U.S. History: Slavery, Civil War, Reconstruction & Gilded Age
Call Kai
Learn
Practice Test
Spaced Repetition
Match
Flashcards
Knowt Play1/81
There's no tags or description
Looks like no tags are added yet.
82 Terms
What was the Cotton Kingdom?
The Deep South's economic dependence on cotton production and enslaved labor.
How did Eli Whitney's cotton gin (1793) affect slavery?
Made cotton more profitable, increasing demand for enslaved labor.
What was the domestic slave trade?
Forced relocation of enslaved people from the Upper South to the Deep South.
What was the Stono Rebellion (1739)?
A South Carolina slave revolt in which enslaved Africans attempted to escape toward Spanish Florida.
What caused the Civil War?
Growing sectional conflict over slavery, states' rights, and political power.
What were the major results of the Civil War?
Union victory, abolition of slavery, and preservation of the United States.
What did the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments accomplish?
13th: abolished slavery. 14th: citizenship and equal protection. 15th: protected Black men's voting rights.
What was Radical Reconstruction?
Congressional effort to protect formerly enslaved people and reshape Southern governments.
What is the difference between vertical and horizontal integration?
Vertical: controlling production and distribution. Horizontal: buying out competitors.
Who were the major Gilded Age industrialists and what did they control?
Carnegie: steel. Rockefeller: oil. Vanderbilt: railroads. J.P. Morgan: banking and U.S. Steel.
What was the planter elite?
A small, wealthy Southern class that controlled plantations, enslaved labor, and political power.
Who were yeoman farmers?
Small Southern farmers who generally did not own enslaved people.
How was Southern society stratified?
A small planter elite held power while most white Southerners were yeoman farmers.
What was the Ring Shout?
An African American religious tradition involving circular movement and Christian songs.
What was Georgia's Anti-Literacy Act (1829)?
A law making it illegal to teach enslaved people to read or write.
Who was Susie King Taylor?
An African American educator who secretly taught enslaved people in Savannah, Georgia.
What was the Underground Railroad?
A network of people and safe locations that helped enslaved people escape to freedom.
Who was Harriet Tubman?
An abolitionist who escaped slavery and helped others reach freedom through the Underground Railroad.
What were safe houses?
Secret locations where freedom seekers could hide during their escape.
What was the impact of the domestic slave trade?
It separated families by forcibly relocating enslaved people to the Deep South.
How did enslaved communities resist bondage?
They preserved African traditions, blended African and Christian beliefs, and practiced everyday defiance.
What was the Stono Rebellion's significance?
It led Southern colonies to impose stricter controls on enslaved people.
What was the Denmark Vesey conspiracy (1822)?
An alleged planned slave uprising in Charleston, South Carolina, that led to harsh repression.
What was Nat Turner's Rebellion (1831)?
An uprising in Virginia that became one of the deadliest slave revolts in U.S. history.
How did Southern states respond to Nat Turner's Rebellion?
They passed stricter laws restricting enslaved and free Black people's rights.
What was John C. Calhoun's view of slavery?
He defended slavery as a positive good rather than a necessary evil.
What did Frederick Douglass argue about slavery?
He condemned slavery and advocated abolition and equal rights.
What was popular sovereignty?
The idea that settlers in a territory should vote on whether to allow slavery.
What was the Compromise of 1850?
A series of laws addressing slavery in new territories, including a stronger Fugitive Slave Act.
What did the Fugitive Slave Act (1850) require?
Escaped enslaved people had to be returned, even if found in free states.
Who was Stephen Douglas?
A senator who supported popular sovereignty and helped pass the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)?
Allowed popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise.
What was Bleeding Kansas (1854â1859)?
Violent conflict between proslavery and antislavery settlers over Kansas's future.
Who was John Brown?
An abolitionist who used violence against slavery, including attacks in Kansas and at Harpers Ferry.
What was the Sumner-Brooks incident (1856)?
Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner after Sumner criticized slavery.
What was the Dred Scott decision (1857)?
The Supreme Court ruled Black people were not citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in territories.
What was the Republican Party's position in 1854?
It opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories.
What were the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858)?
Debates over slavery's expansion between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.
What was the Freeport Doctrine?
Douglas argued territories could discourage slavery by refusing to enforce slave laws.
What happened in the presidential election of 1860?
Lincoln won, and Southern states began seceding.
Why did South Carolina secede?
It opposed Lincoln's election and feared restrictions on slavery.
When did the Civil War begin?
1861, following the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter.
What was the Union's main goal at the beginning of the Civil War?
Preserve the United States and prevent secession.
What was the Confederacy's main goal?
Independence and preservation of its slaveholding society.
Why was the Battle of Antietam (1862) important?
A major Union victory that helped Lincoln announce emancipation.
What was the Emancipation Proclamation (1863)?
Declared enslaved people in areas rebelling against the Union to be free.
How did the Emancipation Proclamation change the war?
Made ending slavery a central Union war aim and allowed Black enlistment.
Why was the Battle of Gettysburg (1863) important?
A major Union victory that stopped Lee's invasion of the North.
Why was the Siege of Vicksburg (1863) important?
The Union gained control of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy.
What was Sherman's March to the Sea (1864)?
A Union campaign through Georgia that destroyed Confederate resources and infrastructure.
When did the Confederacy surrender?
1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox.
What was the Homestead Act (1862)?
Provided 160 acres of public land to settlers who improved it and met residency requirements.
What was the Pacific Railway Act (1862)?
Provided federal support for building the transcontinental railroad.
What was the Enrollment Act (1863)?
Established a federal military draft during the Civil War.
What were the New York City Draft Riots (1863)?
Violent protests against the Union draft, lasting several days.
What was the Reconstruction Act (1867)?
Divided the South into military districts and required new state governments.
What was the Freedmen's Bureau?
A federal agency that provided education, food, medical care, and assistance to formerly enslaved people.
Who was Andrew Johnson?
Lincoln's vice president who became president after Lincoln's assassination and favored lenient Reconstruction.
What were Black Codes?
Southern laws restricting the freedom and rights of formerly enslaved people.
What was the impeachment of Andrew Johnson about?
Conflict with Congress over Reconstruction and his violation of the Tenure of Office Act.
Who was Hiram Revels?
The first African American U.S. senator, elected from Mississippi during Reconstruction.
Who was Blanche K. Bruce?
An African American U.S. senator from Mississippi during Reconstruction.
What was Social Darwinism?
Applied survival-of-the-fittest ideas to society to justify wealth inequality.
What was Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth (1889)?
The wealthy had a responsibility to give their fortunes back to society through philanthropy.
What was laissez-faire economics?
The belief that government should minimally interfere in the economy.
What was the Bessemer Process?
A method of mass-producing steel more cheaply and efficiently.
How did Andrew Carnegie use vertical integration?
He controlled multiple stages of steel production, from raw materials to transportation.
How did John D. Rockefeller use horizontal integration?
He bought competing oil companies to build Standard Oil's dominance.
What was J.P. Morgan's role in industry?
He consolidated major businesses and helped create U.S. Steel.
What was the Interstate Commerce Act (1887)?
Created federal regulation of railroads through the Interstate Commerce Commission.
What was the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)?
A federal law intended to prohibit trusts and monopolies that restrained trade.
What was Tammany Hall?
A New York City political machine known for controlling votes and government through patronage.
Who was Boss Tweed?
A Tammany Hall leader who used corruption and bribery to control New York City politics.
What was the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)?
Created merit-based federal hiring and reduced the spoils system.
Who assassinated President James Garfield?
Charles Guiteau, in 1881.
What were the major inventions transforming the Gilded Age?
Electricity, steel production, railroads, and improved communication technologies.
Who developed a practical incandescent light bulb?
Thomas Edison.
How did the transcontinental railroad change America?
Connected the country, shortened travel times, and expanded national markets.
Why were time zones created?
To standardize railroad schedules and coordinate transportation.
Why were Gilded Age presidents often considered weak?
Political corruption and party divisions limited presidential leadership.
What was the main political issue involving currency in the Gilded Age?
The debate over gold versus silver-backed money and its effects on the economy.
What was the spoils system?
Giving government jobs to political supporters rather than based on merit.