American History: From Washington to Reconstruction

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major events, legislative acts, and key figures from the early Republic through the Reconstruction era.

Cabinet

Washington’s group of advisors.

Judiciary Act of 1789

Created the federal court system.

John Jay

First Chief Justice of the United States.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Tenth Amendment

States that powers not given to the federal government belong to the states.

Ninth Amendment

States that people have rights not specifically listed in the Constitution.

Enumerated powers

Powers directly listed in the Constitution.

Implied powers

Powers not listed but needed to do government jobs.

Whiskey Rebellion

The uprising that Washington suppressed, showing the strength of the new federal government.

Federalists

Hamilton’s supporters who believed in a strong national government ruled by the educated and wealthy.

Democratic-Republicans

Jefferson and Madison’s supporters who supported agriculture and a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

Neutrality Proclamation

Washington’s declaration that the U.S. would stay neutral between Britain and France.

Pinckney’s Treaty

Allowed the United States use of the Mississippi River and New Orleans.

XYZ Affair

Incident where French officials demanded bribes from American diplomats.

Electoral College

System created mainy to give smaller states influence in presidential elections.

Judiciary Act of 1801

Legislation that created new federal judgeships.

John Marshall

Chief Justice who strengthened the Supreme Court and served from 1816–1824.

Marbury v. Madison

Supreme Court case that established judicial review.

Louisiana Purchase

The U.S. purchase of territory from France.

Essex Junto

A Federalist plan to separate New England from the Union.

Impressment

Forced military service by kidnapping sailors.

Era of Good Feelings

Phrase coined by Benjamin Russell to describe James Monroe’s presidency.

Revenue tariff

A tariff made mainly to raise government money.

Protective tariff

A tariff protecting American industries.

Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee

Established Supreme Court authority over state courts.

Gibbons v. Ogden

Ruled that Congress controls interstate commerce.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Upheld the constitutionality of the national bank.

Adams-Onís Treaty

Treaty that gave Florida to the U.S.

Monroe Doctrine

A warning to Europe to stay out of the Americas.

Commonwealth v. Hunt

Court ruling that unions and strikes are legal.

James Forten

Wealthy sailmaker and businessman who owned a successful sail factory.

Nat Turner

Leader of a major slave revolt.

Frederick Douglass

Abolitionist leader, advisor to Lincoln, and publisher of The North Star.

Denmark Vesey

Planned a slave revolt in Charleston.

Missouri Compromise

Admitted Missouri and Maine to the Union and addressed the expansion of slavery.

Corrupt bargain

The accusation made against John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay during the Election of 1824.

Indian Removal Act

Law intended to open land for white settlement by moving Native Americans.

Manifest Destiny

The belief justifying westward expansion across the continent.

Second Party System

System that resulted in increased political competition.

Trail of Tears

The forced removal of Native Americans from their lands.

Bank War

Conflict involving the Second Bank of the United States which resulted in Jackson weakening the bank.

Know-Nothing Party

An anti-immigrant political party.

Nativism

A movement focused on protecting native-born Americans.

Second Great Awakening

Religious movement focused on individual salvation.

Penny Press

Cheap newspapers produced for ordinary people.

Temperance movement

A movement aiming to reduce alcohol use.

John Brown

Abolitionist who led the raid on Harpers Ferry to start a slave uprising.

Sojourner Truth

Delivered the “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech.

William Lloyd Garrison

Abolitionist who founded The Liberator.

Harriet Tubman

Known as the “Black Moses” of the Underground Railroad.

Joseph Smith

The founder of Mormonism.

Homestead Act

Law providing free land for western settlers.

49ers

Gold seekers who traveled to California.

Exodusters

African Americans who moved west after Reconstruction for opportunity.

Stephen F. Austin

Individual who brought settlers into Texas.

William B. Travis

The commander at the Alamo.

Sam Houston

The first President of Texas.

Mexican-American War

War caused by Manifest Destiny and territorial disputes, resulting in Mexico losing territory to the U.S.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Established the Rio Grande River as the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that people should decide issues like slavery by voting.

Republican Party

Anti-slavery political party formed in the 1850s.

Henry Clay

Known as the “Great Compromiser.”

John C. Calhoun

Politician who supported slavery expansion and secession.

Compromise of 1850

A package of laws that included a stricter Fugitive Slave Law.

Underground Railroad

A secret network helping escaped slaves reach freedom.

Gadsden Purchase

1853 land purchase from Mexico.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent conflict in Kansas over whether the territory would allow slavery.

Dred Scott decision

Supreme Court ruling that African Americans were not citizens and slavery could spread into territories.

Jefferson Davis

The President of the Confederacy.

Fort Sumter

The site of the first battle of the Civil War.

War of attrition

A strategy of wearing down the enemy through continuous losses of personnel and resources.

Stonewall Jackson

Confederate hero at Bull Run who was accidentally shot by his own men.

Anaconda Plan

Civil War strategy created by Winfield Scott.

Appomattox Court House

The location where Lee surrendered to Grant.

Battle of Vicksburg

Battle that gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Military campaign that destroyed Southern resources in Georgia.

Battle of Gettysburg

Turning point battle of the Civil War that favored the Union.

Battle of Antietam

The bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War.

Emancipation Proclamation

Decree that made slavery the main moral issue of the war.

Clara Barton

Founder of the American Red Cross.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that ended slavery.

Radical Republicans

Group that wanted strict control of the South during Reconstruction.

Reconstruction

The period of rebuilding the nation after the Civil War.

Black Codes

Laws passed to restrict Black freedoms and limit African American rights.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Organization created to help freed slaves transition to freedom by building schools and programs.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Act intended to protect the rights of freedpeople and grant citizenship to African Americans born in the U.S.

Fourteenth Amendment

Amendment that protected citizenship rights.

Fifteenth Amendment

Amendment that protected voting rights for Black men.

Sharecropping

Farming land owned by another in exchange for a portion of the crops, often leading to debt and poverty.

Jim Crow laws

Laws emerged in the late 1800s to enforce racial segregation.

Opportunists

People seeking personal gain during the Reconstruction era.