Glossary

Anarchy:

Absence of government or government authority.

Assent:

To agree or concur.

Boston Tea Party:

December 13, 1773 protest during which colonists led by the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships carrying British tea and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

Confederate States of America:

New nation formed by the eleven southern states that seceded from the United States in 1861.

Continental Congress:

First of three congresses called an attended by delegates from all thirteen colonies to discuss response to passage of the Intolerable Acts and organize protests against the British.

Culminated:

To reach the end or the final result of something.

Democracy:

A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

Despotism:

The exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way.

Expansionist:

A policy of expansion, as of territory.

Inaugural address:

Speech given by the President of the United States following their recital of the oath of office and official beginning of their term in office.

Intolerable Acts:

Group of acts passed by British Parliament following the Boston Tea Party, which limited colonial government and closed the Port of Boston in order to punish Boston.

Louisiana Purchase:

The acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles) by the United States from France in 1803.

Monarchy:

A country that is ruled by a monarch (such as a king or queen).

Posterity:

Future generations.

Pro-revolutionary:

Characterized by a sudden, complete or marked change.

Propaganda:

Ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc.

Resentment:

Displeasure.

Republic:

A country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader (such as a president) rather than by a king or queen.

Secession:

Process of a state removing themselves from the nation.

Stamp Act:

A 1765 act of British parliament that created a requirement that all officially documents or publications be stamped with a seal that was paid for by a tax, resulting in widespread protest and the eventual repeal of the Act.

Sugar Act:

A 1764 act of British parliament that renewed a tax on sugar imported to the American colonies, most of which came from the Caribbean.

Symbolism:

The practice of representing things by symbols.

Westward expansion:

The acquisition of territories by the United States across the whole area of the North American continent from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west.