THE ULTIMATE APUSH VOCAB GUIDE

Native Americans

Indigenous peoples living in North America before European colonization.

Maize

Corn; a staple crop for Native American societies, especially in the Southwest.

Tenochtitlan

Capital city of the Aztec Empire, located in present-day Mexico City.

Aztecs

Mesoamerican empire known for advanced engineering and human sacrifice.

Mayans

Indigenous civilization in Central America known for writing, math, and astronomy.

Incas

South American empire in the Andes known for roads and terracing.

Pueblo

Native people of the Southwest known for adobe dwellings and farming.

Cahokia

Major Mississippian city with large mounds, located near present-day St. Louis.

Iroquois

Northeastern tribe known for forming a political confederacy.

Reasons for exploration

Included desire for gold, spread of Christianity, and glory.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who promoted exploration of Africa.

Isabella and Ferdinand

Spanish monarchs who funded Columbus’s voyage in 1492.

Christopher Columbus

Explorer who reached the Americas in 1492 under Spain.

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between Old and New Worlds.

Feudalism

Medieval European political system based on land ownership and loyalty.

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership and profit.

Middle Passage

Brutal journey enslaved Africans took across the Atlantic to the Americas.

Mercantilism

Economic policy focused on maximizing exports and accumulating wealth.

Joint-Stock Companies

Businesses that funded colonies by pooling investor money.

African Slave Trade

Forced migration of Africans to the Americas as slave labor.

Social Darwinism

Belief that some races were naturally superior, used to justify imperialism.

Encomienda System

Spanish labor system that forced Native Americans to work for colonists.

Requerimiento

Spanish document demanding Native submission or justifying conquest.

Caste System

Racial and social hierarchy imposed in Spanish colonies.

Mission System

Spanish effort to convert Native Americans to Christianity.

Hegemony

Dominance of one group over others, especially culturally or politically.

Pueblo Revolt

1680 Native uprising that expelled the Spanish from New Mexico for 12 years.

Samuel De Champlain

French explorer who founded Quebec in 1608.

Henry Hudson

English explorer who searched for a Northwest Passage and explored New York.

Enclosure Movement

Privatization of land in England, pushing people to the colonies.

Chesapeake Colonies

Maryland and Virginia, known for tobacco farming and slavery.

Jamestown

First permanent English colony in America, founded in 1607.

John Rolfe

Introduced tobacco cultivation in Virginia and married Pocahontas.

Cash Crops

Crops like tobacco and cotton grown for profit rather than food.

Indentured Servants

Laborers who worked for a set time in exchange for passage to America.

New England Colonies

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire; Puritan influence.

Middle Colonies

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware; diverse and tolerant.

William Penn

Quaker who founded Pennsylvania as a religious refuge.

Bacon’s Rebellion

1676 rebellion by poor farmers against Virginia’s elite and Native policy.

House of Burgesses

First representative government in colonial America, Virginia.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement for self-government made by Pilgrims.

The Triangular Trade

Trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas involving slaves, goods, and raw materials.

Slave Trade Act

British law to regulate and eventually end slave trading.

Navigation Acts

British laws that restricted colonial trade to benefit England.

Metacom’s War

1675 Native uprising against New England settlers; also called King Philip’s War.

Stono Rebellion

1739 slave revolt in South Carolina, leading to stricter slave laws.

The Enlightenment

Intellectual movement emphasizing reason and individual rights.

John Locke

Enlightenment thinker who argued for natural rights and government by consent.

Natural Rights

Life, liberty, and property—rights all people are born with.

Social Contract

Idea that government is based on an agreement between rulers and the people.

The Great Awakening

Religious revival in the 1730s–40s emphasizing emotional preaching and individual faith.

New Light Clergy

Ministers who supported the Great Awakening's new style of preaching.

Pietism

A Christian movement focused on personal faith and devotion.

Jonathan Edwards

Preacher of the Great Awakening, known for 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.'

George Whitefield

Evangelist who helped spread the Great Awakening with emotional sermons.

Anglicanization

Process of colonies adopting English customs, culture, and political structures.

Impressment

British practice of forcing American sailors into the Royal Navy.

The French and Indian War

Conflict between Britain and France in North America (1754–1763), part of the Seven Years' War.

The Seven Years’ War

Global conflict between European powers, 1756–1763.

Ohio River Valley

Area of conflict between British and French leading up to the French and Indian War.

George Washington

Young officer in the French and Indian War; later first U.S. president.

Fort Duquesne

French fort in Ohio territory; contested by British colonists.

The Albany Congress

1754 meeting of colonies to discuss defense and alliance with Iroquois.

Albany Plan of Union

Benjamin Franklin’s failed plan to unite the colonies for defense.

The Peace of Paris

1763 treaty ending the French and Indian War; France lost most of its North American territory.

Proclamation Line of 1763

British law banning settlement west of the Appalachians to appease Native Americans.

Salutary Neglect

British policy of loosely enforcing colonial laws, fostering independence.

George Grenville

British PM who enforced stricter tax laws on colonies after the war.

Quartering Act of 1765

Required colonists to house and feed British troops.

Sugar Act

1764 British tax on sugar and molasses; aimed to reduce smuggling.

The Stamp Act of 1765

First direct tax on the colonies; required tax stamps on paper goods.

Currency Act

Banned colonies from printing their own paper money.

Virtual Representation

British argument that Parliament represented all subjects, even without direct colonial representation.

Sons of Liberty, Daughters of Liberty, Vox Populi

Colonial groups that protested British policies.

The Stamp Act Congress of 1765

Colonies united to protest the Stamp Act.

Townshend Acts 1767

Taxed imports like glass, paint, paper; led to boycotts.

The Boston Massacre of 1770

British soldiers killed 5 colonists during a protest.

John Adams

Defended British soldiers in the Boston Massacre; later second U.S. president.

The Boston Tea Party of 1773

Protest in which colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

Tea Act

Gave British East India Company monopoly on tea sales in America.

Coercive Acts of 1774

British punishment for Boston Tea Party; closed harbor and limited self-government.

Intolerable Acts

Colonists’ name for the Coercive Acts.

Quartering Act

Reissued act forcing colonists to house British troops.

Continental Congress 1774

First meeting of colonial representatives to respond to British policies.

Baron de Montesquieu

Enlightenment thinker who supported separation of powers.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Pamphlet urging independence from Britain.

Second Continental Congress of 1776

Declared independence and organized the Continental Army.

Loyalists

Colonists loyal to Britain during the American Revolution.

Battle of Saratoga

Turning point of the Revolution; led to French alliance.

The Battle of Yorktown

Final battle of the Revolution; British surrendered in 1781.

Paris Peace Treaty 1783

Ended the Revolutionary War and recognized American independence.

Slavery

System of forced labor, central to Southern economy and politics.

Suffrage

The right to vote; debated over who should have access to it post-Revolution.

Republican Motherhood

Belief women should raise children with republican values.

French Revolution, Haitian Revolution, and Latin American Revolutions

Inspired by American Revolution; challenged monarchy and colonialism.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. constitution; weak federal government.

Westward Migration

Movement of settlers into frontier territories after the Revolution.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Law creating process for new states in the Northwest Territory.

Shay’s Rebellion

1786 revolt by farmers against debt and taxes; exposed weakness of Articles.