APUSH Unit 5 Terms

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable, promoting the idea of American exceptionalism.

Gold Rush

A mass migration of people to California in the late 1840s, driven by the discovery of gold. It significantly contributed to westward expansion and economic growth in the United States.

Preemption Act

A law passed in 1841 that allowed settlers to purchase lands in the West before it was offered to the public, facilitating westward expansion and settlement.

Battle of San Jacinto

A decisive battle in the Texas Revolution fought on April 21, 1836, where Texan forces led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexican army, securing Texas independence.

49th Parallel

The boundary line established by the Oregon Treaty of 1846 between the United States and British North America, which extended westward at latitude 49° north.

Mexican-American War

A conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848, resulting in significant territorial gains for the US including California and New Mexico.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The treaty signed on February 2, 1848, that ended the Mexican-American War, resulted in Mexico ceding a vast amount of territory to the United States, including present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.

Gadsen Purchase

The 1854 agreement in which the United States purchased a region of present-day southern Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed amendment aimed to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American War, highlighting the growing sectional tensions.

Free Soil Movement

A political movement in the mid-19th century that opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories of the United States, advocating instead for the establishment of free homesteads for white settlers.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws passed to ease tensions between slave and free states, which included provisions like admitting California as a free state and enforcing a stricter Fugitive Slave Act.

Abolitionists

Individuals or groups who sought to end slavery in the United States, advocating for emancipation and civil rights for African Americans.

Popular Sovereignty

A political doctrine that allowed settlers of a territory to decide whether slavery would be permitted there.

Fugitive Slave Law

A law that required the return of runaway enslaved people to their owners, enforcing penalties on anyone who aided escapees.

Nativism

The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants, often manifesting in hostility toward foreigners.

Know-Nothing Party

A political party in the mid-19th century that opposed immigration and the influence of immigrants in American politics, advocating for Nativist policies.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe published in 1852 that depicted the harsh realities of slavery and fueled anti-slavery sentiments in the North.

Frederick Douglass

An African American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, and writer who escaped from slavery. He became a prominent advocate for the rights of African Americans and women's suffrage.

Underground Railroad

A secret network of routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape to free states and Canada.

Kansas Nebraska Act

Legislation passed in 1854 that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, allowing settlers to decide on the legality of slavery through popular sovereignty.

Dred Scott Decision

A landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1857 that declared enslaved individuals were not citizens and could not sue for their freedom, ultimately fueling tensions leading up to the Civil War.

Election of 1860

The presidential election that featured Abraham Lincoln as the Republican candidate, leading to his victory and further escalating tensions over slavery.

secession

The act of formally withdrawing from an organization or political entity, specifically regarding the Southern states' withdrawal from the Union prior to the Civil War.

Civil War

The conflict between the Northern states (Union) and the Southern states (Confederacy) from 1861 to 1865, primarily over issues of slavery and states' rights.

Draft Riots

A series of violent disturbances in New York City in 1863, primarily in response to the implementation of the draft during the Civil War, reflecting deep societal tensions.

Battle of Bull Run

The first major battle of the American Civil War, fought on July 21, 1861, resulting in a Confederate victory and a shocking realization for the Union regarding the war's potential length and brutality.

Anaconda Plan

A Union strategy during the Civil War to blockaded southern ports and capture the Mississippi River, aiming to suffocate the Confederacy economically.

Emancipation Proclamation

A presidential decree issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declaring the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory, reshaping the war's goals.

Battle of Vicksburg

A key military engagement during the American Civil War, fought from May 18 to July 4, 1863, resulting in a Union victory that effectively split the Confederacy and gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

March to the Sea

A military campaign led by General William Tecumseh Sherman during the American Civil War, from November to December 1864, aimed at inflicting significant damage on the Confederate infrastructure and economy by marching from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia.

Appomattox Courthouse

Site of the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the American Civil War.

Gettysburg Address

A speech delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, during the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, emphasizing themes of liberty, equality, and national unity.

reconstruction

The period after the Civil War during which the United States struggled to reintegrate the Southern states and ensure rights for newly freed African Americans, lasting from 1865 to 1877.

10% Plan

A reconstruction strategy proposed by President Abraham Lincoln, stipulating that a Southern state could be readmitted into the Union when 10% of its voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Union.

13th Amendment

The constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States, ratified in December 1865.

black codes

Laws enacted by Southern states after the Civil War to restrict the freedoms of African Americans and maintain a labor force.

Freedman’s Bureau

A federal agency established in 1865 to assist freed slaves and poor whites in the South by providing food, housing, education, and medical care.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Legislation that granted citizenship and equal rights to all persons born in the U.S., regardless of race.

14th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution adopted in 1868 that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and ensured equal protection under the laws.

Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Legislation that divided the Southern states into military districts and required them to create new constitutions guaranteeing African American men the right to vote.

15th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1870 that prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

National Woman Suffrage Association

Founded in 1869, the National Woman Suffrage Association was an organization that advocated for women's right to vote in the United States, co-founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

sharecropping

a system of agriculture where landowners allow tenants to use the land in exchange for a share of the crops produced.

white supremacy

The belief that white people are superior to those of all other races, especially the black race, and should therefore dominate society.

Election of 1876

One of the most disputed presidential elections in American history, pitting Republican Rutherford B. Hayes against Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The controversy surrounding the vote count led to the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reconstruction.

Compromise of 1877

An informal, unwritten agreement that resolved the intensely disputed 1876 presidential election. It resulted in the withdrawal of federal troops from Southern states, effectively ending Reconstruction. In exchange for Rutherford B. Hayes being declared President, Democrats were promised increased federal aid and the removal of military oversight in the South, leading to the end of federal attempts to protect African Americans' rights in the South.