An American History

GLOSSARY ★ A-51

guaranteed the rights of citizenship to for-

mer slaves.

Civil Service Act of 1883 Law that estab-

lished the Civil Service Commission and

marked the end of the spoils system.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 1933

New Deal public work relief program that

provided outdoor manual work for unem-

ployed men, rebuilding infrastructure and

implementing conservation programs. The

program cut the unemployment rate, partic-

ularly among young men.

Cold War Term for tensions, 1945–1989,

between the Soviet Union and the United

States, the two major world powers after

World War II.

collective bargaining The process of

negotiations between an employer and a

group of employees to regulate working

conditions.

Columbian Exchange The transatlantic

flow of goods and people that began with

Columbus’s voyages in 1492.

Committee of Correspondence Group

organized by Samuel Adams in retaliation

for the Gaspée incident to address Amer-

ican grievances, assert American rights,

and form a network of rebellion.

common school Tax- supported state

schools of the early nineteenth century

open to all children.

Common Sense A pamphlet anonymously

written by Thomas Paine in January 1776

that attacked the English principles

of hereditary rule and monarchical

government.

Commonwealth v. Hunt Landmark 1842

ruling of the Massachusetts Supreme Court

establishing the legality of labor unions.

communitarianism Social reform move-

ment of the nineteenth century driven by

the belief that by establishing small com-

munities based on common ownership of

property, a less competitive and individu-

alistic society could be developed.

Bush v. Gore U.S. Supreme Court case that
determined the winner of the disputed
2000 presidential election.
busing The means of transporting stu-
dents via buses to achieve school integra-
tion in the 1970s.
Camp David Accords Peace agreement
between the leaders of Israel and Egypt,
brokered by President Jimmy Carter in
1978.
captivity narratives Accounts written
by colonists after their time in Indian
captivity, often stressing the captive’s reli-
gious convictions.
caravel A fifteenth- century European
ship capable of long- distance travel.

carpetbaggers Derisive term for north-
ern emigrants who participated in the
Republican governments of the Recon-
struction South.
checks and balances A systematic bal-
ance to prevent any one branch of the
national government from dominating
the other two.
Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 law that
halted Chinese immigration to the United
States.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day
Saints Religious sect founded in 1830
by Joseph Smith; it was a product of the
intense revivalism of the “ burned- over
district” of New York. Smith’s successor
Brigham Young led 15,000 followers to
Utah in 1847 to escape persecution.
Civil Rights Act (1964) Law that out-
lawed discrimination in public accommo-
dations and employment.

Civil Rights Act of 1875 The last piece
of Reconstruction legislation, which out-
lawed racial discrimination in places of
public accommodation such as hotels and
theaters. Many parts of it were ruled uncon-
stitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883.
Civil Rights Bill of 1866 Along with the
Fourteenth Amendment, legislation that