Borders: refers to documents describing or written in border cities, border states, or at border markers (such as official monuments and rivers); the movement or designation of political borders; crossing borders; surveys of borders; and wars or revolutions that impact the location of the border. Documents assigned this term include: travel journals that describe crossing state and national borders; government surveys determining the location of the border; letters from the Texas Revolution; images of political borders; images of border cities; treaties that establish political borders; etc.

Colonialism: refers to imperial control of a region or people; foreign governments controlling regions or people; and issues related to established colonies. Documents assigned this term include: accounts written by conquistadors and missionaries; documents on the founding and settlement of colonies; books detailing customs within specific colonial territories, etc.

Conquest: refers to the conquering or taking over of a people and/or territory through colonial reconnaissance campaigns, colonial settlement, or wars of invasion. Documents assigned this term include: accounts written by conquistadors; military documents from wars of invasion; maps of ceded territory; descriptions of military invasions; etc.

Conservatism: refers to adherence to right-wing political policies or philosophies and religious, cultural, and national traditions or customs. In Spanish, this particularly refers to adherence to Catholic policies. Documents assigned this term include: documents that justify politics along traditional religious lines; politically conservative constitutions; politically conservative presidential messages; documents that describe traditions and customs; conservative congressional documents; monarchal documents; the Plan de Iguala; etc.

Constitutionalism: refers to limited government, an adherence to constitutions and law. Documents assigned this term include: constitutions; government documents; election records; letters or narratives that reference constitutional rights; etc.

Development: refers to economic, political, or social growth and progress. Documents assigned this term include: economic documents; references to political changes; documents regarding agricultural or land development; accounts of medical progress; etc.

Diplomacy: refers to negotiations or treaties between groups, states, nations, or their representatives regarding commerce, peace, or war. Documents assigned this term include: treaties; letters or diaries written by diplomats; post-war negotiations between nations; etc.

Emancipation: refers to both individual and national freedom or independence. Documents assigned this term include: abolition documents; documents related to national independence movements; national declarations of independence; revolutionary documents; documents related to the Texas Revolution; etc.

Federalism: refers to a divided power structure in which powers are shared between groups, such as state and national governments; a political entity formed by distinct groups. Documents assigned this term include: election records; political documents that account for individual state policies; state legislative records; federal constitutions; etc.

Gender: refers to women’s rights; gender equality or inequality; gender roles; gendered customs and traditions; women’s writings; and images of women. Documents assigned this term include: descriptions of women’s customs; women’s letters and journals; documents describing women’s jobs; constitutions describing specific roles of women in civic society; images and photographs of women; etc.

Historiography: refers to the study of history and the study of history through primary sources. Documents assigned this term include: descriptions of historical events; historical maps; historical photographs; national founding documents, such as constitutions, declarations, and plans; etc.

Indigenity: refers to native peoples, traditions, customs, and territories, as well as native art and artifacts; it was also used to describe landscapes and plants indigenous to a region. Documents assigned this term include: descriptions of Native and Aboriginal peoples; images of native art or tools; images of native plants and landscapes; reports of military advances on native occupied regions; government documents on native peoples’ rights; descriptions of Indian warfare; descriptions of the religious conversion of native peoples; etc.

Inter-American Relations: refers to relationships and interaction (be it political, economic, or social) between countries, states, colonies, representatives, and people in the North and South Americas. Documents assigned this term include: treaties; international war documents; newspapers describing such interactions; Confederate documents, etc.

Labor: refers to employment, working conditions, the workforce, and job descriptions. Documents assigned this term include: letters from a nurse describing work conditions and episodes during the yellow fever outbreak; letters from engineers working on the Panama Canal; letters from doctors; documents describing the construction of the Panama Canal; descriptions or depictions of work done during land surveys; photographs of the construction of the Panama canal; etc.

Liberalism: refers to the emphasis of individual liberties, individual rights, equal opportunities, and limited government. In Spanish documents, this specifically refers to anticlerical (anti-Catholic) political policies. Documents assigned this term include: political manifestoes; constitutions; declarations of independence; Spanish anti-Catholic Church documents; etc.

Libertarianism: refers to a philosophy that emphasizes the individual, individual rights and liberties, the freedom of thoughts and actions, and free will. It was used during the Enlightenment in reference to individual liberties, limited government, and free thinking. Documents assigned this term include: discussions on abolition; documents that detail the rights that slaves should have as human beings; etc.

Migration: refers to movement of peoples, immigration, and travel. Documents assigned this term include: travel journals; letters from travelers; letters from or regarding exiles; exploration narratives; etc.

Nationalism: refers to an emphasis on the nation; a shared history and custom among a people; and national pride. Documents assigned this term include: constitutions; manifestoes; government publications focusing on the nation and national pride; documents detailing independence movements; proclamations; descriptions of national traditions and customs; national laws; propaganda; etc.

Neo-constitutionalism: refers to an evolving of the constitution and the constitutional rights guaranteed therein. Documents assigned this term include: government documents detailing changes to laws; constitutional revisions; etc.

Race Relations: refers to relationships between racial groups. Documents assigned this term include: references to slavery and abolition movements; descriptions of interactions between colonists and the natives; Confederate documents related to race and slavery; journals that describe interactions between people of different races; etc.

Religion: refers to religious beliefs, church traditions, biblical citations and explanations, church activities, and church policies. Documents assigned this term include: official church documents; constitutions that specify a state-imposed religion; descriptions of religious beliefs and customs; religious campaigns; letters from and regarding missionaries; diaries or journals that mention religion; anti-Church documents; sermons; images of missions and churches; etc.

Revolution: refers to an often-violent overthrowing of an established political system and the goal of replacing it with a new system. Documents assigned this term include: revolutionary war documents; documents from wars of independence; documents describing military campaigns and events during revolutionary wars; newspapers that mention revolutionary battles; documents regarding courts-martial; political manifestoes; etc.

Slavery: refers to slavery and abolition in the Americas. Documents assigned this term include: bills of sale of slaves; slave inventory lists; political cartoons regarding slavery; abolition documents; descriptions of slavery and slaves; legal documents regarding slavery; etc.

Technology: refers to technical equipment, some examples of technology include modes of transportation, printing technology, telegraphs, and medical equipment. Documents assigned this term include: descriptions of trains; medical knowledge, charts, and equipment; land survey reports; lists of equipment inventory, such as arms or sewing machines; etc.

War: refers to military or armed conflict. Documents assigned this term include: descriptions or references to battles; military maps; war records; references to military occupations and camps; portraits of uniformed military officers; images of battle fields and forts; Confederate and Republic of Texas currency; journals and letters written by soldiers, officers, and prisoners of war; newspapers describing battles; Texas Revolution correspondence; War Department correspondence; etc.