Growth & Territorial Expansion
Belief the United States had the right and duty to expand its borders across North America.
Manifest Destiny
the first American constitution that created a weak central (federal) government and
gave more power to states.
Articles of Confederation
period lasting from 1865 to 1877; an effort to rebuild the southern states and bring southern states
to the Union after the Civil War.
Reconstruction
type of business that has complete control over a product or service by controlling prices and the amount
of competition.
Monopoly
journalists who tried to improve society by exposing corruption, hazards & social problems.
Muckrakers
1803 Land deal with the French that nearly doubled the size of the U.S. and gave it full control of the Mississippi River.
Louisiana Purchase
supreme law of the land that outlines the functions of the three branches of government.
U.S. Constitution
(1865) abolished slavery in the United States.
13th Amendment
government policy of not interfering in private business and minimizing regulation (hands-off).
Laissez-Faire
Organization founded in 1910 by W.E.B. DuBois to advance the cause of African Americans by fighting for equal rights.
NAACP: (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
the forced removal of Cherokee Indians in 1838-1839 to lands west of the Mississippi River (followed the Indian Removal Act).
Trail of Tears
System where each branch of federal government has power to limit the actions of other branches.
Checks and Balances
laws in the southern U.S. that segregated public facilities by race after the Civil War.
Jim Crow Laws
author and photographer who wrote How the Other Half Lives about the harsh living conditions in New
York City tenements, crowded multi-family apartment buildings with poor standards of sanitation and safety.
Jacob Riis
journalist who wrote The Junqle which detailed the dangerous and unsanitary conditions in the
meatpacking industry; led to passage of Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act.
Upton Sinclair
(1848) women's rights convention where Declaration of Sentiments was issued.
Seneca Falls Convention
series of essays written by the founding fathers that urged ratification (approval) of the new
Constitution.
Federalist Papers
Lincoln's primary goal at the end of the Civil War
Preserve the Union
(1890) prohibited monopolies by declaring illegal any business combination or trust "in
restraint of trade or commerce".
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
outlawed interstate transportation of impure or diluted foods and the deliberate
mislabeling of foods and drugs.
Pure Food and Drug Act
law that offered 160 acres of western land to help settle the western frontier.
Homestead Act
customs and precedents accepted as a needed part of government although not actually
listed in the Constitution.
Unwritten Constitution
Agency created during Reconstruction to aid former slaves and help them adjust to freedom by
providing an education and other basic necessities.
Freedman's Bureau
(1882) law that sharply limited number of Chinese immigrants and barred many Chinese
from owning property or working certain jobs.
Chinese Exclusion Act
(1913) allowed for the direct election of U.s. Senators rather than being appointed by state
legislatures.
17th Amendment