American History 2025 by Austin Imhof _ Student - Green Level HS

Civilization

amimhof — 2025-08-27 11:58:13 UTC

state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, and government has been reached.

Chattel Slavery

amimhof — 2025-08-27 11:59:59 UTC

Total ownership of one person over another.

Southern Colonies

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:01:49 UTC

Colonies focused on cash crops.

Mercantilism

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:03:03 UTC

Religious reform movement in the 16th and 17th centuries that sought to “purify” the church of England.

Puritans

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:04:03 UTC

The government in Spain gave away large tracts of conquered land in Spanish America, including whole villages of indigenous peoples, to court favorites, including many conquistadores. These new landlords were supposed to educate the natives and teach them the Roman Catholic faith. The system was rife with abuse, however. Landlords rarely offered much education, preferring instead to exploit the labor of the local inhabitants, whom they treated like slaves.

Middle Colonies

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:05:28 UTC

Colonies with a large agricultural base. Because of location they were key distribution centers in the English Mercantile System

Columbian Exchange

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:06:02 UTC

The process of transferring plants, animals, foods, diseases, wealth, and culture between Europe and the Americas, beginning at the time of Christopher Columbus and continuing throughout the era of exploration and expansion.

Triangular Trade

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:08:05 UTC

Economic exchange amongst three markets and geographies

New England Colonies

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:11:34 UTC

Colonies founded by the Puritans for religious purposes. Goal was to create a society as God intended.

Indentured Servant

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:12:08 UTC

In an effort to entice English subjects to the colonies, parties would offer legal bonded contracts that would exchange the cost of passage across the Atlantic for up to seven years of labor in America.

Encomienda System

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:13:20 UTC

An economic system built on the assumption that the world's supply of wealth is fixed and that nations must export more goods than they import to assure a steady supply of gold and silver into national coffers. Mercantile thinkers saw the inflow of such wealth as the key to maintaining and enhancing national power and self-sufficiency. Within this context, the accumulation and development of colonies was of great importance, since colonies could supply scarce raw materials to parent nations and serve as markets for finished goods.

Columbus Discovers the “New World”

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:31:43 UTC

Launched centuries of European exploration and colonization of the American continent.

Conquest of Tenochtitlan

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:33:12 UTC

Destroyed the Aztec empire, and the Spanish began to consolidate control over what became the colony of New Spain

Roanoke Settlement

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:33:48 UTC

The first English attempt at a permanent and stable English settlement in North America. It failed.

King Philip’s War

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:34:11 UTC

War that pitted Native Americans against English settlers and their Indian allies. Paved the way for additional English settlements

Bacon’s Rebellion

amimhof — 2025-08-27 12:34:29 UTC

The first popular uprising in the American colonies. It was long viewed as an early revolt against English tyranny

Proclamation Line of 1763

amimhof — 2025-09-08 12:00:11 UTC

A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east

Patriot

amimhof — 2025-09-08 12:01:23 UTC

A colonist who rebelled against British rule

Tory

amimhof — 2025-09-08 12:02:17 UTC

A colonist who supported British rule

Articles of Confederation

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:35:43 UTC

Before the American constitution, this established the United States as a loose confederation of states under a weak national Congress, which was not granted the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes

Federalists

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:38:23 UTC

Supporters of the new Constitution and a strong federal government. They fear a weak government. Generally very wealthy.

Anti-Federalists

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:38:47 UTC

Supporters of the Articles of Confederation, not the Constitution. They fear a tyrannical national government with too much power and strongly advocate for the Bill of Rights.

Enlightenment

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:40:01 UTC

An eighteenth-century philosophical movement that began in Western Europe with roots in the Scientific Revolution

Albany Plan of Union

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:40:51 UTC

Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the (British) Crown

Northwest Ordinance

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:43:03 UTC

One of the biggest accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation. This established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could eventually join the Union

Newburgh Conspiracy

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:46:23 UTC

Near the end of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army had not received pay for many years and threatened to abandon the fight, if they were not compensated

Great Compromise

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:47:59 UTC

The decision to have a bicameral legislature, one house based on population, and one house with an equal number of representatives for every state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:49:06 UTC

Determined that each slave would be counted as three fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning taxes and representation.

Salutary Neglect

amimhof — 2025-09-09 11:49:36 UTC

A period from the early 1600s to the mid 1700s where British Parliamentary Laws were not enforced on the colonists

French and Indian War

amimhof — 2025-09-09 12:18:57 UTC

Part of the Seven Years' War in Europe. Britain and France fought for control of the Ohio Valley and Canada. The colonies fought under British commanders. Britain eventually won, and gained control of all of the remaining French possessions in Canada.

Boston Tea Party

amimhof — 2025-09-09 12:19:25 UTC

A group of colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British tea ships and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor in protest of the British Parliament's Tea Act of 1773

First Continental Congress

amimhof — 2025-09-09 12:21:05 UTC

A Philadelphia meeting that brought together representatives from each of the colonies, except Georgia, to discuss their response to the British "Intolerable Acts."

Declaration of Independence

amimhof — 2025-09-09 12:21:31 UTC

A resolution created by the Continental Congress, which broke all ties between colonists and the British, creating the idea in America that the colonies were now "states"

Shay’s Rebellion

amimhof — 2025-09-09 12:21:59 UTC

An uprising of rural, indebted farmers in western Massachusetts, against Boston creditors. It began in 1786 and lasted half a year, threatening the economic interests of the business elite and contributing to the demise of the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Convention

amimhof — 2025-09-09 12:22:20 UTC

A Philadelphia meeting that brought together representatives form each of the colonies, except Georgia, to discuss the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Washington’s Farewell Address

amimhof — 2025-09-09 12:22:47 UTC

Printed in newspapers, this was largely a warning against political parties and permanent foreign alliances

Political Party

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:31:52 UTC

Group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power

Marbury vs. Madison

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:33:06 UTC

Landmark 1803 Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall established the principle of Judicial Review, which grants the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional

Temperance Movement

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:34:55 UTC

Movement dedicated to promoting moderation and, more often, complete abstinence in the use of alcohol

Abolition Movement

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:37:13 UTC

Campaign to end slavery

Women's Rights Movement

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:37:40 UTC

The fight for the suffrage (voting) for half of the population

Cotton Gin

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:38:37 UTC

Eli Whitney’s 1793 invention that dramatically improved the speed for processing cotton, changing the trajectory of cotton production in the United States Eli Whitney’s 1793 invention that dramatically improved the speed for processing cotton, changing the trajectory of cotton production in the United States

Steam Engine

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:39:10 UTC

A machine that turns the energy released by burning fuel into motion

Factory System

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:39:38 UTC

Manufacturing businesses first created in the late eighteenth century that concentrated all aspects of production under one roof, reorganized production and divided work. The key aspect was that it was under one roof and had specialized tasks. Made the production faster and more efficient.

Canals

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:40:05 UTC

Human-made waterways connecting natural bodies of water, very important for early travel

Monroe Doctrine

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:42:13 UTC

Warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere

Democratic Party

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:44:09 UTC

Opposed Jackson's strong-armed leadership style and policies, but promoted protective tariffs, federal funding for internal improvements, and other measures that strengthened the central government.

Whigs

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:44:40 UTC

Pro Slavery, favored secession from Union, States' rights, agrarian-oriented, opposed gold standard, supported lowering tariff, and opposed imperialism in 1890s

Telegraph

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:45:38 UTC

Machine invented by Samuel Morse that used a system of dots and dashes to send messages across long distances electronically through a wire. It connected the different hemispheres of the world, allowing for more communication between people.

Interchangeable Parts

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:46:19 UTC

Uniform pieces that can be made in large quantities to replace other identical pieces

Impressment

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:47:00 UTC

The British forcibly enlisted thousands of American men into the Royal Navy from passing ships, and refused to recognize that Americans had renounced their British citizenship

War of 1812

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:48:10 UTC

A war between the U.S. and Great Britain caused by American outrage over the impressment of American sailors by the British, the British seizure of American ships, and British aid to the Indians attacking the Americans on the western frontier.

Seneca Falls Convention

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:50:05 UTC

Women of all ages and even some men went to discuss the rights and conditions of women. There, they wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, which among other things, tried to get women the right to vote.

Market Revolution

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:52:10 UTC

Americans moving away from self-sufficient agriculture to production of goods for sale

Louisiana Purchase

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:52:40 UTC

A land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million dollars

Missouri Compromise

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:53:09 UTC

Congress admitted Maine as a free state in 1820 so that Missouri would become a slave state and prohibited slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of 36 30, the southern boundary of Missouri

White House Burned

amimhof — 2025-09-24 11:53:44 UTC

General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following the American defeat at the Battle of Bladensburg

Manifest Destiny

amimhof — 2025-10-16 11:55:50 UTC

19th century belief that Americans had the God given right to spread across the whole continent

Women’s Suffrage

amimhof — 2025-12-01 12:57:14 UTC

The campaign to allow female voters

Isolationism

amimhof — 2025-12-01 12:58:22 UTC

The traditional belief that the United States should refrain from involvement in overseas politics, alliances, or wars, and confine its national security interest to its own borders

Imperialism

amimhof — 2025-12-01 12:59:30 UTC

A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, socially, and economically

Alfred Thayer Mahan

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:00:04 UTC

A captain and admiral in the Navy who was a prominent supporter of Imperialism

Open Door Policy

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:01:21 UTC

The principle that all countries should have equal access to any of the ports open to trade in China

Militarism

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:01:56 UTC

The political orientation of a people or a government to maintain a strong military force and to be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.

Nationalism

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:02:21 UTC

Political ideology that stresses people's membership in a nation

League of Nations

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:02:37 UTC

International organization founded in 1919 to promote world peace and cooperation but greatly weakened by the refusal of the United States to join. Sometimes considered a precursor to the modern UN.

Treaty of Versailles

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:03:01 UTC

The resolution to WWI that squarely blamed Germany by demanding billions in reparations and destroying German military infrastructure

Great Migration

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:03:33 UTC

The movement of African Americans from the South to the industrial centers of the Northeast and the Midwest.

Zimmermann Telegram

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:04:02 UTC

A message from Germany to Mexico—decoded and shared by the British—that urged Mexico to invade the US to keep the US occupied in exchange for German support for Mexico taking back parts of the Mexican Cession

Stocks on margin

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:09:42 UTC

The practice of allowing investors to purchase a stock for only a fraction of its price and borrow the rest at high interest rates

Tariffs

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:09:57 UTC

Tax on imports

3 Rs

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:10:58 UTC

A popular way to describe the New Deal, referring to relief, recovery, and reform

Island Hopping

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:11:16 UTC

American military strategy in WWII to slowly claim territory across the Pacific, leading to the eventual defeat of Japan

Prohibition

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:11:41 UTC

The prevention by law of the manufacture and sale of alcohol between 1920 and 1933

Spanish-American War

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:14:39 UTC

War over the European control of Cuba, American won and gained: Guam, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and an alliance with Cuba

Sinking of the Lusitania

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:15:26 UTC

A British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-Boat during WWI. 128 Americans died. The sinking greatly turned American opinion against the Germans, helping the move towards entering the war.

Great Depression

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:15:51 UTC

The economic crisis and period of low business activity in the U.S. and other countries, roughly beginning with the stock-market crash in 1929 and approximately ending with the start of the next war.

USS Maine Destroyed

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:16:08 UTC

A U.S. battleship exploded and sank in Havana Harbor; 260 Americans died. Although it was later concluded that it was an internal explosion caused by a fire in the coal bunker, the sinking provided an excuse for those eager for war with Spain.

WWI

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:16:24 UTC

The first, modern global war, started by the shooting of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war is remembered for its violence and destruction, costing over 20 million lives and billions of dollars.

New Deal

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:16:45 UTC

President FDR's precursor of the modern welfare state. His programs were meant to combat economic depression and it enacted a number of social insurance measures and used government spending to stimulate the economy.

Boxer Rebellion

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:17:01 UTC

An uprising in China directed against foreign influence. It was suppressed by an international force of some eighteen thousand soldiers, including Americans. It paved the way for the revolution of 1911, which led to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912.

Roaring 20s

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:17:24 UTC

One of the most significant decades in US History because of the great changes that came about in American society, including the rise of consumerism, technology, and social and creative expression.

WWII

amimhof — 2025-12-01 13:18:08 UTC

The second, modern global war, starting less than 2 decades after the last. A significant portion of the world was involved, divided into Axis and Allied powers.

Holocaust

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:31:03 UTC

The death and destruction of six million jews and five million other people by the Nazis during WWII.

International Organizations

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:32:33 UTC

Globally centered groups that try to solve world problems.

United Nations

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:33:38 UTC

Successor to the League of Nations. Exists to solve the world’s political problems.

Bretton Woods System

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:34:40 UTC

Created the World Bank and IMF to solve the world’s economic problems.

NATO

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:35:36 UTC

Military alliance primarily between the USA and Western Europe.

Iron Curtain

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:37:21 UTC

Named by Winston Churchill. This is the metaphorical demarcation between communism and democracy in Europe.

Warsaw Pact

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:37:44 UTC

Military alliance between countries in Eastern Europe and the USSR.

Containment

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:38:22 UTC

Theory that communism must be prevented from spreading to other countries and that the USA must use military force to stop it if necessary.

Domino Theory

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:39:05 UTC

Belief that if one country becomes Communist its neighbors would also become communist.

Mutually Assured Destruction

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:40:07 UTC

Theory that if one country uses nuclear weapons other countries will use them as well effectively ending the world as we know it.

Atomic Bomb

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:40:49 UTC

Significantly more powerful than past weapons. First used in Hiroshima.

Nuclear Weapons

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:41:14 UTC

Vastly more powerful than atomic bombs. Capable of destroying entire cities and permanently irradiating countries.

Great Society

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:41:46 UTC

Created by President LBJ to improve the social welfare safety net in the USA.

Brown v. Board

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:42:12 UTC

Supreme Court Case that ended the segregation of schools.

Murder of Emmett Till

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:46:11 UTC

a 14-year-old African American, was brutally murdered in 1955 in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman, an event that played a significant role in the civil rights movement in the United States.

Greensboro Sit Ins

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:46:55 UTC

a series of nonviolent protests initiated by African American college students in 1960 at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, challenging racial segregation and inspiring similar actions across the Southern United States during the civil rights movement.

March on Washington

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:48:23 UTC

over 200,000 participants, including Martin Luther King Jr., gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., advocating for equal rights and economic opportunities for African Americans.

Assassination of JFK

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:48:55 UTC

assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, when he was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade, sparking a wave of investigations and conspiracy theories.

Assassination of MLK Jr.

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:51:15 UTC

assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was fatally shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, an event that had a profound impact on the civil rights movement in the United States.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:52:06 UTC

enacted to address housing discrimination by prohibiting the refusal to sell or rent a dwelling to any person based on race, color, religion, or national origin, aiming to ensure equal housing opportunities for all.

Watergate Scandal

amimhof — 2026-01-06 12:52:25 UTC

involving the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex, leading to revelations of widespread abuses of power and subsequent resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Reaganomics

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:30:27 UTC

refers to the economic policies of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, emphasizing tax cuts, reduced government regulation, and a belief that stimulating economic growth among the wealthy would benefit the entire economy.

Liberal

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:31:23 UTC

individuals or policies advocating for social and economic equality, government intervention in the economy, and progressive social values.

Conservative

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:32:17 UTC

individuals or policies favoring limited government intervention, traditional values, and a free-market approach to economic issues.

Moral Majority

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:33:19 UTC

a political movement in the 1980s, led by religious conservatives, advocating for socially conservative policies and seeking to influence American politics based on moral and religious principles.

Trickle down economics

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:35:52 UTC

an economic theory asserting that benefits provided to the wealthy and businesses will eventually "trickle down" to the rest of the population through job creation and economic growth

Monetary Policy

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:36:42 UTC

actions by a central bank to control the money supply and interest rates, influencing economic activity by managing inflation, employment, and overall economic stability

Fiscal Policy

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:37:36 UTC

government actions related to taxation and spending to influence the economy, aiming to achieve economic goals such as full employment and stable prices.

Laissez-Faire

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:38:51 UTC

reducing or eliminating government restrictions and regulations on industries, with the goal of fostering competition and economic efficiency.

Inflation

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:39:15 UTC

the general increase in the prices of goods and services over time, reducing the purchasing power of currency.

Deregulation

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:40:16 UTC

an economic philosophy advocating minimal government interference in the marketplace, allowing natural market forces to determine prices, production, and distribution.

Terrorism

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:40:59 UTC

the use of violence or threats to intimidate and create fear for political, religious, or ideological purposes

Globalization

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:41:20 UTC

the process of increased interconnectedness and interdependence among countries, economies, and cultures through international trade, communication, and cultural exchange

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:42:46 UTC

an economic philosophy advocating minimal government interference in the marketplace, allowing natural market forces to determine prices, production, and distribution.

Iran-Contra Affair

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:43:52 UTC

a political scandal in the 1980s involving the covert sale of weapons to Iran by the U.S. government to fund Nicaraguan Contra rebels, leading to Congressional investigations and convictions.

NAFTA

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:44:35 UTC

a trade agreement signed in 1994 between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, aiming to eliminate barriers to trade and investment and promote economic cooperation in North America.

Clinton Impeachment

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:45:57 UTC

centered on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to his extramarital affair

Bush v Gore

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:46:23 UTC

The 2000 U.S. presidential election, marked by a controversial recount in Florida, legal battles culminating in the Supreme Court's decision to stop the recount, and Bush's ultimate victory despite losing the popular vote.

War on Terror

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:46:51 UTC

a global military and political campaign initiated by the United States in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, aimed at combating terrorism and its sponsors around the world.

The Patriot Act

amimhof — 2026-01-12 12:47:14 UTC

a U.S. law passed in response to the 9/11 attacks, granting expanded surveillance and law enforcement powers to the government in the name of national security and counterterrorism efforts.

Plessy v. Ferguson

amimhof — 2026-01-14 12:55:27 UTC

U.S. Supreme Court decision supporting the legality of Jim Crow laws that permitted or required separate but equal facilities for blacks and whites

Haymarket Riot of 1886

amimhof — 2026-01-14 12:56:08 UTC

A labor protest rally in Chicago turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day. Despite a lack of evidence against them, eight radical labor activists were convicted in connection with the bombing

Homestead Strike of 1892

amimhof — 2026-01-14 12:56:27 UTC

A violent strike in Pittsburgh over a decision to cut wages by nearly 20%. This strike ended with the destruction of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel workers, one of the largest unions at the time

The Jungle written

amimhof — 2026-01-14 12:57:52 UTC

A novel by Upton Sinclair that revealed gruesome details about the meat packing industry in Chicago