APUSH TOP 100 TERMS
Period 1 (1491–1607): Pre-Columbian to Early Contact
Maize – Corn cultivated by Native societies; supported population growth and complex societies.
Columbian Exchange – Exchange of goods, diseases, animals, and people between the Old and New Worlds.
Encomienda – Spanish system of forced Native labor in exchange for Christianization.
Period 2 (1607–1754): Colonial America
Joint-Stock Company – Investment-based colony funding system (e.g., Virginia Company).
House of Burgesses – First elected legislative assembly in the colonies (Virginia, 1619).
Mercantilism – Economic policy where colonies supply wealth to the mother country.
King Philip’s War – Violent conflict between New England colonists and Native Americans (1675).
Pueblo Revolt – 1680 Native uprising that temporarily expelled Spanish from New Mexico.
Chattel Slavery – Slavery system in which people were treated as property, passed down through generations.
Bacon’s Rebellion – 1676 uprising by poor Virginia settlers; led to increased African slavery.
Period 3 (1754–1800): Revolution & New Nation
First Great Awakening – Religious revival that promoted emotionalism and individual faith.
French & Indian War – British vs. French (and allies); Britain wins but begins taxing colonies.
Pontiac’s Rebellion – Native resistance to post-war British expansion in the Great Lakes area.
Stamp Act – 1765 direct tax on printed materials; provoked colonial resistance.
Enlightenment – Intellectual movement advocating reason, liberty, and natural rights.
Common Sense – Thomas Paine's pamphlet urging independence from Britain.
Declaration of Independence – 1776 document declaring U.S. independence and listing grievances.
Republican Motherhood – Belief that women should raise virtuous, informed citizens.
Articles of Confederation – First U.S. government; weak central authority.
Northwest Ordinance – Created process for territories to become states; banned slavery NW.
Shays’ Rebellion – Farmer revolt highlighting the Articles’ weaknesses.
The Federalist Papers – Essays supporting ratification of the Constitution.
Constitution – Supreme law replacing Articles; created federal system with separation of powers.
Great Compromise – Combined NJ and VA plans; created bicameral legislature.
Federalism – Power shared between national and state governments.
Separation of Powers – Legislative, Executive, Judicial branches.
Bill of Rights – First 10 Amendments; protected individual rights.
Washington’s Farewell Address – Warned against political parties and foreign entanglements.
Bank of the United States – Hamilton’s institution to stabilize the U.S. economy.
Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans – Early political party divide on size of gov’t.
Alien & Sedition Acts – 1798 laws suppressing dissent and targeting immigrants.
Louisiana Purchase – Jefferson’s 1803 land deal doubling U.S. territory.
1807 Embargo Act – Jefferson’s trade ban; hurt U.S. economy.
Period 4 (1800–1848): Market Revolution & Democracy
Marbury v. Madison – Established judicial review.
Era of Good Feelings – Monroe’s presidency; political unity after War of 1812.
American System – Henry Clay’s plan: tariffs, national bank, internal improvements.
Missouri Compromise – 1820 compromise; Missouri slave, Maine free; 36°30′ line.
Monroe Doctrine – U.S. warning to Europe: no new colonization in the Americas.
Market Revolution – Transformation in transport, manufacturing, and communication.
Jacksonian Democracy – Expanded suffrage for white males; anti-elite politics.
Trail of Tears – Forced Native American removal; thousands died.
Nullification Crisis – SC threatened secession over tariffs; Jackson stood firm.
Second Great Awakening – Religious revival; sparked reform movements.
Utopian Communities – Experimental communities promoting perfectionism (e.g., Brook Farm).
Seneca Falls Convention – 1848 women’s rights convention; “All men and women are created equal.”
Nat Turner Rebellion – Slave revolt in VA; led to harsher slave laws.
Manifest Destiny – Belief in U.S. right to expand westward.
Mexican Cession – Land gained after Mexican-American War (1848).
Compromise of 1850 – CA free state; strict Fugitive Slave Law.
Period 5 (1844–1877): Civil War & Reconstruction
Nativism – Anti-immigrant sentiment, especially against Irish and Germans.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Anti-slavery novel that stirred Northern sentiment.
Kansas-Nebraska Act – Allowed popular sovereignty; led to “Bleeding Kansas.”
Republican Party – Formed in 1850s opposing expansion of slavery.
Dred Scott v. Sandford – SCOTUS: slaves aren’t citizens; Congress can’t ban slavery.
Election of 1860 – Lincoln’s win led to Southern secession.
Emancipation Proclamation – Freed slaves in rebelling states; war became about slavery.
Homestead Act – Free land for settlers in the West.
Reconstruction Amendments – 13th (abolition), 14th (citizenship), 15th (voting rights).
Freedmen’s Bureau – Helped freed slaves adjust post-war.
Black Codes – Southern laws restricting African Americans’ rights.
Plessy v. Ferguson – Upheld “separate but equal”; legalized segregation.
Period 6 (1865–1898): Gilded Age
Jim Crow – Laws enforcing segregation.
Gilded Age – Era of industrial growth and political corruption.
Chinese Exclusion Act – 1882 ban on Chinese immigration.
“Cross of Gold” Speech – William Jennings Bryan speech supporting free silver.
Spanish-American War – 1898 war; U.S. gains Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico.
Roosevelt Corollary – U.S. can intervene in Latin America.
Period 7 (1890–1945): World Wars & Progressivism
Muckrakers – Journalists exposing corruption (e.g., Upton Sinclair).
NAACP – Civil rights group founded in 1909 to fight racial discrimination.
Square Deal – Teddy Roosevelt’s domestic policy: control corporations, consumer protection, conservation.
Clayton Antitrust Act – Strengthened antitrust laws.
NAWSA – Led suffrage movement for women’s right to vote.
Espionage & Sedition Acts – WWI laws limiting anti-war speech.
League of Nations – International peacekeeping group proposed by Wilson; U.S. didn’t join.
Treaty of Versailles – Ended WWI; blamed Germany.
Great Migration – Movement of African Americans to northern cities.
Immigration Quotas (1921 & 1924) – Limited immigration, favored Europeans.
Harlem Renaissance – Black cultural and artistic movement in NYC.
Great Depression – Severe economic downturn in 1930s.
New Deal – FDR’s programs to provide Relief, Recovery, Reform.
Double V Campaign – WWII effort: victory over fascism abroad and racism at home.
Japanese Internment – Forced relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII.
Period 8 (1945–1980): Cold War & Civil Rights
Cold War – Tension between U.S. and USSR post-WWII.
Containment – U.S. policy to stop spread of communism.
Berlin Airlift – U.S. supplied West Berlin during Soviet blockade.
Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962 Soviet missiles in Cuba; closest to nuclear war.
McCarthyism – Anti-communist hysteria; baseless accusations.
Brown v. Board of Education – Overturned Plessy; ended school segregation.
Civil Rights Movement – Black Americans fought for legal equality.
OPEC Oil Embargo – 1973 crisis; oil shortages and inflation.
Vietnam War – Controversial war; led to protests.
Great Society – LBJ’s(lyndon johsnon) programs to end poverty and racial injustice.
Silent Spring – Book by Rachel Carson; launched environmental movement.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Banned segregation in public places.
Feminine Mystique – Book sparking second-wave feminism.
Period 9 (1980–Present): Modern America
Reaganomics – Tax cuts, deregulation, trickle-down theory.
NAFTA – 1994 free trade agreement between U.S., Canada, Mexico.
Globalization – Interconnected global economy and culture.
Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965 – Abolished quotas; increased Latin American/Asian immigration.
Persian Gulf War – U.S.-led operation to expel Iraq from Kuwait (1991).