History Flashcards
Constitution
the document that sets up/establishes the government of the US
Preamble
the first sentence of the Constitution that lays out and establishes the goals and purposes of the government
Amendments
additions to the Constitution
Bill of Rights
the first ten amendments to the Constitution which provide us with some of our most important individual rights
Separation of Powers
Power divided equally among the three branches of government
Legislative
Makes laws
Executive
enforces/carries out the laws, president is head of the executive branch
Judicial
interprets the law, court system
Popular Sovereignty
the idea that the power of the government must come from the people
Limited Government
the idea that the government should not be all-powerful
Federalism
power should be divided between the federal and the state governments
Individual Rights
these are the basic rights that all citizens have and cannot be taken
Judicial Review
courts have the power to declare laws and actions unconstitutional or not
Republicanism
the idea that we elect representatives who govern on our behalf
Federal Government
national government or the central government or the government of the whole country
Manifest Destiny
the belief that it was the God given right to expand from the Atlantic ocean to the pacific
Missouri Compromise
an agreement between the north and the south to maintain a balance between the slave holding states and free states
Fugitive Slave Act
runaway slaves in the north were required to be returned south
Popular Sovereignty Policy
the territories of utah and new mexico which had been recently acquired from mexico were given the right for the people of the territories to decide if they wanted slavery or not
Abolitionist Movement
the movement to end slavery, which further divided the north and the south
Kansas/Nebraska Act
the people of the Kansas and Nebraska territories were given popular sovereignty (the ability to vote on whether or not to have slavery)
Bleeding Kansas
a series of violent events in the kansas territory which was the result of fighting between pro-slavery southerners and anti-slavery northerners who had moved into kansas after the kansas-nebraska act
Dred Scott Decision
dred scott was a slave who had been taken into free territory, so he sued for freedom. He lost because the supreme court ruled that african americans were not citizens and that slave owners could do what they wanted with their properties
Election of 1860
election of abraham lincoln, which caused many of the slave holding states to secede from the US
secede/secession
to break away, the act of breaking away
The Union
the north/the united states during the civil war
Confederacy
the south/the confederate states of america
anaconda plan
union strategy in the civil war to,blockade major southern ports, and divide the south in two at the mississippi river
border states
states on the border of the north and south that stayed in the union even though they were slave states
Total War
a strategy of warfare in which civilians, towns, farms become a part of the war (used by Union General Sherman in his march to the sea)
Emancipation Proclamation
abraham lincoln’s announcement that slavery in the confederate states was illegal. Also- it allowed african americans to join the union army in combat roles
Appomattox
the site of the surrender of general Lee’s Confederate army, thought of as the end of the Civil war
Reconstruction
The period after the Civil War during which southern states rejoined the union , and African Americans were given more rights
Radical Republicans
Wanted to help African Americans and punish former Confederates
10% plan
Abraham Lincoln’s plan to reunite the North and South quickly by allowing southern states to rejoin the union if ten percent of the population wanted to rejoin the union
Congressional Reconstruction/Radical Reconstruction
Congress’ plan for Reconstruction, which was more extreme than Lincoln’s. They divided the former Confederacy into five military districts.
Freedmen
people who were granted freedom either during or after the civil war
Freedmen’s Bureau
Government agency established to help freedmen and others who had been hurt by the Civil War. They also established 1000s of schools for freedmen.
Reconstruction Amendments
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution which gave African Americans more rights.
13th Amendment
abolished slavery
14th Amendment
granted citizenship to African Americans and provided equal protection under the law
15th Amendment
African American men given the right to vote
Black Codes
African American men given the right to vote
Carpetbaggers
northerners who moved south after the war for political opportunity
Scalawags
White southerners who supported Reconstruction efforts and African Americans in the south in the south
Redeemers
White, southern democrats who
wanted to take back power the south lost in the civil war
Panic of 1873
A financial panic and economic depression that distracted the country from keeping the focus on reconstruction
Compromise of 1877
After a contested presidential election, democrats and republicans came together to award the presidency to the republicans while also agreeing to the removal of federal troops from the south, signifying the end of reconstruction
Sharecropping
System of farming that replaced slavery in the south; a landowner provided land, seeds, tools to a poor farmer so that the poor farmer could work the land. At the end of the growing season they ‘shared’ the profits from the crops. Usually put sharecroppers in debt
The New South
Refers to the shift in the south away from agriculture towards industrialization, specifically the textile industry.
Homestead Act
Law that provided land for people willing to settle the West
Exodusters
African Americans who moved to Kansas after the Civil War
Chinese Exclusion Act
Law that limited immigration from China
Indian Reservation System
Established lands set aside for Native Americans which were often in less desirable areas
Dawes Act
Allowed the government to break up tribal land into individual plots; Native Americans who accepted plots of land could become US citizens. The goal was to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream society thereby damaging their traditions and culture.
assimilation
When a minority group comes to resemble the majority group within a society
Indian Wars
A series of conflicts between Native Americans and the government of the US
Ghost Dance
Native American spiritual movement to resist the expansion of the United States
Wounded Knee
Massacre of hundreds of Native Americans that signified the end of Native American resistance to US expansion
The Grange
Originally a social organization of farmers, it developed into a political organization over time
Farmers Alliance
Political organizations created to help the nation’s farmers, led to the formation of the Populist Party
Crop Lien
A loan farmers took out and paid back with crops; often put farmers in debt
Populist Party
Political Party that supported small farmers
