History Review Flashcards

Columbian Exchange

• The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Encomienda

• A Spanish labor system that rewarded conquerors with the labor of particular groups of conquered non-Christian people. The laborers were supposed to be provided with protection and instruction in the Christian faith.

Navigation Acts

• A series of laws passed by the British Parliament that imposed restrictions on colonial trade. These acts were designed to ensure that the American colonies remained subordinate to Great Britain.

Great Awakening

• A series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its Thirteen Colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The movement deemphasized ritual and ceremony, focusing instead on emotional spirituality and individual connection with God.

Colonial Slavery

• The system of forced labor that existed in the American colonies from the 17th to the 19th centuries. It was primarily based on the enslavement of Africans and their descendants.

Bill of Rights

• The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedoms to individuals.

Great Compromise

• An agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution. It created a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with equal representation for all states.

3/5 Compromise

• A compromise reached among state delegates during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It stipulated that only three-fifths of the enslaved population of a state would be counted for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives and for direct taxation.

Hamilton's Economic Plans

• A set of economic policies proposed by Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, during the early years of the United States. These plans included the establishment of a national bank, the assumption of state debts, and the promotion of domestic manufacturing.

Elastic Clause

• A clause in the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 8) that grants Congress the power to pass all laws "necessary and proper" for carrying out the enumerated list of powers. It allows Congress to adapt to changing circumstances and address issues not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.

BUS

• The Bank of the United States, a national bank chartered by the United States Congress in 1791. It was intended to provide financial stability and promote economic growth.

French & Indian War

• A conflict between Great Britain and France (both aided by allied Indian tribes) for control of North America. The British victory had significant consequences for the relationship between Britain and its American colonies.

Proclamation 1763

• A proclamation issued by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War. It forbade all settlement west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains.

Shay's Rebellion 1786

• An armed uprising in Massachusetts during 1786 and 1787. Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led four thousand rebels in rising up against perceived economic and civil rights injustices.

Constitutional Convention

• A meeting held in Philadelphia in 1787 where the United States Constitution was drafted. The convention was called in response to the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Article of Confederation

• The first constitution of the United States, adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781. It established a weak central government with limited powers, which proved inadequate to address the challenges facing the new nation.

Federalist v anti-Federalist

• The Federalists were proponents of the United States Constitution, advocating for a strong national government. The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution, fearing that it would lead to tyranny and undermine states' rights.

Chief Justice John Marshall

• The fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1801-1835). His rulings helped to define the role of the Supreme Court in American government and established the principle of judicial review.

"Midnight Judges"

• Judges appointed by President John Adams in the final hours of his administration in 1801, in an effort to preserve Federalist influence in the judiciary before Thomas Jefferson took office.

Marbury v. Madison 1803

• A landmark Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review, the power of the Court to declare laws unconstitutional.

Louisiana Purchase/Territory

• The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory by the United States from France in 1803. It doubled the size of the United States and opened up vast new territories for exploration and settlement.

Missouri Compromise 1820

• An agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Purchase territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north, except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri.

36*30

• 36^{\circ}30' north latitude, the line established by the Missouri Compromise to delineate the boundary between free and slave territories.

Sectional Balance

• The effort to maintain an equal number of free and slave states in the United States to prevent either side from gaining a majority in Congress and controlling the government.

Monroe Doctrine

• A United States foreign policy doctrine established in 1823, which proclaimed that European powers should no longer colonize or interfere with the affairs of the newly independent nations of Latin America.

Civil War

• A war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the Union (the North) and the Confederacy (the South). It was primarily caused by the issue of slavery and states' rights.

Slavery

• The system of forced labor in which individuals are treated as property and are compelled to work without pay or freedom. It was a major cause of the Civil War.

States Rights

• The belief that states have the right to govern themselves and to resist federal encroachment on their powers. It was a major issue in the lead-up to the Civil War.

Tariffs

• Taxes imposed on imported goods. They were a source of contention between the North and the South, as the North favored high tariffs to protect its industries, while the South opposed them as they increased the cost of imported goods.

BUS

• The Bank of the United States, which was a subject of political debate throughout its existence. Opponents argued that it was unconstitutional and favored the wealthy elite.

Compromise 1850

• A package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850, which defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War.

Fugitive Slave Act

• A law passed as part of the Compromise of 1850, which required that all escaped slaves were, upon capture, to be returned to their masters and that officials and citizens of free states had to cooperate in this law.

California

• Its admission to the Union as a free state in 1850 was a key component of the Compromise of 1850.

Slave Markets in D.C.

• The buying and selling of enslaved people in the nation's capital was a contentious issue in the lead-up to the Civil War.

Popular Sovereignty

• The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives (Rule by the People), who are the source of all political power.

Reconstruction

• The period after the Civil War (1865-1877) during which the United States attempted to rebuild and reintegrate the former Confederate states.

Radical Reconstruction

• A period during Reconstruction when Republicans in Congress took control of the process and implemented policies aimed at protecting the rights of African Americans and punishing the former Confederacy.

Compromise 1877

• An informal agreement to resolve the disputed 1876 presidential election. Rutherford B. Hayes was declared President, and in exchange, federal troops were withdrawn from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Black Codes

• Restrictive laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War, designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and maintain white supremacy.

Jim Crow Laws

• State and local laws enacted in the Southern United States from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. They mandated racial segregation in all public facilities.

13th Amendment

• A constitutional amendment that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

14th Amendment

• A constitutional amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, and guaranteed equal protection of the laws.

15th Amendment

• A constitutional amendment that prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896

• A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine. It had a long-lasting impact on race relations in the United States.

Manifest Destiny

• The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

Mexican-American War

• An armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. The United States won the war and acquired vast new territories from Mexico.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• The peace treaty signed on February 2, 1848, in the Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo (now a neighborhood of Mexico City) between the United States and Mexico that ended the Mexican–American War.

Mexican Cession

• The region in the modern-day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.

Gadsden Purchase

• A 29,670-square-mile region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States from Mexico in 1854.

Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854

• An act that allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The act served to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30′.

Gilded Age

• A period in American history from the 1870s to about 1900. Characterized by rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization, but also marked by political corruption and social inequality.

Political Machines

• Political organizations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that controlled city governments and used patronage, bribery, and other corrupt practices to maintain power.

"Boss" Tweed

• William M. Tweed, the notorious boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th-century New York City and State.

Tammany Hall

• The Democratic political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th-century New York City and State.

Andrew Carnegie

• A Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century.

Industrialization, steel

• The rapid development of industry in the late 19th century, particularly the steel industry, which transformed the American economy and society.

Gospel of Wealth

• An article written by Andrew Carnegie in 1889 that described the responsibility of philanthropy by the new upper class of self-made rich.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

• A United States antitrust law that prohibits certain business activities that federal government regulators deem to be anticompetitive, and requires the federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of violating the Act.

Intent

• The purpose or aim of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which was to promote competition and prevent monopolies.

Actual usage

• The way the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was actually used, which was often to suppress labor unions and other forms of collective action.

Populist/Peoples Party

• A political party in the United States that advocated for a range of reforms to address the concerns of farmers and laborers. Key issues were railroad regulation, a graduated income tax, and bimetallism (the use of both silver and gold as currency).

Great Depression

• A severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. It was the longest and most severe economic depression in modern history.

Hundred Days Congress

• The special session of Congress called by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 to address the Great Depression. During this period, Congress passed a series of major legislation aimed at providing relief, recovery, and reform.

Bank failures

• A major problem during the Great Depression, as many banks collapsed due to runs on deposits and a lack of confidence in the financial system.

overproduction

• A situation in which the supply of goods exceeds the demand, leading to unsold inventories and economic stagnation. It was a contributing factor to the Great Depression.

WWII

• A global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis.

Internment of Japanese-Americans

• The forced relocation and incarceration of approximately 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who lived on the Pacific coast in camps in the interior of the country during World War II.

Rosie the Riveter

• A cultural icon of World War II, representing the women who worked in factories and shipyards during the war, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies.

Manhattan Project

• A research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons.

Why?

• The Manhattan Project was undertaken because of the fear that Nazi Germany was also developing nuclear weapons.

Where?

• The Manhattan Project took place at various locations across the United States, including Los Alamos, New Mexico; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Hanford, Washington.

When?

• The Manhattan Project took place from 1942 to 1946.

Great Migration

• The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North, Midwest, and West between 1916 and 1970.

Imperialism

• A policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means.

Spanish-American War 1898-1899

• A conflict between Spain and the United States in 1898. As a result, Spain ceded its remaining colonies, which included the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico.