APUSH Period 5

40 acres and a mule

Promise that freed slaves were to receive 40 acres of land and a mule to assist them.

Conscription

The drafting of soldiers into military service; significant during the Civil War as both the North and South faced shortages of troops.

Habeas corpus

A legal safeguard that protects against unlawful imprisonment; notably suspended by President Lincoln during the Civil War to detain suspected Confederate sympathizers.

Inflation

Economic conditions during the Civil War led to inflation, particularly in the South, where the value of currency dropped significantly.

Loyalty oath

An oath required for individuals to support the Union, particularly during the Civil War and Reconstruction; often a point of contention in Southern states.

Nativism

An anti-immigrant sentiment that gained prominence in the 1840s-1850s, influencing politics and society.

The New South

A vision for the South post-Civil War that emphasized industrialization and economic diversification rather than a reliance on agriculture and slavery.

Popular Sovereignty

A doctrine that allowed settlers in a territory to determine whether they would allow slavery, pivotal in the debates over territories acquired in the 1840s.

Sharecropping

An agricultural system that emerged after the Civil War, where landowners provided land to farmers in exchange for a share of the crops, often trapping families in debt.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

An influential novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe published in 1852 that portrayed the brutal realities of slavery, stimulating abolitionist sentiments in the North and abroad.

Battle of Fort Sumter

The first battle of the Civil War, fought in April 1861, which resulted in Confederate victory and marked the beginning of the conflict.

Battle of Gettysburg

A pivotal battle in July 1863, considered a turning point in the Civil War; it was the largest battle fought in North America and led to a significant Union victory.

Bleeding Kansas

A series of violent political confrontations between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Kansas from 1854 to 1859.

Civil War

A conflict in the United States from 1861 to 1865 between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy) primarily over issues of slavery and states' rights.

Election of 1860

The election that resulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, leading to the secession of Southern states due to fears of anti-slavery policies.

Impeachment of Andrew Jackson

Occurred in 1868, though he was acquitted; symbolizes the tensions between the presidency and Congress during Reconstruction.

Mexican-American War

A conflict between the U.S. and Mexico from 1846 to 1848, driven by U.S. expansionism, resulting in significant territorial gains for the U.S.

Sherman’s March to Sea

A military campaign led by General William Tecumseh Sherman during the Civil War from November 1864 to February 1865.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States, Republican Party; led the nation during the Civil War.

Andrew Jackson

7th President of the United States, known for his populist style and controversial policies.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, often viewed negatively as exploiters of the South's post-war troubles.

Copperheads

A faction of Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and wanted a peace settlement with the Confederacy.

Dred Scott

An enslaved man who sued for his freedom; the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans could not be citizens.

Freedman’s Bureau

Established in 1865 to aid freed slaves during the Reconstruction era, providing education and employment support.

Freedmen

Formerly enslaved people who were freed as a result of the Civil War.

Free Soil Party

A political party that opposed the expansion of slavery into the Western territories.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Author of "Uncle Tom’s Cabin," which depicted the harsh realities of slavery and helped fuel abolitionist sentiment.

Hiram Revels

The first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress, representing Mississippi as a Republican during Reconstruction.

James Buchanan

15th President of the United States; his presidency was marked by increasing division over slavery.

James K. Polk

11th President of the United States; known for territorial expansion and the Mexican-American War.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States during the Civil War.

John Breckinridge

A prominent politician from Kentucky, candidate for president in 1860 from the Southern Democratic Party.

John Brown

An abolitionist known for his armed insurrection at Harpers Ferry in 1859.

John C. Calhoun

A leading Southern politician and defender of slavery; associated with the Democratic Party.

Know-Nothing Party

An anti-immigrant political party that was particularly strong in the 1850s.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist group that emerged during Reconstruction, using violence to intimidate African Americans.

Millard Fillmore

13th President of the United States; known for his role in the Compromise of 1850.

Radical Republicans

A faction of the Republican Party that pushed for strong action against the South during Reconstruction.

Republican Party

A political party founded in the 1850s, primarily opposing the expansion of slavery.

Robert Smalls

An African American leader during the Reconstruction era who served in Congress.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party in the post-Civil War South.

Stephen Douglas

A prominent political figure of the 1850s, known for the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Ulysses S. Grant

General in the Union Army who led the victory at the Civil War's end; later served as the 18th President.

Whig Party

A political party active in the early to mid-19th century, eventually disbanded due to divisions over slavery.

Democratic Party

One of the two major political parties, particularly dominant in the South during the 19th century.

54˚40’

A latitude line associated with the Oregon boundary dispute; slogan emphasizing U.S. expansionism.

Confederate States

The seceded states that formed their own government during the Civil War.

Fort Sumter

The site of the first battle of the Civil War, located in Charleston, South Carolina.

Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia

The location of John Brown’s raid in 1859, significant in escalating tensions leading to the Civil War.

10% Plan

Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction that offered leniency to Southern states if 10% of voters took an oath of loyalty.

13th Amendment

Ratified in 1865, this amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

Ratified in 1868, it granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including former slaves.

15th Amendment

Ratified in 1870, this amendment granted African American men the right to vote.

Black codes

Laws passed in the South after the Civil War to restrict the rights of freedmen.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies from the Mexican-American War.

Compromise of 1877

An informal deal that resolved the contested 1876 presidential election, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Dred Scott vs. Sandford

An 1857 Supreme Court case ruling that declared African Americans were not citizens.

Emancipation Proclamation

A decree by Abraham Lincoln that declared all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory free.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law enacted in 1850 that required the return of runaway enslaved people to their owners.

Hampton Roads Conference

A peace conference held in 1865 between representatives of the Union and Confederacy.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 law that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed settlers to determine if they would allow slavery.

Oregon Treaty

A 1846 agreement between the U.S. and Great Britain that settled the Oregon boundary dispute.

Personal Liberty Laws

Laws passed by Northern states to counter the Fugitive Slave Act.

Reconstruction Act

A series of laws passed in 1867 that laid out the process for Reconstruction, dividing the South into military districts.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The 1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American War.

Wade-Davis Bill

A 1864 proposal for Reconstruction that required a majority of white male citizens in a state to take an oath of loyalty.

Wilmot Proviso

An 1846 proposal to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico.