Glossary of American history and civics terms
Use the glossary to review core vocabulary, constitutional ideas, and civic language that appears across the American Facts 101 archive.
A
5 terms
Abolitionist
A person who worked to end slavery in the United States (e.g., Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman).
Alien and Sedition Acts
1798 laws that made it harder for immigrants to become citizens and criminalized criticism of the government.
Amendment
A formal change or addition to the Constitution; the first 10 are the Bill of Rights, and there are now 27 total.
Appellate Court
A court that reviews decisions of lower (trial) courts.
Articles of Confederation
America's first national constitution (1781-1789), which created a weak central government and was later replaced by the...
B
4 terms
Bicameral
Having two legislative chambers (the U.S.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S.
Boston Tea Party
1773 protest in which colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to oppose British taxes.
Boycott
A refusal to buy or use certain goods as a form of protest (used heavily before the Revolution).
C
5 terms
Checks and Balances
The system built into the Constitution that gives each branch of government (legislative, executive, judicial) ways to l...
Civil Rights
The rights of all citizens to equal protection under the law and freedom from discrimination based on race, color, relig...
Committees of Correspondence
Colonial groups that coordinated resistance against Britain.
Common Sense
1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine that convinced many colonists to support independence.
Constitution
The supreme law of the land, written in 1787 and ratified in 1788, that established the structure of the federal governm...
D
3 terms
Declaration of Independence
The 1776 document, primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson, that formally announced the 13 colonies' break from Britain a...
Democracy
A system of government in which power is held by the people, exercised either directly or through freely elected represe...
Due Process
Constitutional guarantee that the government cannot deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without fair legal pr...
E
3 terms
Electoral College
The body of electors chosen by states that formally elects the President and Vice President.
Emancipation Proclamation
1863 order by Abraham Lincoln freeing enslaved people in Confederate states.
Equal Protection Clause
Part of the 14th Amendment requiring states to treat all people equally under the law.
F
3 terms
Federalism
The constitutional division of power between the national (federal) government and the state governments.
Federalist Papers
85 essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay urging ratification of the Constitution.
First Continental Congress
1774 meeting of colonial delegates to coordinate resistance to Britain.
G
2 terms
Gettysburg Address
1863 speech by Abraham Lincoln redefining the Civil War as a fight for equality and liberty.
Great Compromise
1787 agreement creating a bicameral Congress (House based on population, Senate with equal state representation).
H
1 terms
House of Representatives
Lower house of Congress; representation based on state population.
I
2 terms
Impeachment
The process by which Congress can charge and remove the President or other federal officials for wrongdoing.
Intolerable Acts
1774 British laws punishing Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party.
J
2 terms
Judicial Review
The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws or executive actions unconstitutional (established in Marbury v.
Judiciary Act of 1789
Law that created the federal court system.
K
1 terms
King Philip's War
1675-1676 conflict between New England colonists and Native American tribes.
L
3 terms
Lexington and Concord
April 19, 1775 battles that began the Revolutionary War ("shot heard round the world").
Liberty
The condition of being free to act, speak, worship, and live under law without arbitrary government control.
Louisiana Purchase
1803 acquisition of territory from France that doubled the size of the United States.
M
2 terms
Mayflower Compact
1620 agreement establishing self-government at Plymouth Colony.
Monroe Doctrine
1823 policy warning European powers against further colonization in the Americas.
N
2 terms
Natural Rights
Rights to life, liberty, and property (influenced Jefferson's writing in the Declaration).
Northwest Ordinance
1787 law organizing western territories and banning slavery there.
O
1 terms
Olive Branch Petition
1775 final attempt by the Second Continental Congress to make peace with Britain.
P
2 terms
Preamble
The opening paragraph of the Constitution beginning "We the People..."
Proclamation of 1763
British order banning colonial settlement west of the Appalachians.
Q
2 terms
Quartering Act
1765 law requiring colonists to provide housing and supplies for British troops.
Quorum
The minimum number of members needed to conduct business in Congress or a committee.
R
2 terms
Ratification
The process of approving the Constitution (or amendments) by the states.
Republic
A form of government in which citizens elect representatives to make laws and govern on their behalf (the U.S. is a cons...
S
3 terms
Separation of Powers
Division of government authority into three branches (legislative, executive, judicial).
Stamp Act
1765 British tax on printed materials that sparked colonial protests.
Supreme Court
Highest court in the United States with final say on constitutional questions.
T
2 terms
Three-Fifths Compromise
1787 agreement counting each enslaved person as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation.
Townshend Acts
1767 British taxes on imported goods such as tea, glass, and paper.
U
2 terms
Underground Railroad
Secret network that helped enslaved people escape to freedom.
Unicameral
Having one legislative chamber (the Articles of Confederation Congress was unicameral).
V
2 terms
Veto
The President's power to reject a bill passed by Congress.
Virginia Plan
1787 proposal for a strong national government with representation based on population.
W
2 terms
Washington, George
Commander of the Continental Army and first President of the United States.
Whiskey Rebellion
1794 protest against a federal tax on whiskey that tested the new government's authority.
X
1 terms
XYZ Affair
1797-1798 diplomatic scandal in which French agents demanded bribes from U.S. diplomats, leading to an undeclared naval...
Y
1 terms
Yorktown, Battle of
1781 decisive American and French victory that forced the British surrender and effectively ended the Revolutionary War.
Z
1 terms
Zenger Trial
1735 New York trial that established the principle of freedom of the press in the colonies (John Peter Zenger was acquit...