EOC Essential Vocabulary: Set 1 Flashcards
Memorize events in American History.
Long-term causes of the civil war
- Sectionalism
- Slavery: Differing economic needs/reliance on slavery in the south.
- Extension of Slavery
- States’ Rights
Compromise of 1850
California admitted as a free state; sale of slaves banned in D.C; Fugitive Act of 1850 enacted: rest of Mexican Cession territory open to slavery based on popular sovereignty (will of the people)
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Divisive act introduced by Stephen Douglas which repealed the Missouri Compromise by applying popular sovereignty to both Kansas and Nebraska territories. The Republican Party (opposing the extension of slavery) was formed in 1854 due to this act.
Dred Scott Decision
Supreme Court decision (1857) stating that Scott did not have the right to sue for his freedom since he was not a U.S. citizen, but property of another person. Decision went further to claim the Missouri Compromise prohibiting slavery in territories was unconstitutional. Congress had no right to take away another person’s property.
Freeport Doctrine
Idea put forth by Stephen Douglas, during a debate with Lincoln, that the residents of a territory could still ban slavery despite what the Supreme Court decided with Dred Scott.
Ostend Manifesto
An attempt to expand U.S. territory; pushed for Spain to sell Cuba to the United States for $120 million dollars in 1854. The document caused uproar because Cuba was already an established slavery territory. It was declared unconstitutional due to the Fugitive Slave Law that was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850; therefore Cuba did not become a U.S. territory.
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln’s announcement that all slaves in those states still rebelling would be freed. Did NOT free slaves in border states that were loyal to the union.
Gettysburg
July 1863 battle that was the turning point in the war. The south never advances into the North again.
Gettysburg Address
Short speech given by Lincoln to honor Union losses at Gettysburg.
13th Amendment
Outlaws slavery in all states and all lands governed by the United States.
14th Amendment
Granted full citizenship to African Americans. States citizens cannot be deprived of rights without due process of the law. Guarantees equal protection under the law.
15th Amendment
States that no one can be denied suffrage (right to vote) based on race or color.
Black Codes
- Laws written by Southern states (each state’s was slightly different) that were based on slave codes from the past.
- Prevented freedmen (persons of color) from voting, holding office, serving on juries, etc.
- Helped spur the creation of the 14th Amendment.
Radical Republicans
- Group of Republicans who believed the South should face punishment for the Civil War and that African Americans should be given full political and civil equality.
- Gained power in Congress - was able to push through “Congressional Reconstruction”.
Sharecropping
- System of agriculture used in the South with former slaves.
- Farmers would give a portion of their crops to the landowner in exchange for use of the land.
Debt Peonage
- Also called debt slavery.
- Land or business owner forces a worker to pay off a debt with work - think sharecroppers and tenant farmers.
- Workers are often unable to re-pay the debt, and find themselves in a continuous work-without-pay cycle.
Carpetbagger
Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War to take advantage of the unstable social, financial, and political climate.
Hiram Rhodes Revels
- First African American in Congress.
- He was appointed by the mississippi state legislature to fill an empty Senate seat.
The Nadir
- Time in the south (end of Reconstruction in 1877 through the early 20th century), when racism in the country was at an all time high.
- African American lost many of the civil rights gains made during Reconstruction. Anti-black violence, lynching, segregation, legal racial discrimination, and expressions of white supremacy increased.
Jim Crow Laws
- Laws passed in the south after Reconstruction that required racial segregation.
- African Americans were relegated to the status o second class citizens as these laws denied then their rights, including suffrage.
- Created to get around the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
- Many of these laws lasted into the 1960s.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
- Groups that believe in white supremacy.
- Were formed in the South to terrorize African Americans.
- Helped to enforce the Jim Crow laws and keep African Americans “in their place”.
Homestead Act 1862
- Encouraged western migration by promising settlers 160 acers of land for $1.25 an acre after improving it for 6 months of for free of they farmed it for 5 years.
- Ten percent of the U.S. was claimed and settled under this act.
Dawes Act 1887
- Passed by Congress to “Americanize” Native Americans.
- Each adult male was allowed to claim 160 acres of reservation land as his own private property- led to mass sell-off of reservation land.
- Threatened the survival of Native American culture.
Reservation System
- Land set aside for Native American tribes by the government.
- Native Americans were required to stay on their land.
- Usually the land was undesirable and unlike the land the ribe was used to living on.
Grange
- Group formed to provide social and educational gatherings for isolated farm families.
- By 1870s, most of their time was spent fighting the railroads (misuse of government land grants, fixing prices, charging different customers different rates).
Granger Laws
- Series of laws passed in several Midwestern states that shared the same intent: to make pricing of railroad rates more favorable to farmers, small rural farmers in particular.
- It was a topic of much debate at the time and ended up leading to several important court cases, such as Munn v. Illinois and Wabash v. Illinois.
Farmers Alliance
- Groups formed to educate farmers about topics such as interest rates on ,loans and government control of banks and railroads.
- Membership grew to more than 4 million - leads to the rise of the Populist Party.
Populism
- Political movement created out of the farmers alliance.
- Supported: graduated income tax, regulated banks, increase in the money supply, government ownership of railroad and telegraph lines, eight-hour work day, restrictions on immigration, and voting reforms.
Cross of Gold
Impassioned speech given by William Jennings Bryan (Democratic nominee for President in the 1896 election).
- Criticized the monetary policy of the government for being too hard on the farmer; said in the speech that farmers were being crucified on a cross of gold - helped gain him the support of the Populist.
Sherman Silver Purchase Act 1894
- Passed in response to the growing complaints of farmers. It required the government to purchase almost twice as much silver as before, and added substantially to the amount of money already in circulation. It threatened to undermine the U.S. Treasury’s gold reserves. After the panic of 1893 President Cleveland called a special session of Congress and secured (1893) the repeal of the act.
Interstate Commerce Act 1887
- Reestablished the right of the federal government to supervise railroad activities and established an Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to carry out the act.
- Created over public pressure - railroads were perceived to have abused their power as a result of too little competition.
- The ICC was not effective since it lacked little power.
Railway Innovators
- George Pullman: Inventor of the sleeping car.
- George Westinghouse- Inventor of the railway air brake, which stops all the cars of a train at the same time.
Thomas Edison
- Inventor of many things including the phonograph, light bulb, and motion pictures.
- Had a winter home in Fort Myers.
Bessemer Process
- Cheap and efficient way to produce steel.
- Developed independently by Henry Bessemer (in Britain) and William Kelly (in American) around 1850.
Communication Inventors
- Samuel Morse: Inventor of the telegraph.
- Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor of the telephone in 1875.
- Made instant communications possible even over long distances.
Nikola Tesla
Developed an altering current (AC) motor which could travel further than a direct current (DC) model.
African American Inventors
- John Albert Burr: Rotary-blade lawnmower.
- Jan Ernst Matzeliger: machine that attaches the upper and lower parts of a shoe.
- Lewis Howard Latimer: improved method for producing carbon filaments used in light bulbs.
- Madam CJ Walker: Cosmetic Products
Business Monopoly
- When a company has a total control over an industry.
- Many were formed in the late 1800s because of the government’s laissez-faire (hands-off) attitude.
- Companies used the theory of Social Darwinism to justify their unfair business practices.
Social Darwinism
- Belief that the successful had superior talents that allowed them to thrive.
- Justify the need for free competition and little government regulation in the economy.
Sherman Antitrust Act 1890
- Law passed by Congress making it illegal to form a trust that interfered the free trade between states or other countries.
- Language was vague, limiting its effectiveness.
