Midterm Flashcards
Corrupt Bargain
Alleged deal between presidential candidates John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay to throw the election, to be decided by the House of Representatives, in Adams’ favor
Pet Banks
pro-Jackson state banks that received the bulk of federal deposits when Andrew Jackson moved to dismantle the Bank of the United States in 1833
12th Amendment
provided for separate Electoral College votes for President and Vice President
13th Amendment
States all slaves are free from owners
14th Amendment
All people of the USA have complete citizenship
15th Amendment
Blacks have the right to vote
Alien and Sedition Acts
A series of three acts passed by Congress in 1798 that made it harder for new immigrants to vote and made it a crime to criticize the president or Congress
American Colonization Society
send free African-Americans to Africa as an alternative to emancipation in the United States
American System
The program of government subsidies to improve roads and canals and to foster economic growth and protect domestic manufacturers from foreign competition.
Bank of the United States
purpose for the bank was to handle the financial needs and requirements of the new central government of the newly formed United States.
Bank War
the political struggle that ensued over the fate of the Second Bank of the United States during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. In 1832, Jackson vetoed a bill to recharter the Bank, and began a campaign that would eventually lead to its destruction.
Battle of New Orleans
The United States achieved its greatest land victory of the War of 1812 at New Orleans. The battle thwarted a British effort to gain control of a critical American port
Battle of Tippecanoe
Battle between American and Native Americans, prompted Tecumseh to ally his remaining forces with Great Britain during the War of 1812
Bill of Rights
Popular term for the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The amendments secure key rights for individuals and reserve to the states all powers not explicitly delegated or prohibited by the Constitution.
Black Codes
enforce racial segregation and curtail the power of Black voters
Chesapeake Incident
incident in 1807 that brought on a war crisis when the British warship Leopard attacked the American warship Chesapeake; the British demanded to board the American ship to search for deserters from the Royal Navy. When the U.S. commander refused, the British attacked, killing or wounding 20 American sailors
Civil Rights Act
act made racial, religious, and sex discrimination by employers illegal and gave the government the power to enforce all laws governing civil rights
Clermont
the first steamboat introduced on the Hudson River in 1807 by Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston.
Commonwealth vs. Hunt
Supreme Court ruled that: labor unions were not necessarily illegal combinations or monopolies.
Compromise of 1850
Admitting California into the Union as a free state;
Leaving the option of legalizing slavery to the territories of New Mexico and Utah;
Allowing the new territory gained after the Mexican-American War either to prohibit slavery or to permit slavery in the territory;
Compromise of 1877
unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election; through it Republican Rutherford B. Hayes would remove the federal troops from South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.
Crittenden Compromise
unsuccessful proposal to permanently enshrine slavery in the United States Constitution, and thereby make it unconstitutional for future congresses to end slavery
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
the Supreme Court ruled that the state of New Hampshire had violated the contract clause in its attempt to install a new board of trustees for Dartmouth College
Dawes Act
passed in 1887 under President Grover Cleveland, allowed the federal government to break up tribal lands.
Dred Scott Decision
They ruled that African Americans, whether they were slaves or had ancestors who were slaves, had no legal view in court.
Checks and Balances
Each branch looks over the shoulders of the other two to make sure there are no abuses of power.
Corporation
business owned by many people
Cotton Gin
Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. It removed seeds from cotton fibers. Now cotton could be processed quickly and cheaply.
Proportional Representation
An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.
Federal System
the constitution divides the powers of government between the national and state government.
Headright System
any person who settled in Virginia or paid for the transportation expenses of another person who settled in Virginia should be entitled to receive fifty acres of land for each immigrant.
Household Economy
describes the collective economic activities of households.
Implied Powers
the powers of the government found in the constitution in unwritten forms.
Impressment
enforcement of military or naval service on able-bodied but unwilling men through crude and violent methods.
Indentured Servant
a poor person obligated to a fixed term of unpaid labor, often in exchange for a benefit such as transportation, protection, or training.
Internal Improvements
refers to building roads and canals and enforced a protective tariff to get funding for transportation improvements.
Interstate Commerce
a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry,
Jacksonian Democracy
the political movement toward greater democracy for the common man symbolized by American politician Andrew Jackson and his supporters.
Market Revolution
sparked explosive economic growth and new personal wealth, but it also created a growing lower class of property-less workers and a series of devastating depression
Mercantilism
a form of economic nationalism that sought to increase the prosperity and power of a nation through restrictive trade practices
Nullification
the constitutional theory that individual states can invalidate federal laws or judicial decisions they deem unconstitutional
Proletariat
Class of working people without access to producing property
Protective Tariff
tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. They aim to make imported goods cost more than equivalent goods produced domestically, thereby causing sales of domestically produced goods to rise
Ratification
Formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty.
Republican Government
a type of government in which the citizens have the power to govern and they delegate their power to representative they have elected.
Sectionalism
an exaggerated devotion to the interests of a region over those of a country as a whole.
Separate Spheres
a term describing the role of women in public life. It dictated that women had certain jobs that they could perform, and should stay out of others.
spoils System
practice in which the political party winning an election rewards its campaign workers and other active supporters by appointment to government posts and with other favors
States Rights
rights owned by the states rather than the federal government. States’ rights were supported by anti-federalists
Triangular Trade
emerged as a result of mercantilism. In this international system, the Americas would send raw materials to Europe and Africa, Europe supplied Africa and America with finished goods, and Africa captured and transported slaves to the Americas.
Turnpike
the first transportation advances in America that helped expand their economy into the new level. Turnpikes were toll roads that were owned by localities, states, and private companies
Virtual Representation
the British parliament members virtually represented British colonists by speaking for all instead of just the district they were from.
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution
Written by Charles Beard, argues that the structure of the Constitution of the United States was motivated primarily by the personal financial interests of the Founding Fathers
Civil Disobedience
Written by Henry David Thoreau, espouses the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws
Common Sense
Written by Thomas Paine, independence from England and the creation of a democratic republic.
Democracy in America
Written by Alexis de Tocqueville, analyze the functioning of political society and the various forms of political associations
South Carolina Exposition and Protest
Calhoun of South Carolina anonymously penned, articulating the doctrine of nullification. The doctrine emphasized a state’s right to reject federal laws within its borders and questioned the constitutionality of taxing imports without the explicit goal of raising revenue.
The Liberator
Written by William Lloyd Garrison, publicly committed himself to Black abolitionists’ demands for an immediate uncompensated end to slavery and for political and social equality
Walden
Walden details Henry David Thoreau’s two-year stay in a self-built cabin by a lake in the woods, sharing what he learned about solitude, nature, work, thinking and fulfillment during his break from modern city life
Andrew Jackson
The seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), who as a general in the War of 1812 defeated the British at New Orleans. As president he opposed the Bank of America, objected to the right of individual states to nullify disagreeable federal laws, and increased the presidential powers.
Andrew Johnson
The 17th President of the US from 1865-1869, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln in the presidency. Johnson presided over the Reconstruction era, and his policies failed to promote the rights of Freedmen
Andrew Carnegie
industrialist who led the expansion of the American steel industry.
Ann Lee
thought to be Christ’s second coming and was the pioneer in creating Shakerism to be what it became.
Barbary Pirates
The name given to several renegade countries on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa who demanded tribute in exchange for refraining from attacking ships in the Mediterranean.
Boston Associates
an early group of Boston businessmen who dominated the textile, railroad, insurance and banking business in the 1800s. They built the first power loom. In 1814 in Waltham; Massachusetts
Brigham Young
The successor to the Mormons after the death of Joseph Smith. He was responsible for the survival of the sect and its establishment in Utah, thereby populating the would-be state.
Carpetbaggers
used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the local populace for their own gain.
Charles Finney
contribution to the religious movement known as the Second Great Awakening during the 1830s. At the heart of this movement was a series of revivals. Finney was an evangelist who spoke at these revivals, using emotional sermons to urge his audiences to devote their lives to God.
Charles Sumner
Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the U.S. Senate during the American Civil War. also got canned
Cyrus McCormick
an inventor who improved upon previous designs for the mechanical reaper.
Daniel Webster
one of the greatest orators and most influential statesmen in the United States in the early 19th century. As an attorney, he argued several landmark cases before the Supreme Court that expanded the power of the federal government.
Daniel Shays
a series of uprisings that occurred in western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. Financial strain from government debt and economic decline occurred throughout the young United States at this time, leading citizens to rebel against the government.
