Era 3
An agreement during the Constitutional Convention that created a two-house Congress, balancing small and large state interests.
Great Compromise
Young members of Congress who wanted war with Britain in 1812 to defend U.S. honor and possibly gain land.
War Hawks
A political party that opposed immigrants and Catholics in the mid-1800s.
Know-Nothing Party
A religious movement that called on Christians to help the poor and improve society.
Social Gospel movement
President Taft’s foreign policy of using economic power and investments to influence other countries.
Dollar diplomacy
A 1963 agreement between the U.S., USSR, and Britain to stop testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, space, and underwater.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
A diplomatic scandal in which French officials demanded bribes from American envoys, angering Americans and damaging U.S.-France relations.
XYZ Affair
A major change in the U.S. economy where people started buying and selling goods instead of making them at home.
Market Revolution
Violent conflict (including John Brown) in western territory over whether slavery would be allowed, as pro- (Jayhawkers) and anti-slavery (Border ruffians) forces clashed.
"Bleeding Kansas"
A labor union that focused on skilled workers and better wages, hours, and conditions.
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
An election where voters, not party leaders, choose candidates for public office.
Direct Primary
The trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for allegedly spying for the Soviet Union.
Rosenberg case
A financial institution proposed by Alexander Hamilton to stabilize the U.S. economy and manage national debt.
Hamilton’s National Bank
A conflict where South Carolina tried to reject federal tariffs, challenging federal authority.
Nullification Crisis
A series of debates over slavery and Senate control in Illinois.
Lincoln-Douglas debates
The idea that government should not interfere with businesses or the economy.
Laissez-faire
President Wilson’s idea that the U.S. should promote democracy and human rights in its foreign policy.
Moral diplomacy
A group of rebellious writers and artists in the 1950s who rejected traditional values and inspired youth counterculture.
Beatniks
Statements by Jefferson and Madison claiming states could nullify federal laws they believed were unconstitutional.
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
A meeting of New England Federalists who opposed the War of 1812 and discussed possibly leaving the Union.
Hartford Convention (1814)
A government agency created after the Civil War to help former slaves with education, jobs, and housing.
Freedmen’s Bureau
A political party of farmers and workers that demanded reforms like income tax and direct election of senators.
Populist Party
A method to improve efficiency in the workplace through time studies and specialized tasks, popularized by Frederick Taylor.
Scientific Management
A 1972 agreement between the U.S. and Soviet Union to limit certain types of nuclear weapons.
SALT I
Henry Clay's plan to strengthen the U.S. economy with a national bank, protective tariffs, and internal improvements like roads.
American System
President Martin Van Buren faced a major economic depression caused by bank failures and over-speculation.
Panic of 1837
A law that gave free land to settlers willing to farm and live on it for five years.
Homestead Act (1862)
A law that created a federal agency to regulate railroads and prevent unfair practices.
Interstate Commerce Act of 1886
Gave people the power to directly elect U.S. senators instead of state legislatures choosing them.
Seventeenth Amendment
The official investigation that concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy.
Warren Commission