Key Events and Figures in Early American History

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the U.S. Constitution during its ratification debates (late 1780s).

Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom

A Virginia law authored by Thomas Jefferson ensuring freedom of religion.

Newburgh Conspiracy

A potential military coup by Continental Army officers frustrated over unpaid wages.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that political power resides with the people.

Gradual Emancipation

Laws designed to end slavery over time rather than immediately.

The Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the U.S., created a weak central government.

Northwest Ordinance

Law passed in 1787 to govern the Northwest Territory.

Shays's Rebellion

Armed uprising of farmers in Massachusetts protesting economic injustices and lack of debt relief.

Three-Fifths Clause

Constitutional compromise counting enslaved people as 3/5 of a person for representation and taxation.

Empire of Liberty

Jefferson's vision of American expansion spreading freedom and republican values.

Bank of the United States

National bank proposed by Alexander Hamilton to stabilize the U.S. economy.

Jay's Treaty

1794 treaty between the U.S. and Britain to resolve lingering conflicts post-Revolution.

Quasi War

An undeclared naval conflict between the U.S. and France.

During the Adams Administration (late 1700’s)

Hamiltonians

Supporters of Alexander Hamilton, often aligned with the Federalist Party.

Jeffersonians

Followers of Thomas Jefferson, later called Democratic-Republicans.

Charlotte Temple

Best-selling sentimental novel by Susanna Rowson about a seduced and abandoned woman.

Mary Wollstonecraft

English writer and early advocate for women's rights; author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798 laws that restricted immigration and punished criticism of the government.

Haitian Revolution

Successful slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti).

Gabriel's Rebellion

Planned slave revolt in Virginia, led by enslaved blacksmith Gabriel Prosser.

Barbary Wars

Naval conflicts between the U.S. and North African states over piracy and tribute demands.

Embargo Act of 1807

Law passed under Jefferson banning all U.S. exports.

Louisiana Purchase

U.S. acquisition of French territory west of the Mississippi River.

The War Hawks

Young Republican congressmen like Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun who pushed for war with Britain.

Cult of Domesticity

Ideal of womanhood emphasizing piety, purity, and domesticity.

Cotton Kingdom

Term for the Southern U.S. economy based on cotton and slavery.

Cotton Gin

Gained strength after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, peaking in the early-mid 1800s.

Creek War

A conflict between the U.S. and a faction of the Creek Nation (Red Sticks), part of the War of 1812, occurring from 1813-1814.

Martin Van Buren

Politician who built the Democratic Party and served as 8th U.S. President (1837-1841), active politically from 1820s-1840s.

Whig Party

Political party formed in opposition to Andrew Jackson, active from 1830s-1850s.

Trail of Tears

Forced removal of the Cherokee and other tribes to land west of the Mississippi, occurring from 1838-1839.

Helen Jewett

A young sex worker murdered in NYC in 1836; case became a media sensation.

Nullification Crisis

Conflict over a state's right to nullify federal law, especially tariffs, occurring from 1832-1833.

The Second Middle Passage

Forced migration of enslaved people from the Upper South to the Deep South, occurring in the early to mid-1800s.

John Calhoun

South Carolina senator, vice president, and major pro-slavery theorist, politically active from 1810s-1850s.

Worcester v. Georgia

Supreme Court case ruling that states couldn't interfere with Native nations, decided in 1832.

Paternalism

Southern ideology justifying slavery as a 'benevolent' system where masters cared for dependents, prevalent in the antebellum period.

Chivalry

Southern code of honor emphasizing white male dominance and female dependency, prevalent in the Antebellum South.

Nat Turner's Rebellion

Slave rebellion in Virginia led by preacher Nat Turner in 1831.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to ban slavery in territory gained from the Mexican-American War, introduced in 1846.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent, popularized in the 1840s.

Evangelical Abolitionism

Religious movement to end slavery on moral grounds.

Gained strength

1830s-1850s

Colonization

Movement to relocate freed Black people to Africa (e.g., Liberia).

Colonization When

Early 1800s-1830s

David Walker

Free Black abolitionist who published Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World.

David Walker When

1829

Oneida Community

Utopian religious commune that practiced communal property and complex marriage.

Oneida Community When

Founded in 1848

Transcendentalism

Intellectual movement emphasizing individual conscience, nature, and self-reliance.

Transcendentalism When

1830s-1850s

Free men, free labor

Republican Party slogan emphasizing free labor ideology.

Free men, free labor When

1850s

Mexican-American War

Conflict between the U.S. and Mexico over Texas and other territories.

Mexican-American War When

1846-1848

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Law requiring return of escaped enslaved people, even from free states.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 When

1850

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Uncle Tom's Cabin When

Published in 1852

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Supreme Court case denying Black citizenship and ruling Congress couldn't ban slavery in the territories.

Dred Scott v. Sanford When

1857

The Know-Nothings

Anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic political party (officially the American Party).

The Know-Nothings When

Peaked in mid-1850s

The Slave Power

Northern term for the perceived dominance of slaveholders in national politics.

The Slave Power When

1840s-1850s

Republican Party

Political party formed to oppose slavery's expansion.

Republican Party When

Founded in 1854

1st and 2nd Contraband Acts

Laws allowing Union to seize enslaved people used by Confederacy.

1st and 2nd Contraband Acts When

1861 (1st), 1862 (2nd)

Emancipation Proclamation

Executive order by Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate-held areas.

Emancipation Proclamation When

Issued 1862, effective Jan 1, 1863

Military necessity

Legal principle justifying wartime actions like emancipation.

Military necessity When

Used by Lincoln during the Civil War

John Brown

Radical abolitionist who led violent actions against slavery.

John Brown When

Most famously in 1859 at Harpers Ferry