Period 4 Part II (Chapters 8-14) Flashcards
Corrupt Bargain
Angry Jackson supporters accused Adams and Clay of making a “corrupt bargain” when Adams became president due to Clay’s influence in the House of Representatives and Adams then appointed Clay as his secretary of state.
Indian Removal Act
Signed into law by Andrew Jackson in 1830, this act forced the resettlement of many thousands of Native Americans.
Tariff of Abominations
A new tariff law patched together by Congress in 1828 under John Quincy Adams, which generally satisfied northern manufacturers but alienated southern planters and was later nullified by South Carolina.
Nullification Crisis
South Carolina attempted to nullify multiple tariffs under the leadership of John C. Calhoun, and Jackson threatened to use military force. The conflict ended in a compromise in which the tariff was lowered and eventually replaced with a new tariff and South Carolina postponed and eventually formally rescinded nullification.
States’ Rights
Rights owned by the states and the common people, rather than the federal government.
Bank Veto
Jackson vetoed a recharter bill for the national bank, denouncing it as a private monopoly that enriched the wealthy and foreigners at the expense of the common people and a “hydra of corruption.”
Democrats
Supporters of Jackson who harked back to the old Democratic-Republican Party of Jefferson.
Whigs
Supporters of Henry Clay who resembled the defunct Federalist Party of Hamilton.
Panic of 1837
A financial crisis that plunged the nation’s economy into a depression right after Jackson left office, caused largely by his Specie Circular.
Transcendentalism
A small group of New England thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau who expressed the ideals of romanticism, arguing for a mystical and intuitive way of thinking as a means for discovering one’s inner self and looking for the essence of God in nature. Transcendentalists valued individualism highly and downplayed the importance of organized institutions but also supported a variety of reforms, especially the antislavery movement.
Utopia
An ideal, or perfect, community.
Antebellum
The years characterized by social experiments, sectionalism, and historic reform movements that led up to the Civil War.
Second Great Awakening
Religious revivals that swept through the United States starting in the late 18th century and through the first half of the 19th century and marked a reassertion of the traditional Calvinist (Puritan) teachings of original sin and predestination or represented new developments in Christianity in the U.S.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in New York. Smith based his beliefs on a book of Scripture, The Book of Mormon, that traced a connection between American Indians and the lost tribes of Israel. Smith and his followers faced persecution and eventually settled in Utah.
Temperance
The call for moderation or abstention in the use of alcohol that arose in 1826.
Asylum Movement
A movement towards the creation of asylums for criminals, emotionally disturbed persons, and paupers that claimed that structure and discipline would bring about moral reform.
Common (Public) School Movement
Led by Horace Mann, followers of this movement advocated for compulsory attendance for all children, a longer school year, increased teacher preparation, and the incorporation of moral principles into education.
Seneca Falls Convention
Leading feminists met at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 and issued a document called the “Declaration of Sentiments” modeled closely after the Declaration of Independence that listed women’s grievances against laws and customs that discriminated against them.
Abolition
An end to slavery in the United States.
The Liberator
An abolitionist newspaper published by William Lloyd Garrison that marks the beginning of the radical abolitionist movement and advocated immediate abolition of slavery in every state and territory without compensating the slaveowners.
The North Star
An antislavery journal started by Frederick Douglass in which he advocated both political and direct action to end slavery and racial prejudice.
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Nat Turner, enslaved in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831, and considered a religious zealot by some, organized an attack on his surrounding community. In a single day, over 50 White men, women, and children were killed. Reaction was swift, and the militia killed not only Turner and his followers but also many innocent African Americans in reprisal for the rebellion.
Slave Codes
Laws passed by southern states to keep slaves from either running away or rebelling, including restrictions on movement or education.
King Cotton
A term used by southerners to describe the dependence of the United States economy on cotton. Eli Whitney was also called this because of his cotton gin invention.
Planters
Southern cotton plantation owners who typically owned African American slaves to support labor needs.
Peculiar Institution
Some Whites were sensitive about how they treated other humans, so they referred to slavery as “that peculiar institution.”
