"The American Pageant," Vocabulary from Chapters 19-20

This list focuses on drifting toward disunion and girding for war (1854-1865).

Here are links to all the chapters in Part Three, Testing the New Nation: Chapters 16-18, Chapters 19-20, Chapters 21-22

Here are links to all the parts of the textbook published by Houghton Mifflin: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. crisis
    an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
  2. tension
    feelings of hostility that are not manifest
  3. turbulent
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
  4. provocation
    unfriendly behavior that causes anger or resentment
  5. altercation
    a noisy, angry argument or fight between people
  6. retaliation
    action taken in return for an injury or offense
  7. slogan
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
  8. defiance
    intentionally contemptuous behavior or attitude
  9. distress
    a state of adversity
  10. homestead
    the house and adjacent grounds occupied by a family
  11. nominal
    insignificantly small; a matter of form only
  12. debate
    a discussion with reasons for and against some proposal
  13. prevail
    prove superior
  14. martyrdom
    death because of a person's adherence of a faith or cause
  15. treason
    a crime that undermines the offender's government
  16. contender
    the contestant you hope to defeat
  17. firebrand
    someone who deliberately foments trouble
  18. exodus
    a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment
  19. repudiate
    refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid
  20. withdraw
    step back or remove oneself from active participation
  21. inevitable
    incapable of being avoided or prevented
  22. irrepressible
    impossible to control
  23. attribute
    explain or regard as resulting from a particular cause
  24. overzealous
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for a cause or idea
  25. ineptitude
    unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training
  26. paranoid
    suffering from delusions of persecution or grandeur
  27. fragment
    a piece broken off or cut off of something else
  28. provision
    supply with a stock of food or supplies
  29. reinforcement
    additional support for an existing military operation
  30. garrison
    a fortified military post where troops are stationed
  31. paramount
    more important than anything else; supreme
  32. tactical
    pertaining to detailed maneuvers to achieve objectives
  33. ingenuity
    the property of showing inventiveness and skill
  34. malady
    impairment of normal physiological function
  35. typhoid
    infection marked by intestinal inflammation and ulceration
  36. amputee
    someone who has had a limb surgically removed
  37. sanitary
    free from filth and pathogens
  38. commission
    a special group delegated to consider some matter
  39. habeas corpus
    the right to a writ protecting against illegal imprisonment
  40. suspension
    a temporary debarment from a privilege or position
  41. obstruct
    hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of
  42. volunteer
    a person who freely enlists for military service
  43. conscription
    compulsory military service
  44. exemption
    immunity from an obligation or duty
  45. bounty
    payment or reward for acts such as catching criminals
  46. enlist
    join the military
  47. desert
    leave in order to join an opposing cause, country, or army
  48. bond
    a certificate of debt issued by a government or corporation
  49. collapse
    lose significance, effectiveness, or value
  50. devastating
    wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction
Created on Tue Nov 22 12:57:19 EST 2016 (updated Thu Dec 01 12:19:40 EST 2016)

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