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US History Vocabulary

Words you need to read and discuss American history.

80 cardsGrades 3–5, Grades 6–8, Grades 9–12#vocabulary#us history

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80 cards
  • ColonyWord
    A territory ruled by another country
  • SettlerWord
    A person who moves to and lives in a new place
  • ImmigrantWord
    A person who moves to a new country to live
  • EmigrantWord
    A person who leaves one country to live in another
  • PioneerWord
    One of the first people to settle in a new area
  • FrontierWord
    The edge of settled land
  • TerritoryWord
    Land owned by a country but not yet a state
  • StatehoodWord
    Becoming one of the states
  • ExpansionWord
    Growth in size or reach
  • AnnexWord
    To add a territory to a country
  • TreatyWord
    A formal agreement between nations
  • AllianceWord
    A partnership among nations or groups
  • NeutralWord
    Not taking a side in a conflict
  • RevolutionWord
    A sudden, major change, often in government
  • RebellionWord
    An open fight against authority
  • IndependenceWord
    Freedom from outside control
  • PatriotWord
    A person who loves and supports their country
  • LoyalistWord
    A colonist who supported Britain
  • TaxWord
    Money people pay to support the government
  • TariffWord
    A tax on goods from other countries
  • BoycottWord
    Refusing to buy or use something as a protest
  • EmbargoWord
    A government ban on trade with a country
  • ConstitutionWord
    The written plan for a country's government and laws
  • AmendmentWord
    A change or addition to the Constitution
  • RatifyWord
    To formally approve
  • FederalWord
    Having to do with the national government
  • FederalismWord
    Power shared between national and state governments
  • RepublicWord
    A government where people elect representatives
  • DemocracyWord
    Government by the people, through voting
  • MonarchyWord
    Government led by a king or queen
  • DictatorWord
    A ruler with total power
  • CompromiseWord
    Each side gives up something to reach an agreement
  • AbolishWord
    To officially end something
  • AbolitionistWord
    Someone who worked to end slavery
  • SlaveryWord
    The forced ownership and unpaid labor of people
  • EmancipationWord
    Freeing people from slavery
  • SecedeWord
    To formally withdraw from a group or country
  • UnionWord
    The states that stayed with the US during the Civil War; also the nation
  • ConfederateWord
    Belonging to the Confederacy
  • Civil warWord
    A war between groups within the same country
  • ReconstructionWord
    The rebuilding of the South after the Civil War
  • SharecropperWord
    A farmer who pays rent with part of the crop
  • SegregationWord
    Forced separation of people by race
  • DiscriminationWord
    Unfair treatment based on identity
  • SuffrageWord
    The right to vote
  • SuffragistWord
    A person who worked for voting rights, especially for women
  • IndustryWord
    Business that makes goods, often in factories
  • FactoryWord
    A building where goods are made with machines
  • UrbanWord
    Having to do with cities
  • RuralWord
    Having to do with the countryside
  • MonopolyWord
    Complete control of a product or service by one business
  • Union (labor)Word
    A group of workers organized to protect their interests
  • StrikeWord
    Workers stop working to demand change
  • ReformWord
    To improve something by changing it
  • ProgressiveWord
    Favoring reform, as in the Progressive Era
  • DepressionWord
    A long period of very weak economy and high unemployment
  • InflationWord
    A general rise in prices
  • RecessionWord
    A shorter, milder slump in the economy
  • RationWord
    To limit how much people can have of something scarce
  • DraftWord
    A system that requires people to serve in the military
  • PropagandaWord
    Information used to push a view, often one-sided
  • Cold WarWord
    Rivalry between the US and USSR without direct fighting between them
  • CommunismWord
    System where the state controls the economy and property
  • ContainmentWord
    Policy to stop the spread of communism
  • Primary sourceWord
    Evidence from the time, like a letter, photo or diary
  • Secondary sourceWord
    A later account written about the past, like a textbook
  • TimelineWord
    A line of events shown in order
  • EraWord
    A long period of history with a common theme
  • CenturyWord
    One hundred years
  • DecadeWord
    Ten years
  • Chronological orderWord
    Arranged in the order events happened
  • CauseWord
    Why something happened
  • EffectWord
    What happened because of an event
  • LegacyWord
    What is left behind for the future
  • HeritageWord
    Traditions and history passed down
  • LandmarkWord
    A place or event of historic importance
  • MemorialWord
    Something built to remember a person or event
  • ArtifactWord
    An object made by people long ago
  • HistorianWord
    A person who studies the past
  • ArchaeologistWord
    A scientist who studies the past by digging up objects

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