AP US History: Period 4 (1800-1848) - Republican Culture and the Jeffersonian Era

Vocabulary flashcards covering AP US History Period 4 key concepts, including Republican Culture, the Jeffersonian Era, westward expansion, the War of 1812, and post-war politics.

Sentimentalism

A cultural framework emerging after 1800 in which marriages were increasingly decided by feeling and affection rather than economic practicality.

Demographic Transition

A sharp decline in the U.S. birthrate caused in part by young men migrating to the trans-Appalachian west, which delayed marriage for women and led married women to bear fewer children.

Republican Motherhood

A popular cultural ideal that tasked women with caring for their children, husbands, and homes, while instilling civic duty and patriotism in the young republic's youth.

"Three R's"

The basic education curriculum consisting of reading, writing, and arithmetic sought by ordinary citizens such as farmers and artisans so their children could read the Bible and find work.

Americanization Colonization Society

An organization formed in 1817 that opposed slavery and proposed that freed African Americans be resettled in Africa, eventually helping to establish the nation of Liberia.

Manumission Laws

Statutes passed by some individual states that allowed slaveholders to voluntarily free their enslaved workers.

Missouri Compromise

An 1819-1821 agreement proposed by Henry Clay that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the congressional balance of power while regulating slavery in the Louisiana Territory.

36° 30' Parallel

The boundary line established across the Louisiana Territory by the Missouri Compromise, north of which slavery was prohibited and south of which slavery was allowed.

Democratic-Republicans

The political party led by Thomas Jefferson that supported less centralized federal power and envisioned the United States as a nation of independent farmers.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The landmark Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall declared the Court's authority to review and interpret laws passed by Congress, reinforcing the supremacy of national laws over state laws.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

The massive acquisition of western land signed by Thomas Jefferson that doubled the size of the U.S. and forced him to reconsider his strict interpretation of the Constitution.

Aaron Burr

The Vice President who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, supported western secession schemes, and fled to the Louisiana Territory to continue plotting.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

An exploratory mission sent by Thomas Jefferson to document the Louisiana Territory, inspiring Americans to envision a nation stretching to the Pacific Ocean.

Impressment

The British naval practice of seizing American merchant ships and forcing nearly 8,000 U.S. sailors into service, serving as a major catalyst for the War of 1812.

Tecumseh

The Native American leader who organized a British-funded Indian uprising in the Indiana Territory prior to the War of 1812.

War Hawks

Members of Congress who exerted heavy political pressure on President James Madison to declare war against Great Britain in 1812.

Hartford Convention

A series of secret meetings where Federalists planned to revise the Constitution during the War of 1812; their actions made them appear unpatriotic and caused the eventual collapse of the Federalist Party.

Treaty of Ghent

The treaty that officially concluded the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain.

Battle of New Orleans

A decisive victory led by Andrew Jackson defending New Orleans against a British attack, fought before news of the Treaty of Ghent had reached the troops.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

A foreign policy declaration issued by President James Monroe stating that the American continents were closed to future European colonization and intervention.

Era of Good Feelings

The period during James Monroe's presidency (1817-1825) characterized by single-party rule, heightened national pride, and an optimistic economic outlook.