American History G8 Final Exam Review Guide

Great Awakening

A bunch of religious revivals, with African-Americans and others becoming Christian in the 18th century

Enlightenment

People got more focused on science, art, and education in the 17th & 18th centuries

Alien and Sedition Act

They made it so immigrants couldn't come to the US as easily, passed in 1798

Federalists

A political party in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, focused on passing the original constitution & ensuring power to the Union.

Tariffs

Taxes on goods imported from other countries, almost never work

French-Indian War

AKA 7 years war, was fought between Great Britain & France in the mid 18th century over North America

Constitutional Convention

The founding fathers met up in Philadelphia to reform the articles of confederation

Proclamation of Neutrality

America didn't take sides during the Napoleonic war

1st Industrial Revolution

Britain improved processes to extract iron and manufacture textiles

2nd Great Awakening

A religious revival movement in the early 1800s that emphasized individual salvation and inspired social reforms.

Women's Movement

A campaign beginning in the 1800s for women's rights, including suffrage, education, and legal equality.

Compromise of 1820

Another name for the Missouri Compromise, which maintained the balance of free and slave states in Congress.

Trail of Tears

The forced relocation of Native American tribes, especially the Cherokee, to lands west of the Mississippi, causing thousands of deaths.

Cotton Gin

This machine made processing cotton much more efficient, which made the south earn a swole lot more money off of their slaves

Suffrage

The right to vote in political elections.

Abolitionist

A person who advocated for the end of slavery.

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 agreement allowing Missouri to enter as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance in Congress.

Embargo Act

A 1807 law that banned American trade with foreign countries to avoid war, but hurt the U.S. economy.

War of 1812

A conflict between the U.S. and Britain over trade restrictions, impressment, and territorial expansion.

Mexican-American War

A war from 1846-1848 sparked by U.S. annexation of Texas, resulting in Mexico ceding vast lands to the U.S.

Neutrality

A policy of not taking sides in conflicts between other nations.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized and exaggerated news reporting to attract readers and influence public opinion.

Propaganda

Biased or misleading information used to promote a political cause or viewpoint.

Nationalism

Intense pride in one's country, often with a belief in its superiority.

Sedition Act (1918)

A law that punished speech or actions that criticized the government or interfered with the war effort during WWI.

Poll Tax

A fee required to vote, used to suppress voting rights, especially among Black citizens.

Literacy Test

A reading and writing test used to deny suffrage, mainly targeting Black and poor voters.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 acquisition of a vast territory from France that doubled the size of the United States.

Lewis and Clark

The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806), also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was a U.S. military expedition led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark to explore the western portion of the United States, particularly the newly acquired territory of the Louisiana Purchase.

Homestead Act

An 1862 law granting 160 acres of free land to settlers willing to farm it for five years. Passed by Lincoln to expand Union influence.

Gold Rush

The mass migration to California in 1849 after gold was discovered, driving westward expansion.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the North American continent.

Transcontinental Railroad

A rail line completed in 1869 that connected the eastern U.S. to the west coast, boosting trade and settlement.

Henry Clay

A U.S. senator known as the "Great Compromiser" for helping pass major deals like the Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed law to ban slavery in any territory gained from Mexico; it heightened tensions over slavery.

Compromise of 1850

A set of laws aimed at easing sectional conflict, including admitting California as a free state and passing a stricter Fugitive Slave Act.

Fugitive Slave Law

A law that required escaped enslaved people to be returned to their enslavers, even if they reached free states.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that people in a territory should vote to decide whether to allow slavery.

Sectionalism

Loyalty to a specific region over the whole country, often causing division.

Confederate States

Southern states that seceded from the Union to form their own government during the Civil War.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War focused on rebuilding the South and integrating freed slaves into society.

Sharecropping

A farming system where landowners let poor farmers, often former slaves, use land in return for a share of the crops.

Gettysburg Address

A famous 1863 speech by Abraham Lincoln emphasizing national unity and the fight for equality.

Dust Bowl

A 1930s environmental disaster where overfarming and drought turned the Great Plains into a dry, dusty region.

The Great Migration

The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to Northern cities in the early 1900s.

Fireside Chats

Radio speeches by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to comfort and inform Americans during the Great Depression.

Sedition Act of 1918

A law that punished people for criticizing the government or interfering with the U.S. effort in World War I.

Labor Union

An organized group of workers who unite to demand better pay, hours, and working conditions.

J. Edgar Hoover

The first director of the FBI, known for expanding its power and using secretive methods.

Laissez Faire

An economic policy where the government has little or no interference in business.

Nativism

The belief in protecting native-born citizens' interests over those of immigrants.

Urbanization

The rapid growth of cities due to industrialization and migration.

Immigration

The movement of people into a country to live there permanently.

Scopes Monkey Trial

A 1925 court case about teaching evolution in schools, symbolizing conflict between science and religion.

Abraham Lincoln

The 16th President of the United States (1861-1865), known for leading the country during the Civil War, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, and working to preserve the Union.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

A legal principle that allows individuals to challenge their detention or imprisonment in court, ensuring that no one can be held without just cause.

Frederick Douglass

An African American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and editor who escaped slavery and became a key figure in the fight for equality and civil rights.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enacted in the southern United States from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century that enforced racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans.

Populism

A political approach that seeks to represent the interests and concerns of ordinary people, often against the established elite, typically advocating for reforms in the economic system.

Gilded Age

A period in American history (approximately 1870s-1900) characterized by rapid economic growth, industrialization, significant wealth accumulation among a few, and stark social issues like inequality and corruption.

Industrialization

The process by which an economy shifts from primarily agricultural to one based on the manufacturing of goods, often involving technological innovations and the growth of factories.

Alexander Graham Bell

An inventor and scientist, best known for inventing the first practical telephone and contributing to advancements in communication technology.

Free Enterprise System

An economic system where private businesses operate competitively for profit, with minimal government intervention, allowing for the free market to dictate prices and production.

Philanthropy

The act of donating money, goods, services, or time to promote the welfare of others, often manifesting in charitable organizations and initiatives aimed at improving social conditions.

Chinese Exclusion Act

A federal law enacted in 1882 that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States, reflecting racial prejudice and discrimination against Asian immigrants.

Muckraker

A term used to describe journalists and writers in the early 20th century who exposed social evils, corruption, and injustices in society, thereby bringing about reform.

Reformer

An individual who advocates for changes to improve societal, political, or economic conditions, often associated with movements for social justice and equality.

Settlement House Movement

A social reform initiative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that established community centers in urban areas to provide services and education to the poor and immigrant populations.

Social Gospel Movement

A religious movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that emphasized the need to address social injustices and work toward societal reform through Christian ethics.

Theodore Roosevelt

The 26th President of the United States (1901-1909), known for progressive reforms, trust-busting, conservation efforts, and the construction of the Panama Canal.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

An independent agency of the U.S. government established in 1914 to promote consumer protection and prevent anticompetitive business practices.

Progressive Movement

A broad social and political movement in the early 20th century aimed at addressing issues caused by industrialization, urbanization, and political corruption, promoting social reform and government regulation.

Segregation

The enforced separation of different racial or ethnic groups in various aspects of life, such as education, housing, and public facilities, particularly prevalent in the United States until the civil rights movement.

Discrimination

Unjust or prejudicial treatment of individuals based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or religion, often resulting in unequal opportunities and outcomes.

Disenfranchisement

The removal or restriction of an individual's right to vote, often aimed at marginalized groups through various legal and systemic means.

W.E.B. Du Bois

An African American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP and advocated for African American education, suffrage, and civil rights.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator and leader who promoted vocational training and economic self-reliance for African Americans as a means to achieve social progress and integration.

Lynching

When whites kill dem blacks.

Korean War

A conflict (1950-1953) between North Korea (with support from China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (with support from the U.S. and UN), ending in a stalemate.

President Truman

U.S. president (1945-1953) who made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan and led the country during the early Cold War.

President Kennedy

U.S. president (1961-1963), known for handling the Cuban Missile Crisis and promoting civil rights and the space race.

President Johnson

U.S. president (1963-1969) who passed major civil rights legislation and escalated U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights leader who advocated nonviolent protest to end racial segregation and discrimination.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who advocated for Black empowerment and self-defense, initially through the Nation of Islam.

Thurgood Marshall

First African American Supreme Court justice; previously a lawyer who argued Brown v. Board of Education.

Communism

A political and economic system where property is publicly owned, and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

Civil Rights Movement

A struggle during the 1950s-1960s for African Americans to gain equal rights under the law in the U.S.

Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court decision that upheld racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court decision that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Mendez v. Westminster (1947)

Court case that ended segregation of Mexican-American students in California schools.

Hernandez v. Texas (1954)

Supreme Court case that ruled Mexican Americans had equal protection under the 14th Amendment.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

A 13-day confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Vietnam War

A conflict (1955-1975) where the U.S. supported South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam, leading to widespread protests.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)

A protest led by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. against segregation on public buses in Montgomery, Alabama.

Freedom Riders (1961)

Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated South to test Supreme Court rulings.

Cesar Chavez

Labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers and fought for farmworkers' rights.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)

A U.S. law that raised tariffs on imports, worsening the Great Depression by reducing international trade.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Treaty that ended World War I, placing heavy blame and reparations on Germany.

Adolf Hitler

Dictator of Nazi Germany who initiated World War II and orchestrated the Holocaust.