Key Concepts in Early American History (1607-1898)

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of people, plants, and diseases between the Americas and Europe.

Mercantilism

Collecting natural resources and having the ability to trade on your own terms.

Encomienda system

A system where the Spanish forced Native Americans to work as slaves.

Spanish colonial caste system

Peninsulares, Criollos, Mestizos, Mulatos, Africans, and Native Americans.

Bartolomé de las Casas

A Spanish priest who defended Native Americans.

Puritans' motivation for coming to America

They wanted to reform the Church of England and establish their own society.

French colonists' interaction with Native Americans

They allied with them, adopted their practices, and were more interested in trade.

Main motivation for English colonization

Economic gain.

Significance of tobacco in Jamestown

It increased the need for slave labor and caused tension with Natives.

Bacon's Rebellion

A rebellion of indentured servants and farmers due to unrest over fighting Natives.

Barbados Slave Codes

Strict codes that regulated slaves and said they were property.

Mayflower Compact

A document that established self-governance in the New England colonies.

Causes of Native American conflicts

Disputes over land, fur, and fishing rights, as well as disease and alliances with European powers.

Salutary Neglect

A period of no English interference in the colonies.

Significance of the Stono Rebellion

It was the first and only major slave uprising.

First Great Awakening

A religious revival that unified Americans into a single identity.

Main cause of the French and Indian War

Territorial disputes in the Ohio River Valley between the French and British.

Proclamation of 1763

It prohibited American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Quartering Act of 1765

An act that required colonists to provide food and housing for British soldiers.

Colonists' objection to the Stamp Act

They wanted representation in British Parliament, saying 'no taxation without representation'.

Townshend Acts

Taxes on imported goods that further unified the American colonies.

Intolerable Acts

A series of acts such as the Coercive Acts that closed down Boston Harbor.

John Locke's influence on the revolution

He argued that government could only exist by the consent of the governed and believed in natural rights.

Significance of the Battle of Saratoga

It persuaded the French to join the American cause.

Articles of Confederation

The first government of the United States, which had a weak central government.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

It abolished slavery in the Northwest territories and created a path for territories to become states.

Shays' Rebellion

A rebellion of farmers that demonstrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Great Compromise

An agreement that created a bicameral legislature with a House and a Senate.

3/5ths compromise

It counted slaves as 3/5ths of a person for representation purposes.

Federalists

Supporters of the new Constitution who wanted a strong central government.

Anti-Federalists

People who opposed the new Constitution and wanted a bill of rights.

Federalism

The sharing of power between the national and state governments.

Whiskey Rebellion

It demonstrated the strength of the new constitution.

Alien and Sedition Acts

To allow the government to imprison or deport non-citizens and to prevent criticism of the government.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

States had the right to nullify laws passed by the federal government if it went beyond the constitution.

Revolution of 1800

The transfer of power between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.

Louisiana Purchase

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803.

Judicial Review

The power of the Supreme Court to determine if a law is constitutional.

War of 1812 causes

Impressment of American sailors, westward expansion, and conflicts with Native Americans.

Hartford Convention

Federalists threatened to secede which led to the demise of the party.

Henry Clay's American System

Federally funded internal improvements, federal tariffs, and the Second Bank of the United States.

Monroe Doctrine

The US would stay out of European affairs if Europe stayed out of the Americas.

Missouri Compromise

It admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state and drew the 36'30 parallel to regulate slavery in new territories.

Corrupt Bargain

Jackson's belief that he was cheated out of the presidency when the House elected John Quincy Adams.

Tariff of Abominations (1828)

A tariff that was favored by the North, but hated by the South.

Market Revolution

A shift in America to a capitalist society.

Doctrine of Nullification

The doocterine that states that a state could nullify a federal law if it was unconstitutional.

Indian Removal Act of 1830

It mandated that all Natives had to leave to a different land.

Trail of Tears

The forced removal of Cherokee Indians from the eastern United States.

Second Great Awakening

A religious movement that promoted personal salvation and social reform.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the US was destined to expand across the continent.

Mexican-American War Causes

Texas annexation and border disputes.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

It ended the Mexican-American War and ceded California and New Mexico to the US.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposal that slavery would be prohibited in land acquired from the Mexican-American war.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws that attempted to resolve the issue of slavery in new territories.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that people should decide if slavery should exist for themselves.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An act that used popular sovereignty to determine if slavery would be legal in Kansas and Nebraska, effectively overturning the Missouri Compromise.

Dred Scott Decision

A Supreme Court ruling that stated that enslaved people were not citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories.

Civil War Advantages

North: Population, navy, economic advantage, centralized government. South: Fighting a defensive war, more experienced military leaders.

Emancipation Proclamation

A declaration by Lincoln that freed enslaved people in Confederate states.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War focused on reintegrating the South back into the US.

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states that restricted the rights of Black people.

13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

13th abolished slavery, 14th granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US, 15th granted voting rights to Black men.

Sharecropping

A system in which landowners provided land and supplies to workers in exchange for a share of their crops, often trapping Black people in a cycle of debt.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case that established 'separate but equal' leading to Jim Crow laws.

Vertical Integration

Acquiring all complementary industries to support a business.

Horizontal Integration

Consolidation of businesses within the same industry.

Laissez-faire

A government policy that limits regulations of businesses.

Social Darwinism

The idea that strong companies should naturally outcompete weak companies.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

An act that banned further Chinese immigration to the United States.

Social Gospel

Christian principles to cure ills of society as a whole.

Open Door Policy

A policy that allowed equal trading rights in Chinese ports.

Populist Party Advocacy

Direct election of senators, coinage of silver, an income tax, and an 8-hour workday.

Political Machines

Rich people who tried to secure votes for their party with promises of jobs.

16th Amendment

Federal income tax replaces tariff, progressive.

17th Amendment

Direct election of senators by common people, progressive.

18th Amendment

Prohibition of alcohol.

19th Amendment

Women's voting rights.

Progressive Presidents

T. Roosevelt, W. Taft, W. Wilson.

New Nationalism (TR)

Roosevelt's ideology for a strong federal government to regulate big business and promote justice.

Sherman Antitrust Acts (TR)

Aimed at curbing monopolies and maintaining fair competition in the marketplace.

Muckrakers (TR)

Writers who revealed widespread corruption.

Square Deal (TR)

Engaged government to help the common person.

Dollar Diplomacy (WT)

Secured relations to Latin America with promise of financial support, achieved diplomatic goals.

New Freedom (WW)

Wilson's ideology to get rid of all big business and minimize government intervention.

Underground Tariff (WW)

Biggest tariff reduction in 50 years, helped common person.

Federal Reserve Act (WW)

Regulated banking and money.

Fed Trade Commission (WW)

Crushed monopolies.

Clayton Antitrust Act (WW)

Labor unions not controlled by anti-monopolists.

Monroe Doctrine

Originally aimed to protect Latin America from re-colonization by European powers, evolved to justify U.S. imperialist actions.

Hawaii

Annexation driven by strategic importance for the navy and economic interests, overthrowing the native government.

Spanish-American War

Indirectly triggered by the McKinley Tariff, leading to U.S. control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

McKinley Tariff (1890)

Increased tariffs to over 48% to protect domestic industries

Cuba

The Teller Amendment initially promised Cuban independence, but the Platt Amendment effectively placed it under U.S. control.

Panama Canal

The U.S. instigated a rebellion in Panama to secure the land for building the canal.

Philippines

Gained control after defeating Spain in the Spanish-American War, despite a Filipino fight for independence.

Open Door Policy/China (WW)

China/everywhere is open to trade, imperialism era.

Espionage Act

Designed to protect national security by targeting actions that could harm the U.S. war effort.

Schneck v. USA

Restricted freedom of speech from someone handing out anti-draft leaflets.

League of Nations

Wilson's idea to create a national council for peace. Americans didn't like.