NY Regents U.S. History key terms

An economic theory that a nation's power depends on its wealth, so a mother country should export more than it imports and use its colonies to supply raw materials and buy finished goods.

The British government's loose enforcement of trade laws on its North American colonies before the 1760s, allowing colonists considerable self-rule and economic freedom in exchange for loyalty and raw materials.

A 1620 agreement signed by Plymouth settlers that established a government based on majority rule and consent of the governed, often cited as an early example of American self-government.

A series of religious revivals in the American colonies during the 1730s and 1740s that emphasized emotional preaching, personal salvation, and challenged established church authority, helping to foster a shared colonial identity.

The 1776 document written primarily by Thomas Jefferson that declared the colonies free from Britain, listing grievances against the king and asserting natural rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The first constitution of the United States, ratified in 1781, which created a weak central government with a single-house Congress and no power to tax, leading to calls for a stronger national government.

A system of government in which power is divided between a central national government and state governments, with each level having its own responsibilities and authority as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

A principle of the Constitution that gives each branch of government-legislative, executive, and judicial-the power to limit the actions of the other branches, preventing any one branch from becoming too powerful.

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, which protect individual freedoms such as speech, religion, and trial by jury, and reserve powers to the states and the people.

An 1803 Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall established the principle of judicial review, giving the Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional and strengthening the judicial branch.

The 1803 purchase of about 828,000 square miles of land from France for $15 million, doubling the size of the United States and opening vast territories for westward expansion and exploration.

The 19th-century belief that the United States was destined by God to expand across the North American continent, spreading democracy and civilization, which justified territorial acquisitions and westward migration.

A 1820 agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, and banned slavery in the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the 36°30′ line, trying to balance free and slave states.

An 1830 law signed by President Andrew Jackson that authorized the forced relocation of Native American tribes from the southeastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River, leading to the Trail of Tears.

An 1862 law that offered 160 acres of public land to settlers who agreed to farm it for five years, encouraging westward expansion and the settlement of the Great Plains.

A presidential order issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that declared enslaved people in Confederate-controlled states to be free, shifting the Civil War's purpose toward abolishing slavery and allowing Black men to serve in the Union army.

The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified between 1865 and 1870, which abolished slavery, guaranteed equal protection and citizenship, and extended voting rights to Black men.

Laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War that restricted the freedoms of African Americans, such as limiting their movement, labor contracts, and voting rights, and helped prompt Radical Reconstruction.

A railway completed in 1869 that connected the eastern United States to California, promoting trade, migration, and economic growth while disrupting Native American lands and communities.

The application of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection to society, suggesting that competition and survival of the fittest should govern business and social policy, often used to justify inequality and oppose reform.

An 1890 federal law that prohibited monopolies and business combinations that restrained trade, though it was weakly enforced at first and later used against some labor unions.

Journalists and writers of the early 1900s who investigated and exposed corruption in business and government, as well as social problems like poverty and unsafe working conditions, helping to fuel the Progressive movement.

A 1920 constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote, culminating decades of activism by suffragists and expanding democracy in the United States.

A brief 1898 conflict in which the United States defeated Spain and acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, emerging as a world power and sparking debate over imperialism.

A U.S. policy announced in 1899 that called for equal trading rights in China and respect for Chinese territorial integrity, aiming to protect American commercial interests in Asia.

A 1918 speech by President Woodrow Wilson outlining his goals for peace after World War I, including open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, and a League of Nations, which influenced the Treaty of Versailles.

A cultural and artistic movement centered in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s in which African American writers, musicians, and artists celebrated Black identity and produced influential works.

A series of programs and reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s to provide relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression, including Social Security and public works projects.

A 1941 law that allowed the United States to supply military aid to Britain and other Allied nations before entering World War II, moving the country away from strict neutrality.

The U.S. Cold War policy of preventing the spread of communism by providing economic and military aid to threatened nations, as outlined by diplomat George Kennan and applied in the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan.

A 1954 Supreme Court decision that ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson and becoming a major victory for the civil rights movement.

A federal law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public places and employment, and helped enforce desegregation and voting rights.

A set of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s to eliminate poverty and racial injustice, including Medicare, Medicaid, and funding for education and urban development.

A political scandal in the early 1970s involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and President Richard Nixon's attempts to cover it up, leading to his resignation in 1974.

The North American Free Trade Agreement, implemented in 1994, eliminated most tariffs among the United States, Canada, and Mexico, promoting globalization and trade but raising concerns about jobs and labor standards.