1. Historical
Terms
&
Definitions

2. Historical Terms and Definitions
Students will gain an understanding of the meaning of
important historical terms.
Students will learn the definitions of words that are key
to understanding United States history.
Students will comprehend how interpreting maps helps to clarify the meaning of many historical terms and concepts.

3. A 19th century American belief that it was the destiny of the United 1.
Manifest Destiny
A 19th century American belief that it was the destiny of the United
States to expand its territory over the entire North American continent

4. where twelve mounds can be found on the 150 acre protected site
Photo by Glenda Sullivan 2.
Spiro Mounds
A prehistoric Native American archaeological site in Southeastern Oklahoma
where twelve mounds can be found on the 150 acre protected site

5. 3.
Louisiana
Purchase
A land deal in 1803 between the United States & France in which
the United States acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of
land west of the Mississippi River for $15,000,000

6. 4.
Nullification Crisis
A situation that arose in 1832 during the presidency of Andrew Jackson
when leaders of South Carolina, led by John C. Calhoun, advanced the
idea that a state did not have to follow a federal law and could “nullify”
the law

7. Underground Railroad 5. A network of people who helped the
Underground
Railroad
A network of people
who helped the
escaped slaves on
their way to
freedom in the
northern states or
Canada

8. Abolitionist Movement6.
Abolitionist Movement
A movement whose goal was the
immediate emancipation of all
slaves and the end of racial
discrimination and segregation

9. Sectionalism 7. The belief that one section or region of a
The belief that one section or region of a
country is better than any other section of
region of that country
Example: North vs. South led to Civil War

10. 8.
Missouri Compromise
An 1820 congressional agreement that regulated the extension of slavery in
the United States--The territory of Missouri was admitted as a slave state.
The territory of Maine was admitted as a free state. The boundaries of
slavery were limited to the same latitude as the southern boundary of
Missouri, 36º30´ N.

11. Ku Klux Klan 9.
A secret society organized in the South after the Civil War advocating
maintenance of white supremacy by violent methods

12. Jim Crow laws 10. State and local laws in the
United States enacted between
1876 and 1965 that mandated
racial segregation in many public
and private facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy
Jim Crow laws

13. 11.
Chinese Exclusion Act
A federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882,
prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers

14. Nativism
12.
The policy of protecting the interests of native born or established
inhabitants against those of immigrants

15. 13.
Industrialization
The process by which a country transforms itself from a primarily
agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods
and services

16. 14.
Labor Movement
A movement from in the United States to protect the common
interests of workers and to get them better wages, reasonable hours,
and safer working conditions--The movement was initiated by strikes that
began because of wage cuts, new inventions of machinery, and the
depersonalization of workers.

17. Progressive Movement 15. The demand for change or progress in an
The demand for
change or
progress in an
effort to cure
many of the
ills of the
American
society that had
developed
during the
great spurt of
industrial
growth in the
last quarter of
the 19th
Century

18. 16.
Muckrakers
A term coined during the Progressive Era based on a literary character
who was so busy cleaning and raking up the muck and dirt that he
didn’t see the good things that were above his head

19. Suffrage 17. The right to vote in political elections
Suffrage
The right to vote in
political elections
Key on Women’s Suffrage Map—Green = No voting by women, Gold = Women voting in presidential elections, Red = Women voting in primaries, Purple = Complete voting rights for women

20. Temperance Movement 18. A movement led mostly by
women in the 19th & early
20th centuries to encourage
moderation in the consumption
of alcoholic beverages or
to prohibit the use of alcohol completely

21. Democracy 19. A form of government in which people choose
leaders by voting

22. A social organization in which all economic & social activity is
controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single political party
20.
Communism
Photo by Glenda Sullivan

23. Historical
Geography
In summary, as we study historical geography, keep in mind the
correlation between the two disciplines. For example, the historical
term westward expansion is an example of one of the five themes of
geography: Movement of goods, people and ideas from place to place.