US History Midterm

Semester 1 2026

Milpa

Corns, beans, squash, (planted together). Pros: Space, Nutritious, Soil

Smallpox

A highly contagious viral disease that caused fever and a distinctive skin rash. It had devastating effects on populations, especially among Indigenous peoples following European contact.

Spanish Mission

A religious outpost established by Spanish colonizers to convert Indigenous peoples to Christianity and promote Spanish culture.

Pocahontas

A Native American woman of the Powhatan tribe who played a crucial role in the early interactions between Native Americans and English settlers, notably her association with Jamestown and John Smith.

Mayflower

A ship that carried the Pilgrims from England to America in 1620, establishing one of the first permanent colonies in New England.

William Penn

An English Quaker and the founder of Pennsylvania, who promoted religious freedom and goodwill towards Native Americans.

Triangle Trade

A historical trade route in the Atlantic Ocean that involved the exchange of goods, slaves, and raw materials between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

French and Indian War

A conflict between Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763, part of the larger Seven Years' War, that ultimately led to British dominance over colonial territories.

Stamp Act of 1765

Placed a tax on almost all printed materials in the colonies (No taxation without representation)

Declarlation of Independence

The document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain (Written by Thomas Jefferson

3/5 Compromise

Each slave would count for 3/5 of a person for taxation and representation purposes in the House

Alexander Hamilton

1789-1795; First Secretary of the Treasury. He advocated creation of a national bank, assumption of state debts by the federal government, and a tariff system to pay off the national debt.

Democratic Republican

Led by Thomas Jefferson, believed people should have political power, favored strong STATE governments, emphasized agriculture, strict interpretation of the Constitution, pro-French, opposed National Bank

Lowell Mills

Founded in 1815, first major factory (Textile (Cloth) Factory)

Cotton Gin

A machine for cleaning the seeds from cotton fibers, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 (Makes cotton more profitable)

Second Great Awakening

A revival of religious feeling and belief from the 1800s to the 1840s (Baptists and Methodists)

Bank War

Jackson believed the Bank of US had too much power and was too rich. Vetoed the 2nd Bank charter and withdrew gov't money from the US Banks and put it into "pet banks" (Destroys financial system)

Trail of Tears

The Cherokee Indians were forced to leave their lands. They traveled from North Carolina and Georgia through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas-more than 800 miles (1,287 km)-to the Indian Territory. More than 4, 00 Cherokees died of cold, disease, and lack of food during the 116-day journey.

Seneca Falls

(1848) The first national women's rights convention at which the Declaration of Sentiments was written (Fredrick Douglass, Abolishonists)

Manifest Destiny

A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent, from the Atlantic the Pacific.

Compromise of 1850

Includes California admitted as a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act, Made popular sovereignty in most other states from Mexican- American War (Throwing off the balance of power between free and slave states)

Free Soil

A political party dedicated to stopping the expansion of slavery into new Western territories acquired by the US after the Mexican-American War (Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, Free Men)

Dred Scott

A black slave, had lived with his master for 5 years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. Backed by interested abolitionists, he sued for freedom on the basis of his long residence on free soil. The ruling on the case was that he was a black slave and not a citizen, so he had no rights.

Harpers Ferry

John Brown's scheme to invade the South with armed slaves, backed by sponsoring, northern abolitionists; seized the federal arsenal; Brown and remnants were caught by Robert E. Lee and the US Marines; Brown was hanged

Emancipation Proclamation

Declaration issued by Lincoln in 1863, stating that all slaves in the confederate states were free

Gettysburg

1863 (Meade and Lee), July 1-3, 1863, turning point in war, Union victory, most deadly battle: Picketts Charge - Failure, Confederates retreat

Homestead Act

1862 - Provided free land in the West to anyone willing to settle there and develop it. Encouraged westward migration.

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws

Redeemers

Largely former slave owners who were the bitterest opponents of the Republican program in the South. Staged a major counterrevolution to "redeem" the south by taking back southern state governments. Their foundation rested on the idea of racism and white supremacy. Redeemer governments waged and agressive assault on African Americans.