AP United States History: Unit 4 Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards covering major political parties, legal decisions, economic developments, and reform movements for AP United States History Unit 4.

Election of 1800

The presidential contest that resulted in the first peaceful transition of power between opposing political parties in the United States.

Federalist Party

The political party led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams that advocated for a strong national government, loose constitutional construction, high tariffs, a national bank, and British foreign alignment before fading after the War of 1812.

Democratic-Republicans

The political party led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (former Anti-Federalists) that favored states' rights, strict constitutional construction, low tariffs, agrarian interests, and sympathy for France.

Loose Construction

A constitutional interpretation favored by Federalists asserting that the federal government possesses implied powers beyond those explicitly listed in the Constitution.

Strict Construction

A constitutional interpretation championed by Democratic-Republicans holding that the federal government is strictly limited to expressed or enumerated powers.

Embargo Act

A major economic measure prohibiting American foreign commerce, enacted to respond to foreign aggression but resulting in severe economic backlash at home.

Marshall Court

The Supreme Court era led by Chief Justice John Marshall that handed down landmark decisions strengthening the authority of the federal judiciary and national government over states.

War Hawks

A faction of congressional leaders who vigorously advocated declaring and prosecuting the War of 1812 against Great Britain.

Hartford Convention

A wartime gathering of New England Federalists to protest national policies and the War of 1812, which critically damaged the Federalist Party's reputation.

Battle of New Orleans

A decisive American victory at the end of the War of 1812 that elevated Andrew Jackson to national prominence and spurred widespread patriotic pride.

Treaty of Ghent

The peace treaty concluding the War of 1812 that restored pre-war conditions without either side gaining or losing territory.

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 legislative compromise over the expansion of slavery that established terms for state admissions to preserve sectional balance, though regional conflict persisted.

Monroe Doctrine

A United States foreign policy statement warning European powers against further colonization or intervention in the Western Hemisphere.

Corrupt Bargain

The contentious political deal surrounding the Election of 1824 in which John Quincy Adams gained the presidency with the backing of Henry Clay.

Whigs

A political party formed in opposition to Andrew Jackson that championed modernization, internal improvements, banking, social reforms, and commercial growth in the North.

Democrats (Jacksonian)

A political party formed of Andrew Jackson supporters that favored agrarian independence, states' rights, rapid territorial expansion, and opposition to corporate and banking privileges.

Spoils System

The policy implemented extensively by Andrew Jackson of appointing party loyalists and supporters to federal government offices.

Tariff of 1828

A high protective tariff nicknamed the 'Tariff of Abominations,' intensely opposed by southern agriculturalists and prompting the Nullification Crisis.

Nullification Crisis

A sectional standoff sparked by southern resistance to the federal Tariff of 1828 over whether individual states had the right to void federal legislation.

Worcester v. Georgia

A Supreme Court ruling establishing that Native American tribes constituted distinct communities in which state laws had no legal force.

American System

An economic program consisting of protective tariffs, a national bank, and federally financed internal improvements like roads and canals to promote economic unity.

Cotton Gin

An invention by Eli Whitney that mechanized cotton seed separation, creating the 'King Cotton' economy and causing a massive expansion of chattel slavery.

Lowell Mill Girls

Young female textile laborers employed in Massachusetts textile mills, exemplifying the shift toward factory production in the Northeast.

Second Great Awakening

A Protestant religious revival movement of the early 1800s that fueled evangelical enthusiasm and catalyzed social reforms including temperance and abolition.

Temperance Movement

A reform campaign heavily backed by women in the early 1800s that sought to restrict or eliminate the manufacture and consumption of intoxicating alcohol.

Seneca Falls Convention

The historic 1848 gathering in New York that marked the formal beginning of the organized women's rights and suffrage movement in the United States.

Transcendentalism

A 19th-century philosophical and intellectual movement led by figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson that celebrated individualism, self-reliance, and spiritual intuition.