AP US History Ultimate Study Guide (copy)

What was the concept of Manifest Destiny in the 1840s?

The belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand across the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean.

What were the primary outcomes of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848)?

The U.S. gained a vast amount of territory in the Southwest, known as the Mexican Cession, through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

What were the components of the Compromise of 1850?

California was admitted as a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened, and the principle of popular sovereignty was applied to the Utah and New Mexico territories.

What was the historical significance of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854?

It allowed settlers in those territories to vote on the issue of slavery, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and leading to 'Bleeding Kansas'.

What did the Supreme Court rule in the 1857 case Dred Scott v. Sandford?

The Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not U.S. citizens and that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories.

What major event in 1860 triggered the secession of South Carolina and other Southern states?

The election of Abraham Lincoln as the first Republican president.

What was the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation issued in 1863?

It declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory were free and shifted the moral focus of the Civil War toward the abolition of slavery.

Why was the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 considered a turning point?

It was a major Union victory that ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee's second and final invasion of the North.

What did the 13^{th} Amendment accomplish?

It formally abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

What were the protections granted by the 14^{th} Amendment?

It granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and guaranteed 'equal protection of the laws' and 'due process' to all citizens.

What was the specific goal of the 15^{th} Amendment?

To ensure that the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

What was the purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction?

To provide food, medical aid, legal assistance, and education to formerly enslaved African Americans and poor whites in the South after the Civil War.

How did the Compromise of 1877 affect the Reconstruction era?

It settled the disputed election of 1876 by awarding the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for the removal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.