colonization & exploration
This was the first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607.
Jamestown, Virginia
This phrase describes the colonists’ complaint that they were taxed by Britain without having representatives in Parliament.
no taxation without representation
This first plan of government created a weak national government with no power to tax.
Articles of Confederation
This belief justified U.S. expansion across the continent, claiming it was America’s destiny to spread westward.
Manifest Destiny
This economic system allows individuals to own businesses and operate for profit with little government interference.
Free Enterprise
This issue was the main cause of tension between the North and South and led to growing sectionalism.
slavery
This amendment officially ended slavery in the United States.
13th Amendment
This document, signed in 1620, established the idea of self-government by the colonists.
Mayflower Compact
This 1773 protest involved colonists dumping tea into Boston Harbor to oppose British taxes.
Boston Tea Party
This compromise created a two-house legislature with equal and proportional representation.
The Great Compromise
This expedition, ordered by President Thomas Jefferson, explored the newly acquired western lands and mapped a route to the Pacific Ocean.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
This invention by Eli Whitney made cotton production faster and increased the demand for enslaved labor.
Cotton Gin
This 1820 agreement admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to maintain balance.
Missouri Compromise
This amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the United States.
14th Amendment
This system used the colonies to provide raw materials to the mother country and buy finished goods in return.
Mercantilism
These 1775 battles marked the official start of the American Revolution.
Battles of Lexington and Concord
This Supreme Court case established the principle of judicial review.
Marbury v. Madison
This trail was commonly used by settlers traveling to the Pacific Northwest.
Oregon Trail
This innovation improved trade by connecting rivers and cities, lowering the cost of shipping goods.
Canals (Ex: Erie Canal)
This Supreme Court decision ruled that enslaved people were not citizens and could not sue in court.
Dred Scott v. Sandford
This amendment gave African American men the right to vote.
15th Amendment
This colonial region relied heavily on cash crops like tobacco and rice and used enslaved labor.
Southern Colonies
This 1776 document declared independence and listed grievances against the king.
The Declaration of Independence
This 1803 event doubled the size of the United States by purchasing land from France.
Louisiana Purchase
This war resulted in the U.S. gaining California and much of the Southwest.
Mexican American War
This movement aimed to end slavery in the United States.
Abolitionism
This 1863 battle is considered the turning point of the Civil War in favor of the Union.
Battle of Gettysburg
This organization helped formerly enslaved people by providing food, education, and assistance after the war.
Freedmen's Bureau
This trade system connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas and included the forced movement of enslaved Africans.
Triangular Trade
This Enlightenment idea states that people have natural rights such as life, liberty, and property.
natural rights
This warning advised the United States to avoid permanent alliances with foreign nations.
Washington's Farewell Address
This policy led to the forced relocation of Native Americans, including the Trail of Tears.
Indian Removal Act
This reformer pushed for free public education and longer school years.
Horace Mann
This U.S. president led the nation during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Abraham Lincoln
This system kept many formerly enslaved people in a cycle of debt by farming land owned by others.
Sharecropping
This war between Britain and France increased British debt and led to new taxes on the colonies.
French and Indian War
This colonial leader served as commander of the Continental Army during the Revolution.
George Washington
This war increased American nationalism and proved the U.S. could defend itself against foreign threats.
War of 1812
This event brought a rapid increase in population to California starting in 1848.
California Gold Rush
This 1848 convention marked the beginning of the organized women’s rights movement in the U.S.
Seneca Falls Convention
This action taken by Southern states after Lincoln’s election led directly to the start of the Civil War.
Secession
These laws enforced racial segregation in the South after Reconstruction ended.
Jim Crow Laws
This unofficial British policy allowed the colonies to govern themselves with little interference before 1763.
salutary neglect
This 1777 American victory convinced France to support the colonists.
Battle of Saratoga
This case reinforced federal power by ruling that Congress had implied powers under the Constitution.
McCulloch v. Maryland
This compromise allowed California to enter as a free state while strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act.
Compromise of 1850
This group formed to improve wages, hours, and working conditions for workers.
labor unions
This Union document declared that enslaved people in Confederate states were free.
Emancipation Proclomation
This 1877 agreement led to the removal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.
Compromise of 1877