ABC Book of American History

Shakia Dedmon 4th period SS

5/13/2011

A’sAbolitionist: a person who is strongly against slavery

Alien: immigrant living in a country where he or she isn’t a citizen

Abstain: to not take part in activity such as voting

B’sBoycott: refuse to buy an item from an particular country

Border states: states between north and south that were divided whether to stay union or confederacy

Bill of Rights: first to amendments that protect basic rights and liberty

C’s

Civil War(1861-1865): conflict between opposing group of citizens of the same country

Constitution: formal plan of government

Compromise: agreement between two or more sides in which each side gives up some of what they want

D’s

Desert: leave without permission

Dictator: leader who rules with total authority often in a cruel or brutal manner

Debtor: person who owes money

E’s

Export: sell goods abroad

Emigrant: person who leaves a country or region to live elsewhere

Entrench: occupying a strong defensive position

F’s

Famine: extreme shortage of food

Freedman: person free from slaveryFrigate:

warship

G’s

Greenback: a piece of U.S. paper money first issued by the North during the Civil War

Genocide: the deliberate destruction o a racial, political, or cultural group

Guerrilla tactic: referring to surprise attacks on raids rather than organized warfare

H’s

Holocaust: the name given to the mass slaughter of Jews and other groups by the Nazis during World War 2

Human Rights: rights regarded as belonging to all persons such as freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution

Habeas Corpus: a legal order for an inquiry to determine whether a person has been lawfully imprisoned

I’sIronclad: armored naval vessel

Inflation: a continuous rise in the price of goodsImpressment: forcing

people into service as in navy

J’s

Judicial review: right of the supreme court determine if a law violates the constitution

Judicial Branch: branch of government including the federal court system that interprets the nation’s laws

Joint Occupation: Possession and settling of an area shared by two or more countries

L’s

Literacy: ability to read and write

Lynching: putting to death to a person by the illegal action of a mob

Landslide: overwhelming victory

M’s

Maze: an early form of corn grown by Indians

Majority: more than half

Manumission: the freeing of some enslaved person

N’s

Neutral : taking no side in a conflict

Nativist: person who favors those born in his country and is opposed to immigrants

Nullify: cancel or make ineffective

O’s

Offensive: position of attacking or the attack itself

Ordinance: a law or regulation

Override: to overturn or defeat as a bill proposed in congress

P’s

Partisan: favoring one side of an issue

Petition: formal request

Perjury: lying when one has sworn on an oath to the truth

Q’sQuakers: believed every individual had an inner light that could guide him or her to salvation

Quadruple Alliance: France ,Austria, Russia, and Prussia

Quebec Act: set up a permanent government for Quebec and granted religious freedom to French Catholics

R’s

Rebels: people who were apart of the Confederate Army

Royal Colonies: Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, VirginiaRepublicanism: where

voters hold soveirgn power

S’s

Slave Trade: slaves were traded for rum

Stamp Act: tax on almost all printed materials

Sons of Liberty: protest against Stamp Act and Samuel Adams organization

T’s

Trail of Tears: Cherokees force journey West were they cried along the way

Triangular Trade: route of trade that formed a triangle

Townshed acts: passed by parliament laws

U’s

Utopia: community based on a vision of a perfect society sought by reformers

Underground Railroad: a system that helped enslaved African Americans follow a network of escape routes out of the South to freedom in the North

Unconstitutional: not agreeing or consistent with the constitution

V’s

Veto: reject a bill and prevent it from becoming a law

Vigilantes: people who take the law into their own hands

Vaquero: Hispanic ranch hand

W’s

War Hawks: republicans during Madison’s presidency who pressed for war with Britain

War of 1812: This war was fought between the United States & Britain because Britain forced U.S. sailors to join the British Navy an Britain assisted Native Americans who tried to keep their land in America

Writ of Assistance: legal document that enabled officers to search homes and warehouses for smuggled goods

X’s

Y’s

Yankee: union soldier

Yeomen: southern owner of a small farm who did not have enslaved people

Yellow Journalism: a type of sensational , biased, and often false reporting

Z’s

Zuni: people of the southwest