"The American Pageant," Vocabulary from Chapters 26-27

This list focuses on the Great West, the agricultural revolution, empire and expansion (1865-1909).

Here are links to all the chapters in Part Four, Forging an Industrial Society: Chapters 23-25, Chapters 26-27

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. arid
    lacking sufficient water or rainfall
  2. nomadic
    relating to persons or groups who travel in search of food or work
  3. reservation
    a district that is set aside for a particular purpose
  4. elder
    a person of more advanced age
  5. adversary
    someone who offers opposition
  6. mutilate
    destroy or injure severely
  7. annihilation
    total destruction
  8. relentless
    not willing or able to stop or yield
  9. autonomy
    political independence
  10. herd
    a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals
  11. range
    move about aimlessly or without any destination
  12. extinction
    the state of being no longer in existence
  13. chicanery
    the use of tricks to deceive someone
  14. dissolve
    stop functioning or cohering as a unit
  15. inculcate
    teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
  16. lode
    a deposit of valuable ore
  17. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
  18. hydraulic
    relating to the study of mechanics of fluids
  19. bonanza
    an especially rich vein of precious ore
  20. erosion
    condition in which the earth's surface is worn away
  21. grange
    a farm or farmhouse with outbuildings
  22. husbandry
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  23. significance
    the quality of being important
  24. distinctive
    of a feature that helps to identify a person or thing
  25. character
    a property that defines the individual nature of something
  26. ambition
    a strong drive for success
  27. policy
    argument rationalizing the course of action of a government
  28. belligerence
    hostile or warlike attitude or nature
  29. rapprochement
    the reestablishing of cordial relations
  30. extension
    the spreading of something into new regions
  31. possession
    a territory that is controlled by a ruling state
  32. strategic
    highly important to or an integral part of a plan of action
  33. accession
    something added to what you already have
  34. contiguous
    having a common boundary or edge
  35. burden
    a serious or difficult concern
  36. insular
    relating to or characteristic of or situated on an island
  37. benefactor
    a person who helps people or institutions
  38. jingoism
    fanatical patriotism
  39. expenditure
    money paid out; an amount spent
  40. sphere
    the area over which a nation has power or control
  41. diplomatic
    relating to negotiation between nations
  42. archipelago
    a group of many islands in a large body of water
  43. prosperity
    the condition of having good fortune
  44. isthmus
    a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas
  45. augment
    enlarge or increase
  46. intervention
    policy of getting involved in the affairs of other countries
  47. corollary
    something that follows or accompanies naturally
  48. intercession
    the act of intervening, as to mediate a dispute
  49. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
  50. virile
    characteristic of a man
Created on Tue Nov 22 13:27:41 EST 2016 (updated Fri Dec 02 12:14:50 EST 2016)

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