APUSH Key Terms

All periods, most essential vocabulary

Bartolome de las Casas

Spanish religious figure who questioned the treatment of Native Americans.

Encomienda System

Spanish colonial system used to regulate and control the lives of Native Americans.

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of ideas, plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.

Anne Hutchinson

17th-century woman who preached that God communicated directly to individuals; banished from her colony.

Navigation Acts

Series of acts passed by Britain to regulate trade for the 13 American colonies.

Bacon's Rebellion

1670s Virginia event that led to an increased reliance on slave labor.

Mercantilism

Economic philosophy in which colonies exist to benefit the Mother Country.

Salutary Neglect

Period from 1607-1763 when Britain did not strictly enforce the Navigation Acts.

First Great Awakening

Religious revival that led to renewed religious commitment, individualism, and birth of American culture.

Differences in climate, soil fertility, economies, social structures, slave labor, and religious focus.

New England vs. Chesapeake Differences

Triangular Trade

Three-way trade system between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Albany Plan of Union

First attempt to unify the colonies.

Proclamation Act of 1763

Ended salutary neglect and altered the British-colonial relationship.

Federalists

Supported strong central government.

Anti-Federalists

Feared too much central government power.

Washington's Farewell Address

Warned against permanent foreign alliances and political parties.

Alien & Sedition Acts

Limited civil liberties during the Adams administration.

Election of 1800

Called a revolution due to peaceful power transfer and return to revolutionary ideals.

Embargo Act

Outlawed trade with Britain and France during Jefferson's administration.

Market Revolution

Post-War of 1812 period of economic transformation via industrialization and wage labor.

Clay's American System

High tariffs, internal improvements, and a national bank.

Trail of Tears

Forced removal of Native Americans from Southeast to Oklahoma Territory.

Second Great Awakening

Religious movement that sparked social reform efforts.

Missouri Compromise

Congressional compromise using a geographical line to settle slavery issue.

Manifest Destiny

Belief in divine right and moral superiority to expand westward.

Popular Sovereignty

Policy of allowing people in a region to decide the slavery issue.

Seneca Falls Convention

Event that signified the beginning of the Women's Rights Movement.

Compromise of 1850

Congressional compromise post-California gold discovery to appease North and South.

Dred Scott v Sandford

Supreme Court decision that African Americans were not citizens and could not sue.

Compromise of 1877

Signified the end of Reconstruction.

The Gilded Age

Era from 1865-1900 when the U.S. became the world's industrial power.

Captains of Industry

Positive term for innovative industrial leaders who advanced the economy.

Robber Barons

Negative term for wealthy industrialists who exploited workers and crushed competition.

Booker T. Washington

Pushed for increased power for African Americans through industrial education

W.E.B. Du Bois

Demanded immediate full and equal rights for African Americans.

Dawes Act

1887 law promoting Native American assimilation into American culture.

Plessy v Ferguson

Supreme Court case that upheld 'separate but equal' Jim Crow laws.

Harlem Renaissance

1920s African American cultural, intellectual, and artistic explosion.

Progressive Era

Late 19th/early 20th century period of social activism and reform.

Roosevelt Corollary

Early 20th century foreign policy extending the Monroe Doctrine.

New Deal

FDR's domestic program to address the Great Depression and expand federal government's role.

Election of 1896

Turning point where Republicans allied with big business; Democrats with the 'little man.'

Truman Doctrine

Early Cold War policy committing the U.S. to combat communism globally.

Great Society

LBJ's domestic program expanding federal power and creating social programs.

The Red Scare

Cold War era paranoia about communist influence.

Brown v Board of Education

Supreme Court ruling declaring school segregation unconstitutional.

NAFTA

Trade bloc agreement between U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

Globalization

Era of increased global integration and exchange.

Patriot Act

Post-9/11 law granting broader surveillance powers to combat terrorism.

Affirmative Action

Policy promoting opportunities for historically discriminated groups.