Chapter 27: The Americas in the Age of Independence

Vocabulary flashcards covering key historical figures, treaties, policies, and conflicts across the Americas during the nineteenth-century Age of Independence.

Fatt Hing Chin

An immigrant who made money in the gold rush business and later returned to America to join his cousins who opened a restaurant.

Louisiana Purchase

Territory purchased by the United States from the French under Napoleon, extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.

Manifest Destiny

An idea created in the 1840s and used as reasoning for the occupation of all North America from the Pacific Ocean.

Indian Removal Act of 1830

An act by U.S. President Andrew Jackson authorizing the federal government to negotiate land-exchange treaties with Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River, relocating them west of the Mississippi to areas like modern-day Oklahoma.

Trail of Tears (1838-1839)

The forced relocation of thousands of Cherokees resulting from the Indian Removal Act, during which thousands died from disease, starvation, and difficulty.

Wounded Knee Creek Incident

An encounter where a Sioux man accidentally discharged a gun, causing the cavalry to overreact and slaughter more than 200 men, women, and children, later characterized as where 'a people's dream died.'

Sitting Bull

A Hunkpaka Lakota Sioux holy man and war chief during Native resistance to U.S. policies who oversaw victories such as Little Bighorn and Greasy Grass Creek.

Treaty of Gudalupe Hidalgo (1848)

An agreement in which the United States paid fifteen million dollars for approximately one-half of Mexico's territory, acquiring Texas north of the Rio Grande, California, and New Mexico.

Southern States

States organized under the Confederate States of America that advocated for the preservation and expansion of slavery and the protection of state sovereignty.

Northern States

The Union states that opposed slavery, sought to preserve the United States as a single undivided nation, and defended an emerging industrial society and expansive western agricultural system based on free labor.

Emancipation Proclamation (Jan 1, 1863)

A decree declaring that all enslaved people in Confederate states fighting against the Union were 'then, thenceforward, and forever free.'

War of 1812

A conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain alongside Native American allies and Canadian colonies, which resulted in British forces expanding home rule in Canada.

British North America Act of 1867

Legislation that joined Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, establishing and recognizing them as the Dominion of Canada.

Bolivar

An influential Latin American leader with a short-lived career who famously stated, 'I fear peace more than war.'

Dom Pedro I and Dom Pedro II

Rulers who maintained political stability and economic prosperity in Brazil.

Caudilosa

A charismatic military leader, warlord, or political strongman who holds autocratic power in Spain or post-independence Hispanic America, ruling through personal loyalty, armed strength, and patronage rather than formal democratic institutions (e.g., Juan Manual de Rosas).

General Antonio Lopez Santa Anna (1794-1876)

A Mexican general and eleven-time president involved in military confrontations that defined mid-19th-century relations with the U.S., including the Texas Revolution and Mexican-American War.

President Benito Juarez (1806-1872)

A Mexican president who promoted separation of Church and State, enacted constitutional reforms, and resisted the French invasion and the imposition of Emperor Maximilian.

Porfirio Diaz (1830-1915)

A Mexican general and president who ruled Mexico as a de facto dictator for more than 30 years during a period known as the Porfiriato.

Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919)

An iconic leader of the peasant-led guerrilla movement during the Mexican Revolution and a primary champion of agrarian reform.

Francisco (Pancho) Villa (1878-1923)

A Mexican revolutionary and guerrilla leader who joined Francisco Madero's 1909 uprising against Porfirio Díaz, led the División del Norte cavalry, and served as governor of Chihuahua.