Glossary

American Passages: A History of the United States, Brief, 1st Edition
Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky, Soderlund

Era of Good Feelings: The era of partyless politics during President James Monroe's administration. It was created by the collapse of the Federalists at the end of the War of 1812.

Era of Good Stealings: A term used to describe the explosion of corruption in the years after the Civil War.

Evangelicals: Religious groups that generally place more emphasis on converting non-Christians and less on defending the literal word of the Bible.

ecology: Branch of biology that studies the interrelationships between living organisms and their physical environments.

economy of scale: This term can be applied to both industry and agriculture. As farms or industries became larger, the costs of operation did not always rise in direct relation to the increase in production. Therefore, the larger farms were often more profitable and had more capital for future expansion. This economic advantage led to a greater concentration of wealth in a few hands and was especially noticeable in the cotton-producing South, where planters with more land and many slaves prospered.

edge cities: Former suburban areas that came to rival their adjacent cities as centers of business and population.

elect: Those selected by God for salvation.

electoral college: The group that elected the president. Each state received as many electors as it had congressmen and senators combined and could decide how to choose its electors. Every elector voted for two candidates, one of whom had to be from another state.

emancipation: Refers to release from slavery or bondage. Gradual emancipation was introduced in Pennsylvania and provided for the protection of property rights and the eventual freeing of slaves, born after a certain date, when they reached age 28.

embargo: A government order prohibiting the movement of merchant ships or goods in or out of its ports.

encomienda: A system of labor introduced into the Western Hemisphere by the Spanish. This permitted the holder, or encomendero, to claim labor from Indians in a district for a stated period of time.

enfranchise: The right to vote. In colonial America, roughly three fourths of the adult white males could meet all the requirements for voting.

entail: A system of inheritance that prohibited a landowner, or his heir, from dividing up a landed estate.

entail: A system of inheritance that prohibited a landowner, or his heir, from dividing up a landed estate.

enumerated commodities: A group of colonial products that had to be shipped from the colony of origin to England or another colony. The most important products were sugar and tobacco.

established church: The church in an area that was officially recognized and was supported by the government.

establishment: The de facto social order; the group controlling the most power and influence in a society.

eugenics: Pseudoscience based on the idea that nations could improve the race of their population by pruning some of its weaker racial strains.

evangelical: A style of Christian ministry that includes much zeal and enthusiasm. Evangelical ministers tend to emphasize personal conversion and faith rather than religious ritual.

evangelical: A term used to describe crusading zeal or enthusiasm, often associated with a religious group.

excise tax: An internal tax on goods or services.

external taxes: Taxes based on oceanic trade, such as port duties. Some Americans thought of them more as a means of regulating trade than as taxation.