American System

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

Americans with Disabilities Act

1990 law prohibiting discrimination based on disability.

Cuban Missile Crisis

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

Battle of Antietam

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

Articles of Confederation

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

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court decision declaring racial segregation in schools unconstitutional.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

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

Compromise of 1850

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

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 declaration by President Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate states.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

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

Fall of the Berlin Wall

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

14 Points

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

Dred Scott v. Sandford

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

Battle of Gettysburg

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

Credit Mobilier Scandal

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

Battle of Little Bighorn

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

Black Tuesday

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

9/11 Attacks

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

Federalist Papers

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

Camp David Accords

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

Black Lives Matter

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

Containment

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

Affordable Care Act

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

Alien and Sedition Acts

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

Contract with America

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