| A | B |
|---|
| Precedent | A tradition. |
| Cabinet | A group of advisors to the President. |
| National Debt | The amount of money a national government owes to other governments or its peoples. |
| Bond | A note issued by the government, which promises to payoff a loan with interest. |
| Speculator | A person who risks money in order to make a large profit. |
| Unconstitutional | Not agreeing or consistent with the constitution. |
| Tariff | A tax on imports or exports. |
| Neutrality | A position of not taking sides in a conflict. |
| Impressment | Forcing people into service, as in the Navy. |
| Partisan | Favoring one side of an issue. |
| Implied Powers | - Powers not specifically mentioned in the Constitution |
| Caucus | A meeting held by a political party to choose their party's candidate for president or decide policy. |
| Alien | An immigrant living in a country in which he or she is not a citizen. |
| Sedition | Activities aimed at weakening established government. |
| Nullify | To cancel or make ineffective. |
| States’ Rights | Rights and powers independent of the federal government that are reserved for the states by the Constitution; the belief that states rights and law. |
| Laissez-faire | policy that the government should interfere as little as possible in the nations economy |
| Custom Duties | taxes on foreign imported goods |
| Judicial Review | the right of the supreme court to determine if a law violates the constitution |
| Conestoga Wagon | sturdy vehicle topped with a white canvas used by pioneers to move west |
| Secede | to leave or to withdraw |
| Tribute | money paid, for protection |
| Neutral Rights | right to so sail the seas and not take sides in a war |
| Impressment | forcing someone to serve in the army or navy |
| Embargo | an order prohibiting trade with another country |
| War Hawks | republicans during Madison’s presidency who pressed war with Britain |
| Nationalism | loyalty to a nation and promotion of its interests above all others |
| Frigate | warship |
| Privateer | armed private ship |
| Industrial Revolution | change from an agrarian society to one based on industry. |
| Capitalism | The economic system of the United States. |
| Capital | money |
| Free Enterprise | People are free to buy, sell, and produce whatever they want. |
| Technology | The application of scientific discoveries to practical use. |
| Cotton Gin | A simple machine that quickly and efficiently removed the seeds from the cotton fiber. |
| Patent | Gives an inventor the sole legal right to the invention and its profits for a certain period of time. |
| Factory System | A system-bringing manufacturing steps together in one place to increase efficiency. |
| Interchangeable Parts | Identical machine parts that could be quickly put together to make a complete product. |
| Census | The official count of a population |
| Turnpikes | Toll roads. |
| Canal | An artificial waterway across New York State. |
| Locks | Separate compartments where water levels were raised or lowered. |
| Sectionalism | Loyalty to their region. |
| Internal Improvements | Federal projects, such as canals and roads, to develop the nation's transportation system. |
| American Systems | Policies devised by Henry Clay to stimulate the growth of industry |
| Disarmament | The removal of weapons. |
| Demilitarized | Without armed forces. |
| Court-martialed | Tried by a military court, for over stepping instructions. |
| Favorite Son | candidates who received backing from their home states rather than that of the national party |
| Majority | more than half of the vote |
| Plurality | largest single share |
| Mudslinging | attempts to ruin their opponent's reputation with insults |
| Landslide | an overwhelming victory |
| Suffrage | the right to vote |
| Bureaucracy | a system in which nonelected officials carry out laws |
| Spoils System | replacing government employees with the winning candidate's supporters |
| Caucus | when major political candidates were chosen by committees |
| Nominating Convention | delegates from the states selected the party's presidential candidate |
| Tarrif | a fee paid by merchants who imported goods |
| Nullify | to cancel |
| Secede | to break away |
| Relocate | to leave their land |
| Guerrilla Tactics | surprise attacks and then retreating |
| Veto | to reject |
| Depression | a period in which business and employment fall to a very low level |
| Laissez-faire | when government interferes as little as possible |
| Log Cabin Campaign | the use of a log cabin as a symbol by the Whigs to show their candidate was a "man of the people" |
| Joint Occupation | This allowed both Britain and America to settle in Oregon. |
| Mountain Men | People who spent most of their time in the Rocky Mountains. |
| Rendezvous | A meeting. |
| Emigrants | Pioneers who left the United States to go to Oregon. |
| Manifest Destiny | The idea that the United States should expand its boundaries to the Pacific |
| Tejanos | - A Mexican who claims Texas as his home. |
| Empresarios | A person who arranged for the settlement of land in Texas during the 1800's. |
| Decree | An order given by one in authority. |
| Annex | To add a territory to one's own territory. |
| Ranchos | Huge properties for raising livestock set up by Mexican settlers in California |
| Rancheros | A Mexican ranch owner |
| Californios | Mexicans who lived in California. |
| Ceded | To give up by treaty or relinquish. |
| Forty-niners | People who went to California during the gold rush of 1849. |
| Boomtowns | A community experiencing a sudden growth in business or population. |
| Vigilantes | People who take the law into their own hands. |
| Clipper Ship | a fast sailing ship with slender lines, tall masts and large sails |
| Telegraph | a system of sending messages over wire |
| Morse Code | a system of sending messages using dots and dashes |
| Trade Union | organization of workers with the same trade or skill |
| Strike | a stoppage of work by workers until the employer met demands |
| Prejudice | an unfair opinion not based on facts |
| Discrimination | unfair treatment of a group, unequal treatment because of a persons race, religion, ethnic background or place of birth |
| Famine | an extreme shortage of food |
| Nativist | a person who favors those who were born in his country |
| Cotton Gin | a machine that removes seeds from cotton fibers |
| Capital | Money for investment |
| Yeoman | owner of a small farm who does not own slaves |
| Tenant Farmer | farmer who works land owned by another and pays rent either in cash or crops |
| Fixed Cost | regular expenses that remain about the same every year |
| Credit | a form of loan or ability to purchase goods based on future payment |
| Overseer | person who supervises a large operation or its workers |
| Spiritual | African American music |
| Slave Code | the laws passed in southern states that controlled and restricted enslaved people |
| Utopia | communities based on a vision of a perfect society |
| Revival | frontier camp meetings |
| Temperance | drinking little or no alcohol |
| Normal School | a school for training high-school graduates as teachers |
| Transcendentalist | stressed the relationship between humans and nature as well as the importance of the individual conscience |
| Abolitionist | reformers who worked to abolish, or end, slavery |
| Underground Rail Road | the network of escape routes from the South to the North |
| Suffrage | the right to vote |
| Coeducation | the teaching of girls and boys together |
