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AP U.S. History Things You Must Know

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Texts:

Thomas Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence”

  • Set of natural rights held by all and the responsibility of the government to protect them.

  • God made all men equal and gave them the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The main business of the government is to protect these rights. If a government tries to withhold these rights, the people are free to revolt and to set up a new government.

James Madison, “Constitution of the United States”

  • Amendment of the Articles of Confederation. Argued strongly for a strong central government that would unify the country.

  • Defines the fundamental law of the U.S. federal government and the three branches.

Abraham Lincoln, “House Divided” speech, Second Inaugural Address

  • Countered that the Dred Scott decision the previous year had already opened the doors for slavery to be legal in the north. If the U.S. wanted to be a free country, it had to act now before it was too late.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, December 8 1941 address

  • Highlight different parts of his proposed plan for America to right itself. Find work for the American people.


Supreme Court Cases:

Marbury v. Madison

  • In Marbury v. Madison, the US Supreme Court established judicial review, giving them the power to declare laws unconstitutional. William Marbury sued James Madison for not delivering his commission as a justice of the peace. The court ruled that Marbury had a right to his commission, but the law giving the court the power to issue such orders was unconstitutional. This decision gave the Supreme Court the final say on the constitutionality of laws.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

  • Dred Scott v. Sanford was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857. The court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be considered American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The decision also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, which had prohibited slavery in certain territories. This decision further fueled tensions between the North and South leading up to the Civil War.

Plessy v. Ferguson

  • Plessy v. Ferguson was a 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation laws for public facilities, as long as they were "separate but equal." The case involved a Louisiana law requiring separate train cars for blacks and whites. Homer Plessy, who was 1/8th black, was arrested for refusing to move to the black car. The decision established the "separate but equal" doctrine, allowing legal segregation and discrimination against African Americans until it was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

Brown v. Board of Education

  • Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing that separate schools of black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation. The Brown v. Board of Education decision was handed down on May 17, 1954, and is considered one of the most important legal decisions in American history.

Roe v. Wade

  • Roe v. Wade was a 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. The court found a state law banning most abortions unconstitutional, as it violated a woman's right to privacy. The ruling was based on the 14th Amendment's due process clause, which protects personal liberty. The decision remains controversial and continues to spark debates about reproductive rights.

Bush v. Gore

  • Bush v. Gore was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that resolved the dispute surrounding the 2000 presidential election. The court ruled in favor of George W. Bush, effectively ending the recount of votes in Florida and awarding him the presidency. The decision was controversial and criticized for its perceived political bias.


Foreign Policy Doctrines:

Monroe Doctrine (James Monroe → European Powers)

  • U.S. policy toward the Western Hemisphere. Warns European nations that the United States would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs.

  • Separate spheres of influence for the Americas and Europe, non-colonization, and non-intervention.

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (Theodore Roosevelt → European Powers)

  • The nations of the Western Hemisphere were not open to colonization by European powers. The United States has the responsibility to preserve order and protect life and property in those countries.

  • Addition to the Monroe Doctrine.

Truman Doctrine (Harry Truman → Communists)

  • The U.S. should give support, political, military, and economic, to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or Communist insurrection.

  • Led to the formation of NATO and believed to be the start of the Cold War.

Nixon Doctrine (Richard Nixon → South Vietnam)

  • Nixon’s Vietnamization plan. American troops would be slowly withdrawn from the conflict in Southeast Asia and be replaced by South Vietnamese troops.

  • Influenced the future of the U.S. involvement in protecting international freedom. The U.S. is no longer the sole protector of freedom, but would share that responsibility.

Bush Doctrine (George W. Bush → The World)

  • Enemies of the US use terrorism as a war of ideology against the nation. The responsibility of the U.S. is to protect itself by promoting democracy where the terrorists are located so as to undermine the basic for terrorist activities.

  • All terrorists are enemies of the U.S. and the U.S. will do action against them.

Key Terms:

Virgin soil epidemic

  • Introduction of a disease to a population with no previous exposure and therefore no natural immunities.

Salutary neglect / Benign neglect

  • The unwritten, unofficial stance of benign neglect by England toward the American colonies. Colonists were relatively autonomous and allowed to government themselves with minimal interference.

Mercantilism (Commercialism)

  • Belief in the benefits of profitable trading. Supported high tariffs on imported goods, monopolies, and preventing foreign trading.

Federalist

  • Supporters of the constitution, checks and balances, protection of property, and a strong federal government. Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.

Anti-Federalist

  • Opposed the constitution. Supported strong state governments (feared strong national government), strong executive, bill of rights. Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Richard Henry Lee, and George Mason.

Isolationism

  • A policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups (countries). U.S. non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts. Included progressives, conservatives, and peace activists. Herbert Hoover.

Judicial review

  • The ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution.

Embargo

  • Prohibition of American ships from trading with foreign ports. Intended to punish Britain and France for interfering with American trade during the war.

Democratic-Republican

  • Advocated for a weaker national government and minimize government interference in the economy. Westward expansion, personal liberty, states’ rights. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, and Henry Clay.

Whig

  • British reforming and constitutional party. Sought the supremacy of Parliament and the lesser power of the monarch.. Supported the American Revolution. Antimonarchist. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Rufus Choate, William Seward, John J. Crittenden, and John Quincy Adams.

Jacksonian Democracy

  • A movement for more democracy in American government in the 1830s. Greater rights for the common man and opposed to any signs of aristocracy in the nation. Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Thomas Hart Benton, and Stephen A. Douglas.

Nullification

  • States can invalidate federal laws or judicial decisions they deem unconstitutional. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Popular sovereignty

  • The authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. People power.

Emancipation

  • Freed slaves in the rebellious and border states. Created African American units in the Army and Navy. Abraham Lincoln.

Jim Crow segregation

  • Any state or local laws that enforced or legalized racial segregation. Lasted 100 years from the post-Civil War era until around 1968.

Sharecropping

  • A system where the landlord/planter allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop. Promoted bigger harvests.

Nativism

  • The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants. U.S. culture should be preserved from foreign influence.

Mass production

  • The manufacturing of many identical products by the division of labor into many small repetitive tasks. Allowed goods to be made and transported more quickly.

Monopoly

  • When a business owns all of their competition and their business because they were able to buy out the competitors. Allowed for price-fixing and complete control over the market. Outlawed in 1900s.

Labor union

  • Associations of workers formed to protect workers’ rights and advance their interests. Improve working conditions.

Frontier

  • A shifting or moving area where pioneers settled. Began when Jamestown, Virginia was settled by the English in 1607. Shaped American culture.

Imperialism

  • Ruled by an emperor. A policy extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force. U.S. expansion across its borders.

Self-determination

  • The process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own allegiances and government. Determine their own future.

Prohibition

  • The prevention by law of the manufacture and sale of alcohol between 1920 and 1933. Elimination of drunkenness. Progressives.

Laissez-faire economics

  • Free-market capitalism that opposes government intervention. Advocates that economic success is inhibited when governments are involved in business and markets. Increased gap between rich and poor.

Liberalism (economics/politics)

  • Pollical philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, and consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law. Moderate government regulation of the economy, progressive taxation, and increased exercise of federal government power in relation to the states.

Soviet Union

  • A Communist nation, consisting of Russia and 14 other states from 1922 to 1991. Keep Germany weak and keep Eastern Europe under its control.

Containment

  • United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances. Harry Truman in the 1940s.

Domino Theory

  • The theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries. Society, communists, and socialists everywhere were unqualifiedly evil. Fall of French Indochina to the communists would created a domino effect. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Communism

  • A political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. Collectivism, socialism, and sovietism.

Non-violent protest (Civil Rights)

  • A major factor in the success of the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King. Sit-ins, Freedom Ridges, and Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Vietnamization

  • Allowed the U.S. to gradually withdraw its troops from Vietnam. Shift the responsibility of the war from the U.S. to South Vietnam.

Conservatism

  • Anti-regulation, anti-union, limited government, individualism, traditionalism, republicanism, and limited federal government power in relation to the U.S. states.

Terrorism

  • The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government or its citizens to further certain political or social objectives. 9/11, KKK, Pearl Harbor, and Islamist extremism.


EC

AP U.S. History Things You Must Know

Recommendations? Message me on discord at EzStudioz#9814

Texts:

Thomas Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence”

  • Set of natural rights held by all and the responsibility of the government to protect them.

  • God made all men equal and gave them the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The main business of the government is to protect these rights. If a government tries to withhold these rights, the people are free to revolt and to set up a new government.

James Madison, “Constitution of the United States”

  • Amendment of the Articles of Confederation. Argued strongly for a strong central government that would unify the country.

  • Defines the fundamental law of the U.S. federal government and the three branches.

Abraham Lincoln, “House Divided” speech, Second Inaugural Address

  • Countered that the Dred Scott decision the previous year had already opened the doors for slavery to be legal in the north. If the U.S. wanted to be a free country, it had to act now before it was too late.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, December 8 1941 address

  • Highlight different parts of his proposed plan for America to right itself. Find work for the American people.


Supreme Court Cases:

Marbury v. Madison

  • In Marbury v. Madison, the US Supreme Court established judicial review, giving them the power to declare laws unconstitutional. William Marbury sued James Madison for not delivering his commission as a justice of the peace. The court ruled that Marbury had a right to his commission, but the law giving the court the power to issue such orders was unconstitutional. This decision gave the Supreme Court the final say on the constitutionality of laws.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

  • Dred Scott v. Sanford was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857. The court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be considered American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The decision also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, which had prohibited slavery in certain territories. This decision further fueled tensions between the North and South leading up to the Civil War.

Plessy v. Ferguson

  • Plessy v. Ferguson was a 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation laws for public facilities, as long as they were "separate but equal." The case involved a Louisiana law requiring separate train cars for blacks and whites. Homer Plessy, who was 1/8th black, was arrested for refusing to move to the black car. The decision established the "separate but equal" doctrine, allowing legal segregation and discrimination against African Americans until it was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

Brown v. Board of Education

  • Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing that separate schools of black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation. The Brown v. Board of Education decision was handed down on May 17, 1954, and is considered one of the most important legal decisions in American history.

Roe v. Wade

  • Roe v. Wade was a 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. The court found a state law banning most abortions unconstitutional, as it violated a woman's right to privacy. The ruling was based on the 14th Amendment's due process clause, which protects personal liberty. The decision remains controversial and continues to spark debates about reproductive rights.

Bush v. Gore

  • Bush v. Gore was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that resolved the dispute surrounding the 2000 presidential election. The court ruled in favor of George W. Bush, effectively ending the recount of votes in Florida and awarding him the presidency. The decision was controversial and criticized for its perceived political bias.


Foreign Policy Doctrines:

Monroe Doctrine (James Monroe → European Powers)

  • U.S. policy toward the Western Hemisphere. Warns European nations that the United States would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs.

  • Separate spheres of influence for the Americas and Europe, non-colonization, and non-intervention.

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (Theodore Roosevelt → European Powers)

  • The nations of the Western Hemisphere were not open to colonization by European powers. The United States has the responsibility to preserve order and protect life and property in those countries.

  • Addition to the Monroe Doctrine.

Truman Doctrine (Harry Truman → Communists)

  • The U.S. should give support, political, military, and economic, to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or Communist insurrection.

  • Led to the formation of NATO and believed to be the start of the Cold War.

Nixon Doctrine (Richard Nixon → South Vietnam)

  • Nixon’s Vietnamization plan. American troops would be slowly withdrawn from the conflict in Southeast Asia and be replaced by South Vietnamese troops.

  • Influenced the future of the U.S. involvement in protecting international freedom. The U.S. is no longer the sole protector of freedom, but would share that responsibility.

Bush Doctrine (George W. Bush → The World)

  • Enemies of the US use terrorism as a war of ideology against the nation. The responsibility of the U.S. is to protect itself by promoting democracy where the terrorists are located so as to undermine the basic for terrorist activities.

  • All terrorists are enemies of the U.S. and the U.S. will do action against them.

Key Terms:

Virgin soil epidemic

  • Introduction of a disease to a population with no previous exposure and therefore no natural immunities.

Salutary neglect / Benign neglect

  • The unwritten, unofficial stance of benign neglect by England toward the American colonies. Colonists were relatively autonomous and allowed to government themselves with minimal interference.

Mercantilism (Commercialism)

  • Belief in the benefits of profitable trading. Supported high tariffs on imported goods, monopolies, and preventing foreign trading.

Federalist

  • Supporters of the constitution, checks and balances, protection of property, and a strong federal government. Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.

Anti-Federalist

  • Opposed the constitution. Supported strong state governments (feared strong national government), strong executive, bill of rights. Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Richard Henry Lee, and George Mason.

Isolationism

  • A policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups (countries). U.S. non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts. Included progressives, conservatives, and peace activists. Herbert Hoover.

Judicial review

  • The ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution.

Embargo

  • Prohibition of American ships from trading with foreign ports. Intended to punish Britain and France for interfering with American trade during the war.

Democratic-Republican

  • Advocated for a weaker national government and minimize government interference in the economy. Westward expansion, personal liberty, states’ rights. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, and Henry Clay.

Whig

  • British reforming and constitutional party. Sought the supremacy of Parliament and the lesser power of the monarch.. Supported the American Revolution. Antimonarchist. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Rufus Choate, William Seward, John J. Crittenden, and John Quincy Adams.

Jacksonian Democracy

  • A movement for more democracy in American government in the 1830s. Greater rights for the common man and opposed to any signs of aristocracy in the nation. Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Thomas Hart Benton, and Stephen A. Douglas.

Nullification

  • States can invalidate federal laws or judicial decisions they deem unconstitutional. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Popular sovereignty

  • The authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. People power.

Emancipation

  • Freed slaves in the rebellious and border states. Created African American units in the Army and Navy. Abraham Lincoln.

Jim Crow segregation

  • Any state or local laws that enforced or legalized racial segregation. Lasted 100 years from the post-Civil War era until around 1968.

Sharecropping

  • A system where the landlord/planter allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop. Promoted bigger harvests.

Nativism

  • The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants. U.S. culture should be preserved from foreign influence.

Mass production

  • The manufacturing of many identical products by the division of labor into many small repetitive tasks. Allowed goods to be made and transported more quickly.

Monopoly

  • When a business owns all of their competition and their business because they were able to buy out the competitors. Allowed for price-fixing and complete control over the market. Outlawed in 1900s.

Labor union

  • Associations of workers formed to protect workers’ rights and advance their interests. Improve working conditions.

Frontier

  • A shifting or moving area where pioneers settled. Began when Jamestown, Virginia was settled by the English in 1607. Shaped American culture.

Imperialism

  • Ruled by an emperor. A policy extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force. U.S. expansion across its borders.

Self-determination

  • The process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own allegiances and government. Determine their own future.

Prohibition

  • The prevention by law of the manufacture and sale of alcohol between 1920 and 1933. Elimination of drunkenness. Progressives.

Laissez-faire economics

  • Free-market capitalism that opposes government intervention. Advocates that economic success is inhibited when governments are involved in business and markets. Increased gap between rich and poor.

Liberalism (economics/politics)

  • Pollical philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, and consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law. Moderate government regulation of the economy, progressive taxation, and increased exercise of federal government power in relation to the states.

Soviet Union

  • A Communist nation, consisting of Russia and 14 other states from 1922 to 1991. Keep Germany weak and keep Eastern Europe under its control.

Containment

  • United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances. Harry Truman in the 1940s.

Domino Theory

  • The theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries. Society, communists, and socialists everywhere were unqualifiedly evil. Fall of French Indochina to the communists would created a domino effect. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Communism

  • A political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. Collectivism, socialism, and sovietism.

Non-violent protest (Civil Rights)

  • A major factor in the success of the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King. Sit-ins, Freedom Ridges, and Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Vietnamization

  • Allowed the U.S. to gradually withdraw its troops from Vietnam. Shift the responsibility of the war from the U.S. to South Vietnam.

Conservatism

  • Anti-regulation, anti-union, limited government, individualism, traditionalism, republicanism, and limited federal government power in relation to the U.S. states.

Terrorism

  • The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government or its citizens to further certain political or social objectives. 9/11, KKK, Pearl Harbor, and Islamist extremism.