SAT2美国历史词汇——AB篇

　　SAT2美国历史成为了越来越多的中国考生选择的SAT2考试科目，为了应对考试，大家一定要掌握关于SAT2美国历史的一些词汇。下面就让我们一起来看看这些词汇吧。

　　A

　　John Adams

　　America’s second president, Adams served from 1797 to 1801. A Federalist, he supported a powerful centralized government. His most notable actions in office were the undertaking of the Quasi-war with France and the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

　　John Quincy Adams

　　Son of John Adams and president from 1825 to 1829. As James Monroe’s secretary of state, Adams worked to expand the nation’s borders and authored the Monroe Doctrine. His presidency was largely ineffective due to lack of popular support; Congress blocked many of his proposed programs.

　　Samuel Adams

　　A leader of the Sons of Liberty. Adams suggested the formation of the Committees of Correspondence and fought for colonial rights throughout New England. He is credited with provoking the Boston Tea Party.

　　Jane Addams

　　A reformer and pacifist best known for founding Hull House in 1889. Hull House provided educational services to poor immigrants.

　　The Age of Reason

　　Written by Thomas Paine. The Age of Reason was published in three parts between 1794 and 1807. A critique of organized religion, the book was criticized as a defense of Atheism. Paine’s argument is a prime example of the rationalist approach to religion inspired by Enlightenment ideals.

　　Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

　　Created in 1933 as part of FDR’s New Deal. The AAA controlled the production and prices of crops by offering subsidies to farmers who stayed under set quotas. The Supreme Court declared the AAA unconstitutional in 1936.

　　Albany Plan

　　Submitted by Benjamin Franklin to the 1754 gathering of colonial delgates in Albany, New York. The plan called for the colonies to unify in the face of French and Native American threats. Although the delegates in Albany approved the plan, the colonies rejected it for fear of losing their independent authority. The Crown rejected the Albany Plan as well, wary of cooperation between the colonies.

　　Horatio Alger

　　Author of popular young adult novels, such as Ragged Dick, during the Industrial Revolution. Alger’s “rags to riches” tales emphasised that anyone could become wealthy and successful through hard work and exceptional luck.

　　Alien and Sedition Acts

　　Passed by Federalists in 1798 in response to the XYZ Affair and growing Republican support. On the grounds of “national security,” the Alien and Sedition Acts increased the number of years required to gain citizenship, allowed for the imprisonment and deporation of aliens, and virtually suspended freedom of speech. Popular dissatisfaction with the acts secured Republican Thomas Jefferson’s bid for presidency in 1800, and were the undoing of the Federalist Party.

　　Allies

　　The partership of Great Britain, France, and Italy during World War I. The Allies were pitted against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1917, the U.S. joined the war on the Allies’ side. During World War II, the Allies included Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the U.S., and France.

　　American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

　　Founded in 1920. The ACLU seeks to protect the civil liberties of individuals, often by bringing “test cases” to court in order to challenge questionable laws. In 1925, the ACLU challenged a Christian fundamentalist law in the Scopes Monkey Trial.

　　American Federation of Labor (AFL)

　　Founded in 1886. The AFL sought to organize craft unions into a federation. The loose structure of the organization differed from its rival, the Knights of Labor, in that the AFL allowed individual unions to remain autonomous. Eventually the AFL joined with the Congress of Industrial Organizations to form the AFL-CIO.

　　American System

　　Crafted by Henry Clay and backed by the National Republican Party. The American System proposed a series of tariffs and federally funded transportation improvements, geared toward achieving national economic self-sufficiency.

　　Annapolis Convention

　　Delegates from five states met in Annapolis in September 1786 to discuss interstate commerce. However, discussions of weaknesses in the government led them to suggest to Congress a new convention to amend the Articles of Confederation.

　　Susan B. Anthony

　　A leading member of the women’s suffrage movement. She served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1892 until 1900.

　　Anti-federalists

　　During ratification, anti-federalists opposed the Constitution on the grounds that it gave the federal government too much political, economic, and military control. They instead advocated a decentralized governmental structure that granted the most power to the states.

　　Anti-Imperialist League

　　Argued against American imperialism in the late 1890s. Its members included such luminaries as William James, Andrew Carnegie, and Mark Twain.

　　Anti-Saloon League

　　Founded in 1895, the league spearheaded the prohibition movement during the Progressive Era.

　　Articles of Confederation

　　Adopted in 1777 during the Revolutionary War. The Articles established the first limited central government of the United States, reserving most powers for the individual states. The Articles didn’t grant enough federal power to manage the country’s budget or maintain internal stability, and were replaced by the Constitution in 1789.

　　Assembly line

　　Industrialist Henry Ford installed the first assembly line while developing his Model T car in 1908, and perfected its use in the 1920s. Assembly line manufacturing allowed workers to remain in one place and master one repetitive action, maximizing output. It became the production method of choice by the 1930s.

　　Atlantic Charter

　　Issued on August 14, 1941 during a meeting between President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The charter outlined the ideal postwar world, condemned military aggression, asserted the right to national self-determination, and advocated disarmament.

　　Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)

　　After World War II, the AEC worked on developing more effective ways of using nuclear material, such as uranium, in order to mass-produce nuclear weapons.

　　The Awakening

　　Written by Kate Chopin in 1899. The Awakening portrays a married woman who defies social convention first by falling in love with another man, and then by committing suicide when she finds that his views on women are as oppressive as her husband’s. The novel reflects the changing role of women during the early 1900s.

　　Axis powers

　　During World War II, the Axis powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan. The three powers signed the Tripartite Pact in September 1940.

　　B

　　Baby boom

　　Nickname for the 1950s, when economic prosperity caused U.S. population to swell from 150 million to 180 million.

　　Bacon’s Rebellion

　　In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, a Virginia planter, accused the royal governor of failing to provide poorer farmers protection from raiding tribes. In response, Bacon led 300 settlers in a war against local Native Americans, and then burned and looted Jamestown. The rebellion highlighted the increasing rift between rich and poor in the Chesapeake region.

　　Bank of the United States

　　Chartered in 1791, the bank was a controversial part of Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist economic program.

　　Bank veto

　　Andrew Jackson’s 1832 veto of the proposed charter renewal for the Second Bank of the United States. The veto marked the beginning of Jackson’s five-year battle against the national bank.

　　Battle of Antietam

　　Fought in Maryland on September 17, 1863. Considered the single bloodiest day of the Civil War, casualties totalled more than 8,000 dead and 18,000 wounded. Although Union forces failed to defeat Lee and the Confederates, they did halt the Confederate advance through Northern soil.

　　Battle of Britain

　　Conducted during the summer and fall of 1940. In preparation for an amphibious assault, Germans lauched airstrikes on London. Hitler hoped the continuous bombing would destroy British industry and sap morale, but the British successfully avoided a German invasion.

　　Battle of the Bulge

　　The final German offensive in Western Europe, lasting from December 16, 1944, to January 16, 1945. Hitler amassed his last reserves against Allied troops in France. Germany made a substantial dent in the Allied front line, but the Allies recovered and repelled the Germans, clearing the way for a march toward Berlin.

　　Battle of Gettysburg

　　The largest battle of the Civil War. Widely considered to be the war’s turning point, the battle marked the Union’s first major victory in the East. The three-day campaign, from July 1 to 4, 1863, resulted in an unprecedented 51,000 total casualties.

　　Battle of Tippecanoe

　　Led by future president William Henry Harrison, U.S. forces defeated Shawnee forces in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The U.S. victory lessened the Native American threat in Ohio and Indiana.

　　Bay of Pigs Invasion

　　A failed attempt by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro’s communist government in April 1961.

　　The Beats

　　Nonconformist writers such as Allan Ginsberg, the author of Howl (1956), and Jack Kerouac, who penned On the Road (1957). The Beats rejected uniform middle-class culture and sought to overturn the sexual and social conservatism of the period.

　　Berlin Blockade

　　In June 1948, the Soviets attempted to cut off Western access to Berlin by blockading all road and rail routes to the city. In response, the U.S. airlifted supplies to the city, a campaign known as “Operation Vittles.” The blockade lasted until May 1949.

　　Berlin Wall

　　Constructed by the USSR and completed in August 1961 to prevent East Berliners from fleeing to West Berlin. The wall cemented the political split of Berlin between the communist and authoritian East and the capitalist and democratic West. The Berlin wall was torn down on November 9, 1989, setting the stage for the reunification of Germany and signifying the end of the Cold War.

　　Big stick diplomacy

　　Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy summed up his aggressive stance toward international affairs with the phrase, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Under this doctrine, the U.S. declared its domination over Latin America and built the Panama Canal.

　　Bill of Rights

　　The first ten amendments of the Constitution, which guarantee the civil rights of American citizens. The Bill of Rights was drafted by anti-federalists, including James Madison, to protect individuals from the tyranny they felt the Constitution might permit.

　　Black codes

　　Granted freedmen a few basic rights but also enforced heavy civil restrictions based on race. The codes were enacted in Southern states under Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction plan.

　　Black Panthers

　　Organized in 1966 in Oakland, California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Black Panthers stressed a black pride, economic self-sufficiency, and armed resistance to white oppression.

　　Black Power

　　Coined by Stokely Carmichael, and adopted by Malcom X, the Black Panthers, and other civil rights groups. The term embodied the fight against oppression and the value of ethnic heritage.

　　Black Thursday

　　The stock market crash of October 24, 1929. After a decade of great prosperity, on “Black Thursday” the market dropped in value by an astounding 9 percent, kicking off the Great Depression.

　　Bleeding Kansas

　　The popular name for the Kansas Territory in 1856 after abolitionist John Brown led a massacre at a pro-slavery camp, setting off waves of violence. Brown’s massacre was in protest to the recent establishment of Kansas as a slave state. Pro-slavery sympathizers had crossed into Kansas in order to vote illegally in the elections set up by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, resulting in the ousting of antislavery legislators.

　　Bootleggers

　　Smugglers of alcohol into the United States during the Prohibition Era (1920–1933), often from Canada or the West Indies.

　　Boston Massacre

　　In March 1770, a crowd of colonists protested against Boston customs agents and the Townsend Duties. Violence flared and five colonists were killed.

　　Boston Tea Party

　　A protest against the 1773 Tea Act, which allowed Britain to use the profits from selling tea to pay the salaries of royal governors. In December 1773, Samuel Adams gathered Boston residents and warned them of the consequences of the Tea Act. Following the meeting, approximately fifty young men dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded the ships and dumped the cargo into the harbor.

　　Boxer Rebellion

　　A group of zealous Chinese nationalists terrorized foreigners and Chinese Christians, capturing Beijing (Peking) in June 1900 and threatening European and American interests in Chinese markets. The United States committed 2,500 men to an international force that crushed the rebellion in August 1900.

　　John Brown

　　A religious zealot and an extreme abolitionist who believed God had ordained him to end slavery. In 1856, he led an attack against pro-slavery government officials in Kansas, killing five and sparking months of violence that earned the territory the name “Bleeding Kansas.” In 1859, he led twenty-one men in seizing a federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, in a failed attempt to incite a slave rebellion. He was caught and hanged.

　　Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

　　A 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision that reversed the “separate but equal” segregationist doctrine established by the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. The Court ruled that separate facilities were inherently unequal and ordered public schools to desegregate nationwide. This decision was characteristic of the Supreme Court rulings under liberal Chief Justice Earl Warren.

　　William Jennings Bryan

　　Democratic candidate for president in 1896. His goal of “free silver” (unlimited coinage of silver) won him the support of the Populist Party. Though a gifted orator, Bryan lost the election to Republican William McKinley. He ran again for president and lost in 1900. In the 1920s, Bryan made his mark as a leader of the fundamentalist cause and the key witness in the Scopes Monkey Trial.

　　James Buchanan

　　A moderate Democrat with support from both the North and South who served as president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. Buchanan could not stem the tide of sectional conflict that eventually erupted into Civil War.

　　Bull Moose Party

　　The nickname of the Progressive Republican Party, led by Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 election. The Bull Moose Party had the best showing of any third party in the history of the United States. Its emergence dramatically weakened the Republican Party and allowed Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson to win the election with only 42 percent of the popular vote.

　　George Bush

　　Republican, vice president to Ronald Reagan and president of the United States from 1989 to 1993. His presidency was marked by economic recession and U.S. involvement in the Gulf War.