengthen the national economy.

James Monroe

Fifth U.S. president (1817–1825) associated with the Era of Good Feelings and the Monroe Doctrine.

Era of Good Feelings (1815–1825)

Period of increased nationalism and apparent political unity following the War of 1812, marked by the decline of the Federalist Party.

Oregon Country

Territory in the Pacific Northwest claimed by several nations, including the U.S. and Britain; attracted American settlers seeking western land.

Panic of 1819

First major peacetime economic depression in the U.S., caused by speculation, falling agricultural prices, and restrictive bank lending; led to unemployment and foreclosures.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while prohibiting slavery north of latitude 36°30’ in the remaining Louisiana Territory.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Supreme Court case ruling that Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce, including navigation, strengthening federal authority.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Foreign policy declaring that European nations should not establish new colonies or interfere in the Americas; established the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence.

Andrew Jackson

Seventh U.S. president (1829–1837) who represented Jacksonian democracy, opposed the national bank, expanded political participation for white men, and supported Indian removal.

Corrupt Bargain (1824)

Accusation that Henry Clay helped John Quincy Adams win the presidency in exchange for being appointed secretary of state.

John Quincy Adams

Sixth U.S. president (1825–1829) who supported federal funding for education, science, and internal improvements but faced strong political opposition.

Spoils System

Practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs after winning an election; used extensively by Andrew Jackson.

Nullification Crisis (1832–1833)

Conflict in which South Carolina claimed it could nullify federal tariffs; Jackson opposed nullification and threatened military action before a compromise tariff resolved the crisis.

Trail of Tears (1838–1839)

Forced relocation of the Cherokee people from their southeastern homelands to present-day Oklahoma; thousands died during the journey.

Indian Removal Act (1830)

Law signed by Andrew Jackson authorizing the federal government to negotiate the removal of Native American tribes from southeastern lands to territories west of the Mississippi River.

Martin Van Buren

Eighth U.S. president (1837–1841) whose presidency began during the Panic of 1837.

Tariff of 1832

Tariff that lowered some rates from the Tariff of 1828 but still angered South Carolina and helped trigger the Nullification Crisis.

Anti-Masonic Party

Political party formed in opposition to the Freemasons and secret societies; one of the first major third parties in American politics.

Specie Circular (1836)

Jackson’s order requiring public lands to be purchased with gold or silver rather than paper money; contributed to financial instability.

Panic of 1837

Major economic depression caused by factors including bank failures, land speculation, declining cotton prices, and monetary policies; began during Van Buren’s presidency.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

Anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that exposed the cruelty of slavery and increased Northern opposition to it.

Peculiar Institution

Euphemism used by Southerners to describe slavery as a distinctive institution central to Southern society and its economy.

Paternalism

Belief used by slaveholders to justify slavery by claiming they acted as caretakers or protectors of enslaved people.

Yeomen Farmers

Small independent Southern farmers who typically owned little or no enslaved labor and produced crops for their families and local markets.

Mulattoes

Historical term referring to people of mixed African and European ancestry.

Spirituals

Religious songs created by enslaved African Americans that combined Christian and African musical traditions and expressed faith, suffering, hope, and freedom.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831)

Major slave rebellion in Virginia led by Nat Turner that resulted in stricter Southern laws restricting enslaved and free Black people.

Transcendentalism

Intellectual movement emphasizing individualism, intuition, self-reliance, and finding truth through nature and personal experience.

Shakers

Religious group that practiced communal living, celibacy, and equality between men and women.

Second Great Awakening

Religious revival movement emphasizing personal salvation and individual responsibility that inspired reform movements such as abolitionism, temperance, and women’s rights.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Religious movement founded by Joseph Smith in 1830; faced persecution and eventually migrated west to Utah under Brigham Young.

American Temperance Society (1826)

Organization that promoted abstinence from alcohol or reduced alcohol consumption as part of the broader reform movement.

Horace Mann

Education reformer known as the “Father of American Public Education” who advocated for free, tax-supported public schools and trained teachers.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leading Transcendentalist writer who emphasized individualism, self-reliance, and personal intuition.

Henry David Thoreau

Transcendentalist writer who promoted simple living, nature, and individual conscience; wrote Walden and “Civil Disobedience.”

Emily Dickinson

American poet known for unconventional poetry exploring death, nature, spirituality, and human emotion.

Edgar Allan Poe

American writer and poet known for Gothic literature, psychological horror, mystery, and developing the modern detective story.

Dorothea Lynde Dix

Social reformer who advocated for improved treatment of people with mental illnesses and helped establish mental hospitals.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Women’s rights activist who helped organize the Seneca Falls Convention and advocated for women’s suffrage and legal equality.

Abolition

Movement to end slavery through moral, religious, and political opposition to the institution.

William Lloyd Garrison

Radical abolitionist who published The Liberator beginning in 1831 and demanded immediate emancipation.

Frederick Douglass

Formerly enslaved abolitionist, writer, and speaker who published Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) and advocated for immediate emancipation and equal rights.

Underground Railroad

Secret network of routes, safe houses, and individuals who helped enslaved people escape to free states and Canada.

Harriet Tubman

Formerly enslaved abolitionist who repeatedly returned to the South to guide enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

Sojourner Truth

Formerly enslaved abolitionist and women’s rights activist known for speeches advocating racial equality and women’s rights.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

First major women’s rights convention in the U.S., organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott; produced the Declaration of Sentiments demanding equal rights, including women’s suffrage.