| Term | Definition |
| Separatists | Pilgrims escaping persecution in England |
| Puritans | wanted to purify the Protestant Church |
| Ponce De Leon | Explorer who named Florida |
| Hernando Cortez | Led forces to conquer the Aztecs. |
| Jamestown | First American settlement |
| Enlightenment | Age of Reason |
| French and Indian War | War against colonists and British by French and Indians. |
| Proclamation of 1763 | Attempt by British to stop settlement west of Appalachians. |
| Sugar Act | Tries to reduce Colonial smuggling. |
| Boston Tea Party | An example of colonist’s rebellion to British rule |
| Battle of Lexington | First battle of Minutemen. |
| France | Ally of America in Revolution. |
| Intolerable Acts | Petition sent to the king by the Continental Congress. |
| John Locke | Influence on Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence. |
| Separation of Powers | Checks and Balances |
| James Madison | Exception to authors of the Federalist |
| Jonathan Edwards | Leader of the Great Awakening |
| Vice-President | Also President of the Senate. |
| Senator | 6 year term |
| President | Citizen since birth, 4 year terms |
| Constitution | Supreme Law of the Land. |
| 1st Amendment | Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion, Assembly. |
| Thomas Jefferson | 3rd President and purchased the Louisiana Territory |
| War of 1812 | Trade dispute. |
| Lyman Beecher | Leader of the Temperance Movement |
| Trail of Tears | Forced march of the Cherokees |
| Battle of San Jacinto | Guaranteed Texas Independence. |
| Harriett Beecher Stowe | Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. |
| Horace Greeley | One of the Founders of the Republican Party. |
| Dred Scott Decision | Did not guarantee that slavery would spread. |
| Abraham Lincoln | Won the election of 1860, upset many southerners, one of the factors in the Civil War |
| Robert E. Lee | Confederate commander |
| Ulysses S. Grant | Won the battle of Vicksburg, later commander of all U.S. forces, President of the U.S. from 1868-1876. |
| Seneca Falls Convention | A convention to discuss the rights of women |
| Scalawags | White southerners who joined the Republican Party. |
| Carpetbaggers | Northerners who moved south as unscrupulous businessmen. |
| Wounded Knee | Last battle to end the Plains Indian Wars. |
| William McKinley | His election led to the demise of the Populist Party. |
| Andrew Carnegie | Scottish Immigrant who made a fortune in Steel. |
| Laissez Faire | the idea that government should leave the economy alone and allow supply/demand to determine price |
| John D. Rockefeller | Head of Standard Oil. |
| Alexander Graham Bell | Invented the Telephone. |
| Eugene Debbs | President of the American Railway Union |
| Chinese Exclusion Act | Policy to decrease Chinese Immigration. |
| Thomas Edison | Invented the Light Bulb. |
| Graft | Illegal use of Political influence. |
| Tamany Hall | Name of New York Political Machine. |
| Muckrakers | Progressive Era journalists who liked to investigate and report corruption |
| Fourteen Points | President Wilson’s plan for peace after WWI |
| The Versailles Treaty | the treaty decided upon after the war, which provided the Central Powers with massive reparations |
