AP US History Vocab (5 Steps to a 5 Glossary)

Currency Act

1764 British act forbidding the American colonies to issue paper money as legal tender; act was repealed in 1773 by the British as an effort to ease tensions between themselves and the colonies.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Act that struck down Black Codes and defined the rights of all citizens; also stated that federal government could act when civil rights were violated at the state level. Passed by Congress over the veto of President Andrew Johnson.

"Bleeding Kansas"

As a result of Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, residents of Kansas territory could decide if territory would allow slavery or not; as a result, both pro-slavery and antislavery groups flooded settlers into Kansas territory. Much violence followed very disputed elections in 1855.

Boston Massacre

Conflict between British soldiers and Boston civilians on March 5, 1770; after civilians threw rocks and snowballs at the soldiers, the soldiers opened fire, killing five and wounding six.

Bear Flag Republic

Declaring independence from Mexican control, this republic was declared in 1846 by American settlers living in California; this political act was part of a larger American political and military strategy to wrest Texas and California from Mexico.

Enlightenment

Eighteenth-century European intellectual movement that attempted to discover the natural laws that governed science and society and taught that progress was inevitable in the Western world. Americans were greatly influenced by the Enlightenment, especially by the ideas of John Locke, who stated that government should exist for the benefit of the people living under it.

Confederate States of America

Eventually made up of 11 former states with Jefferson Davis as its first and only president. Was unable to defeat the North because of lack of railroad lines, lack of industry, and art inability to get European nations to support their cause.

Baby Boom

Large increase in birthrate in United States that began in 1945 and lasted until 1962; new and larger families fueled the move to suburbia that occurred in the 1950s and produced the "youth culture" that would become crucial in the 1960s.

Anaconda Copper Company

Large mining syndicate typical of many companies involved in mining in the western United States in the 1860s and 1870s; used heavy machinery and professional engineers. Many prospectors who found gold, silver, or copper sold their claims to companies such as this.

Battle of Concord

Occurred on April 19, 1775, between British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen. More than 70 British soldiers died and another 174 were wounded; as a result, a wider conflict between the colonics and the British became much more probable.

American Expeditionary Force

Official title of American army sent to Europe to aid England and France after United States entered World War I; army was commanded by General John J. Pershing.

Continentals

Soldiers in the "American" army commanded by George Washington in the Revolutionary War; victory at the Battle of Trenton on December 16, 1776, did much to raise the morale of the soldiers (and convince many of them to reenlist).

detente

The lessening of tensions between nations. A policy of detente between the United States and the Soviet Union and Communist China began during the presidency of Richard Nixon; the architect of policy was National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger.

Alien and Sedition Acts

proposed and supported by John Adams, gave the president the power to expel aliens deemed dangerous to the country's well-being and outlaws publication of public pronouncement of false scandalous and malicious statements about the government

advertising age

term first used to describe America's consumer culture of the 1920s when advertising began to influence the choices of purchasers

Battle of Coral Sea

the May 1942 American naval victory over the Japanese; prevented Japanese from attacking Australia. First naval battle where losses on both sides came almost exclusively from bombing from airplanes.

Allied Powers

Coalition of nations that opposed Germany, Italy, and Japan in World War II; led by England, the Soviet Union, and the United States

Chancellor of the Exchequer

During the era prior to and during the Revolutionary War, this was the head of the department in the British government that issued and collected taxes; many acts issued by the Chancellor of the Exchequer created great resentment in the American colonies.

Calvinism

Militant Protestant faith that preached salvation "by faith alone" and predestination; desire by Calvinists in England to create a "pure church" in England was only partially successful, thus causing Calvinist Puritans to come to the New World starting in 1620.

Anti-Imperialist League

Organization formed in 1898 to oppose American annexation of the Philippines and American imperialism in general; focused the public on the potential financial, military, and especially moral costs of imperialism.

Cold War

Period between 1945 and 1991 of near- continuous struggle between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies; Cold War tensions were made even more intense by the existence of the atomic bomb.

Eisenhower Doctrine

Policy established in 1957 that promised military and economic aid to "friendly" nations in the Middle East; policy was established to prevent communism from gaining a foothold in the region. Policy first utilized later that year when United States gave large amounts of aid to King Hussein of Jordan to put down internal rebellion.

black nationalism

Spurred by Malcolm X and other black leaders, a call for black pride and advancement without the help of whites; this appeared to be a repudiation of the calls for peaceful integration urged by Martin Luther King. Race riots in Northern cities in mid-1960s were at least partially fueled by supporters of black nationalism.

Dred Scott case

Supreme Court case involving a man who was born a slave but had then lived in both a nonslave state and a nonslave territory and was now petitioning for his legal freedom; in 1857 the Court ruled that slaves were not people but were property, that they could not be citizens of the United States, and thus had no legal right to petition the Court for anything. Ruling also stated that Missouri Compromise, which banned slavery in the territories, was unconstitutional.

Era of Good Feelings

Term used by a newspaper of the period to describe the years between 1816 and 1823, when after the end of the War of 1812 the United! States remained generally free of foreign conflicts and when political strife at home was at a bare minimum (because of the collapse of the Federalist party).

Black Panthers Group

originally founded in Oakland, California, to protect blacks from police harassment; promoted militant black power; also ran social programs in several California cities. Founded by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton.

containment

policy Formulated by George Kennan, a policy whereby the United States would forcibly stop communist aggression whenever and wherever it occurred; containment was the dominant American policy of the Cold War era, and forced America to become involved in foreign conflicts such as Vietnam.

Declaratory Act

1766 British law staring that the Parliament had absolute right to tax the colonies as they saw fit and to make laws that would be enacted in the colonies. Ironically, issued at the same time as the repeal of the Stamp Act.

Declaration of Rights and Grievances

1774 measure adopted by the First Continental Congress, stating that Parliament had some rights to regulate colonial trade with Britain, but that Parliament did not have the right to rax the colonics without their consent.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

1831 Supreme Court case in which the Cherokee tribe claimed that Georgia had no right to enforce laws in Cherokee territory, since Cherokees were a sovereign nation; ruling by John Marshall stated that Cherokees were a "domestic dependent nation" and had no right to appeal in federal court.

Crittenden Plan

1860 compromise proposal on the slavery issue designed to defuse tension between North and South; would have allowed slavery to continue in the South and would have denied Congress the power to regulate inters rate slave trade. On the advice of newly elected President Lincoln, Republicans in Congress voted against it.

Dawes Act

1887 act designed to break up Native American tribes, offered Native American families 160 acres of farmland or 320 acres of land for grazing. Large amounts of tribal lands were not claimed by Native Americans, and thus were purchased by land speculators.

Clayton Antitrust Act

1914 act designed to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890; certain activities previously committed by big businesses, such as not allowing unions in factories and not allowing strikes, were declared illegal.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court decision that threw our the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that schools could be "separate but equal"; ruling and began the long and painful process of school desegregation in the South and other parts of America.

Army-McCarthy hearings

1954 televised hearings on changes that Senator Joseph McCarthy was unfairly tarnishing the United States Army with changes of communist infiltration into the armed forces; hearings were the beginning of the end for McCarthy, whose bullying tactics were repeatedly demonstrated.

Contract with America

1994 pledge by Republican candidates for House of Representatives; led by Newt Gingrich, candidates promised to support term limits, balancing the budget, and lessening the size of the federal government. In 1994 Congressional elections, Republicans won both houses of Congress for first time in 40 years.

bicameral legislature

A legislative structure consisting of two houses, this was adopted by the authors of the U.S. Constitution; membership of the states in one house (the House of Representatives) is determined by population, while in the other house (the Senate) all states have equal representation.

Bill of Rights

Added to the Constitution in 1791, the first 10 amendments protected freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to bear arms, and other basic rights of American citizens.

Aztecs

Advanced Indian society located in central Mexico; conquered by Spanish conquistador Cortes. their defeat was hastened by smallpox brought to Mexico by the Spanish.

Church of England

Also called the Anglican Church, this was the Protestant church established by King Henry VIII; religious radicals desired a "purer" church that was allowed by monarchs of the early seventeenth century, causing some to come leave for the Americas.

Emergency Quota Act

Also called the Johnson Act, this 1921 bill limited immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe by stating that in a year, total immigration from any country could only equal 3 percent of the number of immigrations from that country living in the United States in 1910.

Berlin Airlift

American and British pilots flew in food and fuel to West Berlin during late 1948 and early 1949 because Soviet Union and Hast Germany blockaded other access to West Berlin (which was located in East Germany); Stalin ended this blockade in May 1949, Airlift demonstrated American commitment to protecting Western allies in Europe during the early Cold War period.

Democratic-Republicans

Believed in the ideas of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote of the benefits of a limited government and of a society dominated by the values of the yeoman farmer. Opposed to the Federalists, who wanted a strong national state and a society dominated by commercial interests.

Compromise of 1850

Complex agreement that temporarily lessened tensions between Northern and Southern political leaders, and prevented a possible secession crisis; to appease the South, the Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened; to appease the North, California entered the Union as a free State.

Berlin Wall

Concrete structure build in 1961 by Soviets and East Germany physically dividing East and West Berlin; to many in the West, the Wall was symbolic of communist repression in the Cold War era, The wall finally torn down in 1989.

Civil Service Commission

Created by the Pendelton Civil Service Act of 1883, this body was in charge of testing applicants and assigning them to appropriate government jobs; filling jobs on the basis of merit replaced the spoils system, in which government jobs were given as rewards for political service.

Anaconda Plan

Critical component of initial Union plans to win the Civil War; called for capture of critical Southern ports and eventual control of the Mississippi River, which would create major economic and strategic difficulties for the Confederacy.

Battle of the Bulge

December 1944 German attack that was the last major offensive by the Axis powers in World War II; Germans managed to push forward into Belgium but were then driven back. Attack was costly to the Germans in terms of material and manpower.

Embargo of 1807

Declaration by President Thomas Jefferson that banned all American trade with Europe, As a result of the war between England and Napoleon's France, America's sea rights as a neutral power were threatened; Jefferson hoped the embargo would force England and France to respect American neutrality.

American System

Economic plan promoted by Speaker of the House Henry Clay in years following the War of 1812; promoted vigorous growth of the American economy and the use of protective tariffs to encourage Americans to buy more domestic goods.

deficit spending

Economic policy where government spends money that it "doesn't have", thus creating a budget deficit. Although "conventional" economic theory disapproves of this, it is commonplace during times of crisis or war (c.g. The New Deal; post-September 11, 2001).

Emancipation Proclamation

Edict by Abraham Lincoln that went into effect on January 1, 1863, abolishing slavery in the Confederate states; proclamation did not affect the four slave states that were still part of the Union (so not to alienate them).

colonial assemblies

Existed in all of the British colonies in America; House of Burgesses in Virginia was the first one. Members of colonial assemblies were almost always members of the upper classes of colonial society.

Bay of Pigs

Failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by United States-supported anti-Castro refugees designed to topple Castro from power; prestige of the United States, and of the newly elected president, John Kennedy, was damaged by this failed coup attempt.

Atlantic Charter

Fall 1941 agreement between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, stating that America and Great Britain would support a postwar world based on self-determination and would endorse a world body to ensure "general security"; U.S. agreement to convoy merchant ships across part of Atlantic inevitably drew America closer to conflict with Germany.

Committees of Correspondence

First existed in Massachusetts, and eventually in all of the colonics; leaders of resistance to British rule listed their grievances against the British and circulated them to all of the towns of the colony.

Bataan Death March

Forced march of 76,000 American and Filipino soldiers captured by the Japanese from the Bataan Peninsula in early May 1942; over 10,000 soldiers died during this one-week ordeal.

"Dollar Diplomacy"

Foreign policy of President William Howard Taft, which favored increased American investment in the world as the major method for instead increasing American influence and stability abroad; in some parts of the world, such as in Latin America, the increased American influence was resented.

American Colonization Society

Formed in 1817, stated that the best way to end the slavery problem in the United States was for blacks to emigrate to Africa; by 1822 a few American blacks emigrated to Liberia. Organization's views were later rejected by most abolitionists.

American Liberty League

Formed in 1934 by anti-New Deal politicians and business leaders to oppose policies of Franklin Roosevelt; stated that New Deal policies brought America closer to fascism.

Crusades

From these attempts to recapture the Holy Land, Europeans acquired an appreciation of the benefits of overseas expansion and an appreciation of the economic benefits of slavery.

conscription

Getting recruits for military service using a draft; this method was used by the American government in all of the wars of the twentieth century. Conscription was viewed most negatively during the Vietnam War, consumer society Many Americans in the 1950s became infatuated with all of the new products produced by technology and went out and purchased more than any prior generation; consumer tastes of the decade were largely dictated by advertising and television.

Dust Bowl

Great Plains region that suffered severe drought and experienced severe dust storms during the 1930s; because of extreme conditions many who lived in the Dust Bowl left their farms and went to California to work as migrant farmers.

Bonus Army

Group of nearly 17,000 veterans who marched on Washington in May 1932 to demand the military bonuses they had been promised; this group was eventually driven from their camp city by the United States Army. This action increased the public perception that the Hoover administration cared little about the poor.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

Group of unions that broke from the A.F.L. in 1938 and organized effective union drives in automobile and rubber industries; supported sit-down strikes in major rubber plants. Re-affiliated with the A.F.L, in 1955.

Antifederalists

Group that opposed the ratification of the proposed Constitution of the United States iii 1787; many feared that strong central government would remove the processes of government "from the people" and replicate the excesses of the British monarchy.

Democratic party

Had its birth during the candidacy of Andrew Jackson; originally drew its principles from Thomas Jefferson and advocated limited government. In modern rimes many Democrats favor domestic programs that a larger, more powerful government allows.

Circular Letter

In reaction to the 1767 Townshend Acts, the Massachusetts assembly circulated a letter to the other colonies, asking that they work together and jointly issue a petition of protest. Strong-willed response of British authorities to the letter influenced the colonial assemblies to work together on a closer basis.

Boston Tea Party

In response to the Tea Act and additional British taxes on tea, Boston radicals disguised as Native Americans threw nearly 350 chests of tea into Boston harbor an December 16, 1773.

Appomattox

In the courthouse of this Virginia city Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

America First Committee

Isolationist group in America that insisted that America stay out of World War II; held rallies from 1939 to 1941; argued that affairs in Europe should be settled by Europeans and not Americans and stated that the Soviet Union was a greater eventual threat than Nazi Germany.

Declaration of Neutrality

Issued by President Woodrow Wilson after the outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914, stating that the United States would maintain normal relations with and continue to trade with both sides in the conflict; factors including submarine warfare made it difficult for America to maintain this policy.

Battle of Bunker Hill

June 1775 British attack on colonial forces at Breed's Hill outside Boston; despite frightful losses, the British emerged victorious in this battle.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Key piece of civil rights legislation that made discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion or national origin illegal; segregation in public restrooms, bus stations, and other public facilities also was declared illegal.

bonanza farms

Large farms that came to dominate agricultural life in much of the West in the late 1800s; instead of plots farmed by yeoman fanners, large amounts of machinery was used, and workers were hired laborers, often performing only specific casks (similar to work in a factory).

Black Codes

Laws adopted by the Southern states in the Reconstruction era that greatly limited the freedom of Southern blacks; in several slates blacks could not move, own land, or do anything bur farm.

domino theory

Major tenet of Cold War containment policy of the United States held that if one country in a region turned communist, other surrounding countries would soon follow; this theory convinced many that to save all of Southeast Asia, it was necessary to resist communist aggression in Vietnam.

black power

Movement of black Americans in the mid-1960s that emphasized pride in racial heritage and black economic and political self- reliance; term coined by black civil rights leader Stokely Carmichael.

American Federation of Labor (A.F.L.)

National labor union founded by Samuel Gampers in 1886; original goal was to organize skilled workers by craft. Merged with Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1955.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

Native American organization founded in 1968 to protest government policies and injustices suffered by Native Americans; in 1973 organized armed occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program that began in 1933, putting nearly 3 million young men to work; workers were paid little, but worked on conservation projects and maintaining beaches and parks, CCC program for young women began in 1937.

Compromise of 1877

Political arrangement that ended the contested presidential election of 1876. Representatives of Southern states agreed not to oppose the official election of Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as president despite massive election irregularities. In return, the Union army stopped enforcing Reconstruction legislation in the South, thus ending Reconstruction.

Bank War

Political battles surrounding the attempt by President Andrew Jackson to greatly reduce the power of the Second Bank of the United States; Jackson claimed the Bank was designed to serve special interests in America and nor the common people.

blacklist

Prevented persons accused of being communists from getting work in entertainment and other industries during the period of anticommunist fervor of the late 1940s and early 1950s; some entertainers waited until the mid-1960s before working publicly again.

Electoral College

Procedure outlined in the Constitution for the election of the president; under this system, votes of electors from each state, and not rhe popular vore, determine who is elected president. As was demonstrated in 2000 presidential election, this system allows a person to be elected president who does not win the nationwide popular vote.

Articles of Confederation

Ratified in 1781, this document established the first official government of the United States; allowed much power to remain in the states, with the federal government possessing only limited powers. Articles replaced by the Constitution in 1788.

domesticity

Social trend of post-World War II America; many Americans turned to family and home life as a source of contentment; emphasis on family as a source of fulfillment forced some women to abandon the workforce and achieve "satisfaction" as homemakers.

Coxey's Army

Supporters of Ohio Populist Jacob Coxey who in 1894 marched on Washington, demanded that the government create jobs for the unemployed; although this group had no effect whatsoever on policy, it did demonstrate the social and economic impact of the Panic of 1893.

Central powers

The alliance of Germany, Austria- Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria that opposed England, France, Russia, and later the Untied States in World War I.

Common Sense

Very popular 1776 publication in the colonies written by Englishman Thomas Paine, who had come to America in 1774; repudiated the entire concept of government by monarchy. After publication of this document, public sentiment in the colonics turned decisively toward a desire for independence.

Doable V campaign

World War II "policy" supported by several prominent black newspapers, stating that blacks in America should work for victory over the Axis powers but at the same time work for victory over oppression at home; black leaders remained frustrated during the war by continued segregation of the armed forces.

counterculture

Youth of the 1960s who espoused a lifestyle encompassing drug use, free love, and a rejection of adult authority; actual "hippies" were never more than a small percentage of young people.

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929

championed by Herbert Hoover that authorized the lending of federal money to farmers' cooperatives to buy crops to keep them from the oversaturated market; program hampered by lack of adequate federal financial support

Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles discovered in Cuba; Soviets eventually removed missiles under American pressure. Crisis was perhaps the closest the world came to armed conflict the Cold War era.

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

established by the agricultural act of 1932, a New Deal bureau designed to restore economic position of farmers by paying them not to farm goods that were being overproduced

Albany Congress (1754)

meeting of representatives of seven colonies to coordinate their efforts against French and Native threats in the Western frontier regions

Abolitionist Movement

movement dedicated to the abolition of slavery that existed primarily in the North in years leading up to the Civil War and consisted of both white and black members

Battle of Chancelorsville

of Brilliant Confederate attack on Union forces led by Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee on May 2 to 3, 1863; Union defeat led to great pessimism in North and convinced many in the South that victory over North was indeed possible.

Second Battle of Bull Run

of Decisive victory by General Robert E. Lee and Confederate forces over the Union army in August 1862.

First Battle of Bull Run

of July 21,1861 Confederate victory over Union forces, which ended in Union forces fleeing in disarray toward Washington; this battle convinced Lincoln and others in the North that victory over the Confederates would not be as easy as they initially thought.