Glossary

Fourth Amendment

protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure. The government may not conduct any searches without a warrant, and such warrants must be issued by a judge and based on probable cause.

Freedom of Contract

the freedom to enter into employment or conduct business without interference from the state or federal governments.

Freedom Rides

A direct action tactic where African-American activists would ride interstate buses into the segregated South, where the buses were legally segregated.

Fugitive Slave Act

Required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves.

Gendered

specific to people of one particular sex or gender.

General Cornwallis

The leader of the British forces during the American Revolution.

Grandfather clauses

a part of the constitutions of some Southern states that required having a descendant who voted before 1867 to be eligible to vote.

Great Depression

the economic crisis and period of low business activity in the U.S. and other countries, roughly beginning with the stock-market crash in October, 1929, and continuing through most of the 1930s.

Gregarious

fond of the company of others; sociable

Gynecologist

a medical doctor that specializes in female reproductive health