Big APUSH Review Quizlet- Definitions taken from 5 Steps to a 5 Study book

abolitionist movement

movement dedicated to the abolition of slavery that existed primarily in the North in years leading up to the Civil War and consisted of both white and black members

Advertising age

term first used to describe America's consumer culture of the 1920s, when advertising began to influence the choices of purchasers

affirmative action

policies that began in the 1970s to make up for past discrimination and give minorities and women advantages in apply for certain jobs and in applying for admission to certain universities

affluent society

term used by economist John Kenneth Galbraith to describe the American economy in the 1950s, during which time many Americans became enraptured with appliances and homes in the suburbs

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

Established by the Agricultural Act of 1932, a New Deal bureau designed to restore economic position of farmers by paying them NOT to farm goods

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929

Act championed by Herbert Hoover that authorized the lending of federal money to farmer's cooperatives to buy crops to keep them from the oversaturated market; program hampered by lack of adequate federal financial support.

Albany Congress (1754)

Meeting of representatives of seven colonies to coordinate their efforts against French and Native American threats in the Western frontier regions

Alien and Sedition Acts

Proposed and supported by John Adams, gave the president the power to expel aliens deemed "dangerous to the country's well-being" and outlawed publication and public pronouncement of "false, scandalous, and malicious" statements about the government.

Allied Powers

coalition of nations that opposed Germany, Italy, and Japan in WWII; led by England, the Soviet Union, and the US. In WWI, the coalition consisted of France, Russia, and Great Britain. This group opposed the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy).

America First Committee

Isolationist group in America that insisted that America stay out of World War II; held rallies from 1939 to 1941; argued that affairs in Europe should be settled by Europeans and not Americans and stated that the Soviet Union was a greater eventual threat than Nazi Germany.

American Colonization Society

Formed in 1817, stated that the best way to end the slavery problem in the United States was for blacks to emigrate to Africa; by 1822 a few American blacks emigrated to Liberia. Organization's views were later rejected by most abolitionists.

American Expeditionary Force

Official title of American army sent to Europe to aid England and France after US entered WWI; army was commanded by General John J. Pershing

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

National labor union founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886; original goal was to organize skilled workers by craft. Merged with Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1955.

American Liberty League

Formed in 1934 by anti-New Deal politicians and business leaders to oppose policies of Franklin Roosevelt; stated that New Deal policies brought America closer to fascism.

Anaconda Copper Company

Large mining syndicate typical of many companies involved in mining in the western US in the 1860s and 1870s; used heavy machinery and professional engineers. Many prospectors who found gold, silver, or copper sold their claims to companies such as this.

Anaconda Plan

Critical component of initial Union plans to win the Civil War; called for capture of critical Southern ports and eventual control of the MS River, which would create major economic and strategic difficulties for the Confederacy.

Anti-Federalists

Group that opposed the ratification of the proposed Constitution of the US in 1787; many feared that strong central government would remove the processes of government "from the people" and replicate the excesses of the British monarchy

Anti-Imperialist League

Organization formed in 1898 to oppose American annexation of the Philippines and American imperialism in general; focused the public on the potential financial, military, and especially moral costs of imperialism

Anti-Saloon League

Organization founded in 1893 that increased public awareness of the social effects of alcohol on society; supported politicians who favored prohibition and promoted statewide referendums in Western and Southern states to ban alcohol

Appomattox

In the courthouse of this Virginia city Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

Army-McCarthy hearings

1954 televised hearings on charges that Senator Joseph McCarthy was unfairly tarnishing the United States Army with charges of communist infiltration into the armed forces; hearings were the beginning of the end for McCarthy, whose bullying tactics were repeatedly demonstrated

Articles of Confederation

Ratified in 1781, this document established the first official government of the US; allowed much power to remain in the states, with the federal government possessing only limited powers. Articles replaced by the Constitution in 1788.

astrolabe

Instrument that enabled navigators to calculate their latitude using the sun and the stars; allowed more accuracy in plotting routes during the Age of Discovery.

Battle of the Atlantic

Began in spring 1941 with the sinking of an American merchant vessel by a German submarine. Armed conflict between warships of America and Germany took place in September of 1941; American merchant vessels were armed by 1942.

Atlantic Charter

Fall 1941 agreement between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, stating that America and Great Britain would support a postwar world based on self-determination and would endorse a world body to ensure "general security"; U.S. agreement to convoy merchant ships across part of Atlantic inevitably drew America closer to conflict with Germany.

Aztecs

Advanced Native American society located in central Mexico; conquered by Spanish conquistador Cortes. The defeat of them was hastened by smallpox brought to Mexico by the Spanish

baby boom

Large increase in birthrate in US that began in 1945 and lasted until 1962; new and larger families fueled the move to suburbia that occurred in the 1950s and produced the "youth culture" that would become crucial in the 1960s.

Ballinger-Pinchot Affair

Crisis that occurred when William Howard Taft was president, further distancing him from Progressive supporters of Theodore Roosevelt. Richard Ballinger, Taft's Secretary of the Interior, allowed private businessmen to purchase large amounts of public land in Alaska; Forest Service head Gifford Pinchot (a Roosevelt supporter) protested to Congress and was fired by Taft.

Bank War

Political battles surrounding the attempt by President Andrew Jackson to greatly reduce the power of the Second Bank of the United States; Jackson claimed the bank was designed to serve special interests in America and not the common people.

Bataan Death March

Force march of nearly 75,000 American and Filipino soldiers captured by the Japanese from the Bataan Peninsula in early May 1942; over 10,000 soldiers died during this one-week ordeal

Bay of Pigs

Failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by United States-supported anti-Castro refugees designed to topple Castro from power; prestige of the United States, and of the newly elected president, John Kennedy, was damaged by this failed coup attempt.

Bear Flag Republic

Declaring independence from Mexican control, this republic was declared in 1846 by American settlers living in California. This political act was part of a larger American political and military strategy to wrest Texas and California from Mexico.

Beat Generation

Literary movement of the 1950s that criticized the conformity of American society and the ever-present threat of atomic warfare; On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Howl by Allen Ginsberg, and Naked Lunch by William Burroughs were key works of the Beat Generation.

Berlin Airlift

American and British pilots flew in food and fuel to West Berlin during late 1948 and early 1949 because the Soviet Minion and East Germany blockaded other access to West Berlin; Stalin ended this blockade in May 1949. It demonstrated American commitment to protecting Western Allies in Europe during the early cold war period

Berlin Wall

Concrete structure built in 1961 by Soviets and East Germany physically dividing East and West Berlin; to many in the West, it was symbolic of Communist repression in the cold war era. It was finally torn down in 1989.

Bessemer steel

First produced in 1856 in converter (furnace) invented by Henry Bessemer; was much more durable and harder than iron. Steel was a critical commodity in the Second Industrial Revolution.

Bicameral legislature

a legislative structure consisting of two houses; adopted by the authors of the US Constitution; members of the states in one house is determined by population, while the other house all states have equal representation

Bill of Rights

Added to the Constitution in 1791, the first 10 amendments protected freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to bear arms, and other basic rights of American citizens

Birth of a Nation

Epic movie released in 1915 by director D. W. Griffith; portrayed the Reconstruction as a period when Southern blacks threatened basic American values, which the Ku Klux Klan tried to protect; film was lauded by many, including President Woodrow Wilson.

Black Codes

laws adopted by the Southern states in the Reconstruction era that greatly limited the freedom of Southern blacks; in several states blacks could not move, own land, or do anything but farm.

Black nationalism

spurred by Malcom X and other black leaders; called for black pride and advancement without the help of whites; appeared to be a repudiation of the calls for peaceful integration urged by Maritin Luther Kin, Jr. Race riots in Northern cities in mid-1960s were at least partially fueled by supporter of black nationalism

Black Panthers

Group originally founded in Oakland, California, to protect blacks from police harassment; promoted militant black power; also ran social programs in several California cities. Founded by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton.

black power

Movement of black Americans in the mid-1960s that emphasized pride in racial heritage and black economic and political self-reliance; term coined by black civil rights leader Stokely Carmichael.

blacklist

prevented persons accused of bein Communists from getting work in entertainment and other industries during the period of anti-Communist fervor of the late 1940s and early 1950s; some entertainers waited until the mid 1960s before working publicly again

Bleeding Kansas

As a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, residents of Kansas territory could decide if territory would allow slavery or not. As a result, both pro and antislavery groups flooded settlers into Kansas territory. Much violence followed very disputed elections in 1855.

bonanza farms

large farms that came to dominate agricultural life in much of the West in the late 1800s; instead of plots farmed by yeoman farmers, large amounts of machinery were used, and workers were hired laborers, often performing only specific tasks (similar to work in a factory).

Bonus Army

Group of nearly 17,000 veterans who marched on Washington in May 1932 to demand the military bonuses they had been promised; this group was eventually driven from their camp city by the United States Army. This action increased the public perception that the Hoover administration cared little about the poor.

Boston Massacre

Conflict between British soldiers and Boston civilians on March 5, 1770. After civilians threw rocks and snowballs at the soldiers, the soldiers opened fire, killing five and wounding six.

Boston Tea Party

In response to the Tea Act and additional British taxes on tea, Boston radicals disguised as Native Americans threw nearly 350 chests of tea into Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court decision that threw out the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that schools could be "separate but equal." The ruling began the long and painful process of school desegregation in the South and other parts of America.

Battle of the Bulge

December 1944 German attack that was the last major offensive by the Axis powers in WWII. Germans managed to push forward into Belgium but were then driven back. Attack was costly to the Germans in terms of material and manpower.

Bull Moose Party

Name given to the Progressive party in the 1912 presidential campaign; Bull Moose candidate ex-president Theodore Roosevelt ran against incumbent president William Howard Taft and Democrat Woodrow Wilson, with Wilson emerging victorious.

First Battle of Bull Run

July 21, 1861 Confederate victory over Union forces, which ended in Union forces fleeing in disarray toward Washington; this battle convinced Lincoln and others in the North that victory over the Confederates would not be as easy as they initially thought.

Second Battle of Bull Run

Decisive victory by General Robert E. Lee and Confederate forces over the Union army in August 1862.

Battle of Bunker Hill

June 1775 British attack on colonial forces at Breed's Hill outside Boston; despite frightful losses, the British emerged victorious in this battle.

Calvinism

Protestant faith that preached salvation "by faith alone" and predestination; desire by Calvinists in England to create a "pure church" in England was only partially successful, thus causing Calvinist Puritans to come to the New World starting in 1620.

Camp David Accords

Treaty between Egypt and Israel brokered by President Jimmy Carter and signed in early 1979; Israel agreed to give back territory in the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, while Egypt agreed to recognize Israel's right to exist as a nation.

carpetbaggers

Term used by Southerners to mock Northerners who came to the South to gain either financially or politically during the Reconstruction era.

Chancellor of the Exchequer

during the era prior to and during the Revolutionary War, this was the head of the department in the British government that issued and collected taxes; many acts issued by this person created great resentment in the American colonies

Checkers Speech

Speech made by Richard Nixon on national television on September 23, 1952, where he defended himself against charges that rich supporters had set up a special expense account for his use; by the speech Nixon saved his spot on the 1952 Republican ticket (he was running for vice president, with Eisenhower running for president) and saved his political career.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

Supreme Court case in which the Cherokee tribe claimed that Georgia had not right to enforce laws in Cherokee territory, since Cherokees were a strong sovereign nation. This ruling by John Marshall stated that Cherokees were a "domestic dependent nation" and had no right to appeal in federal court

Church of England

Also called the "Anglican Church", this was the Protestant Church established by King Henry VIII; religious radicals desired a "purer" church that was allowed by monarchs of the early seventeenth century, causing some to leave for the Americas.

Circular Letter

In reaction to the 1767 Townshend Acts, the Massachusetts assembly circulated a letter to the other colonies, asking that they work together and jointly issue a petition of protest. Strong-willed response of British authorities to the letter influenced the colonial assemblies to work together on a closer basis

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Act that struck down Black Codes and defined the rights of all citizens; also stated that the federal government could act when civil rights were violated at the state level. Passed by Congress over the veto of President Andrew Johnson.

Civil Right Act of 1964

Key piece of civil rights legislation that made discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin illegal; segregation in public restrooms, bus stations, and other public facilities also was declared illegal.

Civil Service Commission

Created by the Pendelton Civil Service Act of 1883, this body was in charge of testing applicants and assigning them to appropriate government jobs; filling jobs on the basis of merit replaced the spoils system, in which government jobs were given as rewards for political service.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program that began in 1933, putting nearly 3 million young men to work; workers were paid little, but worked on conservation projects and maintaining beaches and parks. CCC program for young women began in 1937.

Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914

act designed to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890; certain activities previously committed by big businesses, such as not allowing unions in factories and not allowing strikes, were declared illegal.

cold war

period between 1945 and 1991 of near-continuous struggle between the US and its Allies and the USSR and its Allies; these tensions were made even more intense by the existence of the atomic bomb

colonial assemblies

Existed in all of the British colonies in America; House of Burgesses in Virginia was the first one. Members of colonial assemblies were almost always members of the upper classes of colonial society.

Columbian Exchange

exchange of crops, animals, disease, and ideas btw Europe and the Western Hemisphere that developed in the aftermath of the voyages of Columbus

Committee on Public Information

Created by Woodrow Wilson during WWI to mobilize public opinion for the war, this was the most intensive use of propaganda until that time by the US. The image of "Uncle Sam" was created for this propaganda campaign

Committees of Correspondence

First existed in MA, and eventually in all of the colonies. Leaders of resistance to British rule listed their grievances against the British and circulated them to all of the towns of the colony

Common Sense

very popular 1776 publication in the colonies written by Englishman Thomas Paine, who had come to America in 1774; repudiated the entire concept of government by monarchy. After publication of this document public sentiment in the colonies turned decisively toward a desire for independence

Compromise of 1850

Complex agreement that temporarily lessened tensions btw Northern and Southern political leaders, and prevented a possible secession crisis; to appease the South the Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened; to appease the North, California entered the Union as a free state

Compromise of 1877

Political arrangement that ended teh contested presidential election of 1876. Representative of Southern states agree not to oppose the official election of Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as president despite massive election irregularities. In return, the Union army stopped enforcing Reconstruction legislation in the South, thus ending Reconstruction

Battle of Concord

occurred on April 19, 1775, between British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen. Almost 275 British soldiers were wounded or died; as a result, a wider conflict between the colonies and the British became much more probable

Confederate States of America

Eventually made up of 11 former states with Jefferson Davis as its first and only president; Was unable to defeat the North because of lack of railroad lines, lack of industry, and an inability to get European nations to support their cause.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

Group of union that broke from the AFL in 1938 and organized effective union drives in automobile and rubber industries; supported sit-down strikes in major rubber plants; reaffiliated with the AFL in 1955

conscription

getting recruits for military service using a draft. This method was used by the American government in all of the wars of the twentieth century; viewed most negatively during the Vietnam War

consumer society

Many Americans in the 1950s became infatuated with all of the new products produced by technology and went out and purchased more than any prior generation; consumer tastes of the decade were largely dictated by advertising and television.

containment policy

Formulated by George Kennan, a policy whereby the United States would forcibly stop communist aggression whenever and wherever it occurred; containment was the dominant American policy of the Cold War era, and forced America to become involved in foreign conflicts such as Vietnam.

Continentals

Soldiers in the "American" army commanded by George Washington in the Revolutionary War; victory at the Battle of Trenton on December 16, 1776, did much to raise the morale of the soldiers (and convince many of them to reenlist); Also a term used for paper money printed in 1781 that was soon made worthless by inflation.

Contract with America (1994)

Pledge by Republican candidates for House of Representatives; led by Newt Gingrich, candidates promised to support term limits, balancing the budget, and lessening the size of the federal government. In 1994 Congressional elections, Republicans won both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years.

convoy system

System used to protect American ships carrying materials to Great Britain in 1940 and 1941; merchant ships were protected by American warships. Firing took place between these ships and German submarines, with American losses. Also used in World War I by the Navy to allow American shipping to Europe.

Copperheads

Democrats in Congress in the first years of the Civil War who opposed Abraham Lincoln and the North's attack on the South, claiming that the war would result in massive numbers of freed slaves entering the North and a total disruption of the Northern economy.

Battle of the Coral Sea

May 1942- American naval victory over the Japanese; prevented Japanese from attacking Australia. First naval battle where losses on both sides came almost exclusively from bombing from airplanes.

counterculture

Youth of the 1960s who espoused a lifestyle encompassing drug use, free love, and a rejection of adult authority; actual "hippies" were never more than a small percentage of young people.

Coxey's Army

Supporters of Ohio populist Jacob Coxey who in 1894 marched on Washington, demanded that the government create jobs for the unemployed; although this group had no effect whatsoever on policy, it did demonstrate the social and economic impact of the Panic of 1893.

creationism

Belief in the Biblical account of the origin of the universe and the origin of man; believers in creationism and believers in evolution both had their day in court during the 1925 Scopes Trial.

Crittenden Plan (1860)

Compromise proposal on the slavery issue designed to defuse tension between North and South; would have allowed slavery to continue in the South and would have denied Congress the power to regulate interstate slave trade. On the advice of newly elected President Lincoln, Republicans in Congress voted against it.

Crusades

from these attempt to recapture the Holy Land, Europeans acquired an appreciation of the benefits of overseas expansion and an appreciation of the economic benefits of slavery

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles discovered in Cuba; Soviets eventually removed missiles under American pressure. Crisis was perhaps the closest the world came to armed conflict the Cold War era.

Currency Act of 1764

British act forbidding the American colonies to issue paper money as legal tender; act was repealed in 1773 by the British as an effort to ease tensions between themselves and the colonies

dark horse candidate

A candidate for office with little support before the beginning of the nomination process; James K. Polk was the first dark horse candidate for president in 1844.

Dawes Act of 1887

Act designed to break up Native American tribes, offered Native American families 160 acres of farmland or 320 acres of land for grazing; large amounts of tribal lands were not claimed by Native Americans , and thus were purchased by land speculators

Declaration of Neutrality

Issued by President Woodrow Wilson after the outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914, stating that the United States would maintain normal relations with and continue to trade with both sides in the conflict; factors including submarine warfare made it difficult for America to maintain this policy. Also declared by George Washington in 1793 to allow American merchants to trade with those on both sides of the French Revolution.

Declaration of Rights and Grievances (1774)

Measure adopted by the First Continental Congress, stating that Parliament had some rights to regulate colonial trade with Britain, but that Parliament did not have the right to tax the colonies without their consent.

Declaratory Act of 1766

British law stating that the Parliament had absolute right to tax the colonies as they saw fit and to make laws that would be enacted in the colonies. Ironically, issued at the same time as the repeal of the Stamp Act.

Deficit spending

Economic policy whereby government spends money that it "doesn't have," thus creating a budget deficit; Although "conventional" economic theory disapproves of this, it is commonplace during times of crisis or war