Allinson Period 5 Terms - EC Quiz

Manifest Destiny

A widespread belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It served as a primary justification for territorial expansion, including the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War. The phrase encapsulated American exceptionalism and a sense of divine right to the land.

Free-Soil Movements

Political movements, culminating in the _____, which opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories. They did not necessarily advocate for the abolition of slavery where it already existed, but rather for keeping the new lands open for white laborers. The movement directly challenged the South's push for new slave states and was an early predecessor to the Republican Party. The core slogan was "free soil, free labor, free men."

Slavery as a Positive Social Good

An argument developed by Southern defenders of slavery, particularly after the 1830s, asserting that the institution was not a necessary evil, but was morally good and beneficial for both white society and enslaved people. Proponents, like John C. Calhoun, argued it created a stable, paternalistic society for whites and provided care, religion, and structure for enslaved Africans, whom they claimed were biologically inferior. This was a direct response to the rising abolitionist movement.

Compromise of 1850

A package of five separate bills passed by the U.S. Congress to settle major disputes between North and South regarding slavery in the newly acquired Mexican Cession territories. Key provisions included: California was admitted as a free state (pleasing the North); the slave trade (but not slavery itself) was abolished in Washington D.C.; and the Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened (pleasing the South, but infuriating the North).

Second American Party System

The political structure in the United States from the 1820s to the 1850s, primarily characterized by the competition between two major national parties. The two dominant parties were the Democrats (led by Andrew Jackson) and the Whigs (led by Henry Clay). This system collapsed due to the irreconcilable differences over slavery, leading to the rise of new parties like the Republicans.

Confederacy

The unrecognized republic formed in February 1861 by eleven Southern states that declared their secession from the United States (the Union) in response to the election of Abraham Lincoln. It was founded explicitly to protect the institution of slavery. Its existence triggered the Civil War. Its first and only President was Jefferson Davis, and its capital was Richmond, Virginia.

13th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in December 1865, that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the entire United States, except as punishment for a crime. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments and legally ended the central cause of the Civil War, fulfilling the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Civil War

A brutal conflict fought from 1861 to 1865 between the United States (Union) and the eleven Southern states of the Confederacy. It remains the deadliest conflict in American history. It resulted in the preservation of the Union, the abolition of slavery, and cemented the power of the federal government over state governments.

Reconstruction

The period (1865-1877) following the Civil War during which the U.S. federal government sought to readmit the Southern states, rebuild the nation, and establish the political, economic, and social status of newly freed African Americans. Key aspects included the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, and efforts by Radical Republicans to ensure black political rights, though these efforts were largely undone by the late 1870s.

15th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, that guaranteed the right to vote could not be denied or abridged "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Though a landmark for African American men's suffrage, Southern states later found ways around it by implementing literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses.

Mexican-American War

A conflict between the United States and Mexico fought from 1846 to 1848, largely over a border dispute in Texas and the U.S. desire for California and other western lands. The U.S. victory resulted in the Mexican Cession and was a major victory for Manifest Destiny. It reignited the intense national debate over whether the new territories would be free or slave.

Abolitionists

Reformers, predominantly in the North, who advocated for the immediate, unconditional, and complete end of slavery in the United States. Key figures included William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman. Their moral arguments and political activism made slavery a dominant national issue and were a key cause of the Civil War.

Secession

The formal withdrawal of a state from the Union. South Carolina was the first state to declare its secession in December 1860 following the election of Abraham Lincoln, an action that was soon followed by ten other Southern states, leading directly to the formation of the Confederacy and the Civil War.

Dred Scott Case

A landmark 1857 Supreme Court decision involving an enslaved man, ______, who sued for his freedom because he had lived in free territories. The ruling stated three things: 1) African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens and had no right to sue; 2) The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional; and 3) Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories. It was a massive victory for the South and fueled anti-slavery sentiment in the North.

Republican Party

A major political party founded in 1854 in the North, primarily in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the expansion of slavery into western territories. Its core platform was Free Soil—preventing slavery's expansion. Abraham Lincoln was its first successful presidential candidate in 1860, an event that triggered Southern secession.

Union

Refers to the United States of America, specifically the federal government and the twenty-four Northern and Border states that remained loyal to it during the Civil War. Led by President Abraham Lincoln, their goal during the war was initially to preserve the nation, and later, to end slavery. They ultimately defeated the Confederacy.

Sharecropping System

An agricultural system that emerged in the South during Reconstruction where landless former slaves and poor white farmers rented a plot of land from a landowner in exchange for a "share" of the crop (usually 50% or more). While it offered some autonomy, it quickly trapped most sharecroppers in a cycle of debt (known as "debt peonage") to the landowner and local merchant, becoming a successor to slavery in binding African Americans to the land.

Gettysburg Address

A brief but profound speech delivered by President Abraham Lincoln in November 1863 at the dedication of a national cemetery on the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln reframed the Civil War as a struggle not just for the preservation of the Union, but as a fight for the principles of human equality ("all men are created equal") and a "new birth of freedom."

14th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, that defined citizenship (granting it to all people born or naturalized in the U.S., including former slaves) and mandated equal protection of the laws and due process for all citizens. It is the most litigated part of the Constitution. It was central to ensuring the civil rights of freedmen during Reconstruction and is the basis for much of modern civil rights law.

Irish and German Migrants

The two largest immigrant groups to arrive in the U.S. during the period of 1830-1860. The Irish mainly came due to the Potato Famine and settled in northeastern cities, often facing intense poverty and anti-Catholic nativist movement backlash. The Germans, many fleeing political unrest, often had more capital and settled in midwestern cities and farming communities (e.g., Cincinnati, St. Louis).

Anti-Catholic Nativist Movement

A political and social movement in the mid-19th century that feared and opposed the influence of immigrants, particularly Irish and German Catholics, viewing them as a threat to American culture and democracy. This movement gave rise to the Know-Nothing Party (or American Party) in the 1850s, which gained momentary political success campaigning on restricting immigration and political rights for Catholics.

Mexican Cession

The vast territory in the Southwest ceded (given) to the United States by Mexico in 1848 through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War. The land included all or parts of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. The immediate question of whether slavery would be permitted in this territory pushed the nation closer to civil war.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A controversial 1854 law that organized the Kansas and Nebraska territories and allowed the settlers in those territories to decide the issue of slavery themselves through the principle of Popular Sovereignty. It effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise. It led to a violent struggle known as "Bleeding Kansas" and caused the immediate destruction of the Whig Party and the formation of the Republican Party.

Abraham Lincoln free-soil

Refers to Abraham Lincoln's political position before the Civil War, which was to prevent the expansion of slavery into any new U.S. territories. Lincoln did not initially call for the total abolition of slavery in the South (where he believed the Constitution protected it), but his firm stance against its expansion was what prompted the Southern states to declare secession immediately after his election in 1860.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, that declared all enslaved people in the states currently in rebellion (Confederacy) to be free. It did not immediately free any slaves in the loyal Border States, but it fundamentally changed the goal of the Civil War from merely preserving the Union to actively ending slavery, allowing African Americans to enlist in the Union Army.

Radical Republicans

A faction within the Republican Party during and after the Civil War who strongly advocated for the equal rights of freedmen, harsh punishment for Confederate leaders, and an active federal role in transforming Southern society during Reconstruction. They were instrumental in passing the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th) and pushed for measures like the Freedmen's Bureau to aid former slaves.

Moderate Republicans

The largest faction of the Republican Party who agreed with the Radical Republicans on some issues but preferred a less aggressive approach to Reconstruction and a quicker return of Southern states to the Union. They supported the 14th Amendment but did not always support the full enfranchisement of freedmen. Their power struggle with the Radicals shaped the policies of Reconstruction.

Segregation

The systemic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life, often enforced by law (de jure) or by social custom and economic power (de facto). Following Reconstruction, Southern states implemented "Jim Crow" laws, which legally segregated public facilities (schools, trains, hospitals, etc.). This system of racial hierarchy dominated the South until the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century.