Canada, and ten European nations, including Great Britain,
France, and West Germany; the Soviet Union countered with the
formation of the Warsaw Pact among communist regimes in
Eastern Europe.
Northwest Ordinance (p. 135) A 1787 measure of the Continental
Congress, passed according to the Articles of Confederation, to
provide for governance of the region north of the Ohio River and
the eventual admission of up to five territories—ultimately the states
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The ordinance
also prohibited slavery in the region and reserved lands for Indians.
NSC-68 (p. 745) A secret policy statement, proposed by the
National Security Council in 1950, calling for a large, ongoing
military commitment to contain Soviet communism; it was
accepted by President Harry Truman after the North Korean inva-
sion of South Korea.
nullification (p. 258) A doctrine, forcefully articulated by
John C. Calhoun in 1828, asserting that a state could invali-
date, within its own boundaries, federal legislation the state
regarded as unconstitutional.
Open Door policy (p. 602) A policy, propounded by Secretary of
State John Hay in 1899, affirming the territorial integrity of China
and a policy of free trade.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
(p. 798) A cartel of oil-producing nations in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America that gained substantial power over the world econ-
omy in the mid- to late-1970s.
Ostend Manifesto (p. 348) A confidential 1854 dispatch to the
U.S. State Department from American diplomats meeting in
Ostend, Belgium, suggesting that the United States would be jus-
tified in seizing Cuba if Spain refused to sell it to the United
States. When word of the document was leaked, Northerners
seethed at this “slaveholders’ plot” to extend slavery.
Paleolithic revolution (p. 4) Period 750,000 years ago when
humans devised simple stone tools, inaugurating life based on
hunting and gathering.
Pendleton Act (p. 535) An 1883 law bringing civil service reform
to federal employment; it classified many government jobs and
required competitive exams for these positions.
People’s (Populist) party (p. 542) The People’s party of
America was an important “third party,” founded in 1891, that
sought to unite various disaffected groups, especially farmers. The
party nominated James B. Weaver for president in 1892 and in
1896 joined with the Democratic party in support of William
Jennings Bryan for president.
Persian Gulf War (p. 817) The 1991 war following Iraq’s
takeover of Kuwait; the United States and a coalition of allies
defeated the army of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein but failed to
drive him from power.
Platt Amendment (p. 598) A law, passed in 1901 and superseding
theTeller Amendment, which stipulated the conditions for the
withdrawal of American forces from Cuba; it also transferred owner-
ship of the naval base at Guantanamo Bay to the United States.
Plessy v. Ferguson(p. 537) Supreme Court ruling (1896) that
held that racial segregation of public accommodations did not
infringe on the “equal protection” clause of the Constitution; this
“separate but equal” doctrine was overturned by Brown v. Board
of Educationin 1954.National Recovery Administration (NRA) (p. 687) ANew
Dealagency, established in 1933, to promote economic recovery,
that promulgated industry-wide codes to control production,
prices, and wages.
nationalism (p. 134) An affinity for a particular nation; in partic-
ular, a sense of national consciousness and loyalty that promotes
the interests and attributes of that nation over all others.
Nativism (p. 493) A fear or hatred of immigrants, ethnic minori-
ties, or alien political movements.
Navigation Acts (p. 84) Seventeenth-century Parliamentary
statutes to control trade within the British empire so as to benefit
Britain and promote its administration of the colonies.
Neolithic revolution (p. 5) The transition from a hunter-gather
economy to one mostly based on the cultivation of crops.
neutrality acts (p. 704) Legislation affirming nonbelligerency in
the event of war. In relation to American history, such legislation
was passed in 1794 to preclude American entanglement in the
Napoleonic Wars; similar laws were passed just before and after
World War I, especially during the 1930s.
New Deal (p. 686) A broad program of legislation proposed by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt to promote recovery from the
Great Depression and provide relief for those in distress.
New Freedom (p. 575) Democratic candidate Woodrow
Wilson’s term in the 1912 presidential campaign for a proposed
policy that would restore competition by breaking up the trusts
and punishing corporations that violated rules of business conduct.
New Frontier (p. 761) President John F. Kennedy’s term for a
revitalized national agenda, particularly in relation to foreign pol-
icy and space exploration.
new immigration (p. 493) Reference to the influx of immigrants
to the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century predominantly from southern and eastern Europe.
New Jersey Plan (p. 147) The proposal to the Constitutional
Convention of 1787 by New Jersey delegate William Paterson to cre-
ate a federal legislature in which each state was represented equally.
The concept became embodied in the United States Constitution
through the Senate, in which each state has two representatives,
though this was counterbalanced by the House of Representatives, in
which each state’s representation is proportional to its population.
New Nationalism (p. 574) Progressive candidate Theodore
Roosevelt’s term in the 1912 presidential election for an expansion
of federal power to regulate big business and enact legislation to
promote social justice.
Niagara movement (p. 580) A response by W. E. B. Du Bois and
other blacks, following a meeting in Niagara Falls in 1905, in
opposition to Booker T. Washington’s advocacy of black accom-
modation to white prejudice; these leaders drafted a political pro-
gram to achieve equal opportunity, equal justice, and an end to
segregation that led to the founding of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (p. 853) A
1993 accord signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to
reduce and eventually eliminate barriers to trade, including tariffs,
among the signatories.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (p. 744) A mili-
tary mutual-defense pact, formed in 1948, by the United States,
Glossary G7