A: Abolitionist: a person who strongly favors doing away with slavery. Amendment: an addition to a formal document such as the Constitution. Arsenal: a storage place for weapons and ammunition. Adams: he was a teacher and a lawyer, he was also the 2 nd president of the U.S.

B: Backcountry: a region of hills and forests west of the tidewater. Blockade Runner: ship that sails into and out of a blockaded area. Buchanan: he was a lawyer and he was the 15 th president of the U.S. Burgesses: elected representatives to an assembly.

C: Cabinet: a group of advisers to the president. Canal: an artificial waterway. Cash Crop: farm crop raised to be sold for money. Cede: to give up by treaty.

D: Debtor: person or country that owes money. Desert: to leave without permission. Draft: the selection of persons for required military service. Disarmament: removal of weapons.

E: Emancipate: to free from slavery. Emigrant: a person who leaves a country or region to live elsewhere. Entrenched: occupying a strong defensive position. Export: a good sold abroad.

F: Famine: an extreme shortage of food. Federalists: supporters of the Constitution. Freedman: a person freed from slavery. Frigate: warship.

G: Greenback: U.S. paper money first issued by the north in the Civil War. Guerrilla: surprise attacks or raids rather than organized warfare. Guerrilla Warfare: a hit-and-run technique. George Washington: he was a soldier and a planter as well as the U.S. first president.

H: Human Rights: the rights that belong to all humans. Habeas Corpus: a legal order determining whether someone has been lawfully imprisoned. Harrison: he was a solider and a planter, he was also the 9 th president of the U.S. Hamilton: he was a military officer, lawyer, financier and a political theorist.

I: Import: to but goods from foreign markets. Impressment: forcing people into service, as in the navy. Inflation: a continuous rise in the price of goods and services. Ironclad: armored navy vessel.

J: Joint Occupation: the settling and possession of an area owed by two or more counties. Joint-Stock Company: a company in which investors buy stock in the company in return for a share of its future profits. Judicial Branch: the branch of government, including the federal court system, that interprets the nation’s laws. Judicial Review: The right of the Supreme Court to determine if a law violates the Constitution.

K: Kansas-Nebraska Act: dispute over slavery erupted in Congress. Keelboat: type of boat that Lewis and Clark took at the beginning of their trip. Key, Francis Scott: wrote The Star-Spangled Banner. Knox, Henry: secretary of war in 1789.

L: Landslide: an overwhelming victory. Legislative Branch: the branch of government that makes the nations laws. Literacy: the ability to read and write. Lincoln, Abraham: he was a lawyer as well as the 16th president of the U.S.

M: Majority: more than half. Militia: a group of civilians trained to fight in emergencies. Mission: religious settlement. Mudslinging: attempt to ruin an opponent’s reputation with insults.

N: Naturalization: to grant full citizenship to a foreigner. Neutral: taking no side in a conflict. Nonimportation: the act of not importing or using certain goods. Nullify: to cancel or make ineffective.

O: Offensive: position of attacking or the attack itself. Ordinance: a law or regulation. Overseer: person who supervises a large operation or its workers. Ohio River Valley: where Battle of Fallen Timbers occurred.

P: Partisan: Favoring one side of an issue. Petition: a formal request. Pilgrimage: a journey to a holy place. Privateer: armed private ship.

Q: Quadruple Alliance: in 1822 when Spain asked France, Austria, Russia, and Prussia to fight with them against South America. Quakers: a religious group. Quartering: placing someone in a home or camp most like soldiers. Quebec Act: a permanent government for Quebec and granted religious freedom to French Catholics.

R: Ranchero: Mexican ranch owner. Rendezvous: a meeting. Repeal: to cancel an act or law. Revenue: incoming money.

S: Secede: to leave or withdraw. Secession: withdraw from the Union. Sectionalism: loyalty to a region. Suffrage: the right to vote.

T: Tariff: a tax on imports or exports. Tejano: a Mexican who claims Texas as his home. Total War: war on all aspects of the enemy’s life. Tribute: money paid for protection.

U: Union: the name of the North during the Civil War. Unalienable Rights: right that can not be surrendered. Unconstitutional: not agreeing or consistent with the Constitution. Utopia: community based on a vision of a perfect society sought by reformers.

V: Veto: to reject a bill and prevent it from being a law. Vigilantes: people who take the law into their own hands. Van Buren, Martin: he was a lawyer and he was also the 8th president of the U.S. Vaqueros: Hispanic ranch hands.

W: War Hawks: republicans during Madison’s presidency who pressed for war with Britain. Write of Assistance: legal document that enabled officers to search homes and warehouses for goods that might be smuggled. Waddel, Moses: owner and runner of a private school for plantation owners children. War of 1812: was started by the War Hawks in July of 1812.

X: XYZ Affair: Talleyrand sent three agents to demand a bribe and a loan for France.

Y: Yankee: union soldier Yeoman: southern owner of a small farm who did not have enslaved people. Yorktown: the first permanent settlement in America. Young, Brigham: took over as head of the Mormons after a mob killed Joseph Smith.

Z: Zenger, John Peter: gets charged for libel for printing a critical report about the royal governor of New York. Zuni, The: Native Americans of the Southwest.