The "A" Glossary
Abbasid Caliphate
Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, al-Abbas, the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled an Islamic empire from their capital in Baghdad (founded in 762) from 750-1258.
Abolitionists
Men and women who agitated for a complete end to slavery. Abolitionist pressure ended the British transatlantic slave trade in 1808 and slavery in British colonies in 1834. In the United States, the activities of abolitionists were one factor leading to the Civil War (1861-1865).
Acculturation
The adoption of the language, customs, values, and behaviors of host nations by immigrants.
Acheh Sultanate
Muslim kingdom in northern Sumatra. Main center of Islamic expansion in Southeast Asia in the early seventeenth century, it declined after the Dutch seized Malacca from Portugal in 1641.
Adams, John
(Lived: 1735-1826; Served: 1797-1801) John Adams was a leader of the American Revolution and served as the 2nd U.S. President. The Massachusetts-born, Harvard-educated Adams began his career as a lawyer. Intelligent, patriotic, opinionated and blunt, Adams became a critic of Britain's authority in colonial America and viewed the British imposition of high taxes and tariffs as a tool of oppression. After serving as America's 1st Vice President under George Washington, Adams was given a chance to steer the ship. Adams' bullheaded nature, which had served him well during the Revolution, did not work as Commander-in-Chief. Comparisons to Washington, foreign crises with Britain and France, and the ill-advised Alien and Sedition Acts, doomed Adam's tenure in office. He was defeated for another term by Thomas Jefferson. After his Presidency, Adams had a long and productive retirement, spending the rest of his days writing books and letters until his death on July 4, 1826... the Declaration's 50th anniversary. To read more about the John Adams, click here.
Adams, John Quincy
(Lived: 1767-1848; Served 1825-1829): Like father, like son... John Quincy Adams followed in his father's footsteps by serving as the 6th U.S. President. J.Q.'s diplomatic career was vast, and he served under Washington, his father, Madison, and Monroe. Under Madison, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. As Monroe's Secretary of State, he helped formulate the Monroe Doctrine. Adams went on to win the highly contentious Election of 1824 over Andrew Jackson. As a result, his every move was challenged by supporters of Jackson in Congress. With his lone Presidential highlight coming in the completion of the Erie Canal, J.Q. was soundly beaten by Jackson in 1828. Two years later, Adams' outspoken opposition to slavery sent him back to D.C., this time as a member of House of Representatives, where he served until his death in 1848. To read more about the John Quincy Adams, click here.
Aden
Port city in the modern south Arabian country of Yemen. It has been a major trading center in the Indian Ocean since ancient times.
African National Congress
An organization dedicated to obtaining equal voting and civil rights for black inhabitants of South Africa. Founded in 1912 as the South African Native National Congress, it changed its name in 1923. Though it was banned and its leaders were jailed for many years, it eventually helped bring majority rule to South Africa.
Afrikaners
South Africans descended from Dutch and French settlers of the seventeenth century. Their Great Trek founded new settler colonies in the nineteenth century. Though a minority among South Africans, they held political power after 1910, imposing a system of racial segregation called apartheid after 1949.
Agricultural Revolution
The change from food gathering to food production that occurred between 8000 and 2000 BC. This particular revolution is also known as the Neolithic Revolution, and it is credited with creating the first civilizations. In the 18th Century AD, there was a Second Agricultural Revolution saw the transformation of farming due to the spread of new crops, improvements in cultivation techniques and livestock breeding, and the consolidation of small holdings into large farms from which tenants and sharecroppers were forcibly expelled.
Aguinaldo, Emilio
(Lived: 1869-1964) Leader of the Filipino independence movement against Spain (1895-1898). He proclaimed the independence of the Philippines in 1899, but his movement was crushed and he was captured by the United States Army in 1901.
Akbar I
(Lived: 1542-1605; Ruled: 1556-1605) Most illustrious sultan of the Mughal Empire in India. He expanded the empire and pursued a policy of conciliation with Hindus.
Akhenaten
(Ruled: 1353-1335 BC) Egyptian pharaoh. He built a new capital at Amarna, fostered a new style of naturalistic art, and created a religious revolution by imposing worship of the sun-disk. The Amarna letters, largely from his reign, preserve official correspondence with subjects and neighbors.
Alexander the Great
(Lived: 356-323 BC) King of Macedonia in northern Greece. Between 334 and 323 B.C.E. he conquered the Persian Empire, reached the Indus Valley, founded many Greek-style cities, and spread Greek culture across the Middle East. Later known as Alexander the Great.
Alexandria
City on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt founded by Alexander. It became the capital of the Hellenistic kingdom of the Ptolemies. It contained the famous Library and the Museum—a center for leading scientific and literary figures. Its merchants engaged in trade with areas bordering the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
Allende, Salvador
(Lived: 1908-1973; Ruled: 1970-1973) Socialist politician elected president of Chile in 1970 and overthrown by the military in 1973. He died during the military attack. (p. 890)
All-India Muslim League
Political organization founded in India in 1906 to defend the interests of India's Muslim minority. Led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it attempted to negotiate with the Indian National Congress. In 1940, the League began demanding a separate state for Muslims, to be called Pakistan.
Amendment #1
Guarantees the right to the freedoms of speech, press, and religion. Protects the right to petition the government. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the First Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #2
Guarantees the people the right to own and bear arms for their defense. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Second Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #3
Citizens cannot be forced to quarter soldiers during times of peace. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Third Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #4
Citizens cannot be forced to subject themselves to seizure and search without a search warrant and probable cause. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Fourth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #5
Prohibits abuse of governmental authority in legal procedures. Establishes rules for indictment by eminent domain and grand jury. Guarantees the due process rights. Protects citizens from self-incrimination and double jeopardy. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Fifth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #6
Guarantees fair and speedy jury trial and the rights to know the accusation, the accuser, and to find counsel and witnesses. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Sixth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #7
Reserves individuals’ rights to jury trial depending on the civil case, and cases already examined by not be re-opened by another court. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Seventh Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #8
Forbids exorbitant bails and fines and punishment that is unusual or cruel. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Eighth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #9
Reserves the rights of citizens which are not specifically mentioned by the U.S. Constitution. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Ninth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #10
Reserves powers that are not given to the U.S. Government under the Constitution, nor prohibited to a state of the U.S., to the people and the states. Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments). To read more about the Tenth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #11
State sovereign immunity. States are protected from suits by citizens living in another state or foreigners that do not reside within the state borders. To read more about the Eleventh Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #12
Modifies and clarifies the procedure for electing Vice Presidents and Presidents. To read more about the Twelfth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #13
Except as punishment for criminal offense, forbids forced-slavery and involuntary servitude. One of three Reconstruction Amendments. To read more about the Thirteenth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #14
Details Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause, Citizenship Clause, and clauses dealing with the Confederacy and its officials. One of three Reconstruction Amendments. To read more about the Fourteenth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #15
Reserves citizens the suffrage rights regardless of their race, color, or previous slave status. One of three Reconstruction Amendments. To read more about the Fifteenth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #16
Reserves the U.S. Government the right to tax income. To read more about the Sixteenth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #17
Establishes popular voting as the process under which senators are elected. To read more about the Seventeenth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #18
Denies the sale and consumption of alcohol. repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment. To read more about the Eighteenth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #19
Reserves women's suffrage rights (right to vote). To read more about the Nineteenth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #20
Also known as the "Lame Duck Amendment", establishes date of term starts for Congress (January 3rd) and President (January 20th). To read more about the Twentieth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #21
Details the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. State laws over alcohol are to remain. To read more about the Twenty-First Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #22
Limit the terms that an individual can be elected as President (at most two terms). Individuals who have served over two years of someone else's term may not be elected more than once. To read more about the Twenty-Second Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #23
Reserves the right of citizens residing in the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) to vote for their own Electors for presidential elections. To read more about the Twenty-Third Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #24
Citizens cannot be denied the suffrage rights (right to vote) for not paying a poll tax or any other taxes. To read more about the Twenty-Fourth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #25
Establishes the procedures for a successor of a President. To read more about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #26
Reserves the right for citizens 18 and older to vote. To read more about the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amendment #27
Denies any laws that vary the salaries of Congress members until the beginning of the next terms of office for Representatives. To read more about the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, and to learn a fantastic way to remember it, click here.
Amulet
Small charm meant to protect the bearer from evil. Found frequently in archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, amulets reflect the religious practices of the common people.
Amur River
This river valley was a contested frontier between northern China and eastern Russia until the settlement arranged in Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689).
Anarchism (anarchy)
Political theory advocating a society that runs without coercive authority from government, religion, education, or industry imposing limits on individuals' freedom.
Anarchists
Revolutionaries who wanted to abolish all private property and governments, usually by violence, and replace them with free associations of groups.
Anasazi
Important culture of what is now the Southwest United States (1000-1300 AD). Centered on Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Mesa Verde in Colorado, the Anasazi culture built multistory residences and worshiped in subterranean buildings called kivas.
Anglicanism
Belief in the Christian teachings and doctrine of the Church of England as opposed to that of the Roman Catholic Church.
Anglo-Saxon
Germanic Angle, Saxon, or Jude tribes that settled in England from the 5th Century AD, taking advantage of Roman withdrawal to set up individually ruled kingdoms or provinces.
Apartheid
Afrikaans word to describe the former segregation of races in South Africa, based on a belief in white superiority.
Aqueduct
A conduit, either elevated or underground, using gravity to carry water from a source to a location (usually a city) that needed it. The Romans built many aqueducts in a period of substantial urbanization.
Arabs
Term first used in the 9th Century BC to describe Semitic people from Arabia, whose descendants settled throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
Arawak
Amerindian peoples who inhabited the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean at the time of Columbus.
Avars
Nomadic people from Central Asia who defeated the Huns in the 6th Century AD and the Slavs and Bulgars in the 7th Century AD; they were crushed by Emperor Charlemagne around 800 AD.