NY Regents U.S. History flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement among Plymouth settlers to form a self-governing body and obey majority-made laws, an early example of colonial self-government in English North America.

House of Burgesses

First elected representative assembly in colonial Virginia, established in 1619, which passed laws for the colony and set a precedent for self-government.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that a nation's power depends on accumulating wealth by exporting more than importing and controlling colonial trade for the mother country's benefit.

Stamp Act 1765

British law requiring colonists to buy tax stamps for printed materials; it provoked widespread protest and the slogan 'no taxation without representation.'

Saratoga

1777 American victory in New York that convinced France to recognize the United States and enter the war as an ally.

Great Compromise

Constitutional Convention agreement creating a two-house Congress with representation by population in the House and equal state representation in the Senate.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 purchase from France that doubled the size of the United States and opened western lands to exploration and settlement.

Missouri Compromise

1820 agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as free, banning slavery north of 36°30' in the Louisiana Territory.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that Americans were destined to expand across the continent, used to justify territorial acquisition, westward migration, and war with Mexico.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's January 1863 order declaring slaves in Confederate-held territory free, shifting the Union war aim to include emancipation.

Fourteenth Amendment

1868 amendment granting citizenship and equal protection to formerly enslaved people and others, and limiting state abridgment of privileges and due process.

Compromise of 1877

Deal resolving the disputed 1876 election: federal troops withdrew from the South and Reconstruction ended in exchange for Hayes becoming president.

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890 federal law outlawing trusts and monopolies that restrained interstate trade, though early enforcement was weak.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 law barring most Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States, the first major federal restriction based on nationality.

Social Darwinism

Application of 'survival of the fittest' ideas to society, used to justify wealth inequality and oppose government aid to the poor.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists of the Progressive Era who exposed corruption, unsafe food, and abuses of industrial power to provoke reform.

Nineteenth Amendment

1920 constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote nationwide after decades of suffrage activism.

Federal Reserve Act

1913 law creating the Federal Reserve System, a central bank designed to regulate the money supply and stabilize the banking system.

Open Door Policy

1899 U.S. proposal urging equal trading rights in China among imperial powers, protecting American commercial interests without acquiring territory.

Zimmermann Telegram

1917 German message proposing a Mexico-Germany alliance against the United States; its publication helped push America into World War I.

Fourteen Points

Wilson's 1918 peace program calling for open diplomacy, free trade, self-determination, and a League of Nations to prevent future wars.

Harlem Renaissance

1920s cultural movement of African American writers, artists, and musicians centered in Harlem, expressing racial pride and new artistic forms.

Social Security Act

1935 New Deal law creating old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependent children and the disabled.

Dust Bowl

Severe 1930s drought and soil erosion in the southern Plains that ruined farms and forced many families to migrate west.

Containment

Cold War U.S. policy of limiting Soviet expansion through economic aid, alliances, and military support without direct war.

Marshall Plan

1948 U.S. program giving economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and resist communist influence after World War II.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba; a naval blockade and diplomacy led to their removal and eased tensions.

Brown v. Board

1954 Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.

Voting Rights Act

1965 federal law banning literacy tests and other barriers, and authorizing federal oversight to protect African American voting rights.

Great Society

Lyndon Johnson's domestic program expanding federal aid for education, health care, poverty, and civil rights in the 1960s.

NAFTA

1994 trade agreement among the United States, Canada, and Mexico that lowered tariffs and increased cross-border trade and investment.

Patriot Act

2001 law expanding government surveillance and law enforcement powers to investigate and prevent terrorism after the September 11 attacks.