Glossary · U.S. history
U.S. history concepts
AP U.S. History
By the CollegePrepRoom editorial team · Updated · How we write and check these pages
These terms from AP U.S. History were chosen because they connect many events and appear across multiple periods. Each entry explains what the term means, why it mattered, and how it tends to appear in multiple-choice questions and essays.
Index of terms
Terms in chronological order
- MercantilismAn economic theory that a nation's power depends on accumulating wealth through a favorable balance of trade, with colonies supplying raw materials and buying finished goods.
- Salutary neglectBritain's informal policy, before 1763, of loosely enforcing trade laws and allowing the colonies considerable self-government.
- First Great AwakeningA wave of religious revivals in the British colonies in the 1730s and 1740s that emphasized personal faith and challenged established church authority.
- Federalists and Anti-FederalistsThe supporters and opponents of ratifying the U.S. Constitution in 1787 and 1788.
- Market RevolutionThe early nineteenth-century transformation of the U.S. economy as transportation, communication and manufacturing tied households to regional and national markets.
- Second Great AwakeningA Protestant revival movement in the early nineteenth century that spurred social reform movements, including abolition and temperance.
- Manifest DestinyThe nineteenth-century belief that the United States was destined to expand across North America.
- Missouri CompromiseThe 1820 agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state and banned slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30′.
- Popular sovereigntyIn the sectional crisis, the idea that settlers in a territory should vote on whether to allow slavery; more broadly, the principle that government's authority comes from the people.
- ReconstructionThe period after the Civil War (1865 to 1877) when the federal government tried to rebuild the South and define the rights of formerly enslaved people.
- Jim Crow lawsState and local laws, mainly in the South from the late nineteenth century into the 1960s, that enforced racial segregation and disenfranchised Black Americans.
- Gilded AgeThe late nineteenth century in the United States, marked by rapid industrial growth, great fortunes, political corruption and deep inequality.
- Populism (People's Party)A late nineteenth-century political movement of farmers and workers that challenged the power of railroads, banks and corporations.
- Progressive EraA period of reform from roughly the 1890s to 1920 that sought to address the problems of industrialization, urbanization and political corruption.
- Great MigrationThe movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North and West during the twentieth century.
- New DealFranklin D. Roosevelt's programs in the 1930s to provide relief, recovery and reform during the Great Depression.
- ContainmentThe Cold War U.S. policy of preventing the spread of communism beyond the areas where it already existed.
- Civil rights movementThe mid-twentieth-century struggle, especially from the 1950s through the 1960s, to end segregation and secure equal rights for Black Americans.
Flashcard review
Say each definition aloud, then open the card to check your answer.
What does “Mercantilism” mean?
An economic theory that a nation's power depends on accumulating wealth through a favorable balance of trade, with colonies supplying raw materials and buying finished goods.
What does “Salutary neglect” mean?
Britain's informal policy, before 1763, of loosely enforcing trade laws and allowing the colonies considerable self-government.
What does “First Great Awakening” mean?
A wave of religious revivals in the British colonies in the 1730s and 1740s that emphasized personal faith and challenged established church authority.
What does “Federalists and Anti-Federalists” mean?
The supporters and opponents of ratifying the U.S. Constitution in 1787 and 1788.
What does “Market Revolution” mean?
The early nineteenth-century transformation of the U.S. economy as transportation, communication and manufacturing tied households to regional and national markets.
What does “Second Great Awakening” mean?
A Protestant revival movement in the early nineteenth century that spurred social reform movements, including abolition and temperance.
What does “Manifest Destiny” mean?
The nineteenth-century belief that the United States was destined to expand across North America.
What does “Missouri Compromise” mean?
The 1820 agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state and banned slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30′.
What does “Popular sovereignty” mean?
In the sectional crisis, the idea that settlers in a territory should vote on whether to allow slavery; more broadly, the principle that government's authority comes from the people.
What does “Reconstruction” mean?
The period after the Civil War (1865 to 1877) when the federal government tried to rebuild the South and define the rights of formerly enslaved people.
What does “Jim Crow laws” mean?
State and local laws, mainly in the South from the late nineteenth century into the 1960s, that enforced racial segregation and disenfranchised Black Americans.
What does “Gilded Age” mean?
The late nineteenth century in the United States, marked by rapid industrial growth, great fortunes, political corruption and deep inequality.
What does “Populism” mean?
A late nineteenth-century political movement of farmers and workers that challenged the power of railroads, banks and corporations.
What does “Progressive Era” mean?
A period of reform from roughly the 1890s to 1920 that sought to address the problems of industrialization, urbanization and political corruption.
What does “Great Migration” mean?
The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North and West during the twentieth century.
What does “New Deal” mean?
Franklin D. Roosevelt's programs in the 1930s to provide relief, recovery and reform during the Great Depression.
What does “Containment” mean?
The Cold War U.S. policy of preventing the spread of communism beyond the areas where it already existed.
What does “Civil rights movement” mean?
The mid-twentieth-century struggle, especially from the 1950s through the 1960s, to end segregation and secure equal rights for Black Americans.