United States History - Review Guide for Fall Final Exam

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and important terms related to U.S. history topics outlined in the review guide for the fall final exam.

Cahokia

An ancient Native American city known for its large earthen mounds, located near present-day St. Louis.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

Federalism

A political system where power is divided between a central government and regional governments.

Abolition

The movement to end slavery in the United States.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Industrial Revolution

A period of major industrialization during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that transformed economies from agrarian to industrial.

Populism

A political approach aimed at representing the interests of ordinary people.

Social Darwinism

The application of the theory of evolution to sociology and politics, positing that individuals or groups achieve advantage over others due to inherent superiority.

The Great Migration

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North from about 1916 to 1970.

14th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, that grants citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States.

Women's Rights Movement

A movement aimed at improving women's political, legal, and economic status.

Populists

Members of a political party that emerged in the 1890s, advocating for issues important to farmers and laborers.

Laissez-faire

An economic principle of minimal government intervention in the economy.

Nativism

The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Resistant to Slavery

Various methods employed by enslaved people and free individuals to oppose the institution of slavery.

Cahokia

An ancient Native American city known for its large earthen mounds, located near present-day St. Louis.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

Federalism

A political system where power is divided between a central government and regional governments.

Abolition

The movement to end slavery in the United States.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Industrial Revolution

A period of major industrialization during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that transformed economies from agrarian to industrial.

Populism

A political approach aimed at representing the interests of ordinary people.

Social Darwinism

The application of the theory of evolution to sociology and politics, positing that individuals or groups achieve advantage over others due to inherent superiority.

The Great Migration

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North from about 1916 to 1970.

14th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, that grants citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States.

Women's Rights Movement

A movement aimed at improving women's political, legal, and economic status.

Populists

Members of a political party that emerged in the 1890s, advocating for issues important to farmers and laborers.

Laissez-faire

An economic principle of minimal government intervention in the economy.

Nativism

The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Resistant to Slavery

Various methods employed by enslaved people and free individuals to oppose the institution of slavery.

Reconstruction Era

The period (1865-1877) following the Civil War, focused on rebuilding the South and integrating newly freed slaves into society.

Transcendentalism

A 19th-century philosophical and literary movement emphasizing intuition, individualism, and the inherent goodness of people and nature.

Suffragettes

Women who advocated for the right to vote during the women's suffrage movement, often engaging in protests and acts of civil disobedience.

Monopolies

Exclusive control by one company over a service or product, often seen during the Gilded Age and targeted by reformers.

Articles of Confederation

The first governing document of the United States, adopted in 1781, known for its weak central government.

Constitutional Convention

A 1787 meeting in Philadelphia where delegates devised the U.S. Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.

Sectionalism

Loyalty to one's own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole, often a cause of political division.

Underground Railroad

A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies.

Gilded Age

A period in U.S. history from the 1870s to the 1900s, characterized by rapid economic growth but also by social problems, political corruption, and extreme wealth inequality.

Progressive Era

A period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States, from the 1890s to the 1920s.

Muckrakers

Reform-minded journalists in the Progressive Era who exposed established institutions and leaders as corrupt.

Harlem Renaissance

An intellectual, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, New York, spanning the 1920s, that celebrated Black culture and identity.