G8 Glossary
Republican party (p. 355) One of the original two political par-
ties, sometimes called “Democratic Republican,” it was organized
by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson and generally stood for
states’ rights, an agrarian economy and the interests of farmers and
planters over those of financial and commercial groups, who gen-
erally supported the Federalistparty; both of the original parties
faded in the 1820s. A new Republican party emerged in the 1850s
in opposition to the extension of slavery in the territories. It also
adopted most of the old Whig party’s economic program. The
party nominated John C. Fremont for president in 1856 and
Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
romanticism (p. 285) A loosely defined aesthetic movement orig-
inating in the late eighteenth century and flowering during the
early nineteenth century; it encompassed literature, philosophy,
arts, and music and enshrined feeling and intuition over reason.
Sanitary Commission (p. 391) A private and voluntary medical
organization, founded in May 1861, that sought to improve the
physical and mental well-being of Union soldiers during the
Civil War.
scalawags (p. 414) White southern Republicans—mainly small
landowning farmers and well-off merchants and planters—who
cooperated with the congressionally imposed Reconstruction gov-
ernments set up in the South following the Civil War.
Scopes trial (p. 651) Also called the “Monkey Trial,” it was a cel-
ebrated 1924 contest that pitted Darwinian evolutionists against
fundamentalist “Creationists.” John T. Scopes, a teacher charged
with defying Tennessee law by teaching evolution, was found
guilty and fined $100.
Second Continental Congress (p. 115) A gathering of American
Patriots in May 1775 that organized the Continental army, req-
uisitioned soldiers and supplies, and commissioned George
Washington to lead it.
Second Great Awakening (p. 274) A wave of religious enthusi-
asm, commencing in the 1790s and lasting for decades, that
stressed the mercy, love, and benevolence of God and emphasized
that all people could, through faith and effort, achieve salvation.
second party system (p. 260) A term for the political contention
between the Democratic party, as rejuvenated by Andrew Jackson
in 1828, and the Whigs, who emerged in response to Jackson.
Sedition Act (p. 623) Federal legislation, first passed in 1798 and
expired in 1801, that placed limits on freedom of speech during
wartime. Another such act was passed in 1918 and led to the
imprisonment of Socialist Eugene V. Debs and others during
World War I.
Seneca Falls Convention (p. 284) A meeting, held at Seneca
Falls, New York in 1848, that affirmed that “all men and women
are created equal” and sought the franchise (vote) for women.
settlement houses (p. 506) Community centers, founded by
reformers such as Jane Addams and Lillian Wald beginning in the
1880s, that were located in poor urban districts of major cities; the
centers sought to Americanize immigrant families and provide
them with social services and a political voice.
Seven Years’ War (p. 93) The global conflict, sometimes known
as the French and Indian War, that lasted from 1756 to 1763
and pitted France and its allies against Britain and its allies. Britain
ultimately prevailed, forcing France to surrender its claims to
Canada and all territory east of the Mississippi River.popular sovereignty (p. 310) The principle of allowing people to
make political decisions by majority vote. As applied to American
history, the term generally refers to the 1848 proposal of Michigan
Senator Lewis Cass to allow settlers to determine the status of slav-
ery in the territories.
Potsdam Conference (p. 733) A wartime conference (April 1945)
held in occupied Germany where Allied leaders divided Germany and
Berlin into four occupation zones, agreed to try Nazi leaders as war
criminals, and planned the exacting of reparations from Germany.
pragmatism (p. 524) A philosophical system, chiefly associated
with William James, that deemphasized abstraction and assessed
ideas and cultural practices based on their practical effects; it
helped inspire political and social reform during the late nine-
teenth century.
predestination (p. 35) The Calvinist belief, accepted by New
England puritans, that God had determined who would receive
eternal grace at the dawn of time; nothing people did during their
lifetime could alter their prospects of salvation.
Progressivism (p. 556) A cluster of movements for various forms
of social change—some of them contradictory—during the early
twentieth century; progressives generally opposed corruption and
inefficiency in government, monopoly power among corporations,
and wayward behavior among immigrants and others.
Protestant Reformation (p. 30) A religious movement of the
sixteenth century initially focused on eliminating corruption in
the Catholic Church; but under the influence of theologians
Martin Luther and John Calvin, it indicted Catholic theology
and gave rise to various denominations that advanced alterna-
tive interpretations.
puritans (p. 35) A term, initially derisive, referring to English
religious dissenters who believed that the religious practices and
administration of the Church of England too closely resembled
those of the Catholic Church; many migrated to Massachusetts
Bay after 1630 to establish a religious commonwealth based on the
principles of John Calvin and others.
Quakers (p. 42) Adherents of a religious organization founded in
England in the 1640s who believed that the Holy Spirit lived in all
people; they embraced pacifism and religious tolerance, and
rejected formal theology. In the decades after 1670, thousands of
Quakers emigrated to New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Radical Republicans (p. 378, 406) A faction within the
Republican party, headed by Thaddeus Stevens and Benjamin
Wade, that insisted on black suffrage and federal protection of the
civil rights of blacks. After 1867, the Radical Republicans
achieved a working majority in Congress and passed legislation
promoting Reconstruction.
Reaganomics (p. 805) A label pinned on President Ronald
Reagan’s policies of tax cuts, social welfare cuts, and increased mil-
itary spending; it generated huge federal deficits, but also pro-
moted the reorganization of large corporations.
“reconcentration” camps (p. 591) A term that referred to the
Spanish refugee camps into which Cuban farmers were herded in
1896 to prevent them from providing assistance to rebels fighting
for Cuban independence from Spain.
“red scare” (p. 635) Public hysteria over Bolshevik influence in
the United States after World War I; it led to the arrest or deporta-
tion of thousands of radicals, labor activists, and ethnic leaders.