American System

Economic plan by Henry Clay promoting a strong banking system, protective tariffs, and federally funded transportation.

Compromise of 1850

Series of laws balancing slave and free states; included Fugitive Slave Act.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, leading to the Great Depression.

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798 laws allowing deportation of persons deemed dangerous and criminalizing criticism of government.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Americans with Disabilities Act

1990 law prohibiting discrimination based on disability.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

1961 failed invasion of Cuba by a CIA-sponsored paramilitary group.

Federalist Papers

Series of essays promoting the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay.

Contract with America

1994 action plan by U.S. Republican candidates and Representatives.

Affordable Care Act

2010 federal statute providing more Americans with access to affordable health insurance.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857 Supreme Court case ruling that African Americans were not U.S. citizens.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

1989 event symbolizing the end of the Cold War and division of East and West Germany.

Battle of Little Bighorn

1876 battle in which the Sioux defeated U.S. Army forces.

Black Lives Matter

Activist movement beginning in 2013, advocating against violence and systemic racism towards black people.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court decision declaring racial segregation in schools unconstitutional.

Battle of Gettysburg

1863 Civil War battle, a turning point with Union victory and high casualties.

14 Points

President Woodrow Wilson's 1918 plan for peace after World War I.

Containment

U.S. policy to stop the spread of communism during the Cold War.

Camp David Accords

1978 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, brokered by President Carter.

9/11 Attacks

Terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, leading to the War on Terror.

Articles of Confederation

Original constitution of the U.S. in 1781, replaced by the U.S. Constitution in 1789.

Battle of Antietam

1862 Civil War battle, the bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history.

Credit Mobilier Scandal

1872 scandal involving Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier construction company.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over missiles in Cuba.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 declaration by President Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate states.