American History Final Exam Vocab Flashcards
Impressment
seizing people against their will and forcing them to serve in the military or other public service
precedent
something done or said that becomes an example for others to follow
aliens
a person living in a country, either legally or illegally, who is not a citizen of that country
sedition
activities aimed at weakening the established government by inciting resistance or rebellion to authority
nationalism
a strong sense of devotion to one’s country; a feeling of intense loyalty to a country or group
spoils system
the practice of incoming presidents replacing current government employees with their supporters
tariff
taxes on imports
nativists
a person opposed to immigration
manifest destiny
the idea that the United States was destined to span the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific
tejano
a Texan of Latin American, often Mexican, descent
annex
to take possession of
strike
a work stoppage by employees as a protest against an employer to improve pay or working conditions
yeoman
farmer who owns a small farm
temperance
drinking little or no alcohol
suffrage
the right to vote
abolitionist
people who wanted to outlaw slavery in the colonies
sovereignty
the belief that government is subject to the will of the people
habeas corpus
a legal process that prohibits the government from jailing anyone without lawful grounds
emancipate
to set free
inflation
when it takes more and more money to buy the same amount of goods; increase in price of goods or services
reconstuction
building something back
amnesty
the granting of a pardon to a large number of persons; protection from prosecution
scalawag
a name given by former Confederates to Southern whites who supported Republican Reconstruction of the South
sharecropping
system of farming in which a farmer works land for an owner and receives a share of the crop
segregation
the separation or isolation of a race, class, or group; separation of one group from another
