Covenant Community
A covenant community is a religious group whose members bind themselves to one another
and to the group by a solemn agreement called a covenant
Direct Democracy
Form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a
representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy
initiatives
Indentured Servant
A person who has contracted to work for another for a limited period, often in return for travel
expenses, and sustenance
Virginia House of Burgesses
The first elected assembly in the New World, established in 1619
Joint-stock Company
Businesses in which investors pool their wealth or a common purpose
Puritans
Members of a group that wanted to eliminate all traces of Roman Catholic ritual and traditions
in the Church of England
Quakers
Members of the Society of Friends, a religious group persecuted for its beliefs in 17th century
England
Middle Passage
The voyage that brought enslaved Africans to the West Indies and later to North America
Jonathan Edwards
A major leader during the Great Awakening; Stay stationary to spread the word
John Locke
The Declaration of Independence were based of his writings in the Social Contract; Man had
unalienable rights that consisted of life, liberty, and property
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of Independence; Also wrote Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom;
Doubled the size of the U.S. through the Louisiana Purchase
Stamp Act
A 1765 law in which Parliament established the first direct taxation of goods and services
within the Britist colonies in North America
Patrick Henry
Quoted for saying "Give me liberty, or give me death"
Patriots
Colonists who supported American independence from Britain
Neutrals
Those who refused to take part in a war between other nations
Lexington and Concord
Battle that started the Revolutionary War
Saratoga
Battle that is considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War
Ben Franklin
Prime Minister to France during the Revolutionary War, encouraged the French to join U.S. in
the Revolutionary War
Stamp Act Congress
Meeting held between October 7 and 25, 1765 in New York City, consisting of representatives
from some British colonies of North America; it was the first gathering of elected
representatives from several of the American colonies to devise a unified protest against new
British taxation
Separation of Powers
The state is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of
responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal
division of branches is into an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary
New Jersey Plan
Favored by small states; Offered the idea of a unicameral (one house) legislature in which all
states would have an equal number of votes
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, added in 1791 and consisting of a formal
list of citizen's rights and freedoms
Anti-Federalists
An opponent of a strong central government
Great Compromise
The Constitution Convention's agreement to establish a two-house national legislature, with
all states having equal representation in one house and each state having representation based
on its population in the other house
Democratic-Republicans
Political party known for its support of strong state governments, founded by Thomas
Jefferson in 1792 in opposition to the Federalists Party
Election of 1800
Thomas Jefferson won after a tie; It was the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to
another
Judicial Review
The Supreme Court's power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional
Gibbons vs. Ogden
Landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to
regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United
States Constitution
Trail of Tears
The marches in which the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from Georgia to the Indian
Territory in 1838-1840, with thousands of the Cherokee dying on the way
Andrew Jackson
Implemented the first presidential veto against the National Bank, introduced the Spoils
System, advocated for the Trail of Tears
Spoils System
The practice of winning candidates' rewarding their supporters with government jobs
National Bank
A bank owned by the state. An ordinary private bank which operates nationally as opposed to
regionally or locally or even internationally
Missouri Compromise
A series of agreements passed by Congress in 1820-1821 to maintain the balance of power
between slave states and free states
Harriett Beecher Stowe
Wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin
Gabriel Prosser
Planned a slave revolt in Virginia in 1800 that failed before it could get underway; Persecuted
and executed
Kansas-Nebraska Act
1854; Law that called for the creation of these two new territories and stated that citizens in
each territory decide whether slavery would be allowed there
Abraham Lincoln
16th President during the Civil War; Republican
Popular Sovereignty
policy of lettinng the people in a territory decide whether slavery would be allowed there
Seneca Falls Declaration
Early and influential women's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, July 19-20,
1848
Susan B Anthony
Women's right activists
Jefferson Davis
President of the Confederacy during the Civil War
Gettysburg Address
A famous speech by President Lincoln on the meaning of the Civil War
Fort Sumter
Federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, SC; The Confederate attack on the fort marked the
start of the Civil War
Battle of Vicksburg
Civil War battle in Mississippi that was won by the Union and allowed for Union forces to gani
control of the Mississippi River
Ulysses S. Grant
General of the Union Army during the Civil War
Appomattox
Where the Confederate Surrender of the Civil War was signed
Radical Republican
One of the congressional Republicans who after the Civil War wanted to destory the political
power of the former slaveholders and give African Americans full citizenship and the right to
vote
13th Amendment
Freed slaves; (1-3 SLAVES ARE FREE!)
15th Amendment
Provided slaves with voting rights; (1-5 PICK A SIDE!)
Jim Crow Laws
Laws that required segregration of public services by race
Freedman's Bureau
A federal agency set up to help former slaves after the Civil War
Ellis Island
Major port for immigrants upon entering New York City
New Immigrants
Immigrants from Eastern Europe and Asia
Chinese Exclusion Act
1862; Law that prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country but did not prevent
entry of those who had previously established U.S. residence
Henry Bessemer
Inventor of Bessemer Steel Process; made it cheaper and easier to remove impurities to create
steel
Tenement Housing
A multifamily urban dwelling, usually overcrowded and unsanitary
Thomas Edison
Inventor of the lightbulb
The Wright Brothers
Inventors of the airplane and air flight
J.P. Morgan
Created a monolopy over the banking industry
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Created a monolopy over the railroad industry
Plessey v. Ferguson
An 1896 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that separation of the races in public
accomodations was legal, thus establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine
Ida B. Wells
Started an anti-lynching crusade in support of African Americans
W.E.B Duboios
African American scholar and leader who encouraged African Americans to attend colleges to
develop leadership skills
Haymarket Square Affair
1866 labor-related violence in Chicago
Pullman Strike
1894 railway workers' strike that spread nationwide
17th Amendment
An amendment to the U.S. Constituion, adopted in 1913, that provides for the election of U.S.
senators by the people rather than by state legislatures
18th Amendment
Amendment for Phohibition (1-8 STEM 'EM STRAIGHT)
Theodore Roosevelt
President during Imperialism, "Speak softly and carry a big stick"
Open Door Policy
Policy that ensured all nations had equal trading rights with China
Dollar Diplomacy
President Taft urged American banks and bussiness to invest in Latin American; sought to
increase and protect US investments abroad
League of Nations
An association of nations established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace
Woodrow Wilson
President during WWI
Treaty of Versailles
The 1919 peace treaty at the end of World War I which established new nations, borders, and
war reparations
Referendum
Process that allows citizens to approve or reject a law passed by their legislature
Initiative
A process in which citizens can put a proposed new law directly on the ballot in the next
election by collecting voter's signatures on a petition
The New Deal
President Franklin Roosevelt's program to alleviate the problems of the Great Depression,
focusing on relief for the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform
3 R's in the New Deal Legislation
Relief, recovery, reform
AAA
Agricultural Adjustment Act; A law enacted in 1933 to raise crop prices by paying farmers to
leave a certain amount of their land unplanted, thus lower production
Social Security
A law enacted in 1935 to provide aid to retirees, the unemployed, people with disabilities, and
families with dependent children
Black Friday
The day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the
Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4
a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season
Adolf Hitler
Totalitarian dictator of Germany
Defeat Hitler First
Allied military strategy in the European Theater
Lend Lease Act
A law passed in 1941, that allowed the US to ship arms and other supplies without immediate
payment, to Nations fighting the Axis powers
Pearl Harbor
December 7,1941; Japan carried out an air attack on the American Naval Base in Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan
D-Day
June 6, 1944; Normandy
Stalingrad
Month long seige that prevented Germany from getting oil fields in the Soviet Union. Turned
the tide against Germany in the East
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Truman ordered the dropping of the Atomic bomb to force Japan to surrender
Allied Powers
In WWI, the group of nations-originally consisting of Great Britain, France and Russia and
later joined by the United States, Italy and others that opposed the Central Powers. In WWII,
the group of nations-including Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States that
opposed the Axis Powers
Holocaust
Hitler's plan to exterminate all German jews and undesireables
Genocide
Systematic and purposeful destruction of a racial, political, religious, or cultural group.
Nuremburg Trials
The court preceedings held in Nuremburg, Germany after WWII, in which Nazi leaders were
charged with war crimes
War Bonds
Debt securities issued by a government for the purpose of financing military operations during
times of war
Rosie the Riveter
Figure head to encourage women to become a part of the war effort during WWII
Korean War
War between North and South Korea to prevent communist North Korea from forcing South
Korea to become communist
Cold War
The competition that developed after WWII between the United States and the Soviet Union
for power and influence in the world, until the collapse of the Soviet Union
Marshall Plan
Program of economic assistance to Western Europe
Warsaw Pact
Military alliance between Soviet Union and the nations of Eastern Europe formed in 1955
John F Kennedy
US President during Vietnam who was later assassinated
Lyndon B Johnson
US President during Vietnam who extended troops into Vietnam
Communism
Ideology of the Soviet Union, characterized there by complete government ownership of land
and property, single party contol of the government, lack of individual rights, and the call for a
worldwide revolution
38th Parallel
A dividing line for Korea
Vietnaminization
President Nixon's policy of replacing American military forces with those of South Vietnam
Bay of Pigs
Failed invasion of Cuba by a group of anti-Castro forces in 1961
Alger Hiss
Accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury
McCarthyism
The attacks, often unsubstanciated, by Senator Joseph McCarthy and others on people
suspected of being Communists in the early 1950's
Gorbechav
Soviet leader at the end of the Cold War
Ronald Reagan
US President who ordered the tearing down of the Berlin Wall
Oliver Hill
NAAPC Lawyer, and also Virginia's Representative during the Brown v. Board of Education
case
24th Amendment
Amendment that stated they could no longer charge people to vote
Martin Luther King
Civil rights leader who encouraged peaceful protest, led the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A law the banned discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national orgin, or religion in public
places and most workplaces
Sandra Day O'Connor
American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States
Glass Ceiling
Term refers to "the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from
rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or
achievements". Initially, the metaphor applied to barriers in the careers of women but was
quickly extended to refer to obstacles hindering the advancement of minority men, as well as
women
Patriot Act
Set of laws that allows for the government to have access to any person personal records,
phone calls, etc.
Neil Armstrong
First person to step onto the moon's suface
Distance Learning
Field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering
teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a
traditional educational setting such as a classroom
Mayflower Compact
The first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, later
together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower
Cavaliers
English nobility who received large land grands in Eastern Virginia from the King of England
Jamestown
First permanent colony in America, settled in 1607
Virginia Company of London
English joint stock company established by royal charter by James I of England on April 10,
1606 with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America
Triangular Trade
The transatlantic system of trade in which goods and people, including slaves, were exchanged
between Arica, England, Europe, the West Indies, and the colonies in North America
Pilgrims
Name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth,
Massachusetts, United States
Great Awakening
A revival of religious feeling in the American colonies during the 1730's and 1750's
Columbian Exchange
The transfer beginning with Columbus's first voyage-of plants, animals, and diseases between
the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere
George Whitefield
A major leader during the Great Awakening, travelled around spreading the word
Thomas Paine
Wrote the pamphlet, Common Sence, which persuaded many colonists to declare
independence from Britain
Proclamation of 1763
An order in which Britain prohibited its American colonists from settling west of the
Appalachian Mountains
Boston Massacre
A clash between British soldiers and Boston coloniest in 1770, in which five of the colonists
were killed
George Washington
First President of the United States
Loyalists
Colonists who supported the British government during the American Revolution
Boston Tea Party
The dumping of 18,000 pounds of tea in Boston Harbor by colonists in 1773 to protest the Tea
Act
John Marshall
First Supreme Court justice
Yorktown
Last major battle during the American Revolutionary War
Articles of Confederation
A document, adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and finally approved by the
states in 1781, that outlined the form of government of the United States
3/5's Compromise
3 out of every 5 slaves would be counted in the general population, for representation purposes
James Madison
Father of the Constitution
Virginia Plan
Favored by large states; Representation was based on population, unicameral
Federalists
Supporters of the Constitution and of a strong national government
George Mason
Wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights; Along with James Madison he was also called the
"Father of the Bill of Rights"
Manifest Destiny
The 19th century belief that the United States would inevitably expand westward to the Pacific
Ocean and into Mexican territory
Alexander Hamilton
Founder of the National Bank
Marbury v. Madison
An 1803 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that it had the power to abolish legislative acts
by declaring them unconstitutional; this power came to be known as Judicial Review
McCulloch v. Maryland
An 1819 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that Maryland had no right to tax the Bank of
the United States, thereby strengthening the power of the federal government's control over
the economy
Battle of the Alamo
Pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops launched an
assault on the Alamo Mission. All but two of the Texian defenders were killed
Nullification
A state's refusal to recognize an at of Congress that it considers unconstitutional
Panic of 1837
a U.S. financial crisis in which banks closed and the credit system collapsed, resulting in many
bankruptcies and high unemployment
Tariff
A tax on goods
William Lloyd Garrison
White leader of radical abolitionist movement and founded The Liberator
Nat Turner
African American preacher who led a slave revolt in 1831 and was captured and hung after the
revolt failed
Compromise of 1850
Agreement designed to ease tensions cause by the expansion of slavery into western territories
Secede
Withdraw formally from membership in a federal union, an alliance, or a political or religious
organization
Stephen Douglas
Illinois senator who introduced the Kansas Nebraska Act and debated Abraham Lincoln on
slavery issues in 1858
Dred Scott Case
Ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that people of African descent brought into the United
States and held as slaves or their descendants, whether or not they were slaves were not
protected by the Constitution and could never be U.S. citizens
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
An American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement
Robert E Lee
Commander of the Confederate army
Frederick Douglas
Former slave who became a leading abolitionist writer; publisher of abolitionist newspaper the
Northern Star
Battle of Gettysburg
Civil War battle in PA that was won by the Union and became the turning point of the war
Battle of Bull Run
Civil War battle considered to be the first battle of the war
Emancipation Proclamation
An executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1,1863, freeing the slaves in all
regions behind Confederate lines
Robert E Lee
General of the Confederate Army
Frederick Douglas
Freed slave who joined the abolitionists movement
Andrew Johnson
Impeached during Reconstruction by Radical Republicans
14th Amendment
Provided slaves with citizenship
Compromise of 1877
A series of congressional measures under which the Democrats agreed to accept the
Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes as president, even though he had lost the popular
vote. The measures included withdrawal of federal troops from Southern states, federal money
for improving southern infrastructure, an the appointment of a conservative Southern cabinet
member
Black Codes
Discriminatory laws passed throughout the post-Civil War South which severely restricted
African Americans' lives
Transcontinental Railroad
Railway extending from coast to coast
Melting Pot
The term used to describe the bleding of cultures between Americans and the immigrants
Immigration Restriction Act
Law that ended quotas for individual countries and replaced them with more flexible limits
Andrew Carnegie
Industrialist who made a fortune in steel monolopy
Alexander Graham Bell
Inventor of the telephone
Henry Ford
Auto manufacturer in early 1900s; made affordable cars for the masses using the assembly line
John D. Rockefller
Created a monolopy over the banking industry
Laissez-Faire
Doctine stating that government generally should not interfere in private business
Great Migration
Migration of African Americans who moved to cities in the North
Booker T Washington
Founded Tuskegee Institute; Believed in vocational education
Progressive Party
Left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president
and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948
Homestead Strike
1892 strike in Pennsylvania against Carnegie steel
Sherman Anti Trust Law
Law passed by Congress in 1890 that outlawed any combination of companies that restrained
interstate trade or commerce
Clayton Anti Trust Law
Law to strengthen the Sherman Anti Trust Act that specified big business activities that were
forbidden
19th amendment
Amendment that provided women with the right to vote (1-9 WOMEN ARE FINE)
Imperialism
Stronger nations create empires by dominating weaker nations for economic and political gain
Panama Canal
Canal financially supported by the US built in Panama; made the shipments of goods more
efficient
John Hay
"Open Door Policy"
Spanish American War
War between U.S. and Spain leading to imperial movements in Central and South American
and the Philippines by the U.S.
14 Points
Plan by Woodrow Wilson to bring peace and end WWI through methods such as no secret
treaties between Nations
Neutral
Those who refused to take part n a war between other nations
The Great Depression
A period, lasting from 1929 to 1940, in which the U.S. economy was in severe decline and
millions of Americans were unemployed
Recall
Procedure that permits voters to remove public officials from office before the next election
FDR
Implemented the New Deal
First Hundred Days
FDR pushed several programs through Congress to provide relief, create jobs, and stimulate
the economy
WPA
War Powers Act; a law enacted in 1973, limiting a presdient's right to send tropps into battle
without consulting Congress
CCC
Civilian Conservation Corps; an agency, established as part of the New Deal, that put young
unemplyed men to work building roads, developing parks, planting trees, and helping erosioncontrol and flood-control projects
FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; an agency created in 1933 to insure individuals' bank
accounts, protecting people against losses due to bank failures
Blitzkrieg
From the German word meaning "lightening war", a sudden, massive attack with combined air
and ground forces, intended to achieve a quick victory
Island Hopping
An allied military strategy in the Pacific Theater
Harry S. Truman
President during WWII, ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb
Embargo
The partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order
to isolate it
Midway
American victory over Japan; "Miracle of Midway" Stopped the invasion of Hawaii
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
Brought American soldiers closer than ever to Japan. Japanese commited suicide, rather than
surrender
Atomic Bomb
Used by the United States to win the war with Japan
Axis Powers
The group of Nations-including Germany, Italy, and Japan-that opposed the Allies in World
War II
Central Powers
The group of Nations-led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire-that
opposed the Allies in World War I
Tuskegee Airmen
Most famous African-American military unit
Bataan Death March
Name of POW indident in which American POW's suffered brutal treatment by the Japanese
after the surrender in the Phillipines
Final Solution
Hitler's plan to exterminate all German Jews and undesireables
Emancipation Proclamation
An executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1,1863, freeing the slaves in all
regions behind Confederate lines
Rationing
Restriction of people's right to buy unlimited amounts of particular foods and other goods,
often implemented during wartime to ensure adequate supplies for the military
Internment Camps
Confinement or a restriction in moving, espescially under wartime conditions
Vietnam War
War between North and South Vietnam in order to prevent South Vietnam from becoming
communist
Truman Doctrine
a U.S. policy, announced by President Harry S. Truman in 1947, of providing economic and
military aid to free nations, threatened by internal or external opponants
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten
Western European countries, the United States, and Canada
Dwight D Eisenhower
WWII general who later became president at the beginning of the Vietnam War
Richard Nixon
US President who ordered the tearing down of the Berlin Wall
Democracy
Society in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives
United Nations
An international peacekeeping organization to which most nations in the world belong,
founded in 1945 to promote world peace, security, and economic development
21st Amendment
Alcohol again (2-1 LETS HAVE SOME FUN)
Fidel Castro
Communist dictator of Cuba during the Cold War
Cuban Missle Crisis
1962 crisis that arose between the US and the Soviet Union over a Soviet attempt depoloy
nuclear missiles in Cuba
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Were American communists who were executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage
Glasnost
The open discussion of social problems that was permitted in the Soviet Union in the 1980's
Perestroika
Meaning is "restructuring", referring to the restructuration of the Soviet polotical and
economic system
Brown v. Board of Education
Landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing
separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional
Thurgood Marhsall
NAACP Lawyer, during the Brown v. Board of Education
Malcolm X
African American Muslim minister and human rights activist
March on Washington
Largest political rally for human rights in United States history and called for civil and
economic rights for African Americans. It took place in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday,
August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech
advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial during the march
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory
voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African
Americans in the U.S
Sally Ride
First female American astronaut
Persian Gulf War
War waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States,
against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait
John Glenn
U.S. Astronaut; was the first American to orbit the Earth
Telecommuting
Work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours
Dr. Jonas Salk
An American medical researcher and virologist, best known for his discovery and development
of the first safe and effective polio vaccine