Term 2 Quarterly Topics APUSH

The Election of 1824

The election had four main candidates, all republicans. They were John Quincy Adams (from NE), Henry Clay (from Kentucky/West), William H. Crawford (from Georgia/South), and Andrew Jackson (from Tennessee/West). At the time, there was not an organized party system and the election process was fuzzy. Jackson, who was popular after the Battle of New Orleans, won the popular vote but not the electoral vote. Since there was no clear winner, the House voted amongst the top three candidates. After the supposed "corrupt bargain," John Quincy Adams became president with Clay as his secretary of state

Spoils System

Policy of rewarding political supporters with public office, first widely employed at the federal level by Andrew Jackson. The practice was widely abused by unscrupulous office seekers, but it also helped cement party loyalty in the emerging two-party system.

Nullification Crisis

Showdown between President Andrew Jackson and the South Carolina legislature, which declared the 1832 tariff null and void in the state and threatened secession if the federal government tried to collect duties. It was resolved by a compromise negotiated by Henry Clay in 1833

Indian Removal Act

Ordered the removal of Indian Tribes still residing east of the Mississippi to newly established Indian Territory west of Arkansas and Missouri. Tribes resisting eviction were forcibly removed by American forces, often after prolonged legal or military battles. Jackson consoled his conflicting emotions over this act with the belief that NA could preserve their cultures out west; Jackson believed he had an obligation to "rescue" native races

The Bank Battle/Pet Banks

Battle between President Andrew Jackson and Congressional supporters of the Bank of the United States over the bank's renewal in 1832. Henry Clay had tried to renew the bank's charter 4 years early to undermine Jackson's presidency; the Bank was a heated issue. Many disliked the institution: it had considerable sway over the national economy, it was not accountable to the people, and it foreclosed on many western properties in favor of the east. Jackson ultimately vetoed the Bank Bill, arguing that the bank favored moneyed interests at the expense of western farmers. Popular term for pro-Jackson state banks that received the bulk of federal deposits when Andrew Jackson moved to dismantle the Bank of the United States in 1833.

Texas overall

Issues w/ Mexico:

Texas pioneers refused to assimilate to Mexican culture and did not practice Catholicism. Settlers resented the Mexican government and military presence in the region and interference with local rights, immigration, and slavery (Mexico had emancipated its slaves, Texans had not).

Annexation:Mexicans believed that the US had an obligation to stay neutral in Texas' independence movement, but Americans favored Texas nonetheless. However, northerners opposed its annexation because of slavery, believing the campaign to make Texas a state was in fact a conspiracy to expand the institution. President Tyler later annexed it as the 28th state, mexicans became mad because they thought that the US had "stolen" it from them

Denmark Vesey

Led an aborted slave rebellion in Charleston in 1822, fueling Southern fears about government intervention with slavery. He was betrayed by informants and hung from the gallows.

Irish Immigrants

Irish immigrants came to the US primarily after the 1840s potato famine and settled in larger seaport cities like NY and Boston. They were poor, illiterate, and extremely Catholic. Irish immigrants opposed abolition and had race riots with African Americans; the Irish themselves were treated as inferior and "a social menace" by established Americans and nativists.

Know-Nothing Party

Nativist political party, also known as the American party, which emerged in response to an influx of immigrants, particularly Irish Catholics.

German Immigrants

Following crop failure and the collapse of the 1848 democratic revolution, German immigrants came to the American Middle West (notably Wisconsin.) These people were educated, promoted art and music, and lived in "compact colonies" away from their American neighbors. Although they were regarded with suspicion because of their isolationist tendencies, German Immigrants influenced American culture through things like the Christmas tree and the conestoga wagon.

Commonwealth v. Hunt

Massachusetts Supreme Court decision that strengthened the labor movement by upholding the legality of unions. the common-law doctrine of criminal conspiracy did not apply to labour unions.

Factory Girls/ Lowell Mill Girls

Young women employed in the growing factories of the early nineteenth century, they labored long hours in difficult conditions, living in socially new conditions away from farms and families.

Cult of Domesticity

Pervasive nineteenth century cultural creed that venerated the domestic role of women. It gave married women greater authority to shape home life but limited opportunities outside the domestic sphere.

Transportation Revolution

Term referring to a series of nineteenth century transportation innovations—turnpikes, steamboats, canals, and railroads—that linked local and regional markets, creating a national economy.

Market Revolution

Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century transformation from a disaggregated, subsistence economy to a national commercial and industrial network.

Interchangeable Parts

Identical components that can be used in place of one another in manufacturing

Second Great Awakening

Religious revival characterized by emotional mass "camp meetings" and widespread conversion. Brought about a democratization of religion as a multiplicity of denominations vied for members. It gave way to various reform movements, most of which were spearheaded by women: temperance, prison and institutional reform, women's suffrage, abolition, etc. The movement also further seperated classes, regions, and religions; its religious secession would foreshadow the Civil War.

Education Reformation

\-Goals:

Reformers addressed overcrowding, poorly-trained and poorly-paid teachers, limited curriculum, and irregular schedules in American tax-supported public schools. In higher education, reformers wanted to address the lack of schooling for women.

\-Key Figures:

Horace Mann (secretary on the MA Board of Education; promoted more schools, longer school days, expanded curriculum)

Noah Webster (Published a dictionary that standardized the American language and textbooks that were used throughout American schools)

William Holmes McGuffey (Published McGuffey Readers, which were textbooks for young students that emphasized morality, patriotism, and idealism.)

Emma Willard and Mary Lyon (both established colleges for women.)

\-Accomplishments:

Better school houses, longer school terms, higher pay for teachers, expanded curriculum. In higher education, Oberlin College began to accept women students as well as black students, and colleges for women were established elsewhere in the country.

\-Setbacks:

Black slaves in the South were legally barred from education, free black people were still generally excluded from schooling, even public school was an expensive luxury for the poor.

Prison Reform

\-Goals:

Have prisons reform inmates as well as punish them. Reformers also wanted proper treatment for those "suffering insanity" (many mentally ill people at the time were kept in prisons and recieved extremely cruel treatment)

\-Key figures:

Dorthea Dix (assembled reports on the treatment of the mentally ill and advocated for better institutional practices)

\-Accomplishments:

Dix's 1843 petition to the Massachusetts legisilature and her consistent persistance led to improved treatment of the mentally ill and a better understanding of their issues.

\-Setbacks:

persistent discrimination, not observed, wretched conditions, understanding of psychology limited

Women's Rights Movement

\-Goals:

End the separation between the private life of women and the public life of men; grant women more power in public life

\-Key figures:

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (advocated suffrage for women)

Susan B. Anthony (lecturer of women's rights)

Lucretia Mott

Elizabeth Blackwell

The Grimke sisters

\-Accomplishments:

Convention at Seneca Falls, the Declaration of Sentiments, women were gradually admitted to colleges, wives in some states could own property after marriage

\-Setbacks:

The movement was eclipsed by the campaign against slavery in the years leading up to the civil war. Advocates for women's suffrage were often ridiculed, and women still not vote in the civil war era.

Temperance Movement

\-Goals:

The temperance movement encouraged less consumption of alcohol; people believed heavy drinking decreased the safety and efficiency of labor and also wreaked havoc on family life.

\-Key figures:

Neal S. Dow (Known as the "Father of Prohibition." He sponsored the Maine Law of 1851)

\-Accomplishments:Maine Law of 1851 and similar laws passed in Northern states. Overall, there was less consumption of liquor amongst women and of hard liquor in general.

\-Setbacks:

Laws prohibitng alchohol were repealed, deemed unconstitutional, and openly flouted.

Utopian Societies

\-Goals:

Seeking out human betterment by setting up societes of cooperative, communistic nature

\-Key figures:

Mother Ann Lee (shakers)

\-Accomplishments:

flourished for a period of time; increase of new ideas

\-Setbacks:

these communities would often fail due to various reason (shakers = no children)

Abolition of Slavery

the movement in opposition to slavery, often demanding immediate, uncompensated emancipation of all slaves. This was generally considered radical, and there were only a few adamant abolitionists prior to the Civil War. Almost all abolitionists advocated legal, but not social equality for blacks.

Planter Aristocracy

Planter elite felt a strong obligation to serve the public and had time for studying; thus they turned out many statesmen Planters sent their children to Northern or foreign private schooling institutions, harming tax-supported public education. They fancied themselves part of a romanticized feudal system, as perpetuated by Sir Walter Scott. Southern women with slaves rarely supported abolition, as they had control over the household female slaves. -South governed by select few rich people, was the head of the southern society. they determined the political, economic, and even the social life of their region. the wealthiest had home in towns or cities as well as summer homes, and they traveled widely, especially to europe, children got good education. they were defined as the cotton magnates, the sugar, rice, and tobacco, the whites who owned at least 40 or 50 slaves and 800 or more acres women dependent on slaves

Nat Turner/His Rebellion

\-Him:

Leader of the Virginia slave revolt that resulted in the deaths of sixty whites and raised fears among white Southerners of further uprisings.

\-Rebellion:

Virginia slave revolt that resulted in the deaths of sixty whites and raised fears among white Southerners of further uprisings.

American Colonization Society

Reflecting the focus of early abolitionists on transporting freed blacks back to Africa, the organization established Liberia, a West-African settlement intended as a haven for emancipated slaves.

William Lloyd Garrison

Publisher of the antislavery newspaper, "The Liberator." He was radical and often the target of mob outrage; he started the American Anti-Slavery society.

David Walker

Black abolitonist who wrote the "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World" which advocated bloody end to slavery

Frederick Douglass

The most prominent black abolitionist of the era and a former slave; he published his autobiography and gave speeches and writings in support of the cause.

Elijah Lovejoy

Reverand who opposed slavery and doubted the chastity of Catholic women; he was killed by a mob and became known as the "martyr abolitionist"

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the United States was destined by God to spread its "empire of liberty" across North America. Served as a justification for mid-nineteenth century expansionism. In the election of 1844, expansionist Democrats campaigned on promises of annexing Texas and occupying Oregon.

Wilmot Proviso

Amendment that sought to prohibit slavery from territories acquired from Mexico. Introduced by a Pennsylvania congressman David Wilmot, the failed amendment ratcheted up tensions between North and South over the issue of slavery. It never became a federal law, but was endorsed by most free states and later adopted by the Free-Soil party.

Popular Sovereignty

Notion that the sovereign people of a given territory should decide whether to allow slavery. Though abolitionists opposed it as a compromise that could extend slavery, it appealed to many Americans because it accorded with democratic principle of self-determination. Politicians liked it because it was a comfortable compromise between free soilers' and southern demands, allowing them to dissolve a national issue into smaller local ones.

Compromise of 1850

Admitted California as a free state, opened New Mexico and Utah to popular sovereignty, ended the slave trade (but not slavery itself) in Washington D.C., and introduced a more stringent fugitive slave law. Widely opposed in both the North and South, it did little to settle the escalating dispute over slavery. The Compromise favored the north overall, but the north was also deeply angered over the accompanying Fugitive Slave Laws.

Gadsden Purchase

Acquired additional land from Mexico for $10 million to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad. Rationale: Transportation into new land from the Mexican Cession was difficult, and so land transportation was imperative to keep the new land connected to the rest of the country. Controversy: The North criticized the purchase as paying an excessive sum for a small amount of desert land; they also disliked it because it gave the South greater claims over the coveted railroad. As a result, northern railroad boosters demanded Nebraska be organized (into a free soil state).

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Proposed that Nebraska be split into two and that the issue of slavery be decided by popular sovereignty in the Kansas and Nebraska territories, thus revoking the 1820 Missouri Compromise. Introduced by Stephen Douglass in an effort to bring Nebraska into the Union and pave the way for a northern transcontinental railroad. It was criticized for contradicting the Missouri Compromise; in response, the North largely disregarded the Compromise of 1850.

Jacksonian Democracy

The idea of spreading political power to the people and ensuring majority rule as well as supporting the "common man"

American System

the policy of promoting industry in the U.S. by adoption of a high protective tariff and of developing internal improvements by the federal government (as advocated by Henry Clay from 1816 to 1828) Henry Clay's three-pronged system to promote American industry. Clay advocated a strong banking system, a protective tariff and a federally funded transportation network. It focused on uniting the country both economically and politically (exchange of raw materials from the South/West for Northern manufactured goods.)

Monroe's Foreign Policy

\-Monroe Doctrine:

A statement of foreign policy which proclaimed that Europe should not interfere in affairs within the United States or in the development of other countries in the Western Hemisphere. The United States largely lacked the power to back up the pronouncement, which was actually enforced by the British, who sought unfettered access to Latin American markets.

\-Adams Onis Treaty/Purchase of Florida:

Under the agreement, Spain ceded Florida to the United States, which, in exchange, abandoned its claims to Texas.

\-MONROE OVERALL:

He first reiterated the traditional U.S. policy of neutrality with regard to European wars and conflicts. He then declared that the United States would not accept the recolonization of any country by its former European master, though he also avowed non-interference with existing European colonies in the Americas; enunciates a policy of neutrality towards the Latin American colonies seeking independence

Missouri Compromise

The Missouri Compromise consisted of three large parts: Missouri entered the Union as a slave state, Maine entered as a free state, and the 36’30” line was established as the dividing line regarding slavery for the remainder of the Louisiana Territory. occurred after the LA purchase bc there was lots of land and ppl freaked

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Showed northerners and the world the horrors of slavery while southerners attack it as an exaggeration, contributed to the start of the Civil War.

Lowell Mills

These mills combined the textile processes of spinning and weaving under one roof, essentially eliminating the "putting-out system" in favor of mass production of high-quality cloth.

Mills that employed women to work. They offered supervision for the women at all times and lodging so they could stay near their work. Located in Lowell, MA.

Steamships/Railroads

allowed for easier transportation to west, transport of goods, etc:.

Ecological Imperialsim

Historians' term for the spoliation of Western natural resources through excessive hunting, logging, mining, and grazing.

Era of Good Feelings

Popular name for the period of one-party, Republican, rule during James Monroe's presidency. The term obscures bitter conflicts over internal improvements, slavery, and the national bank

Lowell Mill Girls

the Lowell mill women organized, went on strike and mobilized in politics when women couldn't even vote—and created the first union of working women in American history. protested cut wages, long hours, and unfair working conditions

Industrial Revolution

\-what it was:

creation and integration of use of steam powered machines in factories to create mass product items (textiles)

\-impact on dev of the US:

improvements of agricultural system, trans communication

manufacturing became the basis of the economy in N

slavery expanded to keep up w/ North competition/need for cotton

sewing machines (easy made clothes)

economic nationalism

\-movement to support the growth of the nation's economy

\-internal improvements was a big aspect (building of roads and canals)

TARIFF OF 1816

\-Congress raised tariff rates on certain goods for express purpose of protecting US manufacturers

\-Americans feared British would dump their goods

\-Americans feared British would dump their goods

\-first protective tariff in US history

\-protective tariff: a tariff imposed to protect domestic firms from import competition

Federalists

They favored weaker state governments, a strong centralized government, the indirect election of government officials, longer term limits for officeholders, and representative, rather than direct, democracy.

Democratic Republicans (jeffersonian)

believed in individual freedoms and the rights of states. They feared that the concentration of federal power under George Washington and John Adams represented a dangerous threat to liberty.

Anti-Masonic Party

a 19th century single issue third party that opposed freemasonry as well as Andrew Jackson. They drew support from Evangelists and aspired to remove the politically influential secret Masonic Order. (hated them bc they were secretive and exclusive (un-democratic))

democratic (AJ)

The idea of spreading political power to the people and ensuring majority rule as well as supporting the "common man" First, it declared itself to be the party of ordinary farmers and workers. Second, it opposed the special privileges of economic elites. Third, to offer affordable western land to ordinary white Americans, Indians needed to be forced further westward.

whigs

The Whig Party believed in a strong federal government, similar to the Federalist Party that preceded it. The federal government must provide its citizenry with a transportation infrastructure to assist economic development. Many Whigs also called for government support of business through tariffs. The Whig party avoided taking any position on slavery, seeking northern compromise on the issue in return for southern support for northern economic interests.

foreign policy of the war of 1812

Following the conclusion of the War of 1812, Manifest Destiny attained its strongest ideological pull. Even though the United States did not expand geographically nor was there an actual winner of the War of 1812, relations between the United States and Britain were impacted greatly. The British would now need to recognize the United States as a world power. Also, tensions between Americans and Native Americans began to rise. Nationalism began to spread throughout the United States since the nation was able to fend off the British thus influencing manifest destiny. Expanding the nation to the Pacific Ocean was now a possibility for Americans. Throughout the early history of the United States, manifest destiny was shaping the country in significant ways. The citizens of the United States believed that it was their destiny and right to expand and grow. The War of 1812 helped prove that this right was legitimate. The United States fended off the British for a second straight time, and this bestowed confidence in the public. These events helped make the term of manifest destiny relevant. aka US became more defensive and wanted more land bc they had big heads

westward expansion

A significant push toward the west coast of North America began in the 1810s. It was intensified by the belief in manifest destiny, federally issued Indian removal acts, and economic promise.

North Development

\-focused on industrialization bc rocky soil (no crops :( )

\-had more abolitionists but like not strong push for no slavey yk

\-had more colleges and educational opps than south

\-didnt want westward expansion bc didn't want more slave states (NO THROW OF BALANCE!!!)

South Development

\-kinda more rights for women here (they could own property Yippie!)

\-slave reliant/ farm reliant

\-less educated

\-often pushed for wars and conflict (M-A war, pushed for British war, etc blah blah)

\-had an aristocratic type society (planters w/ more land were at the top, slaves and poor farmers at bottom)

Lecompton Constitution

Proposed Kansas constitution, whose ratification was unfairly rigged so as to guarantee slavery in the territory. Initially ratified by proslavery forces, it was later voted down when Congress required that the entire constitution be put up for a vote.

Bleeding Kansas

Civil war in Kansas over the issue of slavery in the territory, fought intermittently until 1861, when it merged with the wider national Civil War. two different established governments. arguments over land claims, and the arguments over whether to instill popular sovereignty or not

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court decision that extended federal protection to slavery by ruling that Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in any territory. Also declared that slaves, as property, were not citizens of the United States. The ruling was controversial as it contradicted and doubted the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 (Taney stated that Congress had no power to ban slavery from terrirorries). Northerners ignored the ruling, claiming it was an "opinion". The South was in turn inflamed, questioning how they could remain connected to a section of the country that openly defied the Supreme Court.

Freeport Doctrine

Declared that since slavery could not exist without laws to protect it, territorial legislatures, not the Supreme Court, would have the final say on the slavery question. First argued by Stephen Douglass in 1858 in response to Abraham Lincoln's "Freeport Question".

Outcomes of the election of 1860

The election was essentially split into two between North and South. Lincoln won, though the South still had a majority on the Supreme Court and the Republicans did not control the house nor the senate after the election. The Federal gov. could thus not touch slavery in states where it already existed. After Lincoln's election, South Carolina seceded from the Union.

Why did the average southerners support secession?

The South felt sure that their departure would be unopposed; they were confident the North would not fight back as manufacturers and bankers were dependent on Southern cotton and markets.

Why did last minute attempts of compromise fail?

The south felt it was following the principle of "self determination" from the Declaration of Independence. The south felt a precedent of secession had been set by the AR. The South already had such a distinct culture and society, it was already a subnation within the US.

Confederate States of America

Government established after seven Southern states seceded from the Union. Later joined by four more states from the Upper South

Crittenden Amendments

Proposed in an attempt to appease the South, the failed Constitutional amendments would have given federal protection for slav ery in all territories south of 36°30' where slavery was supported by popular sovereignty.

Key points made by Lincoln during his first inaugural address

There would be no conflict unless the South provoked it, secession was impractical because the country cannot physically separate (there are no mountains or rivers separating the North and South). At the time, there were concerns over the controversies uncontested secession would create: how much of the national debt the South would be responsible for, how to split jointly held federal territories, and how to address the fugitive slave issue - especially with the underground railroad. Secession made the US vulnerable to foreign powers in Europe.

Fort Sumter

South Carolina location where Confederate forces fired the first shots of the Civil War in April of 1861, after Union forces attempted to provision the fort. Fort Sumter was one of only two significant forts in the South that still flew the US flag at the time, and so the shelling electrified the North into standing with the Union (rather than letting the South leave in peace). Northern honor demanded an armed response to the attack; when Lincoln issued a call for 75000 militiamen, volunteers came in spades. With that support, Lincoln declared a blockade of Southern seaports. The call for Union troops and the blockade in turn inflamed the South, which now considered Lincoln as waging war. Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and NC all joined the Confederacy and Richmond, Virginia became the Confederate capital.

Border States

Five slave states-Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia—that did not secede during the Civil War. To keep the states in the Union and appease Butternuts, Abraham Lincoln insisted that the war was not about abolishing slavery but rather protecting the Union. In Maryland, Lincoln declared martial law when needed and sent federal troops when the state threatened to cut DC off from the North. He also deployed Union soldiers to West Virginia and Missouri to fight in local civil wars ignited by the national conflict.

Why were border states essential to the Union?

They contained a white population more than half that of the entire Confederacy. Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri would almost double the manufacturing capacity of the South and increase by nearly half its supply of horses and mules. The Ohio river flowed along the northern border of Kentucky and West Virginia, and two of its tributaries - the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers - penetrated into the South, where Confederate grain, gunpowder, and iron were produced.

Union Advantages

The economy; ¾ of the nation's wealth was in the North and they had the majority of the country's railroads. The North also controlled the sea and had a superior Navy. They had more factories and a larger population/reserve of man powder.

How the Union exploited their advantages

Established a blockade that choked off Southern supplies and morale. Their sea power enabled them to exchange grain for munitions and supplies from Europe. They enlisted incoming European immigrants into the Union army.

Union disadvantages

Had to invade, conquer, and reinstate the vast Confederate territory, Northerners were less prepared for military life than people in the South, and the Union had less options for competent military commanders.

How the Union overcame disadvantages

Northerners eventually became adjusted to soldering and became known for their determination and disciplines, Lincoln used Grant as a General (Grant was willing to go to any length for victory, regardless of lives lost)

Union strategy for victory

Keep border states in the US, naval blockade of Southern ports

Confederacy Advantages

Could fight defensively behind interior lines, did not have to win the war in order to gain independence (simply had to fight to a draw and stand firm), had the most talented military officers, southerners were better natural fighters and accustomed to manual labor

How the Confederacy exploited their advantages

Used skilled generals like Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson, used farmers and laborers as foot soldiers and cavalrymen with intimidating "rebel yell" and demeanor

Confederacy disadvantages:

Scarce factories, shortages of blankets/shoes/uniforms, breakdown of transportation system leading to hunger and food shortages, economy

How the Confederacy overcame disadvantages

Were able to obtain sufficient weaponry by seizing federal weapons, running Union blockades, and developing their own ironworks

Confederacy strategy for victory

Defensive stance, simply fight to a draw, rely on foreign aid

How did Abraham Lincoln limit civil liberties during the Civil War?

He increased the size of the federal army (something only Congress can do), directed the secretary of the treasury to advance $2 million to three private citizens for military purposes, suspended the writ of habeas corpus so he could arrest anti-Unionists, suspended certain newspapers and editors, held "supervised" voting in border states

Why did Abraham Lincoln limit civil liberties during the Civil War?

Lincoln felt he had to go against the Constitution and ideals of the United States at times so that, after the war, there would still be a united United States to mend at all. In addition, Congress was not in session when the CW erupted, and so Linocln instituted the blockade on the South himself.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Petition requiring law enforcement officers to present detained individuals before the court to examine the legality of the arrest. Protects individuals from arbitrary state action. Suspended by Lincoln during the Civil War.

New York Draft Riots

Uprising, mostly of working-class IrishAmericans, in protest of the draft. Rioters were particularly incensed by the ability of the rich to hire substitutes or purchase exemptions.

Economic impact of the war on the North

New factories, sheltered by the protective tariffs, prospered. Inflation harmed laborers and poor workers, but businessmen and manufacturers thrived. A millionaire class emerged for the first time in US history. The war also led to mass garment production. Capitalism and thievery often took importance over quality and duty.

Economic impact of the war on the South

Blockade and destruction took a toil on the economy, South went from having 30% of the nation's wealth in 1860 to having 12% in 1870, average Southern income became ⅖ of the Northern average, transportation collapsed, there was REALLY BAD inflation, lack of supplies and resources

Homestead Act

A federal law that gave settlers 160 acres of land for about $30 if they lived on it for five years and improved it by, for instance, building a house on it. The act helped make land accessible to hundreds of thousands of westward-moving settlers, but many people also found disappointment when their land was infertile or they saw speculators grabbing up the best land.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment prohibiting all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude. Former Confederate States were required to ratify the amendment prior to gaining reentry into the Union.

How did the outcome of the CW impact the remainder of the 19th century?

The nation had lost its best young men and potential leadership. There was more than $15 million in monetary costs but also moral costs in dislocation, disunity, wasted energy, lower ethics, bitterness, etc. Nullification and Secession were laid to rest African-Americans were in a position to negotiate their place in society. Union Victory provided inspiration for champions of liberalism and democracy worldwide (like with the Reform Bill of 1867 in England)

Problems the South faced after the CW

The South had been physically and socially devastated by the civil war: it had a broken transportation and factory system, lost buildings and businesses, cities had been destroyed, etc. Their agriculture was crippled. There was also the question of who would handle reconstruction (the south, the president, or congress?) and what to do about captured confederate ringleaders.

Problems freed slaves faced after the CW

The big question was how would liberated African-Americans fare as free men and women? Specifically, emancipation had spread haltingly and unevenly in the south; some former slave-owners refused to free African Americans until the SC or state legislatures forced them to do so. Freed black people also had to figure out how to migrate out of the south and deal with their lack of skill and education. They had no property or money and had little knowledge of free life.

Freedmen's Bureau

Created to aid newly emancipated slaves by providing food, clothing, medical care, education and legal support. Its achievements were uneven and depended largely on the quality of local administrators. It had the most success with education.

Black Codes

Laws passed throughout the South to restrict the rights of emancipated blacks, particularly with respect to negotiating labor contracts. Increased Northerners' criticisms of President Andrew Johnson's lenient Reconstruction policies.

Pacific Railroad Act

Helped fund the construction of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad with the use of land grants and government bonds.

Civil Rights Bill

Passed over Andrew Johnson's veto, the bill aimed to counteract the Black Codes by conferring citizenship on African Americans and making it a crime to deprive blacks of their rights to sue, testify in court, or hold property.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that extended civil rights to freedmen and prohibited States from taking away such rights without due process.

Reconstruction Act

Passed by the newly-elected Republican Congress, it divided the South into five military districts, disenfranchised former confederates, and required that Southern states both ratify the Fourteenth Amendment and write state constitutions guaranteeing freedmen the franchise before gaining readmission to the Union.

Why was December 1865 a key moment for reconstruction?

Congressional delegations from the newly reconstituted Southern states presented themselves in the capital, with former Confederate leaders on hand to claim their seats in the House and Senate. This disrupted the ease with which the Republicans had been ruling Congress; due to emancipation and the overruling of the ⅗ compromise, Southern states were entitled to 12 more votes in Congress. In addition, Andrew Johnson declared the Union and southern states restored.

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibited states from denying citizens the franchise on account of race. It disappointed feminists who wanted the Amendment to include guarantees for women's suffrage.