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Manifest Destiny

The belief that God intended for the United States to expand to the Pacific Ocean, serving as a major factor in U.S. territorial expansion during the 1840s.

Statue of Freedom Dispute

A controversy in the mid-1850s where Secretary of War Jefferson Davis opposed Thomas Crawford's original design for the Capitol dome statue due to its liberty cap, fearing it would symbolize emancipation and link slave and free American aspirations. It highlighted how deeply intertwined public issues were with the slavery debate.

Texas Revolt

Fueled partly by American settlers' desire for autonomy and their intention to maintain slavery, conflicting with Mexico's laws against it, leading to Texas's independence.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

The treaty that ended the Mexican War, confirming Texas annexation and ceding vast new territories including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah to the U.S., but also deepening sectional conflict over slavery's expansion.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

A legislative attempt to prohibit slavery in any territories acquired from Mexico, which revealed deep partisan divisions between Northern Democrats/Whigs and Southern opposition.

Free Soil Movement

A political movement formed from sentiments of the Wilmot Proviso, aiming to keep new territories free of slavery and reserve land for white settlers.

Compromise of 1850

An attempt to ease sectional tensions by admitting California as a free state, abolishing the slave trade in D.C., and allowing popular sovereignty to decide slavery status in new territories.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Introduced by Stephen A. Douglas, this act repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed new territories to determine their slavery status by popular sovereignty, leading to violent conflicts.

Mexican War (1846-1848)

A conflict initiated by U.S. military actions after failed negotiations to purchase California, generating dissent among Northerners who believed it aimed to expand slavery.

First Battle of Bull Run

The battle fought on July 21, 1861, which ended with a chaotic retreat for Union soldiers and shocked Northern expectations.

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued on January 1, 1863, it freed slaves in parts of the Confederacy not under Union control, effectively changing the war's nature.

Battle of Antietam

Fought on September 17, 1862, it marked the bloodiest single day in American history and changed the strategic momentum of the war.

Thirteenth Amendment

Ratified on January 31, 1865, it signaled the formal abolition of slavery across the entire Union.

Appomattox Courthouse

The location in Virginia where General Lee surrendered to General Grant in 1865, effectively ending the Civil War.

Monitor vs. Merrimac

A revolutionary sea battle involving ironclad ships in 1862, which transformed naval warfare.

Homestead Act

Enacted in 1862, it promoted Western expansion by providing settlers with public land.

Siege of Vicksburg

A significant Union victory in 1863, led by Ulysses S. Grant, which shifted the war's focus to the West.

First Modern War

The Civil War is considered this due to mass armies, industrialized weaponry, and a transition from army vs. army to society vs. society, emphasizing political and economic mobilization.

Marcus M. Spiegel

A Jewish immigrant from Germany who volunteered to fight for the Union in 1861, whose views on slavery evolved from racist attitudes to opposition due to the war's horrors.

Freedmen's Bureau

Agency established to aid freed slaves and poor whites in the South during Reconstruction.

Sharecropping

A system of agriculture where a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land.

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states with the intent to restrict African-American freedoms and force them back into plantation labor.

Civil Rights Bill of 1866

Legislation that aimed to protect the civil rights of African-Americans.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. and promises equal protection under the law.

Reconstruction Act

Law that divided the South into military districts and outlined new procedures for states to rejoin the Union.

Enforcement Acts

Series of laws aimed at combating Klan terrorism and protecting the civil rights of citizens.

Redeemers

Southern Democratic leaders who sought to regain control after Reconstruction, often through disenfranchisement and violence against African-Americans.

Special Field Order 15

Order issued to set aside land for former slaves, symbolizing hopes for economic independence and legitimate freedom for African-Americans.

Tenure of Office Act

Legislation passed in 1867 restricting the president's ability to remove officeholders.

Colfax Massacre

An event in 1873 highlighting racial violence against blacks during Reconstruction.

Bargain of 1877

The agreement that marked the end of Reconstruction, leading to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.