Unit 5 Expanding Nation Flashcards
Corrupt Bargain
Refers to the presidential election of 1824 in which Henry Clay is appointed Secretary of State after he convinced the House of Representatives to elect JQAdams rather than Jackson.
1807
Congress banned the importation of slaves into the US; slaves could not be brought into the US beginning in 1808.
Abolition
The movement to end slavery; by 1804 most Northern states had outlawed slavery.
California
By 1849, they had a large enough population to apply for statehood; admitted as a free state in 1850, upsetting the balance of slave and free states in the U.S. Congress.
Changes in Art & Lit
Writers and painters began to celebrate nature, the wilderness, the west and America’s past; writers began using American slang & spelling.
Cherokee
Adopted white customs such as farming & ranching, clothing, education, written language, newspaper and constitution in order to be allowed to remain on tribal land; despite their efforts they were removed.
Chinese immigrants
Thousands came to California during the Gold Rush; despite prejudice and discrimination they worked hard in the mines and established businesses when driven from the mines; led to the establishment of Chinatown in San Francisco.
Civil disobedience
Refusal to obey laws that one considers to be unjust as a form of peaceful protest; this idea influenced important leaders in the 20th Century, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
Convention of 1818
US and Britain signed treaty using 49th parallel to settle disputed area in Northern part of Louisiana Purchase.
Cotton gin
Invented by Eli Whitney; allowed cotton to be cleaned quickly and cheaply. Results: more cotton is grown and more slaves are needed for more acres of cotton fields.
Cyrus McCormick
Developed the mechanical reaper, a machine for cutting crops for harvest, much more efficient and much quicker, helped the agricultural growth of America.
Democratic Party
A political party formed by supporters of Andrew Jackson after he lost to John Quincy Adams in the Election of 1824.
Depression
A severe economic slump; marked by a decrease in business activity, widespread unemployment, and falling prices and wages.
Dorothea Dix
Asked the Massachusetts legislature to improve the care of mentally disabled; her efforts led to the opening of 32 hospitals to care for the mentally ill.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Leader in the Women’s Rights movement; helped to organize the first convention for Women’s Rights in Seneca Falls, NY along with Lucretia Mott.
Florida Cession
Territory acquired from Spain in the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819.
Forty niners
People who went to California in hopes of finding gold.
Frederick Douglass
Former slave who became an effective abolitionist lecturer/speaker; published autobiography describing life as a slave; published an anti-slavery newspaper; advised Lincoln to issue Emancipation Proclamation.
Gadsden Purchase
Last territory acquired by the US that would become part of the continental United States; parts of southern New Mexico and Arizona; purchased from Mexico in order to complete construction of transcontinental railroad.
Gag rule
Rule in the House of Representatives that forbid members from bringing up the issue of slavery; John Quincy Adams helped get this rule removed.
Gold
Discovered on Cherokee land which made the state of Georgia pass laws to remove them more quickly than the Indian Removal Act; Cherokee’s sued Georgia and Supreme Court ruled that Georgia could not kick them out.
Gold Rush
Gold was discovered in California; in 1849, people rushed to California in hopes of finding gold.
Harriet Tubman
Former slave who used Underground Railroad to escape and became one of the most famous conductors; made 19 journeys in order to help free 300 slaves; became a spy for the Union during the Civil War.
Henry Clay
“Great Compromiser”; Missouri Compromise and Compromise to lower the “Tariff of Abominations.”
Henry David Thoreau
Transcendentalist who did not support the Mexican war or slavery; he practiced civil disobedience by not paying his taxes (that would go to support the war) and was sent to jail.
Horace Mann
Education reformer, led the way for educational reform; pushed for public high schools; first public high school established in Boston, Mass.
Hudson River School
Influential group of painters in NY in the mid 1800s that painted huge landscapes of nature scenes instead of the traditional subjects of portraits and religion.
Indian Removal Act
1830 law calling for the forced movement of Native Americans to west of the Mississippi River; supported by Andrew Jackson.
Indian Territory
Area Native Americans were forced to move to; made up of present day Oklahoma and parts of Kansas and Nebraska.
Industrial Revolution
Time period in US history when people began to use machines to do work; a move from hand tools to machines and from farming to factories.
Inflation
An increase in prices and a decrease in the value of money.
Interchangeable parts
Developed by Eli Whitney; identical parts that can be substituted one for the other instead of being hand-made; made production faster, made repairs easier, reduced cost, allowed for less skilled, lower paid workers, assembly line.
Jacksonian Democracy
Spreading more political power to more people; voting restriction of land ownership was lifted; “Common Man” gained right to vote.
James K Polk
POTUS #11; campaigned on the promise of Manifest Destiny and achieved it while president.
John C. Calhoun
Lead the fight against protective tariffs which hurt the south economically. Supported the state’s rights theory and created the doctrine of nullification which said that a state could decide if a law was constitutional.
John Deere
Responsible for inventing the steel plow which cut through soil better than iron plow, making farming in the Midwest easier.
John James Audubon
Naturalist and painter who became well-known for his attempt to document all types of American birds.
John Quincy Adams
POTUS #6: his plans for national improvements were not supported by Democratic controlled Congress.
Labor union
A group of workers who band together to seek better working conditions; in mid-1800s fought for shorter hours - higher wages.
Louisiana Purchase
Territory bought from France in 1803; doubled the size of the US; stretched from Mississippi River to Rocky Mountains.
Lowell Mill
Textile mills located in a factory town in Massachusetts; employed mostly women between the ages of 16 and 35 known as “Lowell Mill Girls.”
Manifest Destiny
The belief that the United States was meant to stretch across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean; the phrase meant that westward expansion was not only good but was inevitable.
Mexican Cession
Territory US gained in Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
Mexican-American War
War between the US and Mexico in the mid 1800s; started when Polk sent US troops into disputed territory between the Rio Grande and Nueces River; Mexican soldiers opened fire causing Congress to declare war; US wins and gains Mexican Cession in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
Nat Turner Rebellion
Slave rebellion in which over 50 whites were killed before Turner and his band were captured, tried, and executed; led to fear in the South - more than 200 African Americans were killed in revenge and strict laws were passed regarding African Americans.
National Republicans
Political party that supported John Quincy Adams when the Democratic Republican Party split.
Nativists
Native-born Americans who were prejudiced against and discriminated against immigrants - refused to hire them and did not want them to hold political offices; formed the Know-Nothing Party / American Party.
Negative effects of immigration
Overcrowding - housing was cramped, unhealthy and expensive; disease spread; crime flourished; prejudice grew; Know-Nothing Party.
New England
Location of early US factories due to: 1) fast moving rivers for water power 2) easy access to Atlantic ports 3) willing labor force - subsistence farmers & immigrants.
Nullification
Theory that a state has the right to cancel any federal law that the state deems unconstitutional. John C Calhoun was the foremost proponent.
Old Hickory
Andrew Jackson’s popular nickname, signaling his toughness and strength.
Oregon Territory
Divided it with British though a treaty in 1846; used 49th parallel.
Panic of 1837
State banks issued too much paper money which led to inflation; people became very concerned about economic stability of nation and began to exchange paper money for gold; banks ran out of gold and began to close; economic depression followed.
Potato famine
Failure of the staple crop in Ireland that caused millions of Irish to come to America during the 1840s.
Prison reform
Separate jails were created for minors and adults; the rehabilitation of prisoners started.
Protective tariff
Tax on imported goods designed to benefit American industry by increasing the price of imported goods.
Pull factors
Positive factors that cause immigrants to move to a new country.
Push factors
Negative factors that cause people to leave a country.
Regional interest of South
Slavery; cotton plantations; HATED tariffs because they exchanged most of their cotton for foreign goods.
Robert Fulton
Invented steamboat that could travel against the current; improved speed of water travel.
Samuel Morse
Invented the telegraph; with the telegraph, it took only seconds to communicate with someone in another city.
Second Bank of the United States
Jackson opposed it because he felt it favored the wealthy; he vetoed the charter, declared it unconstitutional (not his job) and took US $$ out which “killed” the bank; led to a short lived economic “boom” which made Jackson even more popular.
Second Great Awakening
Renewal of religious devotion in the early 1800 that changed society and brought about reform movement because Americans began to believe that they could improve society.
Seneca Falls Convention
First women’s rights convention; held in Seneca Falls, NY; declared “all men and women are created equal” and demanded the women be given the right to vote.
Sojourner Truth
Former slave who became an important abolitionist and Women’s Rights speaker.
Spirituals
Religious folk songs sung by slaves, often contained coded messages on escape routes.
Spoils system
A system of public employment based on rewarding political supporters.
Steam locomotive
Invented by Peter Cooper; became popular in the late 1830s; sped up rate of travel and trade over land.
Suffrage
Right to vote.
Susan B Anthony
Leader of women’s rights movement who argued that, in addition to the right to vote, women should have the right to own property.
Tariff of Abominations
What the South called the Tariff of 1828, which raised the tariff on imported manufactured goods; South said that the tariff was economically discriminatory because it helped the north but hurt them.
Temperance movement
Campaign to get people to stop drinking alcohol; supported by women and business owners.
Texas Annexation
Texas became a part of the US in 1845.
Textile mill
The factories where cloth is made.
Trail of Tears
Forced removal of Cherokees to Indian Territory by the US Army; 1/4 of them died on the journey.
Transcendentalism
Philosophy that teaches the spiritual is more important than the physical and that people can find truth within themselves.
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
Officially ended the Mexican-American War; recognized Texas as part of the US and established the Rio Grande as the border between the two nations; US received the Mexican Cession and Mexico received $15 million.
Treaty of Paris of 1783
Officially ended the American Revolution and established the first boundaries of the USA; Canada to the North, Spanish Florida to the South and the Mississippi River to the East.
Underground Railroad
A series of escape routes for slaves to the North; traveled by night, hid out in “stations” such as barns and cellars during the day.
Whig Party
Party formed by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster to oppose POTUS having too much power.
William Lloyd Garrison
Abolitionist who published an anti-slavery newspaper called The Liberator; he called for the immediate end to slavery.
Worcester v. Georgia
A Supreme Court ruling which stated the Cherokee nation was a distinct community in which the laws of Georgia had no force; Jackson’s response “John Marshall has made his decision, now he can enforce it.”
