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Glossary – U.S. History
A
Abolition
Abolitionist: person who wants to end slavery
Act of Toleration: 1649 Maryland law that provided religious freedom for all Christians
Adams-Onis Treaty: 1821 treaty between Spain & and the US in which Spain agreed to give up Florida to
the US
Adobe: Sun-dried bricks
Alamo: Old Spanish mission in TX where Mexican forces under Santa Anna besieged Texans in 1836
Albany Plan of Union: proposed by Benjamin Franklin to create one government for the 13 colonies.
Alien & Sedition acts: 1798 Federalist-supported laws that permitted the President to expel foreigners,
made it harder for immigrants to become citizens and allowed for citizens to be fined or jailed if they
criticized the government or its officials
Alliance: agreement between nations to aid & protect each other
Ally: nation that works with another nation for a common purpose
Amend: Modify formally, as a legal document or legislative bill
Amendment: A minor change in a document
American anti-slavery Society: Organization started by William Lloyd Garrison. They wanted immediate
emancipation & racial equality for enslaved people
American Colonization Society: early 1800s organization that proposed the end of slavery by helping
African Americans return to Africa
American system: Henry Clay’s plan to raise taxes to pay for internal improvements (for Roads & Canals)
Amnesty: Government pardon
Annex: to add on or take over
Antifederalists: people who opposed the Constitution and a strong national government
Appeal: to ask that a court decision be reviewed by a higher court
Appomattox Court House: Virginia town that was the site of the Confederate surrender in 1865.
Apprentice: person who learns a trade or craft
Arsenal: place where guns are stored.
Articles of Confederation:1st American constitution, passed in 1777, which created a loose alliance of 13
independent states.
Articles: main body of the Constitution, which establishes the framework for the US Government.
Artisan: skilled worker
Assembly line: method of production in which workers stay in one place as products edge along past them
on a moving belt
Astrolabe: navigational instrument used to determine latitude.
B
Bacon’s Rebellion: 1676 raid led by Nathaniel Bacon against the governor and Native Americans in
Virginia
Bank of the United States: bank set up in 1791 to hold government deposits & to issue paper money to
pay the governments bills
Bankrupt: unable to pay debts.
Battle of Antietam: 1862 Civil War battle in Maryland
Battle of Bull Run: first major battle of the Civil War; fought in Virginia 1861
Battle of Bunker Hill: 1775 first major battle of the Revolutionary War
Battle of Chancellorsville: 1863 Civil War battle in Virginia; important victory for the Confederacy
Battle of Cowpens: 1781 battle in South Carolina. Americans won an important victory over the British
Battle of Fallen Timbers: 1794 battle between the US troops & Native American who were trying to atop
white expansion into Native American lands
Battle of Fredericksburg: 1862 Civil War battle in Virginia: one of the Union’s worst defeats
Battle of Gettysburg: 1863 Civil War battle in Pennsylvania. Ended a Confederate invasion of the north
Battle of Lake Erie: In the War of 1812. An American victory led by Oliver Perry against the British.
Battle of Lexington & Concord: 1775, conflicts between Massachusetts colonists and British soldiers that
started the Revolutionary War.
Battle of Long Island: 1776 battle in New York. More than 1,400 Americans were killed, wounded or
captured.
Battle of New Orleans: after the end of the War of 1812, a battle between British & American forces that
ended in an American victory.
Battle of San Jacinto: 1836 battle between Texans & Mexicans during the Texas war for independence
from Mexico.
Battle of Saratoga: 1777 the first major American victory in the Revolutionary war.
Battle of Shiloh: 1862 Civil war battle in Tennessee that ended in a Union victory.
Battle of Tippecanoe: 1811 battle over white settlements in the Indiana territory.
Battle of Trenton: 1776 battle in New Jersey in which George Washington’s troops captured a Hessian
encampment.
Battle of Yorktown: 1781 American victory in Virginia that forces the British to surrender.
Bear Flag Republic: nickname for California after it declared independence from Mexico in 1846.
Berbers: a group of people from North Africa
Bering Land Bridge: a strip of land that connected Alaska and Russia
Bias: a leaning towards or against a certain person, group or idea.
Bill of Rights: first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
bill of rights: written list of freedoms a government promises to protect.
Bill: proposed law.
Black Codes: southern laws that severely limited the rights of African Americans after the Civil War.
Black Death: a series of plagues that killed about 25 million people in Europe starting in 1347
Blockade: the shutting of a port to keep people or supplies from moving in or out.
Bonds: certificate that promises to repay money loaned, plus interest, on a certain date.
Border Ruffians: Proslavery band from Missouri who often battled antislavery forces in Kansas.
Border States: slave state that remained in the Union during the Civil War.
Boston Massacre: 1770 conflict in which five colonists were killed by British soldiers
Boston Tea Party: 1773 protest in which colonists dressed as Indians dumped British tea into the Boston
Harbor
Boycott: to refuse to buy or use certain goods or services.
Bureau of Indian Affairs: Government agency in 1800’sto oversee federal policy towards Native Americans
Burgess: A representative to the colonial Virginia government.
C
Cabinet: group of officials who head government departments and advise the President.
Capital: money raised for a business venture.
Capitalist: person who invests is a business to make a profit.
Caravel: Ships that used triangular sails and had rudders to steer
Carpetbagger: uncomplimentary nickname for a northerner who went south after the Civil War.
Cash Crop: food sold in exchange money
Caucus: private meeting; often a political meeting.
Cavalry: troops on horseback
Cede: to give up
Charter: legal document giving certain rights to a person or company.
Checks & Balances: a principle of the United States Constitution that gives each branch of government the
power to check the other branches.
Circumnavigate: travel all the way around the earth.
Citizen: person who owes loyalty to a particular nation and is entitled to all its rights and protections.
City-States: large town that has its own government and controls the surrounding countryside.
Civil Disobedience: idea that people have the right to disobey laws they consider to be unjust, if their
consciences demand it.
Civil Rights Act: 1866 law that gave African Americans legal right the same as white Americans
Civil War Amendments: the 13th, 14th & 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Civil War: war between people of the same country.
Civilian: nonmilitary.
Clermont: steamboat built in 1807 by Robert Fulton; first steamboat to be commercially successful in
America.
Clipper ship: fast-sailing ship in the mid-1800s.
Colony: group of people who settle in a distant land but are still ruled by the government of their native
land.
Columbian Exchange: the global exchange of goods and ideas resulting from the encounter between the
people of the Eastern and Western Hemisphere.
Committee of Correspondence: letter writing campaign that became a major tool of protest in the
colonies.
Common school movement: mid-1800’s idea that all children should be educated together regardless of
background
Common Sense: 1776 essay by Thomas Paine that urged the colonies to declare independence from
Britain.
Compromise of 1850: agreement over slavery by which California joined the Union as a free state and a
strict fugitive slave law was passed.
Compromise: settlement in which each side gives up some of its demands in order to reach an agreement.
Conductor: Person who helped escaping slaves from station to station
Confederate States of America: Nation formed by the seven southern states that seceded when they left
the Union. Also known as the Confederacy
Confederation: League of independent states or nations.
Conquistador: name for the Spanish explorers who claimed lands in the Americas for Spain.
Conservatives: during Reconstruction, white southerners who resisted change.
Consolidate: combine; to put together.
Constitution: document that sets out the laws, principles, organization and processes of a government.
Constitutional Convention: gathering of state representatives on May 25th 1787, to revise the Articles of
Confederation
Constitutional Union party: Political party in 1860. Of both northern & Southerners who supported the
constitution
Continental Army: army established by the 2nd Continental Congress to fight the British.
Continental divide
Continental Divide: mountain ridge that separates river systems flowing towards opposite sides of the
continent.
Contraband: Escaped slave who joined the Union army during the Civil War
Copperhead: northerner who opposed using force to keep the southern states in the Union.
Corduroy road: road made of logs
Cotton Gin: revolutionizing machine invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 to help remove seeds from cotton
Cottonocracy: name for the wealthy planters who made their money from cotton in the mid-1800s.
Courier de bois: French colonist who lived in the woods as a fur trapper.
Creole: person born in Spain’s American colonies to Spanish parents.
Crusades: between 1100 & 1300 series of wars fought by Christians against the Muslims to control the
Holy Land.
Culture: entire way of life developed by a people.
D
Debtor: person who cannot pay money she or she owes
Declaration of Independence: a 1776 document stating that the 13 English colonies were a free &
independent nation
Declaration of Sentiments: 1848 declaration written by women’s right supporters at the Seneca Falls
Convention. Outlining the injustices against women
Democratic Party: Political Party established to support Andrew Jackson after the election of 1824
Democratic Republican Party: supporter of Thomas Jefferson.
Democratic: ensuring that all people have the same rights
Democrats: supporter of Andrew Jackson; included frontier farmers and factory workers
Depression: period when business activity slows, prices and wages fall and unemployment rises.
Dictator: person who controls a country with complete authority
Dictatorship: government in which one person or a small group holds complete authority.
Diplomat: An official representing a country abroad
Direct democracy: form of government in which ordinary citizens have the power to govern.
Discrimination: policy that denies equal rights to certain groups of people.
Domestic tranquility: peace & order at home.
Donner party: A group of pioneers that were stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mtns during the winter of
1846-47. Only 45 of 87 survived
Draft: law that requires people of a certain age to enlist in the military.
Dred Scott vs. Sandford: 1857 Supreme Court case that brought into question the federal power over
slavery in the territories.
E
Economics: the study of how people manage limited resources to satisfy their wants and needs.
Electoral College: group of electors from every state who meet every 4 years to vote for the President &
Vice-President of the United States.
Emancipate: to set free.
Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln’s 1863 declaration freeing the slaves in the Confederacy.
Emancipation: freeing someone from the control of another
Embargo Act: 1807 law that imposed a total ban on foreign trade.
Embargo: ban on trade.
Encomienda: land granted to Spanish settler. Included the right to demand labor or taxes from the Native
People.
English Bill of Rights: 1689 document that guaranteed the right of English citizens
Enlightenment: movement in Europe in the 1600s & 1700s that emphasized the use of reason.
Era of Good Feelings: Era of peace, pride & progress from 1815-1825
Erie Canal: artificial waterway opened in 1825 linking Lake Erie to the Hudson River.
Established church: chosen religion of a state.
Execute: carry out.
Executive branch: branch of government that carries out the laws
Expedition: long voyage of exploration
Export: trade product sent to markets outside a country.
F
54th Massachusetts Regiment: African American Unit in the Union Army in 1863
Faction: opposing group within a party or society.
Factory system: method of producing goods that brought workers & machinery together in one place.
Famine: severe food shortage:
Farewell Address: final official speech of a Presidents as they exit office.
Federalism: a principle of the United States Constitution who favored a strong federal government.
Federalist Papers: series of essays by Federalists James Madison, Alexander Hamilton & John Jay in
support of ratifying the Constitution.
Federalist Party: Political party founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1790’s. to Support & strengthen the
Federal Government, trade & business
Federalists: supporters of the Constitution who favored a strong federal government.
Feudalism: system of rule by lords who rules their own lands but owed loyalty & military service to a
monarch (King)
Fifteenth Amendment: 1869 amendment to the Constitution that forbids any state to deny African
Americans the right to vote
First Amendment: amendment to the U.S. Constitution that safeguards basic individual liberties
First Continental Congress: 1774 meeting of delegates from 12 colonies in Philadelphia
First Global Age: era at beginning of 1400’s, when long-distance trade & travel increased dramatically.
Flatboat: boat with flat bottom used for transporting heavy loads on inland waterways
Folk Tales: stories that can provide moral lessons
Foreign policy: actions that a nation takes in relation to other nations
Fort Sumter: Federal Outpost in South Carolina attacked by the Confederate Army in April 1861 starting
the Civil War
Fort Wagner: fort in South Carolina. Site of attack by 54th Massachusetts regiment in 1863
Forty-Niners: one of more than 80,000 people who joined the gold rush to California in 1849.
Founding Fathers: leaders who laid the groundwork for the United States.
Fourteenth Amendment: 1868 amendment to the Constitution that guarantees equal protection of the law.
Framers of the Constitution: The men who wrote the U.S. Constitution at the Constitutional Convention
Free market: economic system in which goods & services are exchanged with little regulation
Freedman: men & women who had been slaves.
Freedman’s Bureau: government agency founded during Reconstruction to help former slaves.
Freeport Doctrine: 1858 statement by Stephen Douglas pointing out how to use popular Sovereignty to
determine if their state/territory should permit slavery
Free-Soil Party: bipartisan antislavery party founded in the United States in 1848 to keep slavery out of
the western territories.
French & Indian War: a war that took place from 1754-1763 that led to the end of French power in North
America.
French Revolution: French Rebellion in which French people overthrew the Monarchy & started a
republic in 1789
Frigate: fast sailing-ship with many guns
Fugitive Slave Act: law passed in 1850 that required all citizens to aid in the capture of runaway slaves.
Fugitive: runaway.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut: 1639 plan of government for the Puritan colony in Connecticut
G
Gadsden Purchase: strip of land in present-day Arizona & New Mexico for which the US. paid Mexico
$10 million in 1853.
Gentry: highest social class in the English colonies.
Gettysburg Address: speech made by President Lincoln in 1863 after the Battle of Gettysburg.
Gibbons vs. Ogden: 1814 case in which the Supreme Court upheld the power of the federal government to
regulate commerce.
Glorious Revolution: 1688 movement that brought William & Mary to the throne of England &
strengthened the rights of English citizens.
Grandfather clause: law that excused a voter from a literacy test if his father or grandfather had been
eligible to vote on January 1, 1867.
Great Awakening: religious movement in the English colonies in the early 1700s.
Great Compromise: plan at the Constitutional Convention that settled the differences between the large &
small states.
Green Mountain Boys: Vermont colonial militia led by Ethan Allen that made a surprise attacked on Fort
Ticonderoga.
Guerrilla: fighter who uses hit-and-run tactics.
Gullah: combination of English & West African languages spoken in South Carolina colonies
H
Habeas Corpus: the right not to be held in prison without first being charged with a crime.
Hajj: a pilgrimage to Mecca by devout Muslims
Hartford Convention: 1815 meeting of Federalists to protest the War of 1812. Held in Hartford, CT
House of Burgesses: representative assembly in colonial Virginia.
House of Representatives: the larger of the two bodies that make up the legislative branch of the Unites
States Government.
I
Immigrant: person who enters another country in order to settle there.
Immune: having natural resistance to disease
Impeach: to bring charges of serious wrongdoing against a public official.
Impressment: practice of forcing people into military service.
Inauguration: ceremony in which the President officially takes the oath of office.
Income tax: a tax on people’s earnings.
Indentured servant: Person who agreed to work without wages for a period of time in exchange for
passage to the American colonies:
Indian Removal Act: law passed in 1830 that forced many Native Americans to move west of the
Mississippi River.
Indian Territory: Area in modern-day Oklahoma, in which Native Americans were forced to move to in
1830’s
Indigo: Plant that makes dark blue dye
Industrial Revolution: gradual process by which machines replaced hand tools.
Inflation: a rise in prices & a decrease in the value of money.
Infrastructure: system of roads, bridges and tunnels.
Integration: mixing of different racial or ethnic groups.
Interchangeable parts: identical machine-made parts for a tool or instrument.
Interstate commerce: business between different states
Intolerable Acts: series of laws passed in 1774 to punish Boston for the Tea Party.
Islam: monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Muhammad in the early 600’s.
J
Jacksonian Democracy: The expansion of voting right during the presidency of Andrew Jackson
Jay’s Treaty: 1795 agreement between Britain & the United States that called for Britain to pay damages
for seized American ships & had to give up forts it still held in the west.
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws: Laws that separated people of different races in public places in the South.
Judicial branch: branch of government that decides if laws are carried out fairly.
Judicial review: power of the Supreme Court to decide whether the acts of the President or laws passed by
Congress are constitutional.
Judiciary Act: 1789 law that created the structure of the Supreme Court & set up a system of district
courts & circuit court for the nation.
Jury duty: the responsibility of every citizen to serve on a jury when called.
K
Kachina: masked dancer at religious ceremonies of the Southwest Indians.
Kansas-Nebraska Act: 1854 law that established the territories of Kansas & Nebraska, giving settlers the
right of popular sovereignty to decide on the issue of slavery.
Kentucky & Virginia Acts: Acts that argued the Alien & Sedition acts were unconstitutional
Kitchen Cabinet: group of unofficial advisors to President Andrew Jackson who met with him in the
White House kitchen.
Kivas: Underground ceremonial chamber at the center of Anasazi community
Knights: warriors who fought on horseback in exchange for land from the nobles
Know-Nothing Party: political party of the 1850’s that was anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant.
Ku Klux Klan: secret society organized in the South after the Civil War to reassert white supremacy by
means of violence.
L
Laissez faire: idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.
Lancaster Turnpike: road built in the 1790’s by a private company linking Philadelphia & Lancaster,
Pennsylvania.
Land Ordinance of 1785: law setting up a system for settling the Northwest Territory.
Latitude: distance north or south from the equator.
League of the Iroquois: alliance of five Iroquois (Indian) nations.
Legislative Branch: branch of government that passes laws.
Legislature: group of people who have power to make laws.
Lewis & Clark Expedition: 1804 expedition to explore the Missouri River & the northwest portion of the
Louisiana Purchase.
Libel: act of publishing a statement that may unjustly damage a person’s reputation.
Liberty: freedom.
Limited government: a principle of the U.S. Constitution that states that Federal government has only the
powers that the Constitution gives.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Series of debates during the1858 presidential campaign. Between Stephen
Douglass & Abraham Lincoln
Line of Demarcation: boundary between Spanish & Portuguese territory in New World
Literacy test: examination to see if a person can read & write; used in the past to restrict voting rights.
Local government: government in the county, parish, city, town, village or district level.
Lone Star Republic: Nickname for Texas after it won independence from Mexico
Louisiana Purchase: vast territory between the Mississippi River & the Rocky Mountains purchased from
France in 1803.
Lowell Girls: young women who worked in the Lowell Mills in Massachusetts during the Industrial
Revolution.
Lowell System: Use of water powered textile mills that employed young unmarried women in the 1800’s
Loyalist: colonist who remained loyal to Great Britain.
Lynch: for a mob to illegally seize & execute someone.
M
Magna Carta: signed in 1215, a British document that contained two basic ideas: 1. Monarchs themselves
have to obey the law, 2. Citizens have basic rights.
Majority: more than half
Manifest Destiny: 1800’s belief that American’s had the right to spread across the continent.
Manor: district ruled by a lord, including the lord’s castle & the land around it.
Marbury vs. Madison: an 1803 court case in which the Supreme Court ruled that it had the power to
decide whether laws passed by Congress were constitutional.
Martial law: rule by the army instead of elected government.
Martyr: person who dies for his or her beliefs.
Mason-Dixon Line: boundary between Pennsylvania & Maryland that divided the Middle Colonies from
the Southern Colonies.
Mass Production: the production of a large # of identical items
Mayflower Compact: 1620 agreement for ruling Plymouth colony.
McCulloch vs. Maryland: 1819 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the states had not right to
interfere with federal institutions within their borders.
Mercantilism: theory that a nation’s economic strength came from keeping strict control over its colonial
trade.
Mercenary: soldier who fights merely for pay, often for a foreign country.
Mestizo: in Spanish American colonies, person of mixed Spanish & Indian background.
Mexican Cession: Mexican territories of California & New Mexico given to the United States.
Mexican War: War between America & Mexico 1846-48
Middle Class: the social & economic level between the wealthy & the poor
Middle Passage: a voyage that brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas
Migration: movement of people/animals from one location to another.
Militia: army of citizens who serve as soldiers in an emergency.
Minutemen: colonial militia volunteer who was prepared to fight at a minute’s notice.
Mission: religious settlement run by Catholic priests & friars.
Missouri Compromise: agreement proposed in 1819 by Henry Clay to keep the number of slave and Free
states equal.
Monitor: ironclad Union warship.
Monroe Doctrine: President Monroe’s foreign policy statement warning European nations not to interfere
in Latin America.
Mormons: Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Morse code: Series of dots & Dashes used to send messages through the telegraph system
Mosque: Building used by Muslims for prayer.
Mound Builders: the name of various North American cultures that built large earth mounds beginning
around 3,000 years ago.
Mountain Men: Trappers who explored & hunted in the western states in the early 1800’s
Mudslinging: the use of insults to attack an opponent’s reputation
N
Nat Turner Rebellion: 1831 unsuccessful rebellion in which Nat Turner led salves in VA to over-throw
planter families
National debt: total sum of money that a government owes to others.
National Road: first federally funded national road project, begun 1811.
Nationalism: excessive pride in one’s country or nation.
Nativism: anti-foreign belief opposed to immigration.
Nativist: person who has anti-foreign belief opposed to immigration
Natural rights: rights that belong to all people from birth.
Naturalize: complete the official process for becoming a citizen.
Navigation Acts: series of English laws in the 1650’s that regulated trade between England & their
colonies.
Negro Fort: settlement of fugitive African American slaves in the Spanish colony of Florida.
Neutral: not taking sided in a conflict.
Neutrality Proclamation: 1793 statement by President Washington that the U.S. would not support or aid
either France or Great Britain in their European conflict.
New Jersey Plan: plan at the Constitutional Convention, favored by smaller states that called for three
branches of government with a single-chamber legislature.
New Mexico Territory: Huge region in the SW owned by Mexico in the early 1800s
Nineteenth Amendment: 1919 amendment to the Constitution that gives women the right to vote.
Nominating convention: meeting at which a political party chooses a candidate.
Northwest Ordinance: 1787 law that set up a government for the Northwest Territories.
Northwest Passage: a nonexistent path through North America that explorers wanted to find so they could
sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Northwest Passage: a waterway through or around North America.
Nullification Act: act passed by South Carolina that declared the 1832 tariff illegal.
Nullification: idea that a state has the right to nullify, or cancel, a federal law that the state leaders consider
unconstitutional.
O
Olive Branch Petition: peace petition sent to King George by colonial delegates after the Battle of
Lexington & Concord.
Oregon Country: Term used in 1800s to refer to present day, OR, WA, ID, MT & SW. Canada
Oregon Trail: 2,000 mile trail from Missouri to Oregon territory
Override: to overrule, as when Congress overrules a presidential veto.
P
Pacifist: person who objects to any war; believes war is evil.
Paleo-Indians: Ancient people who crossed from Asia to North America between 38,000 – 10,000 BC
Panic of 1837: Financial crisis in the US that led to economic depression
Parliament: representative assembly in England.
Patriot: colonist who favored war against Great Britain.
Patriotism: feeling of love & devotion towards one’s country.
Patroon: owner of a large estate in a Dutch colony.
Peninsulares: People born in Spain and that held positions of power in a Spanish colony.
Pennsylvania Dutch: German-speaking Protestants who settled in Pennsylvania.
Persecution: mistreatment of punishment of a group of people because of their beliefs.
Petition: formal written request to someone in authority that is signed by a group of people.
Pickett’s Charge: failed Confederate charge in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Pilgrims: in the 1600’s English settlers who sought religious freedom in the Americas.
Pinckney Treaty: 1795 agreement with Spain that let American ships & their goods down the Mississippi
River and then store them in New Orleans.
Plains of Abraham: a field near Quebec; site of a major British victory over the French in the French &
Indian War.
Plantation: large estate farmed by many workers.
Plessy vs. Ferguson: 1896 U.S. Supreme court case that established “separate but equal” doctrine
Political Party: group of people who organize to help elect gov’t officials & influence gov’t policy
Poll Tax: tax required before a person can vote.
Pontiac’s War: 1763 conflict between Native Americans and the British over settlement of Indian land in
the Great Lakes area.
Popular Sovereignty: 1800’s term referring to the idea that each territory could decide for its self whether
or not to allow slavery.
Potlatch: ceremonial dinner
Pottawatomie Massacre: 1856 Incident in which John Brown & 7 others murdered pro-slavery Kansans
Preamble: introduction to a declaration, constitution or other official document.
Precedent: act or decision that sets an example for others to follow.
Predestination: Protestant idea that God decided in advance which people would attain salvation after
death.
Presidio: forts where soldiers lived in the Spanish colonies.
Primary: election in which voters choose their party’s candidate for the general election.
Privateers: A Private ship authorized by a nation to attack its enemies
Proclamation of 1763: law forbidding English colonist to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Profiteer: Person who takes advantage of a crisis to make money
Proprietary colony: English colony in which the King gave land to proprietors in exchange for a yearly
payment.
Prospect: Search for gold
Protestant Reformation: movement to reform the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500’s; led to the
creation of many different Christian churches.
Protestants: reformers who protested certain practices of the Catholic Church.
Pueblo: a town in the Spanish colonies; Anasazi village.
Puritans: group of English Protestants who settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Q
Quakers: Protestant reformers who believed in the equality of all people.
Quartering Act: Act passed that required the colonists to house British soldier on their property
Quebec Act: law that set up a government for Canada & protected the rights of French Catholics.
Quipu: device made of cord or string with knots that stood for quantities; used by the Incas to keep
accounts & records.
Qur’an: sacred/religious book of Islam.
R
Racism: belief that one race is superior to another.
Radical Reconstruction: period beginning in 1867, when the Republicans, who had control in both the
houses of Congress, took charge of reconstruction.
Radical Republicans: member of Congress during Reconstruction who wanted to ensure that freedmen
received the right to vote.
Radical: person who wants to make drastic changes in society.
Ratify: to approve.
Reason: clear & ordered thinking; Greek philosopher Aristotle believed it was the basis of a good life
Reconstruction Act: 1867 law that threw out the southern state governments that had refused to ratify the
fourteenth Amendment.
Reconstruction: rebuilding of the South after the Civil War.
Religious tolerance: willingness to let other practice their own beliefs.
Renaissance: burst of learning in Europe from the late 1300’s to about 1600’s.
Rendezvous: Yearly meeting where Mountain men traded furs
Repeal: to cancel.
Representative government: political system in which voters elect representatives to make laws for them.
Republic of Great Columbia: independent state composed of the present day nations of Venezuela,
Columbia, Ecuador & Panama established in 1819.
Republic: system of government in which citizens choose representatives to govern them.
Republican Party: political party established in the U.S. in 1854 with the goal of keeping slavery out of
the western territories.
Resident alien: non-citizen living in the country.
Revolutionary War: 1776-1781 war between Britain & her colonies in America, which led to the colonies
independence
Royal colony: colony under the direct control of the English crown.
S
Sachem: member of the tribal chief council in the league of the Iroquois.
Santa Fe Trail: route to Santa Fe, New Mexico, that was used by traders in the 1800’s
Scalawag: white southerner who supported the Republicans during Reconstruction.
Secede: to withdraw from membership in a group.
Second Amendment: amendments to the U.S. Constitution related to the right to bear arms.
Second Great Awakening: widespread religious movement in the U.S. in the early 1800’s
Secondary source: account provided after the fact by people who did not directly witness or participate in
the event.
Sectionalism: loyalty to a state or section rather to the whole country.
Sedition: stirring up rebellion against a government.
Segregation: legal separation of people based on racial, ethnic or other differences.
Seminole War: conflict that began in Florida in 1817 when the Seminoles resisted removal.
Senate: the smaller of the two bodies that make up the legislative branch of the U.S. Government.
Seneca Falls Convention: First national women’s rights convention 1848
Separation of Powers: principle by which the powers of government are divided among separate
branches.
Sharecropper: person who rents a plot of land from another person & farms it in exchange for a share of
the crop.
Shay’s Rebellion: 1768 revolt in Massachusetts led by farmers in reaction to high taxes.
Siege of Vicksburg: 1863- 6 Week, Union blockade of Vicksburg that led to their surrender
Siege: military blockade or bombardment of an enemy town or position in order to force it to surrender.
Silk Road: overland trade routes linking China to the Middle East.
Slave Codes: laws that controlled the lives of enslaved African Americans & denied them basic rights.
Smuggling: importing or exporting goods in violation of trade laws.
Social Reform: Organized attempt to improve society
Spanish Armada: Large Spanish fleet defeated by the English in 1588
Speculators: someone who invests in a risky venture in hope of making a large profit.
Spinning jenny: machine developed in 1764 that could spin several threads at once.
Spirituals: emotional Christian song sung by enslaved people in the south
Spoils system: practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs.
Stamp Act: 1765 law placed new duties on legal documents & taxed newspapers, almanacs, playing cards
& dice.
States Right Doctrine: belief that the power of the states should be greater than that of the Federal Gov’t
States’ rights: the right of states to limit the power of the federal government.
Strikes: A series of strikes-refusal by workers to do their jobs until their demands are met.
Suffrage: the right to vote.
Supreme Court: highest court in the U.S. established by the Constitution.
Sutter’s Mill: location where gold was discovered in California in 1848, setting the scene for the gold
rush.
T
Tariff of Abominations: tariff passed by Congress in 1828 that favored manufacturing in the North.
Tariff: tax on foreign goods brought into a country.
Tea Act: 1773 law that let the British East India Company bypass tea merchants and sell directly to the
colonists.
Teepee: Cone shaped shelter made of buffalo skins.
Tejanos: people of Mexican descent born in Texas.
Telegraph: communications device that sends electrical signals along a wire.
Temperance movement: campaign against alcohol consumption.
Ten Percent Plan: Lincoln’s plan that allowed a southern state to form a new government after 10% of its
voters swore an oath of loyalty to the United States.
Tenements: poorly built over-crowded housing where many immigrants lived
Textiles: Cloth
Thanksgiving: day at the end of harvest season set aside by the Pilgrims to give thanks to God.
The federalist papers
The Liberator: most influential antislavery newspaper, begun by William Lloyd Garrison.
Thirteenth Amendment: 1865 amendment to the U.S. Constitution that bans slavery throughout the
nation.
Three-Fifths Compromise: agreement at the Constitutional Convention that Three-Fifth of the slaves in
any state be counted in its population
Total war: all-out war that affects civilian at home as well as soldiers in combat.
Totem: images of ancestors/animals often carved into tall wooden poles by Native American along the
Pacific coast line
Town Meeting: Political meeting in which local people make decisions
Townshend Acts: laws passed in 1767 that taxed goods such as glass, paper, paint, lead & tea.
Trade Unions: Workers organization that try & improve working conditions
Trail of Tears: forced journey of the Cherokee Indians from Georgia to a region west of the Mississippi
during which thousands of Cherokee died.
Traitor: person who betrays his or her country.
Transcendentalism: belief that people can rise above the materials things in life. Popular in the mid 1800’s
Treason: actions against one’s country.
Treaty of Ghent: peace treaty signed by Great Britain & the U.S. at the end of the War of 1812.
Treaty of Greenville: treaty signed by some Native American in 1795 giving up land that would later
become part of Ohio.
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo: an 1848 treaty in which Mexico gave up California & New Mexico to the
U.S. for $15 million.
Treaty of Paris: 1763 agreement between Great Britain & France that ended the French & Indian War; the
U.S. & Great Britain, ratified in 1783 that recognized the United States as an independent nation.
Treaty of Tordesillas: 1494 Treaty between Spain & Portugal that moved the line of Demarcation
Triangular trade: colonial trade route between Great Britain, Africa & British Colonies in America
Tribute: bribe.
Triggered: to start something
Turnpike: Private road that charged a toll (fee) for its use
Twenty-sixth Amendment: amendment that lowered the voting age to 18
U
Uncle Tom’s Cabin: 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe written to show the evils of slavery and the
injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act.
Unconstitutional: not permitted by the Constitution.
Underground Railroad: network of abolitionists who secretly helped slaves escape to freedom.
Urbanization: movement of population from farms to cities.
USS Constitution: Large warship
V
Valley Forge: Pennsylvania site of Washington’s Continental Army encampment during the winter of
1777-1178.
Vaqueros: Spanish or Mexican cowhand.
Veto: to reject, as when the President rejects a law passed by Congress.
Vigilante: self-appointed enforcer of the law.
Virginia Plan: plan at the Constitutional Convention that called for a strong national government with
three branches and a two-chamber legislature.
Virginia: ironclad warship used by the Confederates to break the Union blockade.
W
Wade-Davis Bill: 1864 plan for Reconstruction that denied the right to vote or hold office to anyone who
had volunteered to fight for the Confederacy.
Wampum: cylindrical beads made from shells, pierced and strung, used by North American Indians as a
medium of exchange
War Doves: a politician who will work to ensure that going to war is the absolute last resort
War Doves: Members of Congress that supported the War of 1812 against the British
War Hawks: members of Congress from the South and West who called for war with Great Britain prior
to the War of 1812.
Whigs: members of John Quincy Adams’ former National Republican party.
Whiskey Rebellion: 1794 protest over a tax on all liquor made & sold in the U.S.
Wilderness Campaign: Series of battles in 1864 in VA that delayed the capture of Richmond
Wilmot Proviso: law passed in 1846 that banned slavery in any territories won by the United States from
Mexico.
Women’s Rights Movement: organized campaign to win property, education and other rights for women.
Writ of Assistance: legal document that allowed British custom officials to inspect a ship’s cargo without
giving a reason.
X
XYZ Affair: 1797 French attempt to bribe the U.S. by demanding money before discussing French seizure
of neutral American ships.
Y
Yankee: nickname for New England merchants who dominated colonial trade.
Yeomen: owners of small farms
Z