The Era of Jefferson and Jackson
This 1803 agreement doubled the size of the United States and was purchased from France during Jefferson’s presidency.
The Louisiana Purchase
This war between the United States and Britain, often called the "Second War for Independence," was caused partly by British impressment of American sailors.
The War of 1812
This invention by Eli Whitney in 1793 revolutionized production and led to an expansion of slavery in the South.
The Cotton Gin
This reform movement, often supported by religious and middle-class women, aimed to reduce or eliminate the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The Temperance Movement
This term describes the growing loyalty to one's region — North, South, or West — over the interests of the nation as a whole, which increased during the early 1800s.
Sectionalism
This 1807 law, passed under Jefferson, prohibited American ships from trading with foreign nations and hurt the U.S. economy.
The Embargo Act
This 1823 foreign policy statement warned European powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere, asserting U.S. influence over the Americas.
The Monroe Doctrine
This innovation, developed by Samuel Morse in the 1830s, allowed messages to be sent over long distances almost instantly.
The Telegraph
This political movement, emphasized greater participation by the “common man” and expanded popular influence in government.
Jacksonian Democracy
This 1820 agreement preserved the balance of free and slave states by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
The Missouri Compromise
This 1830 law, signed by President Jackson, authorized the removal of Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of it.
The Indian Removal Act
This American general became a national hero after his decisive victory against the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.
Andrew Jackson
Completed in 1825, this man-made waterway connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, drastically lowering transportation costs and boosting New York City’s economy.
The Erie Canal
This religious revival movement emphasized individual salvation and inspired widespread participation in reform efforts like temperance and abolition.
The Second Great Awakening
This abolitionist newspaper, founded by William Lloyd Garrison in 1831, called for the immediate end of slavery and helped grow the antislavery movement in the North.
The Liberator
Under Andrew Jackson, the practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs became known by this term.
The Spoils System
This early 19th-century conflict saw U.S. naval forces sent to North Africa to fight pirates demanding tribute from American ships.
The Barbary Wars
This 19th-century innovation, championed by Henry Clay, proposed using tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements to strengthen and unify the U.S. economy.
The American System
Led by activists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, this 1848 gathering launched the organized women’s rights movement in the United States.
The Seneca Falls Convention
This enslaved man led a violent 1831 rebellion in Virginia that intensified fears of future uprisings and led to harsher slave laws.
Nat Turner
This 1820 Supreme Court case, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, established judicial review, strengthening the power of the federal judiciary.
Marbury v. Madison
Under this agreement negotiated by John Quincy Adams in 1819, Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
The Adams-Onís Treaty
This earlier economic theory, dominant in the colonial era, emphasized strict government control of trade to benefit the mother country — a sharp contrast to the capitalist dynamics of the Market Revolution.
Mercantilism
This African American abolitionist and former enslaved person became a powerful orator and published an influential autobiography calling for the immediate end of slavery.
Frederick Douglass
This congressional proposal, introduced in the early 1800s, was an attempt to limit the spread of slavery by banning it in new states formed from the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ line.
The Tallmadge Amendment