APSUH Midterm Terms

Vast regions in central North America where Native American groups like the Sioux and Comanche adapted to harsh climates. In the Plains, bison hunting was central, while the Great Basin relied on small game and foraged plants.

Great Basin/Great Plains:

Fertile region where advanced Native American civilizations, such as the Cahokia, thrived through agriculture, trade, and mound-building.

Mississippi River Valley:

Coastal areas inhabited by Native Americans, such as the Powhatan, who practiced agriculture, fishing, and trade. Later a major focus for European colonization.

Atlantic Seaboard

The term used by Europeans to describe the Americas after exploration began, leading to colonization, conquest, and cultural exchange.

New World:

Religion brought by European colonizers, often used to justify colonization and the forced conversion of Native populations.

Christianity

Widespread transfer of crops (maize, potatoes), animals (horses, cattle), diseases (smallpox), and ideas between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Columbian Exchange:

Medieval European social system where peasants worked land owned by lords in exchange for protection. Inspired colonial labor systems.

Feudalism:

Economic system emphasizing private ownership and profit-making. Motivated exploration and colonization, including joint-stock company ventures.

Capitalism:

Business ventures that funded colonization (e.g., Virginia Company) by pooling resources from multiple investors to share profits and risks.

Joint-Stock Companies:

Spanish labor system that granted colonists land and the right to demand labor or tribute from Native Americans in exchange for "protection" and conversion to Christianity.

Encomienda Syste

Indigenous peoples of the Americas who experienced dramatic disruptions in their societies due to European colonization.

Native Americans

Forced migration of millions of Africans to work on plantations in the Americas, forming the basis of the transatlantic slave trade.

West African Slave Trade:

Enslaved laborers forcibly brought to the Americas, playing a crucial role in developing plantation economies.Spanish Expansion: Spain’s colonization of the Americas, focused on converting Native Americans, extracting resources (gold and silver), and maintaining control through missions and presidios.

Africans

Central to Spanish and French colonization, with missionaries like Jesuits and Franciscans seeking to convert Native Americans.

Christianity

Africans transported via the Atlantic Slave Trade to work on plantations in the Americas. Some, like Anthony Johnson, gained freedom and wealth.

Enslaved/Free Africans

French colonization emphasized fur trading and alliances with Native Americans, while the Dutch (e.g., New Amsterdam) focused on commerce and trade.

French and Dutch Expansion

Native groups navigated European alliances, often using them strategically in wars and trade.

American Indians:

English settlers founded colonies for economic and religious reasons, such as Puritans seeking religious freedom or farmers pursuing land ownership.

British/European Migrants

Region including Virginia and Maryland, reliant on tobacco cultivation and indentured servitude, transitioning to enslaved labor.

Chesapeake

Known for its smaller, independent farms compared to the large plantations of neighboring colonies.

North Carolina

Puritan-dominated colonies emphasizing religious communities, education, and self-governance.

New England Colonies

Religious group seeking to purify the Church of England; founded strict theocratic communities in New England.

Puritans

Diverse region (e.g., Pennsylvania) with rich agriculture, religious tolerance, and thriving trade.

Middle Colonies:

Regions like South Carolina focused on rice, indigo, and large-scale enslaved labor.

South Atlantic Colonies

Colonies like Barbados relied on sugar production and enslaved African labor, influencing mainland colonial practices.

British West Indies

Conflict in New England between Native Americans, led by Metacom, and English settlers over land and resources.

Metacom's War (King Philip’s War)

1680 uprising where Pueblo Native Americans drove Spanish colonists out of modern-day New Mexico temporarily.

Pueblo Revolt

Region of Spanish colonial influence, blending Native and Spanish cultures through missions and trade.

Southwest

Religious revival in the 1730s-40s emphasizing personal salvation and emotional sermons; key figures included Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

First Great Awakening

Philosophical movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights; influenced American revolutionary ideals.

European Enlightenment

Process by which American colonies adopted British customs, laws, and institutions.

Anglicization

Spread of ideas and news through newspapers, pamphlets, and books across the Atlantic, fostering intellectual exchange.

Trans-Atlantic Print

Movement promoting revivalism and emotional preaching, shaping American religion and reform.

Protestant Evangelicalism

Economic theory prioritizing colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for the mother country’s goods.French Indian Trade Networks: Alliances between French settlers and Native Americans, especially for fur trading in the Ohio Valley.

Mercantilism

Global conflict (1756–1763) between Britain and France, culminating in British dominance in North America.

Seven Years’ War

Intellectual movement advocating liberty, reason, and self-governance, influencing American revolutionary leaders like Thomas Jefferson.

Enlightenment

Colonial revolt against British rule, fueled by taxes, lack of representation, and Enlightenment ideals.

American Independence/Revolution

Founding father who championed colonial unity, diplomacy with France, and Enlightenment ideas.

Benjamin Franklin

Colonial resistance advocating independence from Britain, including groups like the Sons of Liberty.

Patriot Movement

Colonial overlord whose taxation policies (e.g., Stamp Act) sparked colonial unrest.

Great Britain

Military force led by George Washington that fought for independence during the Revolution.

Continental Army

Leader of the Continental Army and first president of the United States.

George Washington

Pamphlet urging colonists to seek independence from Britain, appealing to common people.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

1776 document proclaiming colonial independence and listing grievances against King George III.

Declaration of Independence

Idea promoting women’s role in raising virtuous, patriotic citizens.

Republican Motherhood

Inspired by American Revolution, these revolutions sought liberty and independence.

Independent Movements (France, Haiti, Latin Am)

First U.S. government, with limited federal power and struggles like Shay’s Rebellion.

Articles of Confederation

Meeting in 1787 to draft a stronger federal government under the Constitution.

Constitutional Convention

Federalists supported a strong central government; Anti-Federalists feared it threatened states’ rights.

Federalists/Anti-Federalists

Essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay arguing for Constitution ratification.

Federalist Papers

First 10 amendments to the Constitution protecting individual freedoms.

Bill of Rights

Revolutionary leader and second U.S. president; Federalist advocate.

John Adams

Jefferson’s party advocating agrarianism and limited government.

Democratic-Republican Party

Law establishing orderly expansion and banning slavery in the Northwest.

Northwest Ordinance/Territory

Inspired by Enlightenment and American ideas, sparking U.S. debates over support.

French Revolution

Warned against political parties and foreign alliances.Democratic Party: Political party led by Andrew Jackson, appealing to the “common man” and advocating for states’ rights and westward expansion.

George Washington's Farewell Address

7th U.S. president known for his populist policies, Indian Removal Act, and opposition to the National Bank.

Andrew Jackson

Political party opposing Jackson, supporting a strong federal government, internal improvements, and economic modernization.

Whigs

Politician known as the "Great Compromiser," he supported the American System and helped resolve disputes like the Missouri Compromise.

Henry Clay

Economic shift with increased industrialization, transportation improvements (e.g., canals, railroads), and expansion of capitalism.

Market Revolutio

Religious revival emphasizing personal salvation and reform movements such as abolition, temperance, and women’s rights.

Second Great Awakening

Dominant religious group driving moral and social reform during the Second Great Awakening.

Protestants

Communities like the Shakers and Oneida attempted to create perfect societies, often based on religious or socialist ideals.

Utopian Movements

Regions developed distinct economies: South relied on slavery and agriculture; North industrialized; Midwest became the “breadbasket” of the nation.

South/North/Midwest

African Americans faced systemic discrimination, with enslaved people working on Southern plantations and free Blacks advocating for rights in the North.

Enslaved Blacks/Free African Americans

Reformers like Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison fought to end slavery through activism, literature, and politics.

Abolitionists/Antislavery Movements

1848 women’s rights meeting led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, producing the Declaration of Sentiments.

Seneca Falls Convention

Development of canals (e.g., Erie Canal), railroads, and steamboats that connected markets and spurred economic growth.

Transportation Revolution

Gender roles divided into “public” (men’s work in politics/business) and “private” (women’s roles in the home).

Public/Private Sphere

Served as a barrier to early westward expansion; settlers eventually crossed via trails like the Cumberland Gap.

Appalachian Mountains

Key trade and transportation routes that connected regions and facilitated economic growth.

Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

Henry Clay’s plan to unify the economy through tariffs, a national bank, and infrastructure improvements.

American System

1803 land acquisition from France that doubled U.S. territory, explored by Lewis and Clark.

Louisiana Purchase

Policies like the Indian Removal Act (1830) forcibly relocated tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River.

American Indian Removal

U.S. foreign policy opposing European interference in the Americas, asserting influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Monroe Doctrine

1820 agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining balance in Congress.

Missouri Compromise

Expanding frontier where settlers sought land, gold, and opportunity, often displacing Native Americans and Mexicans.

The West

Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand westward across the continent, justifying annexation and conflicts.

Manifest Destiny

1846–1848 war over territory, resulting in the U.S. gaining lands in the Southwest (Mexican Cession).

Mexican-American War

Central issue dividing North and South, sparking intense political and social conflicts leading to the Civil War.

Slavery

1861–1865 conflict between the Union (North) and Confederacy (South) over slavery and states’ rights.

Civil War

U.S. expanded trade with Asian nations like China and Japan, fostering economic ties and cultural exchange.

Asia

Large numbers arrived due to famine (Ireland) and political unrest (Germany), facing nativist backlash.

Immigrants from Ireland/Germany

Groups like the Know-Nothings opposed Catholic immigrants, fearing they threatened American values.

Anti-Catholic Nativist Movements

Groups displaced or marginalized during westward expansion and territorial acquisition.

Mexican Americans/American Indians

Political movement opposing the expansion of slavery into western territories to preserve opportunities for free labor.

Free Soil Movement

Activists like Harriet Tubman and John Brown who fought to end slavery through direct action and political advocacy.

Abolitionists

Land gained after the Mexican-American War, including present-day California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Mexican Cession Territory

Series of laws to ease sectional tensions, admitting California as a free state and strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act.

Compromise of 1850

1854 law allowing popular sovereignty to decide slavery in Kansas and Nebraska, leading to violence ("Bleeding Kansas").

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1857 Supreme Court ruling that African Americans were not citizens and Congress could not restrict slavery in territories.

Dred Scott Decision

Political system with competition between Democrats and Whigs; collapsed over sectional issues like slavery.

Second Party System

Political party formed in the 1850s opposing the expansion of slavery, leading to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.

Republican Party

16th U.S. president who led the Union during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln’s victory triggered Southern secession, as his anti-slavery platform alarmed the South.

Election of 1860

1863 order by Lincoln freeing enslaved people in Confederate states, shifting the Civil War's focus to abolition.

Emancipation Proclamation

Southern states that seceded, forming a government to preserve slavery and states’ rights.

The Confederacy

Lincoln’s speech honoring Civil War sacrifices and reaffirming national unity and democracy.

Gettysburg Address

Abolished slavery, granted citizenship to all born in the U.S., and protected voting rights regardless of race.

13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

Radical Republicans pushed for harsh Reconstruction policies in the South, while moderates favored reconciliation.

Radical/Moderate Republicans