APUSH AP EXAM VOCAB
LGBT Rights
2009 Congress made it a federal crime to assault someone because of their sexual orientation. The Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed to end discrimination. Fight for equality from a new revolution.
Beirut Bombings
A Lebanon series of bombings that killed 63 people at the US embassy and 241 servicemen at the US Marines barracks.
corn (maize)
A crop native to South America that was heavily utilized by the Mayas, Incas, Aztecs, and eventually by the Natives in North America. Corn allowed for tribes to switch from a hunter-gather lifestyle to an agricultural lifestyle.
George H. W. Bush
A former ambassador to the United Nations and director of the CIA, became the first president to define the country's role in the New Era. he was very adamant on no new taxes for the American people.
Proposition 13
A measure that sharply cut property taxes.
William (Bill) Clinton
A moderate "New Democrat" who focused on economic issues such as education, jobs, and health care, which were important to the "vital center" of the electorate. Election of 1992.
European Union (EU); Euro
A unified market of 15 nations, 12 of which adopted the single currency of the euro in 2002.
Donald J. Trump
A well-known real estate developer and reality TV show personality who was somehow elected president in 2016.
Affordable Care Act (2010)
Aimed to extend affordable health care insurance to an additional 25 million Americans through combinations of subsidies, mandates, insurance exchanged, and expansion of Medicaid while introducing medical and insurance reforms to control healthy care costs. Required insurance companies to accept patients regardless of preexisting conditions, allowed children to remain on their parents' insurance until age 26, and funded wellness exams and women's medical needs.
No Child Left Behind Act
Aimed to improve student performance and close the gap between well-to-do and poor students in the public schools through testing of all students nationwide, granting students the right to transfer to better schools, funding stronger reading programs, and training high-quality teachers.
Election of 2000
Al Gore vs. George W. Bush, a very close election due to a third party candidate Paul Nader.
September 11, 2001
Al-Qaeda terrorists coordinated attacks in commercial airliners on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, DC, and involving a fourth plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Overall 3,000 lives were lost.
Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars)
An ambitious plan for building a high-tech system of lasers and particle beams to destroy enemy missiles before they could reach US territory. Some worried that this would only escalate the arms race and could be overwhelmed by the Soviets building more missiles.
WikiLeaks
An anti-secrecy group that leaks important information to the public, often without consent.
National Rifle Association (NRA)
Angered by the series of reforms passed under Clinton that placed regulations on different types of guns.
Religious Fundamentalism
Attacked "secular humanism" as a godless creed taking over public education and also campaigned for the return of prayers and the teaching of the Biblical account of creation in public schools.
Nuclear Proliferation
Became a growing concern in the 1990s, when North Korea stepped up its nuclear reactor and missile programs, and India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons for the first time in 1998.
Political Action Committees (PACs)
Became a potent force for change. Opposed big government, New Deal liberalism, gun control, feminism, gay rights, welfare, affirmative action, sexual permissiveness, abortion, and drug use. They believed that these issues were undermining family and religious values, the work ethic, and national security.
Boris Yeltsin
Became president of the Russian Republic, with nine former Soviet republics to form a loose confederation, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Disbanded the Communist party in Russia and attempted to establish a democracy and a free-market economy.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Became the new Soviet leader in 1985. Attempted to change Soviet domestic politics by introducing glasnost and perestroika.
"No New Taxes"
Bush violated his campaign pledge and passed a $133 billion increase in new taxes.
Clinton Impeachment
Clinton's were constantly under investigation by Congress. Clinton's were not charged with an illegalities in the Whitewater, Travel-gate, or File-gate scandals. However the president lied about his relations with a young White House Intern. Bill Clinton was tried on two counts of perjury and obstruction of justice. Neither was convicted against the president.
Berlin Wall Falls (1989)
Communist in East Germany were forced out of power after protesters tore down the Berlin Wall [symbol of the Cold War]
Political Polarization
Conservative South, Great Plains, and Mountain States, and the more moderate-liberal Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast.
Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP)
Created $700 billion to purchase failing assets that included mortgages and mortgage-related securities from financial institutions. Conservatives attacked this as "socialism", liberals attacked it s a bailout of the Wall Street executives who had caused the problems.
NAFTA
Created a free-trade zone with Canada and Mexico.
Homeland Security Department
Created by combining more than 20 federal agencies with 170,000 employees, including the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, and the ones dealing with customs and immigration.
Budget and Trade Deficits
Creating federal deficits of more than $200 billion a year. Debt tripled from about $900 billion to almost $2.7 trillion. US trade deficit reached a staggering $150 billion a year. The United States became a debtor nation.
Election of 2016
Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton. Trump's use of slogan's, and slandering on both sides, lead to Trump winning the election as the underdog.
Soviet Satellites
Eastern European nations with communist puppet governments; policies were loosely controlled by the USSR.
World Trade Organization
Established in 1994 to oversee trade agreements, enforce trade rules, and settle disputes.
Moral Majority
Financed campaigns to unseat liberal members of Congress.
Hurricane Katrina
Flooded New Orleans, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) failed to both anticipate and respond to the crisis. More than 1,000 people died and tens of thousands of others were left in desperate situations.
Southern White Conservatives
From the Democratic to the Republican party transformed party transformed American politics. Southern Conservatives took over the leadership of the Republican party.
Soviet Union Breakup
In 1990, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania declared their independence. the remaining republics dissolved in December 1991.
"Ethnic Cleansing"
In Serbia Hundreds of thousands of members of ethnic and religious minorities, including many Muslims, were killed.
Deficit Reduction Budget
Included $255 billion in spending cuts and #241 billion in tax increases.
Economic Recovery Tax Act (1981)
Included 25% decrease in personal income taxes over three years. Similar to FDR's Hundred Days.
"Axis of Evil"
Iraq, North Korea, and Iran
ISIS
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Wanted to enact strict Islamic law.
Al-Qaeda
Islamic terrorist group lead by Osama bin Laden that preached jihad, which they defined as a holy war against the "Jews and Crusaders" to restore an Islamic caliphate, or realm, from Africa and the Middle East through East Asia.
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Israel (with US approval) invaded southern Lebanon to stop this organization of terrorists from raiding Israel.
Osama Bin Laden
Leader of Al Qaeda
Campaign Finance Reform
Legislation aimed at placing limits on political candidates accepting money and gifts from individuals and special interest groups
World Bank, G-8
Made loans to and supervised the economic policies of poorer nations with debt troubles. World's largest industrial powers (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). China, India, and Brazil would soon surpass many of the older powers.
Antiglobalization
Major international movement that protests the development of the global economy on the grounds that it makes the rich richer and keeps poor regions in poverty while exploiting their labor and environments; the movement burst onto the world stage in 1999 with massive protests at a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle.
Reverse Discrimination
Many whites blamed their troubles on affirmative action
Election of 2008
McCain vs. Obama. Under the shadow of the unpopular Bush Administration, the economic crisis, and foreign terrorism. Obama won and became the first African American president of the United States.
Operation Desert Storm
More than 500,000 Americans were joined by military units from 28 other nations during the Persian Gulf War.
Cyber Attacks
New threats to the US. Russia, China, and Iran, alongside others attempted to use cyber attacks to steal digital data.
Glasnost
Openness, to end political repression and move toward greater political freedom for Soviet citizens.
Tea Party
Opposition to the growing national debt and to "Obamacare". Loosely united conservatives and libertarian movements. Focused on debt and healthcare, emphasized gun rights, outlawing abortions, and preventing undocumented immigration.
horses
Originally brought over to the Americas from Spain.
Bush Tax Cuts
Passed a $1.35 trillion dollar tax cut spread over 10 years. The bill lowered the top tax bracket, gradually eliminated estate taxes, increased the child tax credit and limits for IRA and 401(k), and gave all taxpayers an immediate tax rebate. Bush pushed for tax cuts for stock dividends, capital gains, and married couples. Many claimed this only helped the top 5% and helped to double US national debt.
Tienanmen Square (1989)
Pro-democracy students demonstrated for freedom in Beijing's Tienanmen Square. The Chinese Communist government crushed the protest with tanks, killing hundreds and ending the brief flowering of an open political environment in China.
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
Prohibited discrimination against cities with physical and mental disabilities in hiring, transportation, and public accommodation.
Ronald Reagan
Ran for election in 1980. Head of the Republican party and was a former governor of California.
Paris Agreement (2015)
Reduce global carbon emissions. Congress disagreed with the science behind global warming and opposed tighter controls of greenhouse gases.
Start I and II
Reduced the number of nuclear warheads to under 10,000 on each side, than once more to just over 3,000.
Afghanistan, Taliban
Refused to turn over bin Laden and his associates. Quickly overthrown in the fall of 2001 by a combination of US bombings, US special forces, and Afghan troops in the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.
Televangelists
Religious leaders on television that had a combined weekly audience of between 60 and 100 million viewers.
Election of 1980
Republican Reagan ran against Democrat Jimmy Carter in this election. Reagan asked 'Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" Which helped him win the presidency.
Contract with America
Republican benefited in the midterm elections of November 1994 from a well-organized effort to promote a short list of policy priorities.
Perestroika
Restructuring of the Soviet economy by introducing some free-market practices.
"Evil Empire"
Ronald Reagan's description of Soviet Union because of his fierce anti-communist views and the USSR's history of violation of human rights and aggression.
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
Ruled that the 14th Amendment protects the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Regents of University of California v. Bakke
Ruled that while race could be considered, the school had created racial quotas, which were unconstitutional. Conservatives intensified their campaign to end all preferences based on race and ethnicity.
Persian Gulf War (1991)
Saddam Hussein invaded oil-rich but weak Kuwait. Bush built a coalition of United Nations members to pressure Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. Eventually sent a military campaign. Within 100 hours, fighting against the Iraq government ceased.
Cuban Relations
Slow normalization of relations with Cuba occurred under Obama. The two countries agreed to open embassies in Havana and Washington and to resume direct flights for the first time since the Eisenhower administration.
disease
Smallpox and influenza spread among the Natives, and Syphilis to the Europeans.
Abortion rights; Roe v. Wade
Sparked the right-to-life movement. This movement united Catholics and fundamentalist Protestants, who believed that human life begins at the moment of conception.
Bush Doctrine
Stated that the old policies of containment and deterrence were no longer effective in a world of stateless terrorism. Justified preemptive attacks to stop the acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) by terrorists and by nations that support terrorism.
Supply-side Economics (Reaganomics)
Tax cuts and reduced government spending would increase investment by the private sector, which would lead to increased production, jobs, and prosperity.
Internet, e-commerce
The 1990s saw growth in the Internet and in electronic commerce (purchases made online).
West Bank, Gaza Strip
The Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Israel granted home rule, to the Palestinians in these territories.
Conflict in Ukraine
The Ukrainian president refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union and instead accepted economic aid from Russia, causing protests and unrest from Ukrainians who wanted to join the European Union. The protests led the country to almost go to war with Russia
Operation Iraq Freedom
The United States launchedair attacks on Iraq on March 19. Overran Iraqi forces, captured the capital city, Baghdad, and ended Hussein's dictatorship.
Federal Reserve
The central bank of the United States
Sandra Day O'Conor
The first woman on the Court
Black Lives Matter
The killing of unarmed black teenagers and men by police during arrests sparked this movement to demand reforms in police training and arrest procedures.
Brexit
The possible British Exit from the European Union
Vladimir Putin
The pro-Western president of Russia.
"regime Change"
The replacement of a country's government with another government by facilitating the deposing of its leader or leading political party
World Trade Center
The sight of 2 attacks of 9/11 and a truck bombing in 1993 that killed six people.
Enron, Corporate Corruption
The stock market crashed in 2002, and many blamed it on fraud and dishonesty committed by business leaders also hurt the stock market and consumer confidence in the economy.
Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
To end discrimination against gays and lesbians in the military.
Oklahoma City Bombing
Took the lives of 169 people, the worst act of domestic terrorism in the nation's history, until the attacks on September 11, 2001.
Iran-contra Affair
US troubles with Iran. Kept secret from the American public the S sold antitank and anti-aircraft missiles to Iran's government for its help in freeing the Americans held hostage by a radical Arab group. The money went to help the insurgents in Nicaragua.
"Don't ask, don't tell"
Under this policy, members of the military could still be expelled for being gay or lesbian, but they would not routinely by asked or expected to volunteer information about their sexual orientation.
Dreamers
Undocumented young people brought to the United States as children. Protected them from deportation and allowed them to continue their education and apply for work permits.
Bush v. Gore
Use of 14th Amendment's equal protection clause to stop the Florida recount in the election of 2000.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Used to regulate consumer products, such as mortgages and credit cards. Some criticized the act for not breaking up the big banks that contributed to the meltdown of the economy and needed the bailouts.
Saddam Hussein
Was a dictator in Iraq who tried to take over Iran and Kuwait violently in order to gain the land and the resources. He also refused to let the UN into Iraq in order to check if the country was secretly holding weapons of mass destruction.
Arab Spring
Wave of protests across the Middle East and North Africa. Civil unrest and armed rebellion toppled governments in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen.
"Trickle Down" Economics
Wealthy Americans prospered, and some of their increased spending benefited the middle class and the poor.
WMDs
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Aid of Auto Industry
With General Motors and and Chrysler near collapse, the Obama administration stepped in to help. The government temporarily took over General Motors while in bankruptcy, and guided the sale of Chrysler to Italian automaker Fiat.
Housing Bubble
a rapid increase in the value of houses followed by a sharp decline in their value
Sunni vs. Shite
followers of the former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein Militias, and foreign fighters, including Al-Qaeda.
Business Deregulation
the Reagan administration reduced federal regulations on business and industry. Restrictions were increased on savings and loan institutions, mergers and takeovers by large corporations, and environmental protection/ Helped the auto industry by allowing for regulations on emissions and safety to be reduced. Federal land was opened to increase coal and timber production.