AP US History Semester I Key Terms Flashcards
Movement of Native Americans into North and South America, perhaps starting around 20,000 years ago
pre-Columbian Migration
Land and ice mass that connecting Alaska to Russia during the last Ice Age
Bering Strait
Huge mammals that pre-Columbian Americans followed to North America
Megafauna
Landed on an island in the Caribbean Sea, making North and South America popularly known to Europeans
Christopher Columbus
The transmittal of plants, animals, humans and diseases from the Old World to the New World
Columbian Exchange
Split North and South America and other newly discovered lands in half, east of the line created by the pope would belong to Portugal, west of the line would belong to Spain. It was an attempt stop Catholic nations from fighting other Catholic nations during the Protestant Reformation
Treaty of Tordesillas
Europeans who brutally killed, raped, and pillaged the Aztec, Inca, and other Native American tribes for European exploitation and enrichment
Conquistadores
A mythical sea passage above North America linking the Atlantic to the Pacific
Northwest Passage
French city founded on the St. Lawrence river in the early 1600s
Quebec
First successful English colony in America
Jamestown
Early leader of the Jamestown colony that enabled it to survive the Starving Time where the colony was nearly wiped out
John Smith
Brought illegal, Spanish tobacco seeds to Jamestown, creating a cash crop and ensuring its survival
John Rolfe
Forced laborers who first arrived in Jamestown in 1619
Slaves
Europeans who traded their labor for a number of years in exchange for paid passage to North America
Indentured Servants
First official governing legislature in English held Colonial America, founded in 1619
Virginia House of Burgesses
Religious group who sought to purify the Church of England of all of its “Catholic” aspects and make it closer to their view of Jesus’ message. Driven out of Europe and settled in North America in the early 1600s
Puritans
First colony in New England founded by Puritans seeking religious freedom
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Document specifically explaining that government in the Puritan Colonies would be representative of the people
Mayflower Compact
Disagreed with some aspects of Puritanical theology and created his own colony which he named Rhode Island, which he bought from Native Americans
Roger Williams
Religious dissenter in Puritan America who said that all that was needed to be saved was extreme faith in God. She was expelled from Massachusetts
Anne Hutchinson
A sermon written by John Winthrop explaining how Puritan America would be a beacon of faith and religiosity that Europe would look at as an example of a Christian Utopia
City Upon A Hill
Mass hysteria resulting in the killing of dozens of young women accused convening with the devil
Salem Witch Trials
Political and military turmoil in England that leads to a Puritan take-over of the English government; as a result, very few Puritan migrate to America during this decade
Glorious Revolution
Held the title of Lord Baltimore, created Maryland as a haven from Catholics feeling religious persecution in England
Cecelius Calvert
Exchange of finished products from Europe to Africa for slaves, slaves to the New World for raw materials, and raw materials to Europe to be turned into finished products
Triangle Trade
Horrible journey of slaves in hulls of ships from Africa to the New World where more than a third of the Africans would be expected to die
Middle Passage
Economic policy where a nation attempts to accumulate gold and silver by producing and selling more goods than a nations buys
Mercantilism
Laws that attempted to force American Colonists to trade only with England, an example of England trying to use the colonies as places to gather raw materials as well as act as a market to buy finished products produced in England
Navigation Acts of 1660 and 1663
Caused because the poor white farmers had been pushed into Indian territory and felt as if the rich, coastal elites were using them as a buffer. Jamestown was burned to the ground and it was the first major revolt in Colonial America
Bacon’s Rebellion
Spiritual movement in the United States that began an evangelical era where people attempted to convert other to new sects of Christianity that often times required some sort of emotional conversion experience where people claimed they felt God’s presence directly
The Great Awakening
Fire and Brimstone Preacher who claimed that we are all Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God and must submit to God’s will entirely or forever be damned to Hell. Said that God would punish whole communities if any of the community members were not Godly enough!
Jonathan Edwards
Preached to tens of thousands in the colonies converting many to Methodism with his unrivaled emotional appeals. He was the most famous man in the American colonies during the Great Awakening
George Whitefield
A religious experience when a person believes he or she literally feels God’s presence, knowledge, acknowledgement, will, peace, etc. This is often a major part of Evangelical Protestantism
Conversion Experience
Violent conflict between England and France over North America land holdings, especially the Ohio River Valley
French and Indian War
Proposed by Ben Franklin to unite the Northeastern American colonies together to defend against French military aggression. It never came to be because the colonies were unwilling to give up autonomy
Albany Plan of Union
This agreement gave England more land in North America, including the Ohio River Valley, and pushed the French further into Northern Canada
Treaty of Paris ending the French and Indian War
Native American uprising due to the encroachment of American colonists into the Ohio River Valley
Pontiac’s Rebellion
Created to restrict white settlement in the Ohio River Valley in order to end Native attacks on English forts, settlers, and colonies
The Proclamation Line of 1763
New English monarch and prime minister who would restrict colonial economic and political freedom
George III and George Grenville
British policy of having economic and political restrictions on the American colonies, but not really enforcing them
Salutary Neglect
The notion that American colonists were represented in the English Parliament even though American colonists could not vote for members of Parliament because Members of Parliament represent all English subjects despite who elects them
Virtual Representation
Organized resistance to British economic and political restrictions, such as boycotts of British goods, and anti-British newspapers
Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty
England’s attempt to limit anti-British feeling, but also attempt to re-state the Supremacy of Parliament and the King over the American Colonies
Stamp Act Congress
Document that was passed throughout the colonies encouraging boycotts
Repeal of the Stamp Act and the Declaratory Act
New economic laws forcing the American colonists to trade almost exclusively with England and the Royal Court Systems to enforce these new laws and taxes
Townshend Acts and Vice Admiralty Courts
Shooting of American colonial civilians by British soldiers after an angry, anti-British mob incited violence against the British soldiers, it became a major cause of the Revolution
Boston Massacre
American colonists refused to pay a tax on tea and dumped thousands of pounds of tea into Boston Harbor, further fueling the fire for revolution
Boston Tea Party
A series of laws and restrictions of the colonists meant to punish them for the Boston Tea Party and other acts of insurrection
Intolerable Acts
Met before the Revolutionary War started in order complain to the British Parliament but to try to maintain peace between American Colonies and the British Government
First Continental Congress
A list of complaints that was written by colonists to the British Parliament outlining what the colonists’ believed should be the relationship of government between the colonies and the British Crown
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
Documents that allowed British soldiers to search any colonial home or business for black market goods at any time. It was hated by colonists and seen as an invasion of privacy
Writs of Assistance
Colonial citizen-soldiers who trained in local communities and were to be ready to fight at a minute’s notice
Minute Men
Famous for being one of the many riders who alarmed minute men that the British were coming to take the guns and powder supplies hidden at the city of Concord, Massachusetts.
Paul Revere
Known as the “shot heard ‘round the world” because it was the first shots heard in the American Revolution. Occurred because the British military was marching to capture a hidden stash of guns and powder the Colonists were hiding
Lexington and Concord
Those loyal to the British Crown and those who wanted to break from England and create a new nation.
Loyalists and Patriots
First battle in the American Revolution that showed the Americans were willing to stand and fight the British even though the battle resulted in a British victory
Bunker Hill
Group of representatives from all the Colonies that met to see how England had responded to the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, they formed the de facto government of the American Revolution
Second Continental Congress
Written by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 in order to try to maintain peace between England and the American Colonies, but it was rejected by England
Olive Branch Petition
Written by Thomas Paine and creates arguments for breaking governmental ties with England, widely read and a major cause of the American Revolution
Common Sense
The Battle that convinced France that it would be worth aiding the United States in its battle for independence from England
Battle of Saratoga
Provided the United States with a navy, military training, supplies, and troops. Allowed the US to win the American Revolution
French Support
Gave the United States its independence, even though England largely ignored many of its provisions
Treaty of Paris Ending the American Revolution
America’s first outline of government which gave too much power to the states and ultimately failed and nearly destroyed the early nation
The Articles of Confederation
Declared that once 50,000 people entered a new territory it could apply for statehood, created a system of land distribution, and declared there would be no slavery in the Northwest Territory (Ohio River Valley)
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Occurred because former Revolutionary War soldiers who had not been paid by the government were having their land taken from them by banks. They felt betrayed by the government and destroyed court houses and disregarded court rulings. It was finally put down by a private army because the US government was too weak to control the uprising
Shays Rebellion
Also known as the Constitutional Convention
The Philadelphia Convention
Declared that states should be represented in the national legislature in two houses; one based on a state’s population, the other based on how much money it contributes to the national government
Virginia Plan
Declared that the national legislature should be composed of two houses, one based on a state’s population, the other where each state is represented equally
New Jersey Plan
Declared that all states should be represented in the national legislature equally so that big states could not take over small states
The Great (Connecticut) Compromise
Known as the Father of the Constitution
James Madison
Allowed Southern states to keep their slaves, but Southern states could only count 60% of their slave population when determining the number of House Representatives to a lot to each state
Three-Fifths Compromise
Those who supported the ratification of the Constitution
Federalists
Those who opposed the ratification of the Constitution
Anti-Federalists
List of personal freedoms all citizens enjoy from the Federal Government
Bill of Rights
List of arguments collected together to argue for the ratification of the Constitution
Federalist Papers
A literal interpretation of the Constitution that does not recognize many implied powers
Strict Constructionist
A liberal interpretation of the Constitution that allows many implied powers so that the Federal Government can do things not necessarily in the Constitution
Loose Constructionist
A group of presidential advisors, not mentioned in the Constitution, but created by George Washington
Presidential Cabinet
Created by the “Necessary and Proper Clause” so that Congress can do things not expressly stated in the Constitution; its uses are highly debatable
Washington’s Ideology of Executive Power
Thought the president should only use the veto to block clearly unconstitutional congressional acts
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson
Created by the federal government to stimulate commerce in the United States, even though the Constitution does not give the federal government this power!
The First National Bank
Legislation that allowed American agents to deport non-citizens for essentially any reason and put severe restrictions on the freedom of press when criticizing American government. Seen as highly unconstitutional and illegal abuse of power
Implied Powers
Occurred because farmers felt they were unfairly taxed, the rebellion was put down by Washington himself and showed the power of the federal government under the Constitution
Whiskey Rebellion
Was a treaty that made America look weak as England essentially did not recognize the US as a legitimate nations in this treaty
John Jay’s Treaty
Treaty that strengthened America as Spain gave the US trading and navigation rights on the Mississippi River allowing farmers to get their goods to market and international waters
Pinckney’s Treaty
Warns of getting involved in foreign conflicts, imperialism, and political parties
Washington’s Farewell Address
Published diplomatic negotiation in American newspapers by the president because France demanded a huge bribe to allow American diplomats to talk to French diplomats, caused Americans to resent the French
XYZ Affair
Declared that if a state does not recognize the Constitutionality of a law, it does not have to enforce it. Written by Thomas Jefferson
Kentucky and Virginia Resolves
First peaceful transfer of political power from opposing political groups and a major shift in implementation of American democracy from a loose interpretation of the Constitution to a more strict one
The Revolution of 1800
Jefferson’s Vice President who tried to steal the presidency from him when they tied in the Electoral College, he eventually would go on to kill Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, in a duel
Aaron Burr
Passed so that the President and Vice President are voted for separately to avoid a situation like that of the Election of 1800
Twelfth Amendment
Jefferson’s supporters who had a more strict interpretation of the Constitution
Democratic-Republican Party
Gave the Supreme Court the power of Judicial Review, or the power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional
Marbury v. Madison
The US received this from France, doubling the size of the US for 15 million dollars
Louisiana Purchase
Completely cut off America from ALL international trade, forcing the US to start to manufacture goods more than ever
Non-Intercourse Act
Declared that if England would stop harassing American ships we would not trade with France OR if France stopped harassing US ships then America would not trade with England
Macon’s Bill No.2
Major Indian uprising in the Northwest Territory where Indians united together, rejected white ways, and were very successful until their ultimate demise at the hands of the US military
Tecumseh and his Indian alliance
The decisive battle lead by Indiana Governor William Henry Harrison that destroyed Tecumseh’s Indian alliance
Battle of Tippecanoe
Caused largely because England was not recognizing the US as a nation and was impressing US sailors into the British Navy as American ships traded with France, who England was at war with
War of 1812
When Washington DC was burned, including the White House by the British in the War of 1812
Burning of Washington DC
This ended the War of 1812, largely because England and France stopped fighting
Treaty of Ghent
Held by members of the Federalist Party, some called for New England to break from the US because of the US involvement with the War of 1812, it caused the ultimate demise of the Federalist Party
The Hartford Convention
Proposed by Representative Henry Clay to expand American economic power and build new infrastructure to promote commerce
The American System
A Large tax on imports to discourage the purchase of British goods in the US and encourage the purchase of US goods, the South opposed it because they did not produce much and would now have to pay higher prices for goods because American manufacturers could not produce them as cheaply as the British could
The Tariff of 1816
Rechartered by Congress to help stimulate trade and increase the amount of cash circulating to fuel the economy
Second National Bank
Negotiated with Spain to give the US Florida, Andrew Jackson basically invaded the region and forced Spain into a corner
Adams-Onis Treaty
Time from after the War of 1812 until the Jackson presidency when the economy was expanding and industry was taking off
Era of Good Feeling
Declared that Europe had no right to colonize the Americas and the US would defend North and South America, even though we were extremely weak at the times
Monroe Doctrine
Attempted to resolve tensions being caused by slavery by maintaining the balance of free and slave states in 1820
The Missouri Compromise
Before the Election of 1824, federal legislators in the Congress of the United States chose their respective parties’ presidential candidates. After this election In the Election of 1824 several members of the same party ran for president, party nominees for president after this were chosen more democratic methods
Demise of the Congressional Caucus System for selection Presidential nominees
When the Electoral College failed to produce a winner because no candidate won an absolute majority, the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, persuaded an absolute majority of states to vote for John Q. Adams, thus making him president. Clay surreptitiously became Adams’ Secretary of State, long considered the training ground of the next president
Corrupt Bargain
This was created because Jackson won the popular vote and the most votes in the Electoral College, but did not win the presidency
Democratic Party
Supreme Court case that stated the Federal Government has the authority to regulate commerce within the states and gives a broad definition of what commerce is, thus greatly strengthening the power of the federal government over the state government in many realms.
Gibbons v. Ogden
Characterized by a rise in democracy. States rewrote constitutions so that judges would be elected not appointed, gave universal white manhood suffrage, favored the power of the president over congress, and emphasized Manifest Destiny
Election of 1828
The demise of the Democratic-Republican Party and the rise of the Democratic Party, headed by Andrew Jackson
Spoils System
Jackson was heavily criticized for giving high level positions to political supporters and friends, Jackson argued it was a perfect way to create streamline government and oust life-long bureaucrats
Jacksonian democracy
The Romantic notion of creating yourself without the help and support of others
Self-Made Man
The right for all white men to vote
Universal White Manhood Suffrage
The forcible removal of Indians from east of the Mississippi to the Oklahoma Territory
Indian Removal Act
Supreme Court decision that Jackson ignored which stated that the state governments and the national government have no right to force the Indians off of their legally held land
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia
The journey of tens of thousands of Indians to the Oklahoma Territory, largely unorganized and under-prepared by the US Army resulting in large numbers of deaths
Trail of Tears
Cause of the Nullification Crisis when South Carolina refused to implement a federal law and threaten to secede from the Union
Tariff of 1832
Jackson asked Congress and got the authority to use the US military against South Carolina should it break from the Union
Force Bill
When Jackson destroyed the Second national Bank by vetoing its re-chartering bill. He put federal money in state banks, which lost much of the money in bad loans. It caused the creation of the Independent Treasury where public funds are held instead of private banks
Bank War
A slave rebellion killing dozens of whites causing massive retaliations of whites against blacks and strengthening Black Codes restricting slaves and free blacks in a variety of ways
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Time when machine labor began to replace human labor
Industrialization
He invented a machine to extract seeds from cotton, interchangeable parts, and thus the creation of the textile industry and the rise of the Industrial Revolution
Eli Whitney Cotton Gin
Identical parts that could be replaced when worn out and assembled quickly for mass production, an integral component of the Industrial Revolution
Interchangeable Parts
Quickly wove cotton into cloth, spurring on the Industrial Revolution
Power loom
Factory system that employed mostly women, provided them with housing, food, and basic necessities. Was seen as an ideal work environment at the start of the Industrial Revolution
Lowell System
The North begins to Industrialize as the South becomes the producer of cotton. Both rely on one another, but the North makes advances in industry, infrastructure and technology, while the South commits itself to slave-based agriculture and subsistence farming
Divergence of the economies of the Northeast and the South
A despised Roman Catholic group who were willing to work for low wages
Irish Immigration
How did the mechanization of agriculture encourage the development of the Midwest and push Americans westward?
As farm machines were developed, a relatively small number of people were required to farm the enormous farms of the fertile Midwest pushing people to new frontiers in search of land
Growing and making your basic necessities and buying and selling very little
Subsistence farming
Specializing in one area and buying most of your other basic necessities with the cash that you earn selling your specialized product or labor
Market Economy
A crop that is grown not for consumption, but for sale of the Market Economy
Cash Crop
Hard currency like gold and silver
Specie
Machine that used mechanical power as an energy source allowing everything from industrial machines to make products to driving steam ships and rail road cars
Steam Engine
Especially important to the American economy because it allows up-river travel on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and thus, the development of the Midwest
Steam Boat
System of man-made rivers that linked vital bodies of water together to get agricultural products of the Midwest to Northeastern markets
Canals
The canal that linked the Great Lakes to New York City, cementing New York as the Northeast’s center of trade
The Erie Canal
As farm machines and the Transportation Revolution allowed cheaper and easier production and transportation of food, agriculture moved to the distant, but fertile Midwest, the demand for farm labor decreased, people moved to cities to work in factories, and people engaged in a market based economy more as they spent the cash that they earned
New York City
As demand for cash increased to build roads, buy farm machines and land, create factories, etc. the role of these financial institutions greatly increased
Increases in Banks’ Power and influence
Doubled the size of the US
Louisiana Purchase
The idea that the US should control all of North America
Manifest Destiny
Americans who were invited to Texas by the Mexican government refused to obey Mexican laws, declared their independence, won it in a war, and formed an independent nation for ten years before being annexed by the US in 1845
Formation of the Republic of Texas
Gold was found in California and 100,000 people moved there in two years.
California Gold Rush
Resulted in America forcing Mexico to cede the present-day Southwest United States and California to the US for 15 million dollars
Mexican American War
Acquired through treaty with the British establishing the Northern border of the US at the 49th parallel
Oregon Territory
Industry-based
Northern Economy
Some rich people have tons of slaves and grow rich off of cotton production, but most people are poor, subsistence farmers
Southern Economy
Known as the bread-basket of the United States
Western Economy
Despised by the South because it forces them to buy expensive goods from the North, British goods are cheaper. It is another example of the North having more power in Congress and controlling the South!
Tariff of Abominations (1828)
Caused South Carolina to nullify a Federal Law
Tariff of 1832
Drew a line across the continent that said permitted slavery South of it, but not North of the line and created two new states to maintain the balance between slave and free state
Missouri Compromise
Seen by some Northerners as an unjust war waged by the South to acquire more territory to become slave states, thus bolstering the Slave Power in Congress
Mexican American War
Allowed California to become a free state and declared that the Utah and New Mexico Territories would decide with popular sovereignty whether they would allow slavery. The provision that required the North to enact fugitive slave laws caused tremendous resentment in the North
Compromise of 1850
Nullified the Missouri Compromise and declared that these territories would decide with popular sovereignty the issue of slavery
Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
The dominant economy of the North
Industrialization
The migration of people to cities, especially in the North
Urbanization
Movement of agriculture to the Midwest due to available land and the interconnectivity created by the Transportation Revolution
Migration of farming
A class in society that was not the factory worker, nor the rich factory owner, but able to buy more than the basic necessities in a cash-based economy
Emerging Middle Class
The poor factory worker or member of society without much room between minimal survival and utter poverty
Working Class
Few of these exist because agriculture dominates this region’s economy
Southern Urban Centers
Lacking because of there is not a tremendous amount of commerce and because the Mississippi River and Atlantic Ocean provide natural transportation routes
Southern Infrastructure
A few rich, slave owning cotton and rive producers, but mostly poor subsistence farmers who do not engage in the market economy of the North
Southern farming
The rich and powerful, slave-owning class of cotton and rice plantation owners who are members of one of the richest societies on the planet at the time
Planter Aristocracy
The idea that was promoted stating that blacks are inferior to whites and need the guidance of whites as children need the guidance of parents
Southern Paternalism
Laws used to limit the freedom and movement of slaves and free blacks in the South in order to control the huge black population
Black Codes
A resurgence of Christian Evangelical Protestant religiosity in America during the early to mid-1800s
The Second Great Awakening
The emotional preaching of a religious message to gain converts and instill religious ideals
Evangelicalism
Seen as evils in society that needed to be cured by many of those who were spiritually re-awakened by the Second Great Awakening. People actively began to try to reform these things because of their religious beliefs
Gambling, prostitution, penitentiaries, orphanages, mental asylums
Fought for reforms in insane asylums and the treatment of the mentally handicapped during the Second Great Awakening
Dorothea Dix
A religious group who sought to create utopian Christian societies in Pennsylvania; they were extremely egalitarian
The Shakers
An anti-slavery movement caused largely because many saw slavery as un-Christian in light of the Second Great Awakening
Social Reforms
Created to promote the legal abolition of alcohol
Abolition
Fought for reforms and standardization in education so all people would have access to public education
Horace Mann
Changes in society that people attempted to implement to make a more Christian society in America during the Second Great Awakening
Transcendentalism
Group who believed in the moral message of Christianity, but not necessarily the supernatural aspects of Jesus and the Bible
Unitarians
A leading Enlightenment thinker who wrote “Self-reliance” a manuscript on following your instincts
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A leading Transcendentalist who refused to pay taxes that would go to support the Mexican American War and Slavery, he went to jail for his civil disobedience
Henry David Thoreau
Breaking the law in a non-violent protest to prove a point
Civil Disobedience
Religious movement that caused many to see slavery as un-Christian
Second Great Awakening
Owner of “The Liberator,” A vehemently abolitionist newspaper
William Lloyd Garrison
Congressional restriction on bringing slavery up for discussion in Congress
Gag Rule
Runaway slave who self-educated himself and became a leading abolitionist
Frederick Douglass
Runaway slave who used any means necessary to help slaves escape to the North
Harriet Tubman
System of secret houses that harbored runaway slaves on their journey to freedom
Underground Railroad
A black woman who was a leading abolitionist and women’s suffragist, often using Christian overtones and appeals in her rhetoric
Sojourner Truth
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe to attack slavery, but not Southerners. It did much to promote the Abolitionist movement
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Formed in opposition to Andrew Jackson and his policies
Whig Party
Caused by Jackson’s restriction on buying Western land with gold and silver, instead of credit, the loss of public money in bad investments by Jackson’s “pet banks,” and other market factors
Panic of 1837
Created because the federal government decided to no longer use private banks to house its money
Creation of an Independent Treasury
Slogan used to help the Indian-fighter win the presidency
Tippecanoe and Tyler
Caused the vice-president to assume the presidency for the first time ever
Harrison’s Death
Happened because Tyler went against everything his political party stood for, rendered him impotent
President without a party
Caused there to be more tension between the North and the South and instigated the Mexican American War
Annexation of Texas
Slogan used to describe the land-hungry position of a presidential candidate
54’ 40’ or Fight!
Tried to make slavery illegal in the newly acquired Mexican Cession
Wilmot Proviso
Created entirely for the purpose of limiting the expansion of slavery
Free-Soil Party
The land received from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Mexican Cession
Leading Senator who engineered the Compromise of 1850
Stephen Douglas
Series of laws created to avoid Sectional tension in 1850
Compromise of 1850
Democratic votes to determine the status of slavery in newly acquired land from Mexico
Popular Sovereignty
Laws that forced the North to participate in slavery because they held that Northern states had to capture and return slaves to the south
Fugitive Slave Laws
Gave the United States the American Southwest and California for 15 million dollars and ended the Mexican War
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Seen by many as an unjust war of Imperialism
Mexican American War
Nullified the Missouri Compromise and enraged the North
Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
Pro-slavery supporters who flooded into Kansas after the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Border Ruffians
Describes when Kansas had enormous amounts of violent conflict between pro and anti slavery groups fighting for political dominance of Kansas, over 200 were killed
Bleeding Kansas
John Brown, believing God ordained him the liberator of African slaves, brutally murdered a group of pro-slavery supporters in their homestead in Kansas
Pottawatomie Massacre
Passed by the North in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act to combat Fugitive Slave Laws; giving blacks a trial by jury, a lawyer, and thus, legal status, all enraging Southerners
Personal Liberty Laws
Created as a home for moderates who wanted to limit slavery’s expansion, but not divide the nation over the issue
Formation and Platform of the Republican Party
Created as an anti-immigrant faction
The Know-Nothing Party
Member of Congress violently beat another member of Congress with a cane, manifesting the Sectional tension even in Congress
Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner incident
This was seen as one of the most outrageous provisions of the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act by Northerners
Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Acts
Declared that black people were not and never could be citizens of the US and that the Congress had no authority over slavery whatsoever; it was completely a state matter
Dred Scott Decision
John Brown seizure of a federal armory for several hours before the Marine Corp recaptured it from him, causing the South to wake up and begin military mobilization
Harper’s Ferry
Put Lincoln in the National spotlight as a moderate on slavery and articulate and intelligent statesman
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Limit slavery to where it is, but do not work to abolish it
Lincoln and the Republican Party’s stance of slavery
Lincoln only won 40% of the vote, but an absolute majority of the Electoral College. The South saw the victory as illegitimate
Election of 1860
When the South broke from the Union and declared their independence
Secession
The Southern states who broke from the Union and formed a new nation
Confederate States of America
President of the Confederacy
Jefferson Davis
Federal fort in South Carolina that was fired upon, starting the Civil War
Fort Sumter
Failed attempt to reinstate the Missouri Compromise and abide by it forever!
The Civil War
Huge relative population, industrial might, a navy, already politically organized
Northern Advantages
Expert commanders, larger geography, fighting on home soil, don’t have to win, just have to not be defeated!
Southern Advantages
Choke off the South from all outside help and supplies
Anaconda Plan
Lincoln ignored the Constitution and imprisoned people without charging them with a crime, nor giving them a trial
Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus
Lincoln declared that the states between the North and the South be ruled by military personnel and occupied by Union Armies
Border States and Martial Law
Caused because poor Irish immigrants did not want to fight in a war to liberate blacks who would then compete for job with them, dozens were killed, especially blacks as Irish immigrants terrorized free blacks
Conscription and class tension
Turning point in the war as General Lee was handed his first loss as the South attempted to invade the North
Battle of Gettysburg
Drafting men to the military where freedom from military service could be purchased caused many to find American democracy less than democratic
New York Draft Riot
Freed the slaves only in the South, not in the border states still loyal to the Union, used mainly as a way to boost Northern moral
Emancipation Proclamation
An example to total warfare, or absolute destruction of your enemy
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Caused the nation to lose its leader during a time when the Reconstruction of the South had to occur, opening the door to political fighting without a strong leader
Assassination of Lincoln and its effects
Mild plan to allow the re-enfranchisement of the South after the Civil War
Ten-Percent Plan
Government agency created to help recently freed slaves find work, get medical attention, and provide education, largely a failure do to lack of implementation
Freedmen’s Bureau
Radical Republican plan to punish the South and force harsh restrictions on its re-enfranchisement in the Union
Wade-Davis Act
The purchase of Alaska from Russia seen as a foolish move until gold is discovered there
Seward’s Folly
Era when Congress basically ruled the South as a military occupation, with Southern state government largely run by transplanted Northerners. This era caused Southerners to despise the North
Presidential Reconstruction
Believed that the South should be punished for the Civil War
Radical Republicans
Leading Radical Republican that sought extremely harsh measures to restrict the South
Thaddeus Stevens
Johnson’s failed attempt to re-admit the South to the Union; it was seen as too soft by Radical Republicans because he allowed former Confederate government and military leaders to be in Congress
Failure of Presidential Reconstruction
Codes that were used in the South to restrict the rights of newly freed slaves, basically keeping blacks in de facto slavery by giving them no rights
Black Codes
Freed all slaves
13th Amendment
Due to the fact that it was under-funded and never really developed
Failure of the Freedmen’s Bureau
Passed by Congress to officially occupy the South, divide it into five regions, each run by a federally appointed governor and aided by the US military
Military Reconstruction Act 1867
Forbade states from depriving and citizen of basica privileges and immunities enjoyed by other citizens of that state and declares all persons born in the US are citizens, making all blacks and former slaves citizens of the US
14th Amendment
Caused because the president worked to veto most bills Congress passed, not because he really broke any laws or did anything that was unconstitutional
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Ensured the right to vote to black men
15th Amendment
Many Southern whites did not participate while black Americans did, causing there to be five black Senators representing Southern states as well as several black House Representatives and many black members of state legislatures
The Election of 1870 in the South
Northerners and Southerners respectively that helped promote Radical Reconstruction and profit off of Reconstruction
Carpetbaggers and Scalawags
White supremacist group formed in opposition to Radical Reconstruction that killed and intimidated blacks from participating in democracy
Ku Klux Klan
Construction company fraud that stole millions of dollars from the US Government, several of Grant’s staff were involved including his Vice President
Credit Mobilier Scam
Political corruption where millions in taxes were avoided by bribing hundreds of officials, including some of Grants top level staff
Whiskey Ring
Supreme Court decision that allowed Southern States to use grandfather clauses, literacy tests, poll taxes, etc. to limit blacks’ ability to vote in the South
United States v. Reese
Removed the restriction of all but a few of the former Confederate leaders from participating in American politics
Amnesty Act
Financial crisis that caused many people to want to abandon the expensive Reconstruction of the South and devote attention elsewhere
Panic of 1873
No clear winner as presidential candidates contested one another’s victories within several states. This resulted in a back door deal where political leaders met behind closed doors and elected Rutherford B. Hayes President
Election of 1876
Hayes was elected president in return for the promise to remove federal troops occupy the South, thus ending Radical (Congressional) Reconstruction and opening the door for “Redeemer” Southern politicians to recreate a state of de facto slavery in the South
Compromise of 1877
