AP US History vocabulary list: Difference between revisions

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Panama Revolution, 1903|Teddy Roosevelt Administration sent US warships to Panama in support of revolutionaries who were seeking independence from Columbia; Roosevelt did so because a prior agreement with Columbia to give the U.S. rights to build a canal across Panama (the "Panama Isthmums") had fallen apart, and by supporting the revolutionaries, Roosevelt secured access to the lands for the canal}}</ul>

The pre-Columbian period is that period prior to the Spanish contact with the Americas starting in 1492. Having been peopled by hunter-gatherers during the late states of the last Ice Age, the Americas were subsequently isolated from the rest of the world (there was some continued migration back and forth between modern Alaska and Siberia).  While there was contact with Viking explorers along the coast of northeastern North America, there was no continual European or other presence until Columbus.

| 1754-1763|| French-Indian War acrtiv

| 1763 || Royal Proclamation of 1763

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:natural rights| especially as definted by Locke, the idea that people are born with inherent or "natural" rights, as Locke put it, "life health, liberty [and] possessions"; the key to natural rights and natural law is that those rights and laws exist prior to establishment of governments, whose role, according to Locke, is to protect those rights; when governments create laws over and above natural law, they are called "positive law" (in the sense of positively created, not necessarily "positive" as in good); the notion of natural rights played a crucial role in the justification of the American Revolution, and the Declaration of Independence}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Social contract| the idea,. promoted by various Enlightenment thinkers, especially Locke that people hold inherent or natural rights and that governments are formed in order to protect those rights; under the "social contract," when government does protect those rights, the people have a duty to uphold and obey that government; (note that in the law, a contract is only valid if both parties benefit)}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Declaration of Independence| }}

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:direct representation|  }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Enlightenment philosophers| }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:First Continental Congress| }}</ul></li>  

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Nonimportation movement| in response to the new taxes, colonists organized boycotts of British goods and other foreign imports; the boycotts were promoted by the Daughters of Liberty, the Committees of Correspondence, and helped develop the idea of domestic economic self-sufficiency; groups like the Sons of Liberty actively protested and even attacked customs houses and buyers and sellers of imported goods and their customers; }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Olive Branch Petition| in July, 1775, following outbreak of conflict at Bunker Hill, John Dickinson, author of "Letters from a Farmer", opposed to further conflict war with Britain, persuaded the Continental Congress to send a letter to George III that affirmed American loyalty and desire to avoid war and that they just wanted more equitable laws; the petition was deeply opposed but passed under Dickinson's persuasion; the King refused to receive it, having already issued the Proclamation of Rebellion (naming certain colonies as in state of rebellion); Congress soon after the Olive Branch issued the "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms" written by Jefferson and Dickinson (see entry)}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Popular Sovereignty| the political theory that the people have the right to choose and rule their government; the principle was more commonly called "republican form of government," which means government through representatives selected by the people; the Declaration asserted the principle of popular sovereignty}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Revolutionary flags| flags symbolically represent a place or people; the colonial flags highlighted their protest and their growing identity as an independent nation of unified colonies; here for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Flags_of_the_American_Revolution |Flags of the American Revolution}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Sons of Liberty| in response to the Stamp Act of 1765, colonists organized street protests and demanded resignation of stamp tax collectors; the Sons of Liberty was formed in protest in Boston and took the protests into violence, attacking property and the Lt. Governor's own house; the Sons of Liberty further organized and led boycott movements, publishing names of merchants and harassing their employees and customers; in 1773, the Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea party}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Stamp Act Congress| nine colonial assemblies sent delegates to protest the encroachment of "rights and liberties", especially trial by jury}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Vice admiralty courts| judicial courts of the British Navy with jurisdiction over colonial legal matters regarding shipping, customs, smuggling, and other maritime-related activities; "vice" because they were beneath the general "Admiralty Court" of Great Britain; as Parliament imposed new regulations, the Vice admiralty courts were charged with enforcement, including over affairs not previously considered maritime-related; this was especially offensice to the colonists because they had no say in selection of Admiralty court judges, there were usually no juries, and the burden of proof was upon the accused, not the Court, all of which they considered a violation of their rights}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Vice admiralty court| Naval judicial courts that acted independently of colonial authority; Vice admiralty courts were used to enforce taxes, and were hated by the colonists who felt that they were unjust and did not allow for "judgment of peers", which is the basis of the jury system; the advantage of these courts for the British was that they operated under military and not civil law, and were thus outside of normal legal processes of civilian judges and juries}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:virtual representation| the British idea that the colonies were represented "virtually," or in essence, by Parliament and without "direct" representation; following the Stamp Act, Benjamin Franklin argued for representation in Parliament: "If you chuse to tax us, give us Members in your Legislature and let us be one People." A core problem with representation was that the proprietary colonial landowners traditionally resided in London and therefore managed their colonial affairs from there, with direct influence in Parliament; Lonodon-based Caribbean plantation owners and merchants, especially, argued against direct representation, as "virtual representation" gave them more control over the colonies}}</li></ul>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Writs of Assistance|}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Coercive Acts| 1774; called "Intolerable Acts" by the colonists; in response to the Boston Tea Party, George III demanded "compulsion" and submission of the colonies to British imperial authority; the Coercive Acts consisted of 4 "punitive" laws: 1) a new Quartering Act; 2) the Justice Act, which authorized capital crimes (that could result in death sentence, such as murder, treason, espionage) to be tried outside of the colonies; 3) Boston Port Act, which closed the harbor until restitution (repayment) was made for the tea lost at the Tea Party; 4) Massachusetts Government Act, which annulled its colonial charter and turned it into a "crown colony," directly ruled by the King}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Currency Acts| 1764: banned colonial use of paper money; colonials had been using paper money (basically an I.O.U.) to pay debts, which lowered their cost as the paper money was worth less than British currency}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Declaratory Act| 1766; affirmed Parliament's authority over the colonies; was passed in response to colonial resistance to the Stamp Act}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Intolerable Acts| 1775; the colonial term for the official title of the "Coercive Acts" (see below); the Intolerable Acts became object of outrage and the growing organization of colonial resistance}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Quartering Act| 1765; "quartering" means housing (room and board) passed same year as the Stamp Act, but not directly related; during the French-Indian War, the British Army was unhappy with provisioning of its troops by Colonies (i.e., not paying for quartering), although New York was more accommodating; however, in 1764, the New York Assembly did not renew its funding for quartering British troops, thinking the war was over so it was unnecessary; British commander Thomas Gage asked Parliament to require such funding, which became the Quartering Act; it offended the colonies because it created a "standing army," or a peacetime force; along with the Stamp Act and its enforcement via Vice admiralty courts, the colonies objected to the presence of the British regular army during peacetime}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Quebec Act| 1774; organized Province of Quebec, which included parts of the modern American Midwest; restored certain French civil law practices; removed requirement of Protestantism Oath of Allegiance and protected practice of Catholicism; colonial Americans objected vehemently to the protection of Catholicism, as well as to the extended territory of Quebec to include lands already claimed in the Ohio Valley; the Quebec Act so outraged protestant Americans that it became a significant catalyst (cause) for the outbreak of the Revolutionary War}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Stamp Act| 1765; aimed to raise revenue (not mercantilist in nature), taxed any printed item, including contracts, titles, almanacs, playing carts, etc.; highest fees were on legal documents, so impacted the wealthy most; was efficient to collect; was enforced by the Vice Admiralty Court; overall goal of the Act was to assert parliamentary supremacy; outraged the colonists, esp. enforcement by the naval courts}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Sugar Act| 1763,  replaced the Molasses Act of 1733 and lowered duties on sugar with the goal of raising more revenue through a more reasonable tax rate; after its passage, Parliament authorized that its enforcement belong to the Vice-Admiralty courts}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Tea Act| 1773}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Townshend Acts| 1767, series of tax and regulatory laws named for the British chancellor in charge of finances, Charles Townshend; the principle Act, The Revenue Act of 1767, is known as the "Townshend Act"; it aimed to raise revenue through duties on colonial importation fo paper, pain, glass and tea; part of the revenue would pay for Royal colonial offices, such as governors, judges, etc. who had been previously funded by the colonies themselves; however, Townshend's purpose was not to assist the colonies but to make them more dependent on and obedient to British rule and overall less autonomous}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:John Adams| }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Samuel Adams| }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:John Dickinson |}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Lord Dunmore| Royal Governor of Virginia who, in opposition to British policy, launched militia attacks on Indians across the Appalachian Mountains (see Lord Dunmore's War)

}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Benjamin Franklin| as scientist and successful publisher, the most famous American in his day; up until final moments before war, was always conciliatory to the British, accepting of British rule, and sought compromise; however, stood firm for colonial rights, including representation in Parliament; was early thinker about colonial union, esp. given experience as Postmaster of the colonies (Albany Plan); Franklin was an "Enlightenment" thinker who sought to explain the world through reason; this led him to "deism" (see entry)}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Thomas Jefferson|}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Thomas Paine|}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:George Washington|}}</ul></li>

IA[Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, 1774]-->CP

Names are usually preceded with "Battle of..."

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Northwest Ordinance| 1787 law under the Articles of Confederation that included many protections and rights that would be included in the original US Constitution and Bill or Rights, including property rights, freedom of religion, ''habeus corpus'' and trial by jury, as well as a prohibition on slavery; also set conditions for admission of new states to the Union}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Citizen Genet affair| 1793; French Ambassador Genet sparked outrage by his attempts to raise money and a militia of US citizens to fight in France's war against Britain and Spain; Washington demanded his removal as ambassador and issued the Proclamation of Neutrality as a result of the affair}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Democratic-Republican Party| following Jefferson's vision of a more decentralized national governance, his partisans organized the party to oppose Hamilton's centralization programs, especially the national bank, tariffs, and national debt; the party stood for agrarianism, free trade, individual liberty and states-rights}}</ul>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:National Bank| the First National Bank was chartered by Congress in 1791 (the Second came in 1816); the Bank's role was to manage a national currency and the national debt, establish credit, and facilitate financial transactions for economic growth;  

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Pinckney's Treaty| 1795 treaty negotiated by American Thomas Pickney w/ Spain to guarantee U.S. access to and navigation rights along the Mississippi River; also settled border dispute over Florida (putting Chickasaw and Choctaw Nation lands within the U.S.), and secured Spanish promise not to incite indian attacks on either side; }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:political parties| as ideological disputes arose between Hamilton (federalist) and Jefferson (anti-federalist) factions, supporters of each joined in what would become "political parties" -- or political organizations designed to influence and control the federal government; the Whiskey Rebellion and the growing divide between French and British supporters in the country fueled the political divisions and their eventual, formal organization; George Washington warned of the dangers of political parties in his Farewell Address}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Proclamation of Neutrality| 1793; as England and France went to war, the United State attempted to maintain neutrality between them; the Proclamation asserted the right of American ships to bypass French and British blockades of each other's ports and to trade with either nation; the policy was hugely beneficial to American merchants who profited from the situation and whose shipbuilding and merchant marine industry grew enormously}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Report on the Public Credit| in 1790-91, Hamilton issued three reports to Congress recommending laws and policies designed to reduce the War debts, grow the economy, and protect national industry; his 1790 "Report on the Public Credit" outlined the extent of US debt, held mostly by private Americans but also foreigners. Hamilton proposed that the federal government "assume" or buy this debt and establish a system for managing "public credit" and paying off the debts; the existing holders of the debt were set to profit enormously from the scheme; the new debt was to be paid off through duties and excise taxes; the proposals led to the first serious political split in the new country; a compromise was made in 1790 to settle the new Capitol, Washington, DC, in the South (between Maryland and Virginia) in exchange for southern support (northern states held more War debt) of Hamilton's plan to "assume" the debts}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Republican motherhood| in the early Republic, the notion of female participation in republican governance purely in the home by raising and educating their sons in republicanism and in upholding those values in their own lives and outlook; the ideal of republican motherhood was to instruct their sons "in the principles of liberty and government"}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Treaty of Greenville| 1795; after setbacks in military challenges to and failed treaties with Ohio Valley tribes in the late 1780s and early 1790s (especially victories by Miami tribe chief, "Little Turtle" in 1790/91) Washington sent a larger force under Rev. War hero General "Mad" Anthony Wayne; following Wayne's victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in Ohio, the US Army, sent to Ohio by Washington, signed a treaty with a group of Ohio Valley tribes, the "Western Confederacy," to exchange material and monetary payments to the tribes in exchange for land; the treaty opened up most of modern Ohio to settlement and, ultimately, its admission as a state in 1820}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Whiskey Rebellion| 1794; western Pennsylvania farmers objected to the 1791 federal "whisky tax", and "excise" tax on "spirits" (alcohol), which was a big part of Hamilton's economic and fiscal program; protesters attacked tax collectors and federal officers sent to enforce the law; Washington ordered federal troops and state militia to put down the rebellion, an assertion of federal powers}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Washington's Farewell Address| }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:11th Amendment| }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:12th Amendment| }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Bill of Rights| "BOR" was adopted at the insistence of the anti-federalists who demanded explicit limits upon the powers of the central ("federal") government in order to protect the rights of the people and the states. In September 1789, Congress proposed twelve amendments to the Constitution; ratified one article at a time by the states, with ten adopted in December, 1791. <u>NOTE</u>: the BOR does not establish any rights: instead, it protects pre-existing rights from encroachment by the federal government; its jurisdiction was only over federal powers and not those of the states; over time, the Supreme Court has "incorporated" (put into the body of) the BOR into state law}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:judicial review| the judicial principal that the courts have the power to settled disputes, including over the meaning of laws and the Constitution; see Marbury v. Madison}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Judiciary Act of 1789| established the structure of the federal courts and, most importantly, gave the Supreme Court appellate power, or the to decide on cases arising in state courts or between states, thus ensuring the supremacy of the Supreme Court over state courts}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Alien & Sedition Acts| }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:British-French conflict & Napoleonic Wars| in 1792, the new French Republic attacked Austria and Netherlands, and in 1795 Prussia and Italy; by the Napoleon Bonaparte had taken control of the French Army and began his attempted conquest of all of Europe; the wars united the French, who felt threatened by and who in turn threatened the monarchs of Europe; the British opposed the French expansionism, especially through its superior Navy, and, eventually, on land during the Napoleonic Wars; Americans were politically divided in their sympathies for France or Britain, nominally between Jefferson (for France) v. Adams/Hamilton (for Britain)}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:impressment| British naval policy of boarding American vessels and seizing anyone the British claimed to be an English citizen, and forcing them into service for the British Navy; many American sailors were English but had switched sides and so were vulnerable to this policy; the British used impressment as an excuse to halt and board ships in general}}</ul></li>

== Jefferson presidency ==  

* Revolution of 1800

=== Marshall Court ===

== Madison & Monroe ==

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:impressment| starting in 1807, the British Navy increased its pressure on American vessels trading with France and seized American sailors who were of British birth, even if they were American citizens; the British Navy even seized entire cargos and ships; the events led to outrage and anti-British sentiment and contributed to the outbreak of the War of 1812 }}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Treaty of Ghent| Dec 1814; ended the War of 1812; both sides were ready for an end and adopted the treaty quickly, despite not real change in the border situations that preceded the war, including the Canadian border; Britain agreed do return freed slaves, but ultimately compensated the US government for them; the treaty was signed prior to the final battle at New Orleans on Jan 8, 1815, which launched the political career of General Andrew Jackson; more directly, the Treaty enhanced the prestige of John Quincy Adams (son of John Adams) who negotiated it}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:War Hawks western Jeffersonians (Republicans) who blamed Britain for violating treaties and inciting indian attacks on American settlers and outposts; the British did arm tribes, including the Shawnee under chief Tecumseh}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Whigs| led by Henry Clay, the party replaced the Federalist Party, which was disgraced for its opposition to the War of 1812; the Whig Party was essentially Hamiltonian in its support of the "American System" of investment in infrastructure, tariffs, the national bank, and support ofr industry; the Whig party dissolved in the 1850s after having largely opposed, including Henry Clay, the Mexican-American War (1846-48) and due to the failures of the Compromise of 1850}}</ul></li>

* [[File:Adams_onis_map.png|thumb| Adams Onis Treaty map (1819)]]* Adams-Onis Treaty, 1819

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Missouri Compromise| another name for the Compromise of 1820}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Monroe Doctrine|1823, Monroe issued a warning to Spain and Europe in general to stay out of the internal affairs of the Americas; its issuance followed the Rush-Bagot Treaty of 1817 which limited British and American military presence on the the Great Lakes and the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 the "doctrine" was promoted by John Quincy Adams, Monroe's Secretary of State; the Doctrine was an exercise of American diplomatic power and coincided with the collapse of Spanish control of the Americas, as its colonies began to declare independence, starting with Venezuela in 1811 and most importantly by Mexico in 1821}}</ul></li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:Panic of 1819|as the nation grew, banks issued more and more "unsecured" loans (i.e. loans that were not directly backed by bank deposits), which went most dominantly towards land acquisition and farming expansion; following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, agricultural prices dropped as production exceeded demand, and farm commodity prices collapsed (especially cotton and wheat); as a result, farmers could not pay back loans and sold land and lower and lower prices to cover their debts}}</ul></li>

* commercial versus sustenance farming |into the 1800s, farming became more connected to markets and thus more specialized; rather than farming to meet a family's needs, which would require both crops and animals, farms increasingly specialized in one or the other, and sold their production in exchange for (via currency) other food and goods; canals, dams, mills, rivers and roads provided access for these farmers to markets for their goods

* Commonwealth system| favorable laws, loans and public policy withing states towards transportation, industrial enterprises, etc. under the idea that such preferences were "for the common welfare"

* mills| from 1809 to 1817, the number of "spinner mills" (just one type of mill) grew from 8,000 to 330,000; spinner mills created yarn from wool and replaced hand-run spinners

* Mill Dam Act of 1795| Massachusetts law that granted dam owners rights to build dams that flooded farmland, forcing them to accept "fair compensation" for the lost land, without possibility of stopping the dam itself

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:aristocracy| built on primogeniture, which passes "titles" -- social, economic and political ranks granted by a king -- to the first born son; the end of primogeniture dissolved the ability to pass on large estates to a single child (75% under the English custom) and spread inherited wealth across all male, and, eventually, female, children}}</ul</li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:companionate marriage| marriage by choice and not family arrangement; marks dramatic change based upon the "democratic" principle of equality and pursuit of happiness; the idea that marriage is a choice also led to a growing acceptance of divorce within legal and social norms (a long process)}}</ul</li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:democratic society| reflects the idea that all men are born equal (originally, white males) and so social choices and reputations are based not upon one's birth but one's personal reputation}}</ul</li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:demographic transition| the early Republic experienced dramatic decreases in the overall birthrate due to westward migration by young men, economic and market growth which reduced the need for large families}}</ul</li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:sentimentalism| movement of early 1800s that emphasized personal happiness over social obligations and roles}}</ul</li>

<ul><li>{{#tip-text:primogeniture| practice of inheritance of an estate (or, in Europe, of a Royal title) to the first born son; primogeniture meant that daughters and 2nd + sons did not receive an inheritance, or as much as the first born son, and had to pursue their own fortunes}}</ul</li>