Meiners' APUSH

Wil Meiners (United States of America)
A list of useful words to know from Mr. Meiners Spring 2013 AP US History class at Murphy High School.
430 words 46 learners

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words only definitions & notes
  1. requisite
    necessary for relief or supply
  2. subsequent
    following in time or order
  3. exigency
    a pressing or urgent situation
  4. affirmation
    the act of asserting or stating something
  5. constitute
    form or compose
  6. quorum
    a gathering of the minimal number of members of a group
  7. ascertain
    learn or discover with confidence
  8. emolument
    compensation received by virtue of holding an office
  9. marque
    a name given to a product or service
  10. habeas corpus
    a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge
  11. ex post facto
    affecting things past
  12. bill of attainder
    a legislative act pronouncing a person's guilt without trial
  13. capitation
    a tax levied on the basis of a fixed amount per person
  14. reprisal
    a retaliatory action against an enemy
  15. emolument
    compensation received by virtue of holding an office
  16. reprieve
    postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal
  17. concur
    happen simultaneously
  18. consul
    a diplomat appointed to protect a government's interests
  19. expedient
    appropriate to a purpose
  20. maritime
    relating to ships or navigation
  21. admiralty
    the office of admiral
  22. appellate
    relating to challenges to a legal decision
  23. overt
    open and observable; not secret or hidden
  24. attainder
    cancellation of civil rights
  25. abolitionism
    the doctrine that calls for the elimination of slavery
  26. Abraham Lincoln
    16th President of the United States
  27. Alexander Hamilton
    United States statesman and leader of the Federalists
  28. Alexis de Tocqueville
    French political writer noted for his analysis of American institutions (1805-1859)
  29. American Federation of Labor
    a federation of North American labor unions that merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955
  30. Amerigo Vespucci
    Florentine navigator who explored the coast of South America
  31. Andrew Carnegie
    United States industrialist and philanthropist who endowed education and public libraries and research trusts (1835-1919)
  32. Andrew Jackson
    7th president of the US
  33. Andrew Johnson
    17th President of the United States
  34. Anne Hutchinson
    American colonist (born in England) who was banished from Boston for her religious views (1591-1643)
  35. Articles of Confederation
    a written agreement ratified in 1781 by the thirteen original states; it provided a legal symbol of their union by giving the central government no coercive power over the states or their citizens
  36. Articles of Confederation
    a written agreement ratified in 1781 by the thirteen original states; it provided a legal symbol of their union by giving the central government no coercive power over the states or their citizens
  37. Ashcan School
    a group of United States painters founded in 1907 and noted for their realistic depictions of sordid aspects of city life
  38. battle of Bunker Hill
    the first important battle of the American War of Independence (1775) which was fought at Breed's Hill; the British defeated the colonial forces
  39. Battle of Gettysburg
    a battle of the American Civil War
  40. battle of Saratoga
    a battle during the American Revolution
  41. Battle of the Bulge
    a battle during World War II
  42. beat generation
    a United States youth subculture of the 1950s
  43. Benjamin Franklin
    printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; he helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; as a scientist he is remembered particularly for his research in electricity (1706-1790)
  44. Benjamin Harrison
    23rd President of the United States (1833-1901)
  45. Berlin airlift
    airlift in 1948 that supplied food and fuel to citizens of west Berlin when the Russians closed off land access to Berlin
  46. Betty Friedan
    United States feminist who founded a national organization for women (born in 1921)
  47. Bill Clinton
    42nd President of the United States (1946-)
  48. Black Panthers
    a militant Black political party founded in 1965 to end political dominance by Whites
  49. Booker T. Washington
    United States educator who was born a slave but became educated and founded a college at Tuskegee in Alabama (1856-1915)
  50. Calvin Coolidge
    elected vice president and succeeded as 30th President of the United States when Harding died in 1923 (1872-1933)
  51. carpetbagger
    an outsider who seeks power or success presumptuously
  52. Cesar Chavez
    United States labor leader who organized farm workers
  53. Charles Cornwallis
    commander of the British forces in the American War of Independence; was defeated by American and French troops at Yorktown (1738-1805)
  54. Charles Evans Hughes
    United States jurist who served as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1862-1948)
  55. Charles Lindbergh
    United States aviator who in 1927 made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean (1902-1974)
  56. Chester A. Arthur
    elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
  57. Christopher Columbus
    Italian navigator who discovered the New World in the service of Spain while looking for a route to China (1451-1506)
  58. cold war
    a state of political hostility between countries
  59. common sense
    sound practical judgment
  60. Congress of Industrial Organizations
    a federation of North American industrial unions that merged with the American Federation of Labor in 1955
  61. Connecticut
    a New England state; one of the original 13 colonies
  62. Constitution of the United States
    the constitution written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and subsequently ratified by the original thirteen states
  63. counterculture
    a lifestyle and set of values that oppose societal norms
  64. creationism
    the literal belief in the account of Creation given in the Book of Genesis
  65. Dartmouth College
    a college in New Hampshire
  66. Dawes
    American patriot who rode with Paul Revere to warn that the British were advancing on Lexington and Concord (1745-1799)
  67. D-day
    date of the Allied landing in France, World War II
  68. Declaration of Independence
    the document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the Colonies from Great Britain
  69. Delaware
    a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
  70. Denmark Vesey
    United States freed slave and insurrectionist in South Carolina who was involved in planning an uprising of slaves and was hanged (1767-1822)
  71. domino theory
    idea that communist nations will convert neighboring nations
  72. Dorothea Dix
    United States social reformer who pioneered in the reform of prisons and in the treatment of the mentally ill; superintended women army nurses during the American Civil War (1802-1887)
  73. Dred Scott
    United States slave who sued for liberty after living in a non-slave state; caused the Supreme Court to declare the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional (1795?-1858)
  74. dust bowl
    a region subject to dust storms
  75. Dwight Eisenhower
    United States general who supervised the invasion of Normandy and the defeat of Nazi Germany; 34th President of the United States (1890-1961)
  76. Eisenhower
    United States general who supervised the invasion of Normandy and the defeat of Nazi Germany; 34th President of the United States (1890-1961)
  77. Eleanor Roosevelt
    wife of Franklin Roosevelt and a strong advocate of human rights (1884-1962)
  78. Eli Whitney
    United States inventor of the mechanical cotton gin
  79. English Civil War
    civil war in England between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists under Charles I; 1644-1648
  80. Eugene V. Debs
    United States labor organizer who ran for President as a socialist (1855-1926)
  81. fair deal
    fair treatment
  82. FDR
    32nd President of the United States
  83. federalist
    advocate of government with both central & regional powers
  84. Fidel Castro
    Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist socialist state in Cuba (born in 1927)
  85. fireside
    an area near a fireplace
  86. Fletcher
    prolific English dramatist who collaborated with Francis Beaumont and many other dramatists (1579-1625)
  87. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    32nd President of the United States
  88. Franklin Pierce
    14th President of the United States (1804-1869)
  89. Frederick Douglass
    United States abolitionist who escaped from slavery and became an influential writer and lecturer in the North (1817-1895)
  90. free-soil
    where slavery was prohibited
  91. freedman
    a person who has been released from enslavement
  92. French and Indian War
    a war in North America between France and Britain
  93. gag rule
    a rule for limiting or ending debate in a deliberative body
  94. George Bush
    vice president under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924)
  95. George W. Bush
    43rd President of the United States
  96. George Washington
    1st President of the United States
  97. Georgia
    a state in southeastern United States
  98. Gerald Ford
    38th President of the United States
  99. Grover Cleveland
    22nd and 24th President of the United States (1837–1908)
  100. gold rush
    a large influx of people to an area rich in precious metal
  101. half-breed
    (of animals) having only one purebred parent
  102. Harlem Renaissance
    a period in the 1920s when African-American achievements in art and music and literature flourished
  103. Harriet Beecher Stowe
    United States writer of a novel about slavery that advanced the abolitionists' cause (1811-1896)
  104. Harry S Truman
    elected vice president in Roosevelt's 4th term
  105. Hawaii
    a state in the United States in the central Pacific on the Hawaiian Islands
  106. Henry David Thoreau
    United States writer and social critic (1817-1862)
  107. Henry Ford
    United States manufacturer of automobiles who pioneered mass production (1863-1947)
  108. Henry Kissinger
    United States diplomat who served under President Nixon and President Ford (born in 1923)
  109. Hitler
    German Nazi dictator during World War II (1889-1945)
  110. Horace Mann
    United States educator who introduced reforms that significantly altered the system of public education (1796-1859)
  111. House of Burgesses
    the lower house of legislature in colonial Virginia
  112. Hudson River school
    the first coherent school of American art
  113. indentured
    bound or forced to work by contract
  114. Interstate Commerce Commission
    a former independent federal agency that supervised and set rates for carriers that transported goods and people between states; was terminated in 1995
  115. interstate highway
    one of the system of highways linking major cities in the 48 contiguous states of the United States
  116. J. P. Morgan
    United States financier and philanthropist (1837-1913)
  117. Jackie Robinson
    United States baseball player
  118. James Buchanan
    15th President of the United States (1791-1868)
  119. James Fenimore Cooper
    United States novelist noted for his stories of American Indians and the frontier life (1789-1851)
  120. James Garfield
    20th President of the United States
  121. James K. Polk
    11th President of the United States
  122. James Madison
    4th President of the United States
  123. James Meredith
    United States civil rights leader whose college registration caused riots in traditionally segregated Mississippi (born in 1933)
  124. James Monroe
    5th President of the United States
  125. Jamestown
    a former village on the James River in Virginia to the north of Norfolk; site of the first permanent English settlement in America in 1607
  126. Jeffersonian
    relating to the third President of the United States
  127. Jim Crow
    barrier preventing blacks from participating in activities
  128. Jimmy Carter
    39th President of the United States
  129. John Adams
    2nd President of the United States (1735-1826)
  130. John Brown
    abolitionist who was hanged after leading an unsuccessful raid at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (1800-1859)
  131. John D. Rockefeller
    United States industrialist who made a fortune in the oil business and gave half of it away (1839-1937)
  132. John James Audubon
    United States ornithologist and artist (born in Haiti) noted for his paintings of birds of America (1785-1851)
  133. John Locke
    English empiricist philosopher who believed that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience (1632-1704)
  134. John Marshall
    United States jurist
  135. John Quincy Adams
    6th President of the United States; son of John Adams
  136. John Tyler
    elected vice president and became the 10th President of the United States when Harrison died (1790-1862)
  137. joint-stock company
    a business collectively owned by those who bought shares
  138. Jonathan Edwards
    American theologian whose sermons and writings stimulated a period of renewed interest in religion in America (1703-1758)
  139. Joseph McCarthy
    United States politician who unscrupulously accused many citizens of being Communists (1908-1957)
  140. yeoman
    a free man who cultivates his own land
  141. Kellogg
    United States food manufacturer who (with his brother) developed a breakfast cereal of crisp flakes of rolled and toasted wheat and corn; he established a company to manufacture the cereal (1860-1951)
  142. know nothing
    an ignorant person
  143. Korean War
    a war between North and South Korea
  144. Ku Klux Klan
    a secret society of white Southerners in the United States
  145. lend-lease
    the transfer of aid to an ally in a common cause
  146. Lewis and Clark Expedition
    an expedition sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the northwestern territories of the United States; led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark; traveled from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River from 1803 to 1806
  147. Little Rock
    the state capital and largest city of Arkansas in the central part of Arkansas on the Arkansas River
  148. Louisiana Purchase
    territory in the western United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million; extends from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada
  149. Lyndon Johnson
    36th President of the United States
  150. Malcolm X
    militant civil rights leader (1925-1965)
  151. Manhattan Project
    code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II
  152. manifest destiny
    a policy of imperialist expansion said to be inevitable
  153. Mark Twain
    United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910)
  154. Marshall Plan
    a United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952); named after George Marshall
  155. Martin Luther King Jr.
    United States charismatic civil rights leader and Baptist minister who campaigned against the segregation of Blacks (1929-1968)
  156. Martin Van Buren
    8th President of the United States (1782-1862)
  157. Maryland
    a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
  158. Massachusetts Bay Colony
    one of the British colonies that formed the United States
  159. mercantilism
    a system of increasing wealth through colonization and trade
  160. Mexican War
    after disputes over Texas lands that were settled by Mexicans the United States declared war on Mexico in 1846 and by treaty in 1848 took Texas and California and Arizona and New Mexico and Nevada and Utah and part of Colorado and paid Mexico $15,000,000
  161. Mikhail Gorbachev
    Soviet statesman whose foreign policy brought an end to the Cold War and whose domestic policy introduced major reforms (born in 1931)
  162. Millard Fillmore
    elected vice president and became the 13th President of the United States when Zachary Taylor died in office (1800-1874)
  163. Missouri Compromise
    an agreement in 1820 between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States concerning the extension of slavery into new territories
  164. Monroe Doctrine
    an American foreign policy opposing interference in the western hemisphere from outside powers
  165. Mormonism
    the doctrines and practices of the Mormon Church based on the Book of Mormon
  166. muckraker
    one who spreads real or alleged scandal about another
  167. Nat Turner
    United States slave and insurrectionist who in 1831 led a rebellion of slaves in Virginia; he was captured and executed (1800-1831)
  168. New Hampshire
    a state in New England; one of the original 13 colonies
  169. New York
    the largest city in New York State and in the United States
  170. New Jersey
    a Mid-Atlantic state on the Atlantic
  171. NATO
    an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security
  172. open-door policy
    the policy of granting equal trade opportunities to all countries
  173. Pearl Harbor
    a harbor on Oahu to the west of Honolulu
  174. Persian Gulf War
    a war fought between Iraq and a coalition led by the United States that freed Kuwait from Iraqi invaders; 1990-1991
  175. population growth
    increase in the number of people who inhabit a territory or state
  176. Populist Party
    a former political party in the United States
  177. Potsdam Conference
    a conference held in Potsdam in the summer of 1945 where Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill drew up plans for the administration of Germany and Poland after World War II ended
  178. progressivism
    the political orientation of those who favor progress toward better conditions in government and society
  179. prohibition
    the action of forbidding
  180. Quakers
    a Christian sect founded by George Fox about 1660
  181. quartering
    dividing into four equal parts
  182. Rachel Carson
    United States biologist remembered for her opposition to the use of pesticides that were hazardous to wildlife (1907-1964)
  183. radio
    medium for communication
  184. Ralph Waldo Emerson
    United States writer and leading exponent of transcendentalism (1803-1882)
  185. Reconstruction
    the period after the American Civil War when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union; 1865-1877
  186. red scare
    a period of general fear of communists
  187. Richard Nixon
    vice president under Eisenhower and 37th President of the United States; resigned after the Watergate scandal in 1974 (1913-1994)
  188. Richard Wright
    United States writer whose work is concerned with the oppression of African Americans (1908-1960)
  189. rock and roll
    a genre of popular music originating in the 1950s
  190. Roger Williams
    English clergyman and colonist who was expelled from Massachusetts for criticizing Puritanism; he founded Providence in 1636 and obtained a royal charter for Rhode Island in 1663 (1603-1683)
  191. Romanticism
    a movement in literature and art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature rather than civilization
  192. Ronald Reagan
    40th President of the United States (1911-2004)
  193. Rosa Parks
    United States civil rights leader who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery (Alabama) and so triggered the national Civil Rights movement (born in 1913)
  194. Rutherford B. Hayes
    19th President of the United States
  195. Sacco
    United States anarchist (born in Italy) who with Bartolomeo Vanzetti was convicted of murder and in spite of world-wide protest was executed (1891-1927)
  196. Vanzetti
    United States anarchist (born in Italy) who with Nicola Sacco was convicted of murder and in spite of world-wide protest was executed (1888-1927)
  197. SALT
    negotiations between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics opened in 1969 in Helsinki designed to limit both countries' stock of nuclear weapons
  198. Sam Houston
    United States politician and military leader who fought to gain independence for Texas from Mexico and to make it a part of the United States (1793-1863)
  199. Samuel Adams
    American Revolutionary leader and patriot
  200. savings and loan association
    a thrift institution that is required by law to make a certain percentage of its loans as home mortgages
  201. secession
    formal separation from an alliance or federation
  202. Selective Service
    an independent federal agency that administers compulsory military service
  203. September 11
    the day in 2001 when Arab suicide bombers hijacked United States airliners and used them as bombs
  204. Seward's Folly
    the transaction in 1867 in which the United States Secretary of State William Henry Seward purchased Alaska from Russia
  205. Sir Walter Raleigh
    English courtier who tried to colonize Virginia
  206. Spanish-American War
    a war between the United States and Spain in 1898
  207. spoils system
    the practice of helping supporters after winning an election
  208. sputnik
    a Russian artificial satellite
  209. St. Augustine
    one of the great Fathers of the early Christian church
  210. Stamp Act
    an act passed by the British Parliament in 1756 that raised revenue from the American Colonies by a duty in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents; opposition by the Colonies resulted in the repeal of the act in 1766
  211. Stephen A. Douglas
    United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
  212. Suez Canal
    a ship canal in northeastern Egypt linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea
  213. Teapot Dome scandal
    a government scandal involving a former United States Navy oil reserve in Wyoming that was secretly leased to a private oil company in 1921; became symbolic of the scandals of the Harding administration
  214. Tecumseh
    a famous chief of the Shawnee who tried to unite Indian tribes against the increasing white settlement (1768-1813)
  215. Teheran
    the capital and largest city of Iran
  216. television
    an electronic device that receives television signals and displays them on a screen
  217. Theodore Roosevelt
    26th President of the United States
  218. Thomas Jefferson
    3rd President of the United States
  219. transcendentalism
    a philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual
  220. Treaty of Versailles
    the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans
  221. Truman doctrine
    President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology
  222. Ulysses S. Grant
    18th President of the United States
  223. Underground Railroad
    secret aid to help people escape slavery in the U.S.
  224. Harriet Tubman
    United States abolitionist born a slave on a plantation in Maryland and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad leading other slaves to freedom in the North (1820-1913)
  225. United Nations
    an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
  226. Upton Sinclair
    United States writer whose novels argued for social reform
  227. V-E Day
    the date of Allied victory in Europe, World War II
  228. Vietnam War
    a prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States
  229. voting right
    the right to vote
  230. W. E. B. Du Bois
    United States civil rights leader and political activist who campaigned for equality for Black Americans (1868-1963)
  231. Walt Whitman
    United States poet who celebrated the greatness of America
  232. War of 1812
    a war (1812-1814) between the United States and England which was trying to interfere with American trade with France
  233. war power
    an extraordinary power exercised (usually by the executive branch) in the prosecution of a war and involving an extension of the powers that the government normally has in peacetime
  234. Warren Harding
    29th President of the United States
  235. Washington Irving
    United States writer remembered for his stories (1783-1859)
  236. Watergate scandal
    a political scandal involving abuse of power and bribery and obstruction of justice; led to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974
  237. Whig Party
    a former political party in the United States
  238. William Henry Harrison
    9th President of the United States
  239. William Howard Taft
    27th President of the United States and later chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1857-1930)
  240. William Lloyd Garrison
    United States abolitionist who published an anti-slavery journal (1805-1879)
  241. William McKinley
    25th President of the United States
  242. William Penn
    Englishman and Quaker who founded the colony of Pennsylvania
  243. William Pitt
    English statesman who brought the Seven Years' War to an end
  244. William Randolph Hearst
    United States newspaper publisher whose introduction of large headlines and sensational reporting changed American journalism (1863-1951)
  245. women's liberation movement
    the movement aimed at equal rights for women
  246. Woodrow Wilson
    28th President of the United States
  247. World War 1
    a war between the allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918
  248. Zachary Taylor
    12th President of the United States; died in office
  249. abolitionist
    a reformer who favors putting an end to slavery
  250. acquitted
    declared not guilty of a specific offense or crime
  251. advocate
    a person who pleads for a person, cause, or idea
  252. agrarian
    relating to rural matters
  253. ally
    a friendly nation
  254. amphibious
    relating to vertebrates that live on land but breed in water
  255. annex
    attach to
  256. antebellum
    belonging to a period before a war
  257. antitrust
    relating to laws that prevent unfair business practices
  258. apropos
    of a suitable, fitting, or pertinent nature
  259. armada
    a large fleet
  260. armament
    weaponry used by military or naval force
  261. armistice
    a state of peace agreed to between opponents
  262. arsenal
    all the weapons and equipment that a country has
  263. artisan
    a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
  264. assets
    anything of material value owned by a person or company
  265. astrolabe
    instrument used to calculate positions of celestial bodies
  266. balk
    refuse to proceed or comply
  267. balm
    preparation applied externally as a remedy or for soothing
  268. barter
    exchange goods without involving money
  269. blockade
    a war measure isolating an area of importance to the enemy
  270. bootlegging
    the act of selling illegally or without permission
  271. bourgeoisie
    a socioeconomic group that is neither wealthy nor poor
  272. boycott
    refusal to have commercial dealings with some organization
  273. burgess
    a citizen of an English borough
  274. buttress
    a support usually of stone or brick
  275. cabinet
    a storage compartment for clothes and valuables
  276. capital
    a large alphabetic character used in writing or printing
  277. caucus
    meet to select a candidate or promote a policy
  278. cede
    give over
  279. chancellor
    the person who is head of state (in several countries)
  280. chattel
    personal property, as opposed to real estate
  281. Cold War
    a state of political hostility that existed from 1945 until 1990 between countries led by the Soviet Union and countries led by the United States
  282. collective bargaining
    negotiation between an employer and a trade union
  283. colonization
    the act of settling a group of people in a new place
  284. colonize
    establish political control over a place by sending settlers
  285. command module
    a space module in which astronauts can live and control the spacecraft and communicate with earth
  286. component
    one of the individual parts making up a larger entity
  287. compromise
    an accommodation in which both sides make concessions
  288. confiscate
    take temporary possession of a security by legal authority
  289. containment
    the act of keeping something from spreading
  290. corollary
    an inference following from the proof of another proposition
  291. cosmonaut
    a person trained to travel in a spacecraft
  292. cruise missile
    an unmanned aircraft that is a self-contained bomb
  293. curtail
    terminate or abbreviate before its intended or proper end
  294. deem
    judge or regard in a particular way
  295. deficit
    an amount that is less than expected or required
  296. defray
    bear the expenses of
  297. democracy
    the orientation of those who favor government by the people
  298. Democratic Party
    the older of two major political parties in the United States
  299. deplete
    use up, as resources or materials
  300. depression
    a sunken or lowered geological formation
  301. despotism
    dominance through threat of punishment and violence
  302. detente
    the easing of tensions or strained relations
  303. devastate
    cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
  304. diagnose
    subject to a medical analysis
  305. dictator
    a ruler who is unconstrained by law
  306. diplomacy
    negotiation between nations
  307. disarmament
    the act or process of reducing or depriving of weapons
  308. dissenter
    a person who objects to some established policy
  309. draft
    a current of air
  310. drainage basin
    the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet
  311. electoral college
    the body that formally selects the United States president
  312. electorate
    the body of enfranchised citizens; those qualified to vote
  313. emancipation
    freeing someone from the control of another
  314. embargo
    a government order imposing a trade barrier
  315. emigrant
    someone who leaves one country to settle in another
  316. emigrate
    leave one's country of residence for a new one
  317. enfranchisement
    the act of certifying or bestowing a franchise on
  318. entente
    an informal alliance between countries
  319. erect
    upright in position or posture
  320. excise tax
    a fee measured by the amount of business done
  321. fascism
    a political theory advocating an authoritarian government
  322. Federalist
    a member of a former political party in the United States that favored a strong centralized federal government
  323. Federalist Party
    a major political party in the United States in the early 19th century; founded by Alexander Hamilton; favored a strong centralized government
  324. fiasco
    a complete failure or collapse
  325. foreclosure
    proceedings initiated to repossess the collateral for a loan
  326. free trade
    the exchange of goods without governmental interference
  327. furor
    an interest followed with exaggerated zeal
  328. garrison
    a fortified military post where troops are stationed
  329. growing season
    the season during which a crop grows best
  330. guerrilla
    a member of an irregular army that fights a stronger force
  331. habeas corpus
    a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge
  332. haven
    a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo
  333. hedonistic
    devoted to pleasure
  334. illegitimacy
    unlawfulness by virtue of not being authorized by or in accordance with law
  335. immigrant
    a person who comes to a country in order to settle there
  336. immune
    of the condition in which an organism can resist disease
  337. impeach
    bring an accusation against
  338. impeachment
    the act of charging an official with an offense committed while in office
  339. imperialism
    a policy of extending your rule over foreign countries
  340. implicated
    culpably involved
  341. impress
    have a powerful and usually positive effect on
  342. inauguration
    the ceremonial induction into a position
  343. indigenous
    originating where it is found
  344. infest
    occupy in large numbers or live on a host
  345. infiltration
    a process in which individuals penetrate an area
  346. inflation
    the act of filling something with air
  347. ingenuity
    the power of creative imagination
  348. inhabitant
    a person who lives in a particular place
  349. initiate
    set in motion, start an event or prepare the way for
  350. intellectual property
    intangible property that is the result of creativity
  351. interest
    a sense of concern with and curiosity about something
  352. internal combustion
    the combustion of fuel inside a cylinder
  353. internationalism
    quality of being global in scope
  354. ironic
    displaying incongruity between what is expected and what is
  355. Islam
    the monotheistic religious system of Muslims
  356. isolationism
    a policy of nonparticipation in international relations
  357. joint-stock company
    a business collectively owned by those who bought shares
  358. Kuomintang
    the political party founded in 1911 by Sun Yat-sen
  359. latitude
    an imaginary line around the Earth parallel to the equator
  360. longitude
    the angular distance from the prime meridian at Greenwich
  361. malaria
    a disease caused by parasites transmitted by mosquito bite
  362. malinger
    avoid responsibilities and duties, often by faking illness
  363. maneuver
    a military training exercise
  364. manifest destiny
    a policy of imperialist expansion said to be inevitable
  365. manumit
    free from slavery or servitude
  366. medieval
    relating to or belonging to the Middle Ages
  367. mercantilism
    a system of increasing wealth through colonization and trade
  368. mercenary
    a person hired to fight for another country than their own
  369. militarism
    maintaining a strong force of armed services
  370. mobilize
    make ready for action or use
  371. monopoly
    a market in which there are many buyers but only one seller
  372. Monroe Doctrine
    an American foreign policy opposing interference in the western hemisphere from outside powers
  373. nationalism
    the doctrine that your country's interests are superior
  374. neutrality
    nonparticipation in a dispute or war
  375. nullification
    counteracting or overriding the effect or force of something
  376. nullify
    declare invalid
  377. optimal
    most desirable possible under a restriction
  378. pacifist
    someone opposed to violence as a means of settling disputes
  379. palisade
    a strong fence made of stakes driven into the ground
  380. perish
    pass from physical life
  381. persecute
    cause to suffer
  382. piedmont
    a gentle slope leading from the base of a mountain to a region of flat land
  383. polarize
    cause to divide into conflicting positions
  384. poll tax
    an amount to be paid as a requirement for voting
  385. precipitate
    bring about abruptly
  386. predestination
    previous determination as if by destiny or fate
  387. predicate
    involve as a necessary condition or consequence
  388. premier
    first in rank or degree
  389. privateer
    a ship commissioned to prey on other ships
  390. progressivism
    the political orientation of those who favor progress toward better conditions in government and society
  391. prohibition
    the action of forbidding
  392. proprietary colony
    a colony given to a proprietor to govern (in 17th century)
  393. protectorate
    a state or territory partly controlled by a stronger state
  394. Puritan
    a member of a group of English Protestants who in the 16th and 17th centuries thought that the Protestant Reformation under Elizabeth was incomplete and advocated the simplification and regulation of forms of worship
  395. quarantine
    isolation to prevent the spread of infectious disease
  396. quarter
    one of four equal parts
  397. racketeering
    engagement in an illegal enterprise carried on for profit
  398. ratification
    making something valid by formally confirming it
  399. ratified
    formally approved and invested with legal authority
  400. ratify
    approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation
  401. ravage
    cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
  402. rehabilitation
    use of therapies to restore or improve physical function
  403. reprisal
    a retaliatory action against an enemy
  404. republic
    a form of government whose head of state is not a monarch
  405. revoke
    cancel officially
  406. royal charter
    a charter granted by the sovereign
  407. secede
    withdraw from an organization or polity
  408. sectionalism
    excessive devotion to the interests of a particular region
  409. segregation
    the act of keeping apart
  410. self-determination
    the free choice of one's own goals and actions
  411. sharecropper
    a tenant farmer who owes a portion of each harvest for rent
  412. sod
    surface layer of ground containing a mat of grass and roots
  413. sovereignty
    the authority of a state to govern another state
  414. speculation
    continuous contemplation on a subject of a deep nature
  415. speculative
    not based on fact or investigation
  416. spoils system
    the practice of helping supporters after winning an election
  417. squatter
    someone who lives on a property without right or title
  418. stalemate
    a situation in which no progress can be made
  419. subpoena
    a writ issued to compel the attendance of a witness
  420. suffrage
    a legal right to vote
  421. surveillance
    close observation of a person or group
  422. tariff
    a government tax on imports or exports
  423. theology
    the rational and systematic study of religion
  424. throes
    violent pangs of suffering
  425. tidewater
    low-lying coastal land drained by tidal streams
  426. treaty
    a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
  427. unearth
    recover through digging
  428. urbanization
    the social process whereby cities grow
  429. vengeance
    harming someone in retaliation for something they have done
  430. acquisition
    something gained
Created on Tue Feb 05 13:50:53 EST 2013 (updated Thu Feb 21 10:03:22 EST 2013)

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