AP United States History (APUSH) Key Unit Vocabulary and LEQ Concepts

Revolutionary America (1763-1783)

• Cause: French and Indian War   - The conflict served as the primary catalyst for the revolutionary period.
• Impact: King George III and Taxation   - Policies and leadership under King George III.   - Specific legislative acts for revenue collection including:     - Stamp Act     - Sugar Act     - Tea Act
• Change Over Time: Foundation of the New Nation   - Emergence of the Patriots.   - Activities of the Sons of Liberty.   - Governance transitions through the Articles of Confederation.   - Finalization of the United States Constitution.

Expansion and Manifest Destiny (1812-1867)

• Cause: Territorial Growth and Incentives   - Manifest Destiny: The belief that the US was destined to expand across the continent.   - Homestead Act: Provided land to settlers to encourage westward movement.   - Gold Rush and the 49ers: Mass migration to California in search of gold.   - Oregon Trail: A major route for settlers traveling to the Northwest.
• Impact: Conflict and Division   - Rising Sectionalism between northern and southern interests.   - The Mexican American War.
• Change Over Time: International Agreements   - Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo: Formally ended the Mexican-American War.

Civil War (1861-1865)

• Cause: Legislative and Social Conflict   - Deep-seated Sectionalism.   - Missouri Compromise of 1820: An attempt to balance slave and free states.   - Dred Scott v. Sandford: Landmark Supreme Court case regarding slavery and citizenship.   - Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that influenced public opinion.
• Impact: Reconstruction Amendments   - Implementation of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.     - 13th: Abolished slavery (Free).     - 14th: Established citizenship for formerly enslaved people (Citizens).     - 15th: Guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race (Vote).
• Change Over Time: Resistance to Civil Rights   - Rise of the KKK (Ku Klux Klan).   - Implementation of Literacy tests and poll taxes to disenfranchise Black voters.

Reconstruction (1865-1877)

• Cause: Results of the Conflict   - The Emancipation Proclamation.   - The conclusion of the Civil War.   - The rivalry and history between the Union vs Confederacy.
• Impact: Post-War Society   - Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws that enforced racial segregation.   - Freedmen’s Bureau: Agency established to help former slaves.   - Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction.
• Change Over Time: Systematic Oppression   - Transition to the Sharecropper system of labor.   - Continued violence from the KKK.   - Prevalence of lynching’s.

Gilded Age and Big Business (1870-1900)

• Cause: Economic Theories and Corporate Power   - Robber Barons: Powerful 19th-century industrialists.   - Monopolies: Dominance of single companies in specific industries.   - Laissez-faire: Policy of minimum governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society.   - Social Darwinism: Application of "survival of the fittest" to sociology and politics.
• Impact: Urban Living Conditions   - Development of tenements: crowded urban apartment buildings.   - Jacob Riis: Investigative journalist who documented conditions in How the Other Half lives.
• Change Over Time: Social Reform   - Jane Adams and the establishment of Hull House to assist the urban poor.

Progressive Era (1900-1920): Monopolies and Regulation

• Cause: Industrial Dominance   - Rockefeller: Leading figure in the oil industry.   - Prevalence of monopoly and laissez-faire practices.
• Impact: Legal and Journalistic Challenges   - Ida Tarbell: Muckraker who exposed the Standard Oil Company.   - Standard Oil v. US (1911): Legal case resulting in the breakup of the Standard Oil monopoly.
• Change Over Time: Government Enforcement   - Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890): Originally passed in 1890, but later enforced by Teddy Roosevelt.

Progressive Era (1900-1920): Public Health and Food Safety

• Cause: Journalistic Exposure   - The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: Novel exposing the health violations and unsanitary practices in the American meatpacking industry.
• Impact: Legislative Reform   - Meat Inspection Act.   - Pure Food and Drug Act.
• Change Over Time: Permanent Oversight   - Internalization and formation of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

Imperialism and the Spanish American War (1898)

• Cause: Media and Provocation   - Yellow Journalism: Sensationalized reporting.   - Sinking of the USS Maine.   - De Lome Letter: Document critical of President McKinley that helped fuel the war.
• Impact: Territorial Acquisition   - Treaty of Paris 1898: Resulted in the acquisition of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
• Change Over Time: Evolving Foreign Policy   - Teller Amendment: Stated the US would not annex Cuba.   - Platt Amendment: Provided for US intervention in Cuba and the establishment of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

USA in World War I (1914-1918)

• Cause: Incidents Drawing US into War   - Sinking of Lusitania.   - German unrestricted submarine warfare.   - Zimmerman Telegram: A secret communication proposing a military alliance between Germany and Mexico.
• Impact: Domestic Mobilization   - Policy of neutrality ends.   - Promotion of victory gardens and the sale of war bonds.
• Change Over Time: Return to Isolationism   - Decision Don’t join League of Nations specifically to avoid foreign affairs.   - Adherence to principles found in George Washington’s farewell address regarding foreign entanglements.

The Great Depression (1929-1941)

• Cause: Financial Instability   - Buying on credit.   - Buying on Margin: Purchasing stocks with borrowed money.
• Impact: Economic Collapse   - Stock Market Crash.   - Hooverville: Shanty towns built by homeless people during the Depression.   - Okies: Migrant workers from Oklahoma and nearby states who moved to California.
• Change Over Time: Government Intervention   - Introduction of FDR’s New Deal programs including:     - CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps).     - Social Security.     - TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority).

The New Deal and Reform (1930s-1940s)

• Cause: Crisis Response   - The Great Depression.   - The stock market crash.
• Impact: Direct Relief and Security   - FDR’s New Deal initiatives:     - Social Security.     - CCC.     - FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).
• Change Over Time: Expansion of the Social Safety Net   - 1960s LBJ’s Great Society: A set of domestic programs including:     - Medicaid.     - Medicare.     - Head start.

USA World War II Homefront (1941-1945)

• Cause: Entry into the War   - Attack on Pearl Harbor.
• Impact: Total War and Domestic Measures   - Official neutrality ends.   - Utilization of Victory gardens and war bonds.   - Japanese internment: Forced relocation and incarceration in camps.   - Korematsu v. US: Supreme Court case regarding the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066.   - Rosie the Riveter: Iconic American image representing women in the workforce.
• Change Over Time: Technological Advancement   - The Manhattan project.   - Development and use of the Atomic bomb.

The Cold War (1946-1991)

• Cause: Ideological Conflict   - Policy of Containment.   - Global rivalry of US vs USSR.   - Conflict between democracy vs communism.
• Impact: Home Front   - Presence of the 2nd Red Scare.   - McCarthyism: Campaign against alleged communists.   - Duck and Cover: Training for civil defense against nuclear attacks.
• Impact: Foreign Policy   - Engagement in Proxy war.   - Truman Doctrine: Policy to support people resisting communism.   - Marshall Plan: Program for economic aid to European countries.
• Change Over Time: De-escalation   - SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks).   - Detente (Nixon): The lessening of tension between the superpowers.

The Vietnam War (1965-1975)

• Cause: Cold War Strategy   - Role as a Proxy War.   - Domino Theory: The belief that if one nation fell to communism, others would follow.
• Impact: Domestic Uprising and Policy Changes   - Emergence of the Hippies culture.   - Conflict between anti-war Dove vs Hawk supporters.   - Kent State shootings.   - Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Granted LBJ increase power in managing the war.
• Change Over Time: Withdrawal and Legislative Restrictions   - Vietnamization: The policy of Gradual Removal Nixon planned for US troops.   - War Powers Act 1973: Act passed to decrease president’s power in committing armed forces to abroad conflict.

Immigrants (Historical Overview)

• Cause: Factors of Migration   - Nativism and Xenophobia: Anti-immigrant sentiment.   - Push vs Pull factors determining migration patterns.   - Entry points: Ellis Island vs Angel Island.
• Impact: Urban Life and Reform   - Living in tenements.   - Documentation by Jacob Riis.   - Assistance from Hull House and Jane Adams.
• Change Over Time: Community Support   - Development of Settlement houses.

Women (Historical Overview)

• Cause: Early Activism   - Seneca Falls Convention 1848.   - Authorship of the Declaration of Sentiments.
• Impact: Progressive Era Leadership   - Role of Alice Paul during Progressive Era.
• Change Over Time: Enfranchisement   - Passing of the 19th Amendment.   - Achieving Suffrage (right to vote) in 1920.

African Americans (Early to Mid-20th Century)

• Cause: Migration Patterns   - The Great Migration: Relocation of African Americans from the South to the North and Midwest.
• Impact: Cultural Flourishing   - 1920s Harlem Renaissance.   - Popularity of Jazz.   - Cotton Club.   - Performance by Louis Armstrong (trumpet).
• Change Over Time: Movement into Activism   - Influence Civil Rights (MLK) by the 1960 era.

African Americans Civil Rights (1950s-1960s)

• Cause: Long-term Injustice   - Continued effects of the Great Migration.   - Legality of segregation via Plessy v. Ferguson.   - Enforcement of Jim Crow Laws.
• Impact: Direct Action and Legal Victories   - Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Decision to desegregate schools.   - Freedom Riders.   - Contrasting philosophies of MLK vs Malcom X.
• Change Over Time: Major Legislative Achievements   - Civil Rights Act of 1964.   - 24th Amendment: Act to ban poll tax.   - Voting Rights Act of 1965.