AP US History Review Flashcards

Flashcards for reviewing key vocabulary and concepts for the AP US History exam.

Encomienda System

A Spanish labor system in the 16th century that granted conquistadors the labor of Native Americans in exchange for protection and Catholic education.

Joint-Stock Companies

Business ventures in the 17th century where investors purchased stock to fund British colonization efforts in North America.

Pueblo Indians

Native American group in the Southwest known for their adobe structures, art, agriculture, and successful revolts against the Spanish in the 17th century.

Asiento System

A 16th-century Spanish system that taxed the importation of African slaves to the Americas, serving as a foundation for slavery in the US.

Roanoke

An early English colony established in 1586 off the coast of North Carolina, which mysteriously disappeared, demonstrating the difficulties of early colonization.

House of Burgesses

The first legislative body in the American colonies, established in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1642, foreshadowing American self-governance.

Mercantilism

An economic theory from the 16th to 18th centuries that promoted government regulation of trade to generate wealth and expand colonies.

Cash Crops

Crops grown for profit, such as sugar, that accelerated colonialism and often relied on forced labor in the Americas from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Triangular Trade

A trade route from the 16th to 18th centuries involving the exchange of goods and slaves between Africa, the New World, and Europe.

Order of Colonization of British Colonies

The order in which the British colonies were settled along the American Eastern Seaboard leading to distinct identities and state's rights.

Sons of Liberty

A Patriot group formed in 1765 in Boston, Massachusetts, to defend the colonists from injustices imposed by Great Britain.

Boston Massacre

A 1770 incident in Boston, Massachusetts, where British soldiers fired on a crowd of colonists, stirring up anti-British sentiment and contributing to revolt.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest in Boston, Massachusetts, where the Sons of Liberty destroyed tea shipments to rebel against the Tea Act.

Declaration of Independence

A document written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, declaring the American colonies' separation from Great Britain.

Constitution

Established in 1787, this document created a three-branch system of government for the United States.

Checks and Balances

A political framework established in 1787 that divides power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent dominance by any one branch.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, ratified between 1789 and 1791, guaranteeing fundamental rights and limiting the power of the central government.

Marbury vs. Madison

Supreme Court case in 1803 that established the principle of judicial review, giving the Court the power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.

Embargo Act

An 1807 law enacted by the Jefferson Administration that prohibited American ships from trading in foreign ports, impacting American trade and the US economy.

War of 1812

A conflict between the United States and Britain from 1812-1815 that led to increased US pride and self-determination.

Hartford Convention

A series of meetings from 1814-1815 where Federalists discussed grievances about the War of 1812 and debated increasing the federal role.

Tariff of Abominations

A tariff enacted in 1828 to protect the US economy, mainly benefiting the North but angering the South.

Cult of Domesticity

An ideology in the 18th and 19th centuries that emphasized women's roles as caregivers and homemakers.

Monroe Doctrine

A policy enacted in 1823, it warned European nations against further colonization in the Americas.

Missouri Compromise

A law passed in 1820 that admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state, while also prohibiting slavery in most of the Louisiana Territory.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law passed in 1850 that required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, even if they were in a free state.

Kansas Nebraska Act

A law passed in 1854 that allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether to allow slavery, leading to the 'Bleeding Kansas' conflict.

Emancipation Proclamation

A decree by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that freed slaves in states rebelling during the Civil War.

Surrender at Appomattox Court House

The site of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in 1865, marking the end of the Civil War.

Gilded Age

A period of US economic growth marked by urban squalor, political corruption, and social unrest from 1870-1900.

Laissez Faire Economics

A theory that advocates for minimal government intervention in the free market to promote economic efficiency from 1870-1900.

Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and JP Morgan

Leading industrialists and financiers who played a pivotal role in the American economy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy used by John D. Rockefeller to create a Standard Oil monopoly by consolidating with competitors.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy where one company controls the entire process of a product, from raw materials to distribution, used by Andrew Carnegie to create his steel empire.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

An 1890 law that outlawed formal cartels and attempts to monopolize, designed to break up trusts.

The New South

A philosophy aimed at revitalizing Southern cities after the Civil War from the end of the 19th Century.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad connecting the West to the Atlantic Ocean, facilitating trade and modernization across the US in the mid-19th century.

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick

A foreign policy approach advocated by Teddy Roosevelt where he calmly approached deliberation and negotiations with a peaceful but unflappable strength.

Roosevelt Corollary

An addendum to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904 that declared the US would intervene in the affairs of North and South America to prevent European intervention.

Wilson’s 14 Points

An attempt to use US influence to create a lasting peace after WWI in 1918 and suggested peace negotiations to end the war.

Scopes Monkey Trial

A 1925 legal case where religion was pitted against science due to a substitute biology teacher unwittingly teaching evolution in a Tennessee high school.

Great Depression

A severe economic downturn in the US and the world from 1929-1941, characterized by high unemployment.

Manhattan Project

A scientific project undertaken from 1942-1945 to create the first atomic weapon.

Potsdam Conference

A 1945 meeting among the Big Three nations to determine how to end World War II.

Red Scare

A period of paranoia of Communism raised by a Soviet grab for influence in 1940’s and 1950’s.

Bay of Pigs

A mission in 1961 by the US to overthrow a communist regime without implicating the US.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 standoff between the US and Cuba/the USSR caused by the USSR arming the island-nation with nuclear missiles pointed towards the United States.

Kent State Massacre

The shooting deaths of students protesting the Vietnam War in 1970 by the National Guard.

Domino Theory

A belief that if one country fell to Communism, surrounding nations would follow in 1950s to 1980s and beyond.

Detente

The first step of ending the Cold War from 1960s to 1980s.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

A symbolic Soviet abandonment of Communism where the USSR began dismantling the Wall.

9/11 Attacks

A terrorist attack against the US by the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda.

Affordable Care Act

An Act that lead to more government spending to bring about health care reform

Pacific Railway Act (1862)

Funded construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Morrill Land-Grant Act (1862)

Gave land to states to build colleges.

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolished slavery.

14th Amendment (1868)

Citizenship and equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment (1870)

Voting rights for Black men.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Granted citizenship to all born in the U.S. (except Native Americans).

Reconstruction Acts (1867)

Divided the South into military districts.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

Regulated railroad rates, first federal attempt to regulate business.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

First law to limit monopolies and trusts.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

Banned Chinese immigration; first law targeting a specific ethnic group.

Dawes Act (1887)

Tried to assimilate Native Americans by dividing tribal lands.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Required truthful labeling and food safety.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

Federal inspection of meatpacking plants.

Federal Reserve Act (1913)

Created central banking system.

Espionage Act (1917) & Sedition Act (1918)

Limited anti-war speech and dissent.

19th Amendment (1920)

Gave women the right to vote.

Social Security Act (1935)

Pension for elderly and unemployed.

Wagner Act (1935)

Protected labor unions and workers’ right to collective bargaining.

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)

Set minimum wage, 40-hour workweek, and banned child labor

GI Bill (1944)

Benefits for WWII veterans, including college tuition and home loans.

National Security Act (1947)

Created the CIA and Department of Defense.

Interstate Highway Act (1956)

Built national highways for defense and commerce.

War Powers Act (1973)

Limited the president’s ability to send troops without Congressional approval.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Not a law, but a key Supreme Court ruling outlawing school segregation.

Civil Rights Act (1964)

Banned segregation and employment discrimination.

Voting Rights Act (1965)

Banned literacy tests and protected Black voting rights.

Fair Housing Act (1968)

Banned discrimination in housing.

Harriet Tubman

She escaped slavery and came back and helped 300 slaves to escape

Compromise of 1850

California is a free state. Popular sovereignty for the new states.

Compromise of 1877

Ended reconstruction. Return of whit supremacy control in south