USHC 2.1-A Key Terms/Ideas/People/Events & Vocabulary
Key Terms/Ideas/People/Events:
- Nationalism – a devotion to the interests, well being and culture of one’s nation; strong feelings of patriotism towards one’s country
- Sectionalism – the placing of your own region or section’s interests ahead of the interests as a whole
- Internal improvements – road-building, canal building, bridge building – eventually railroad building; method of making transportation easier thereby making trade and commerce flourish
- Individualism – the “pioneer spirit”; idea that you rely on yourself and can be successful if you work hard;
- Manifest Destiny – the belief prevalent in the 19th century that the United States would inevitably expand westward to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican territory; God has determined that the United States was worthy of the land and should possess it
- Elastic clause – part of the Constitution – “necessary and proper clause” – the federal government interprets the Constitution loosely and is able to stretch and expand its authority to cover new powers
- LouisianaTerritory – land located directly west of the Mississippi River and all of the Mississippi’s tributaries; owned by France; sold by Napoleon to the US; doubled the size of the US
- Northwest Ordinance – law passed under the Articles of Confederation that established the procedure for a new state to enter the Union; it also banned slavery in the territory and made the original states cede their land claims to the federal government
- OregonTerritory – land located along the Pacific coast, north of California and west of the LouisianaTerritory; land was rich in natural resources (furs & timber) and the US and Britain both claimed it
- Franchise – the right to vote; depending on context, suffrage can be used as well
- Trail of Tears – forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia to Oklahoma; many old and young died on the movement
- Nullification Crisis – Northerners favored a high protective tariff while Southerners did not; a high tariff was passed into law and South Carolina refused to collect the tariff; the South Carolina legislature nullified the federal law and would not comply; Andrew Jackson believed federal power came before state authority and tensions rose; President Jackson was able to have a law passed allowing him to force SC to comply; the situation was settled when the tariff was lowered
- Abomination – what South Carolina called the tariff because it would hurt farmers even though it would help the infant manufacturers in the North
- Lewis and Clark – Corps of Discovery; sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory; they continued to the Pacific Coast (not part of the Louisiana Territory) which provided the US with a claim to the Pacific Northwest Territory
- Peculiar institution – a euphemism (more pleasing word) for slavery and the economic ramifications of it in the American South.
Vocabulary:
- Exacerbated – worsened or aggravated
- Acquisitions – attainments or gains
- Iconic – traditional image or model
- hardy – robust or enduring
- embodiment – personification or example
- misgivings - doubts
- precedent - standard
- reserved - kept
- qualification – requirement (like to vote)
- disenfranchised - disqualified
- pastime – activity; amusement
- festive – celebratory; cheerful or joyful
- displacement - movement
- formal - official
- encroachment – invasion or violation
- resistance - opposition
- assimilation – integration; become like the majority (white population)
- adverse – harmful or bad
- trek - journey
- infant - young
- favored - preferred
- argument - reason
- offending – upsetting or insulting
- rescind – withdraw or cancel
- repudiate – reject or deny
- averted – prevented or avoided
- annexation – both parties agreed upon seizure or takeover
- sought – wanted or pursued