1860s Flashcards
Pemberton Mill
A large factory in Massachusetts which collapsed in 1860, leading to 145 deaths and an outcry for reform.
1860 Wiyot Massacre
Wiyot Indians were slaughtered for control of Indian Island in Eureka, California.
Cooper Union speech
An important speech delivered by Lincoln in 1860, many believe it is responsible for making him president.
Paiute War
An Indian war in Utah which began under Buchanan, fought in 1860.
Constitutional Union Party
A centrist party which wanted to avoid the slavery issue altogether to preserve the union, they nominated John Bell in 1860.
PS Lady Elgin
A steamship which crashed in 1860 and lead to immediate regulation of maritime laws, including running lights.
United States presidential election, 1860
Lincoln running as a Republican narrowly defeats pro-slavery Southern Democrat John Breckinridge. He also defeats centrist John Bell from the Constitutional Union Party and pro-public sovereignty candidate, Democrat Stephen Douglas.
Crittenden Compromise
A last ditch effort to end the secessionist crisis of 1860 which was a constitutional amendment to not interfere with slavery.
Wide Awakes
A paramilitary campaign organization of young men associated with the Republican Party which arose around the 1860 election.
Cynthia Ann Parker
A young girl kidnapped by a Comanche war band in 1836, she was eventually “rescued” by Texas Rangers and used as anti-Indian propaganda but couldn’t adjust to life in a white society and died in melancholia.
Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union
A proclamation announced before Lincoln’s inauguration that South Carolina is leaving the Union, beginning the Civil War.
Jefferson Davis
Ruled as President of the Confederate States of America during the entire Civil War (1861-1865). Regarded as a weak president, too focussed on detail, unpopular, and responsible for devaluing the Confederate dollar.
Confederate States Constitution
The constitution of the Confederacy, it was very similar to the American constitution except that it emphasized states rights and slavery.
Battle of Fort Sumter
(1861) South Carolina, site of first battle of the Civil War.
Robert E. Lee
Commanded the Confederate Army
Ex parte Merryman
(1861) The federal court ruled that Lincoln had exceeded his authority in suspending the writ of habeas corpus. Lincoln ignored Justice Roger Taney’s ruling, arguing that the constitution allowed this suspension in a time of rebellion.
Camp Jackson Affair
An early civil war riot which broke out in Missouri in 1861.
What was the capital of the Confederated States of America?
Richmond, Virginia.
First Battle of Bull Run
1861- A.K.A. the First Manassas to the Confederates, it was a Confederate victory which showed both sides that the war would be much longer and bloodier than expected.
Crittenden-Johnson Resolution
An 1861 Civil War resolution which stated that the war was being fought to restore the Union as it was under the Constitution, and not the abolition of slavery. Its significance was that it was passed in order to keep the slave border states from leaving the Union and joining the Confederacy.
Revenue Act of 1861
Created first U.S. income tax statute to pay for the Civil War.
George B. McClellan
An unpopular Union general who was blamed for many of the North’s early failures in the Civil War, until he was asked by Lincoln to step down following Antietam.
Trent Affair
1861- A ship carrying Confederate ambassadors going to England to try and work out an alliance was attacked by Union ships which captured everyone on board, including some Englishmen. England was outraged at this and threatened war, but Lincoln issued an apology.
Gatling gun
A rapid-fire weapon invented and first used during the Civil War.
USS Monitor
The first ironclad warship used by the US Navy. Invented during the Civil War in 1861, it changed naval history all over the world.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Written by Julia Ward Howe in 1861, became a battle song for Union soldiers.
Battle of Hampton Roads
1862- Naval battle where the Confederate Virginia was able to slightly damage the Union Merrimack, but the battle concluded as a stalemate. wooden ships became obsolete after these two ironclads met.
Battle of Shiloh
1862- A Civil War battle in Tennessee in which the Union army gained greater control over the Mississippi River valley
Great Locomotive Chase
1862- Union spies in the South commandeered a train car and in the process damaged vital railway and telegraph lines.
Pacific Railroad Act
The first of these was signed by Lincoln in 1862 to build a transcontinental railroad.
The Dakota War
1862- Uprising under Lincoln’s presidency caused by Indian aggravation about the United States constantly violating its own treaties, the end result was that it scattered and destroyed Native Americans in Minnesota.
John Pope
Union general with brief but successful career in the Western Theater, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the East, after which he was replaced by McClellan.
Battle of Antietam
1862- Civil War battle in which the North succeeded in halting Lee’s Confederate forces in Maryland. Was the bloodiest day in American history with 25,000 casualties
The Allegheny Arsenal
1862- A Union arsenal which exploded mysteriously prior to the Battle of Antietam, killing 74 teenage girls who were volunteering for the Army. The tragedy was quickly overshadowed by Antietam.
The Emancipation Proclamation
1862- Document written by Abraham Lincoln following the Battle of Antietam which freed the slaves in the states that were in rebellion. This added the reason why the war was fought from preserving the Union to freeing the slaves. Didn’t free slaves in border states which supported the Union.
General Order No. 11 (1862)
An order signed by Gen. Grant which banned all Jews from joining the Union Army. It was very unpopular and was quickly revoked, Grant would spend much of his political career reconciling with the Jewish community.
P. T. Barnum
United States showman who popularized the circus and traveling freak shows in the 1860s and 70s
New York City draft riots
1863- Mobs of Irish working-class men and women roamed the streets for four days until federal troops suppressed them. They loathed the idea of being drafted to fight a war on behalf of slaves who, once freed, would compete with them for jobs. They targeted blacks and the wealthy, deadliest riots in American history, possibly. Such fierce racial violence that thousands of blacks migrated from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
Enrollment Act
1863- Instituted a draft for the Northern army. Substitution Clause said if you can’t serve than you could pay $300 and find a substitute
Quantrill’s Raiders
Active from 1861-1865, Pro-Confederate outlaws who used guerilla tactics slaughtering civilians in Lawrence during the Civil War.
Lawrence Massacre
William Quantrill’s bloody border gang’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas that led to a massacre.
Stonewall Jackson
Important Confederate military leader, his death in 1863 really wounded public morale.
54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
The first all-black regiment during the Civil War.
Battle of Gettysburg
1863- Turning point of the War that made it clear the North would win. 50,000 people died, and the South lost its chance to invade the North.
Siege of Vicksburg
1863- A turning point of the war along with Gettysburg, it was a Union victory which blocked the South once more.
Gettysburg Address
1863- A speech given by Abraham Lincoln after the Battle of Gettysburg, in which he praised the bravery of Union soldiers and renewed his commitment to winning the Civil War; supported the ideals of self-government and human rights.
Long Walk of the Navajo
1864- Under Lincoln’s presidency, the Navajo were forced at gunpoint to trek miles a day from their reservation into the desert.
Red River Campaign
A failed 1864 plan by the Union to capture Louisiana. Poorly organized and planned.
Coinage Act of 1864
Put “In God We Trust” on all American currency.
Civil War gold hoax
An 1864 hoax orchestrated by two American newspapers to hurt the stock market for their personal advantage, their plan worked, but a furious Lincoln had all those involved jailed.
William Tecumseh Sherman
Union General who destroyed South during 1864 “march to the sea” from Atlanta to Savannah, example of total war.
Four Georgians
Gold prospectors credited with bringing a minor gold rush to Montana in 1864.
United States presidential election, 1864
Republican Lincoln won re-election this time as a “National Unioner,” over George McClellan who ran as a Democratic despite not agreeing at all with his party’s platform.
Sherman’s March to the Sea
1864- General Sherman led some 60000 Union troops on a march south across Georgia; burned cities and destroyed everything in his path; killed civilians, destroyed crops. Sherman believed in total war.
Confederate Army of Manhattan
1864- A group of Southern operatives who, during the Civil War, attempted to burn New York City to the ground. Their plan failed, as the fires were quickly contained.
Sand Creek massacre
U.S. Army’s 1864 killing of about 150 Cheyenne elderly people, women and children at the Sand Creek Reservation in Colorado Territory.
Mercer Girls
An 1860’s project by an American man named Asa Shinn Mercer to “import” women to the Pacific Northwest to balance the gender ratio.
Freedmen’s Bureau
Agency set up to aid former slaves in adjusting themselves to freedom. It furnished food and clothing to needy blacks and helped them get jobs. Loathed by Pres. Johnson.
Appomattox Court House
The location where Lee surrendered to Grant in 1865, ending the Civil War.
John Wilkes Booth
A famous stage actor who killed Abraham Lincoln.
Juneteenth
The day of emancipation in Texas, a traditional holiday among black Texans.
Lewis Powell
Viciously attacked Secretary of State William Seward in 1865 as part of a major plot with Booth and three others, Steward survived and Powell was hanged.
Wild Bill Hickok
An Old West folk character known for hunting outlaws.
Henry Wirz
A Confederate officer hanged for the barbaric conditions in his POW camps.
United States House Committee on Appropriations
Created in 1865, a committee responsible for setting specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States.
The 13th Amendment
Ratified in 1865- Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
Ku Klux Klan
A Southern organization formed in 1865 in opposition of Reconstruction and for the purpose of repressing freed slaves.
Jesse James
A famous Wild West American outlaw who was known for popularizing the practice of robbing banks, assassinated by Robert Ford.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
This legislation was vetoed by President Johnson, but Congress overturned his veto. This bill stopped employment or housing discrimination on the basis of color or race.
Judicial Circuits Act
1866- This bill reduced the number of Supreme Court Justices to seven instead of ten, preventing Pres. Andrew Johnson from being able to make any appointments.
National Union Convention
An 1866 gathering planned by Pres. Johnson, it brought together radical republicans, democrats, and moderates. It accomplished nothing.
Swing Around the Circle
Name for Johnson’s political strategy in which he tried to gain the popular support of the people, he failed miserably when he was quoted as saying “I don’t care about dignity,” and ended with a stage collapse which killed over 20 people.
Alaska Purchase
AKA Seward’s Folly, Alaska was purchased by Secretary of State William H. Seward from Russia in 1866. Reactions were mixed.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Author of “The Little House” books for children, about prairie family life.
Midway Atoll
An island in the Pacific Ocean which America claimed in 1867.
Medicine Lodge Treaty
1867- This landmark treaty acknowledged American failure in treating the Indians with respect and dignity, but at the same time forced many Native American tribes to reside just in Oklahoma.
The Grange
A fraternal organization founded in 1867 with the intent of unifying agricultural families.
Great American Novel
The concept of a novel that captures the spirit of the time in which it was written, the term was coined in 1868.
“Little Women”
An influential 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott which molded the idea of the “American Girl.”
Tenure of Office Act
An 1867 act passed by Congress which restricted Pres. Johnson’s power to dismiss certain office holders, he broke this law and that lead to his impeachment.
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 for violating the Tenure of Office Act and was one vote short of removal.
The 14th Amendment
1868- Granted African-Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process.
United States presidential election, 1868
Andrew Johnson, the incumbent, was unpopular and did not win the Democratic nomination. It instead went to Horatio Seymour who lost to Republican Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses S. Grant was the first candidate to win with only a minority of the white vote. Chief issues were reconstruction and suffrage for blacks, with the African-American vote giving Grant the popular vote edge.
The Golden spike
The ceremonial final spike driven into the transcontinental railroad upon its completion in 1869.
National Woman Suffrage Association
A group which signified the re-emergence of feminism, which vanished during the Civil War, a suffragette group founded in 1869.
Celluloid
The first plastic, patented by an American in 1869.
The Fisk-Gould Scandal
1869- the first scandal to rock Grant’s presidency, it involved two speculators who caused a financial panic in an attempt to corner the gold market.
What was the first state to give female suffrage? And when?
Wyoming, 1869
