AP US History Key Terms: American Origins, Birth of a Republic, and Rise of the Silent Majority

A comprehensive vocabulary review deck covering major terms, events, figures, and conceptual social studies vocabulary across AP US History units on American Origins, Birth of a Republic, and the Rise of the Silent Majority.

Act Concerning Religion (Maryland Toleration Act)

An act passed in Maryland in 1649 that granted freedom of worship to all Christians; enacted to protect the Catholic minority, it became a benchmark of religious freedom in the colonies, though it did not extend to non-Christians.

Advocate

To support; to be in favor of.

Agency

Independent decision-making within a structure.

Agenda

An underlying (often ideological) plan or program.

Alexander Hamilton

Strong nationalist and first secretary of the treasury who supported a strong central government, created a financial plan, and founded the Federalist Party.

Alien and Sedition Acts

A series of acts designed to suppress perceived French agents working against American neutrality; gave the president power to deport "dangerous" aliens, lengthened the residency requirement for citizenship, and restricted freedoms of speech and press.

Amend

To alter or change significantly.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Civil rights law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and public and private places open to the general public.

Analysis

Separation of a whole into its component parts.

Anglican Church

The Church of England started by King Henry VIII in 1533 with the monarch as its head; strongest in the Southern Colonies and, by 1776, the second-largest church in America behind the Congregationalists.

Annapolis Convention

Meeting held at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1786 to discuss interstate commerce; attended by only five states, Alexander Hamilton used it to issue a call for a convention the next spring to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Anne Hutchinson

Charismatic colonist in Massachusetts Bay who questioned whether salvation could be achieved solely by good works, led the Antinomian controversy, was banished in 1638, and was killed by Indians in 1643.

Anti-Federalists

Persons who opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution by the states, fearing the concentration of power placed in the national government.

Bacon’s Rebellion

Attacks by Virginia frontiersmen led by Nathaniel Bacon against Native Americans; when the governor opposed them, Bacon burned Jamestown and briefly deposed the governor, highlighting tensions between East and West and dangers of indentured servitude.

Baron von Steuben

Prussian-born aristocrat and military leader who trained Continental Army soldiers in the winter of 1777–78 at Valley Forge, improving troop organization, sanitation, tent arrangement, volley firing methods, and command structure.

Barry Goldwater

Unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate in 1964 who advocated dismantling the New Deal, escalating the Vietnam War, and maintaining the status quo on civil rights; regarded as the grandfather of the 1980s conservative movement.

Bartolomé de las Casas

Dominican priest who criticized the cruelty and brutality of Spanish policy toward Indians in the early 1500s; his denunciations helped end the encomienda system.

Battle of Saratoga

The October 1777 turning point of the Revolutionary War where 6,000 British troops surrendered in New York, thwarting an attempt to divide the colonies and convincing France to enter an alliance with America.

Battle of Yorktown

Siege ending in October 1781 in which Washington trapped 8,000 British soldiers on a Virginia peninsula, prompting Britain to cease large-scale fighting and begin peace negotiations.

Belligerent

Aggressive; hostile.

Ben Franklin

Leading American diplomat, statesman, and advisor who participated in pre-Revolutionary congresses and helped secure both the French alliance of 1778 and the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

Bill Clinton

42nd U.S. President (1993–2001) whose centrist approach led to NAFTA, welfare reform, and a balanced budget with a Republican Congress; became the second president in U.S. history to be impeached.

Boston Massacre

A confrontation in March 1770 in which British soldiers shot and killed five colonials in Boston; radicals used the event to inflame anti-British sentiment over the following five years.

Bureaucracy

A body of non-elected government officials; those involved in the administration of policy.

Camp David Accords (1979)

An agreement brokered by President Jimmy Carter between Israel and Egypt; Israel returned land seized in earlier wars and Egypt recognized Israel as a nation.

Capital

Resources used to accumulate wealth or power.

Chattel Slavery

A system characterized by the dehumanizing treatment of human beings as personal property and commodities to be bought and sold.

Chesapeake Colonies

British colonies consisting of Virginia and Maryland, characterized by an economic dependence on cash crops such as tobacco.

Christopher Columbus

Explorer who claimed Caribbean islands for Spain between 1492 and 1504 while searching for a western route to the Indies; a poor administrator who died disgraced in 1506.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation proposed by Kennedy and signed by Johnson that desegregated public accommodations, libraries, parks, and amusements, and expanded federal power to prevent job discrimination.

Coalition

Groups allied for a common purpose.

Coercive Acts (1774)

British measures (called the Intolerable Acts in America) punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party by closing Boston's port, revoking the colony's charter, moving trials of officials outside the colony, and quartering troops in private dwellings.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres following Columbus's 1492 voyage; introduced New World crops (corn, potatoes, squash) to Europe and Old World elements (cattle, horses, smallpox) to the Americas.

Comparative

Examining two or more items to establish similarities and differences.

Condemnation

To criticize or disapprove of something very strongly.

Congregationalist (Puritans)

Calvinist group seeking to purify the Anglican Church of Catholic traditions; believed in predestination, strict adherence to God's law, and established an intolerant religious society in New England.

Constituency

Those being represented.

Contract with America

A 1994 document drafted under Newt Gingrich promising ten legislative goals if Republicans took Congress, including term limits, a balanced budget amendment, tax cuts, tougher crime laws, and welfare reform.

Crisis of Confidence (Malaise) Speech

Televised address by President Jimmy Carter lamenting a weak national spirit that struck "at the very heart and soul of our national will," which led many citizens to feel the president had given up.

Declaratory Act (1766)

British law passed simultaneously with the repeal of the Stamp Act, asserting Parliament's unyielding sovereignty over the colonies in all legislative and taxation matters.

Deficit

A shortage; excess of spending over revenue.

Demographic

Characteristics relating to population.

Democratic Republican Party

Political party led by Thomas Jefferson that favored states' rights, feared centralized power, opposed Hamilton's financial plan, drew support from southern agrarian interests, and supported ties to France.

Depict

To show or illustrate.

Deregulation

The cutting back of federal regulation of industry, exemplified in the 1980s under Ronald Reagan by removing oil price controls and reducing oversight of airlines, nursing homes, and savings and loans.

Discrimination

To show partiality in treatment.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1953–1969) whose tenure brought historic, activist rulings on racial segregation (such as Brown v. Board of Education) and criminal procedure safeguards.

Encomienda system

Colonial Spanish system granting settlers authority over Indian populations for labor and production in return for protection; functioned as disguised slavery until discarded in the mid-1500s due to brutality and inefficiency.

Entitlement

Belief that one is deserving of certain privileges.

Epidemic

A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease, such as smallpox, in a community at a particular time.

Espouse

To speak on behalf of a cause or idea.

Farewell Address

President George Washington's 1796 valedictory message warning Americans against entering permanent foreign alliances and forming domestic political factions (parties).

Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym Publius to convince New York to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Federalist Party

Political party led by Alexander Hamilton that championed strong federal power, commerce and banking, Hamilton’s economic vision, and friendship with Great Britain; supported by merchants and property owners.

Federalists

Supporters of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1787–1788 (distinct from the later political party bearing the same name).

First Great Awakening

A transatlantic religious revival in the 1730s and 1740s spearheaded by ministers such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards to counter rationalism and secularism by emphasizing personal conversion and repentance.

Fiscal

Relating to public revenue or public debt.

George H.W. Bush

41st U.S. President (1989–1993) famous for his "Read my lips: no new taxes" pledge; led the Persian Gulf War victory, but lost reelection in 1992 following an economic recession and tax agreement.

George III

King of England during the American Revolution who resisted colonial liberties and insisted on strict adherence to parliamentary power.

George McGovern

Democratic presidential nominee in 1972 who advocated immediate withdrawal from Vietnam and a guaranteed annual income; suffered a landslide defeat against Richard Nixon.

George W. Bush

43rd U.S. President (2001–2009) who championed "compassionate conservatism," tax cuts, and No Child Left Behind; his administration was dominated by the post-9/11 War on Terror and invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

George Wallace

Alabama governor and third-party presidential candidate in 1968 and 1972 who ran on a segregationist, "law-and-order" platform; paralyzed in an assassination attempt in 1972.

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army whose integrity and steady leadership held the forces together; later served as presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention and first U.S. president.

Gerald Ford

38th U.S. President (1974–1977); the only unelected vice president and president in U.S. history, elevated under the 25th Amendment after the resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon.

Geraldine Ferraro

New York Congresswoman chosen by Walter Mondale in 1984 as his running mate, making her the first female vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket.

Great Compromise

Agreement at the 1787 Constitutional Convention reconciling the Virginia and New Jersey Plans by establishing a bicameral legislature: representation by population in the House of Representatives and equal state representation in the Senate.

Great Society

President Lyndon B. Johnson's broad domestic agenda fighting poverty and racial injustice through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and federal education funding.

Halfway Covenant

A 1662 Puritan policy allowing children of baptized non-church members to be baptized without full communion or church voting rights, addressing declining full membership (visible sainthood).

Headright system

A system used to spur immigration to British colonies by granting parcels of land (typically 50 to 200 acres) to heads of families and to colonists sponsoring the voyage of indentured servants.

Henry Kissinger

National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford; key architect of détente with the Soviet Union, the opening of relations with Communist China, and the Paris Peace Accords ending U.S. combat in Vietnam.

Hernándo Cortés

Spanish conquistador who invaded Mexico, defeated Montezuma, captured Tenochtitlán in 1521, and obliterated the Aztec Empire.

House of Burgesses

Established in Virginia in 1619, it was the first popularly elected legislative assembly in the Western Hemisphere.

Ideology

A set of beliefs.

Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

Federal reform that eliminated the national origins quota system, allowing immigration from Latin America, Asia, and Africa to expand significantly.

Indentured servants

Laborers who agreed to work for a term (usually 4 to 7 years) in exchange for passage to America; served as the primary source of labor in the Chesapeake before the widespread transition to chattel slavery.

Inflation

Rising prices.

Iran Hostage Crisis (1979–1981)

The seizure of 52 American embassy workers in Tehran by Iranian militants for 444 days, prompted by U.S. admission of the deposed Shah and anti-American sentiment.

Iran–Contra Affair (1986–1987)

Reagan administration scandal involving secret arms sales to Iran in exchange for hostages in Lebanon, with profits diverted to fund anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua in defiance of Congressional bans.

James Madison

Virginia statesman, author of the Virginia Plan, "Father of the Constitution," principal drafter of the Bill of Rights, and co-founder of the Democratic Republican Party.

Jay’s Treaty (1794)

Controversial agreement negotiated by John Jay where Great Britain agreed to evacuate forts on U.S. northwestern frontier soil and partially opened West Indian trade, while the U.S. pledged to pay pre-Revolutionary debts.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Finance minister to Louis XIV who centralized and revitalized New France during the 1660s, strengthening French royal dominion in North America.

Jimmy Carter

39th U.S. President (1977–1981) whose term was defined by human rights diplomacy and the Camp David Accords, but strained by high inflation, energy shortages, and the Iran Hostage Crisis.

John Dickinson

Author of Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania who advocated colonial resistance to taxes while urging reconciliation; opposed the Declaration of Independence but helped draft the Articles of Confederation.

John Jay

American diplomat who negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783) and Jay's Treaty (1794); co-author of The Federalist Papers and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

John Locke

English Enlightenment philosopher whose Second Treatise asserted that government exists by the consent of the governed to protect natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

John Smith

English explorer whose military discipline and "he who does not work shall not eat" rule saved the Jamestown settlement from collapse in 1607–1608.

John Winthrop

First governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who envisioned a Puritan commonwealth that would serve as an exemplary "city upon a hill."

Jonathan Edwards

New England Congregational minister of the Great Awakening known for fiery sermons like Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, stressing God's absolute sovereignty and grace.

Loose constructionist

A person who views the Constitution's "elastic clause" ($\text{Article I, Section 8}$) as granting broad powers to Congress to pass measures "necessary and proper" to execute stated duties.

Loyalists (Tories)

American colonists who opposed the Revolution and maintained allegiance to the British Crown; often older, wealthier, educated, and affiliated with the Anglican Church.

Lyndon Johnson

36th U.S. President (1963–1969) who instituted Great Society reforms and the Civil Rights Act, but saw his administration crippled by massive military escalation in the Vietnam War.

Malevolent

Showing ill will.

Marginalized

Lacking power.

Marquis de Lafayette

French nobleman who volunteered to serve in the Continental Army; instrumental in commanding troops at Yorktown and securing critical French military and financial aid.

Matriarchal

Female-dominated.

Mayflower Compact

Agreement signed in 1620 by 41 male Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower establishing a civil body politic ruled by majority will; early antecedent of written democratic government in America.

Mercantilism

Economic system where colonies exist to enrich the mother country through raw material supply, regulated trade routes, protected domestic markets, and restrictions on colonial manufacturing.

Metacom’s (King Phillip’s) War (1675-1676)

Violent conflict between New England colonists and an alliance of Native American tribes resisting Puritan encroachment and restrictive colonial regulations.

Middle Colonies

British colonies comprising New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware; characterized by diverse European immigrant populations and greater religious tolerance.

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

Federal statute passed in 1990 requiring federally funded agencies and museums to inventory and return Native American human remains, funerary objects, and cultural items to lineal descendants.