Vocabulary

Unit 4: Constitution & First Presidents

Terms

Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. Constitution: the fundamental law of the United States; "law of the land".

Electoral College: comprised of 538 electors who vote to determine the result of a presidential election.

Executive branch: responsible for enforcing laws.

Legislative branch: responsible for creating laws.

Judicial branch: responsible for interpreting laws.

Checks and balances: a system in which the three branches of U.S. government have powers that affect one another.

People & Places

Cabinet: the body of advisors to the President of the United States.

House of Representatives: legislative body comprised of 435 elected officials; 2-year term in office.

Senate: legislative body comprised of 100 elected officials; 6-year term in office.

Washington, D.C.: capital of the United States.

Speaker of the House: head of the House of Representatives.

Vice-President of the United States: head of the Senate. 

Concepts

Amend: to change or add.

Precedent: something that sets standard for future events.

Preamble: a brief introduction.

Repeal: to remove or take away.

Impeach: to charge a public office holder with misconduct.

Campaign: an organized course of action to achieve a goal. 

Federalism: a system of government that divides power between the national and state governments.

Unit 5: Westward Expansion

Terms

Louisiana Purchase: the acquisition of territory by the United States from France in 1803.

War of 1812: a conflict resulting from British restrictions on U.S. trade and an American desire for territorial expansion.

Monroe Doctrine: stated that any intervention in U.S. politics by another nation would be considered a hostile act.

Jeffersonian Era: period that emphasized democracy and republicanism.

Jacksonian Era: period that emphasized democracy and the "common man".

Trail of Tears: network of routes for the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850.

People & Places

Thomas Jefferson: third president of the United States; served two terms.

Lewis and Clark: explorers who led an expedition to learn about the Louisiana Territory.

James Madison: fourth president of the United States; served two terms.

Sacajawea: Native American woman who helped in the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Andrew Jackson: seventh president of the United States; served two terms.

New Orleans: site of the final battle of the War of 1812.

Ghent: site of the signing of the peace treaty ending the War of 1812.

Concepts

Patriotism: devotion to and vigorous support of one's country.

Impressment: enforcement of military service on unwilling people through violent methods.

Negotiate: to confer and discuss in order to settle a matter.

Cartography: the science or practice of drawing maps.

Expedition: a journey or voyage by a group of people with a particular purpose.

Adversity: facing difficulty or misfortune.

Bombardment: a continuous attack with bombs or shells.

Unit 6: Civil War & Reconstruction

Terms

Anaconda Plan: war strategy of the Union.

Attrition: war strategy of the Confederacy.

Union: states that remained loyal to the U.S. government.

Confederacy: states that left the United States to form their own country.

Border States: slave states that did not secede from the Union.

Reconstruction: the period following the Civil War in which the Southern states were reintegrated into the Union.

Thirteenth Amendment: abolished slavery in the United States.

American Indian Wars: a series of armed conflicts between U.S. soldiers and Native American tribes.

Ghost Dance Movement: attempted to rehabilitate traditional Native American culture.

People & Places

Abraham Lincoln: sixteenth president of the United States; served one term.

Jefferson Davis: first and only president of the Confederate States of America.

Frederick Douglas: prominent nineteenth century social reformer, abolitionist, orator, and writer.

Harriet Tubman: prominent nineteenth century abolitionist and social activist who led more than 70 slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

Ulysses S. Grant: commander of Union forces during the Civil War.

Robert E. Lee: commander of Confederate forces during the Civil War.

Gettysburg: site of the the most important battle of the Civil War.

Andrew Johnson: seventeenth president of the United States; served one term.

Oregon Trail: route used by hundreds of thousands of Americans traveling West in the mid-19th Century.

Sitting Bull: leader of the Sioux tribe.

Concepts

Abolition: the act of officially ending or stopping something.

Secede: to withdraw from an organization.

Assimilation: the process through which individuals or groups from different cultural heritage adopt the beliefs, customs, and ways of life of another culture.

Culture: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or social group.

Heritage: the inherited resources and attributes of a group or society from past generations.

Integrate: to form, coordinate, or blend into a unified group.