Early U.S. History & Civil War Era Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, events, people, and legal principles from the early U.S. republic through Reconstruction.

Electoral College

Body of electors established by the Constitution that unanimously chose George Washington as the first U.S. president.

Presidential Cabinet

Group of executive department heads created by Washington to advise the president, setting a key precedent.

Precedent

An action that serves as an example for later decisions; Washington’s cabinet became a lasting governmental precedent.

Hamilton’s Financial Plan

Program calling for federal assumption of national and state war debts to strengthen U.S. credit.

Judiciary Act of 1789

Law that organized federal courts below the Supreme Court, creating district and appellate courts.

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 uprising against a federal excise tax that proved national authority to enforce laws.

Washington’s Farewell Address

1796 message urging neutrality and warning against permanent foreign alliances.

XYZ Affair

1797–98 diplomatic crisis in which French agents demanded bribes, sparking anti-French sentiment.

Hamilton–Burr Duel

1804 confrontation that killed Alexander Hamilton and destroyed Vice-President Aaron Burr’s political career.

Haitian Revolution’s U.S. Impact

Inspired slave resistance in America and heightened Southern fears of revolt.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

1804–06 journey that mapped the Louisiana Territory and gathered scientific and cultural data.

Embargo Act of 1807

Jefferson’s law halting U.S. exports to avoid war, severely hurting American trade.

Limited Government

Principle that government powers are restricted by law; Jefferson worried the Louisiana Purchase might violate it.

Revolution of 1800

Peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Democratic-Republicans after Jefferson’s election.

Judicial Review

Power established in Marbury v. Madison (1803) allowing courts to declare laws unconstitutional.

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

Supreme Court ruling that states had no authority in Cherokee territory—largely ignored by Jackson.

Civil Disobedience

Thoreau’s idea of non-violent refusal to obey unjust laws.

Jacksonian Democracy

Era when Andrew Jackson expanded presidential power and championed the “common man.”

Nullification Crisis

South Carolina’s 1832 attempt to void a federal tariff, testing state vs. federal authority.

Trail of Tears

Forced 1838–39 relocation of Cherokee to Indian Territory, causing thousands of deaths.

Democratic Party (Jacksonian)

Political party formed by Andrew Jackson’s supporters after the bitter 1828 campaign.

Women’s Rights Movement

Reform movement advocating women’s suffrage and equality, emerging alongside other antebellum reforms.

Era of Good Feelings

Period of national unity under one political party following the War of 1812.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Constitutional basis for implied powers upheld in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819).

Adams-Onís Treaty (1819)

Agreement in which Spain ceded Florida to the United States to settle debts.

Monroe Doctrine

1823 policy warning Europe against further colonization in the Western Hemisphere.

Missouri Compromise

1820 law maintaining Senate balance by admitting Missouri (slave) and Maine (free) and banning slavery north of 36°30′.

Alien Act of 1798

Law allowing President Adams to deport foreigners deemed dangerous during quasi-war fears.

Battle of Lake Erie

1813 U.S. naval victory forcing British to abandon Detroit in the War of 1812.

John Quincy Adams’s Debt Plan

Presidential initiative to reduce national debt despite opposition from Jackson’s supporters.

Mexican Cession

Vast territory ceded to the U.S. in 1848—far larger than the later Gadsden Purchase.

Black Seminoles

Former enslaved Africans who lived freely with Seminole allies in Spanish Florida.

Manifest Destiny

Belief, championed by President Polk, that the U.S. was destined to expand coast-to-coast.

Economic Motives for Manifest Destiny

Desire for land and natural resources to boost national wealth.

Florida Constitution of 1813

Document establishing three branches and a bill of rights as Florida prepared for statehood.

Seminole Wars

Three conflicts arising from land disputes, leading to most Seminoles’ removal.

Abolitionist

Individual, such as Frederick Douglass or Sojourner Truth, who worked to end slavery.

Railroads

Transportation innovation that linked raw materials, factories, and markets, aiding industrial growth.

Telegraph (Samuel Morse)

Device using Morse code for near-instant communication over wires, patented in 1840s.

Lowell System

Factory model employing young women in New England textile mills with regulated living conditions.

Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney’s 1793 machine that sped cotton processing and expanded slavery.

Slave Oral Tradition

Stories, songs, and spirituals preserving African culture and fostering community among enslaved people.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Case affirming Congress’s authority over interstate commerce, including navigation.

States’ Rights

Doctrine asserting state power over federal authority, central to antebellum sectionalism.

Road to Civil War Compromises

Series of measures (1820-1854) attempting to resolve slavery disputes but increasing tensions.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 order freeing enslaved people in Confederate territory, redefining Union war aims.

Border States

Slave states (MD, DE, KY, MO) that stayed in the Union during the Civil War.

Union Industrial Advantage

Northern superiority in factories, railroads, and resources at the Civil War’s start.

Gettysburg Address Phrase

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people” expressing popular sovereignty.

Union Blockade of Florida

Naval strategy preventing Confederate trade along most of Florida’s coast.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Decision upholding “separate but equal” racial segregation laws.

14th Amendment Citizenship

Grants citizenship by birth on U.S. soil or through naturalization and guarantees equal protection.

Voting Rights Amendments

19th (women), 24th (no poll tax), and 26th (18-year-old suffrage) expanded the electorate.

Abridge

To limit or reduce; used in the 14th Amendment regarding citizens’ rights.