CONC United States History Final Exam

final exam of the semester

American System

Henry Clay's plan for national economic growth: protective tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements to unite regional economies.

Henry Clay

Congressman and "Great Compromiser." Advocated for the American System and negotiated the Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850.

James Monroe

5th president (1817-1825). His presidency marked the "Era of Good Feelings." Issued the Monroe Doctrine asserting U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

John Quincy Adams

6th president and architect of the Monroe Doctrine as Secretary of State. Promoted infrastructure, education, and science during his presidency.

Anglo-American Accords (1817-1818)

Agreements with Britain to settle post-War of 1812 tensions, setting the U.S.-Canada border and allowing joint occupation of Oregon.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Declared the Americas off-limits to new European colonization and warned Europe against interfering in Western affairs.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Maintained slave/free balance by admitting Missouri (slave) and Maine (free); banned slavery north of 36°30′ line.

Infrastructure

Internal improvements such as roads and canals that fueled economic expansion and connected markets during the Market Revolution.

Erie Canal (1825)

Linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic, boosting trade and making New York City a commercial powerhouse.

National Road

First federally funded highway; connected the East with the western frontier, spurring settlement and trade.

Nullification Crisis (1832-33)

South Carolina, led by John C. Calhoun, declared federal tariffs null and void; Jackson responded with threats of force, asserting federal supremacy.

Force Bill (1833)

Gave Jackson authority to use military force against states resisting federal tariffs, reinforcing national power.

Trail of Tears (1838-39)

Forced removal of Cherokee and other tribes from the Southeast to Indian Territory; thousands died from exposure and disease.

John Marshall

Chief Justice who expanded federal power through landmark cases like McCulloch v. Maryland and Worcester v. Georgia.

Jacksonian Democracy

Political movement championing the "common man," expanding white male suffrage, and emphasizing majority rule.

John C. Calhoun

Southern leader who defended states' rights and slavery; central figure in nullification and sectional conflicts.

The Bank War

Jackson's campaign against the Second Bank of the U.S.; he viewed it as elitist and unconstitutional, leading to its destruction.

Whigs

Political party opposing Jackson; favored strong federal government, national bank, and economic modernization.

Democrats

Party founded by Jackson; supported limited government, states' rights, and expansion.

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

Supreme Court ruled that Cherokee Nation was sovereign; Jackson ignored the decision, leading to Indian removal.

James K. Polk

11th president; expanded U.S. territory through annexing Texas, acquiring Oregon, and winning the Mexican-American War.

The Oregon Trail

Route used by settlers migrating west in the 1840s; symbol of Manifest Destiny and westward expansion.

Mormon Exodus

Migration of Mormons to Utah led by Brigham Young to escape religious persecution; founded Salt Lake City.

Zachary Taylor

Mexican-American War hero who became 12th president; avoided sectional debates over slavery expansion.

Mexican Cession (1848)

Land gained from Mexico after the war (California, Nevada, Utah, etc.); reignited debate over slavery in new territories.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Ended Mexican-American War; Mexico ceded vast territory to the U.S. and recognized the Rio Grande as the border.

54°40′ or Fight!

Polk's campaign slogan demanding full control of Oregon Territory; eventually compromised at the 49th parallel with Britain.

The Alamo (1836)

Texas Revolution battle where Mexican forces defeated Texan defenders; became a symbol of resistance and independence.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that U.S. expansion across North America was justified and inevitable; used to rationalize war and displacement of Native Americans.

John O'Sullivan

Journalist who coined the term "Manifest Destiny," framing expansion as a divine mission.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Proposed ban on slavery in any territory gained from Mexico; never passed but heightened sectional tensions.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens and Congress couldn't ban slavery in territories; inflamed sectional divisions.

William Lloyd Garrison

Abolitionist and editor of The Liberator; demanded immediate emancipation without compensation.

Compromise of 1850

Admitted California as free, strengthened Fugitive Slave Law, and allowed popular sovereignty in new territories.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Allowed settlers to decide on slavery by popular sovereignty; led to violent conflict ("Bleeding Kansas").

Fugitive Slave Law (1850)

Required citizens to assist in capturing runaway slaves; outraged abolitionists in the North.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent clashes between pro- and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas following the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

John Brown

Radical abolitionist who led violent anti-slavery raids in Kansas and Harpers Ferry; became a martyr for the cause.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin; her novel exposed slavery's cruelty and intensified Northern opposition.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that settlers of a territory should decide the slavery question themselves.

Frederick Douglass

Former enslaved man turned leading abolitionist, writer, and orator advocating for equality and civil rights.

William Seward

Republican leader and anti-slavery advocate; later served as Lincoln's Secretary of State, survived an assassination attempt.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

Illinois Senate debates over slavery expansion; made Lincoln nationally prominent despite his loss.

Quantrill

Confederate guerrilla leader infamous for the Lawrence, Kansas massacre; symbol of Civil War brutality.

Gradualism

The belief that slavery should end slowly and peacefully, allowing time for adjustment.

Abolitionism

Movement calling for the immediate end of slavery; driven by moral, religious, and political motivations.

Battle of Gettysburg (1863)

Turning point of the war; Union victory halted Lee's invasion of the North.

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment

One of the first African American units in the Union Army; demonstrated Black soldiers' bravery.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States; struggled to unify Southern states under central authority.

Sherman's March to the Sea (1864)

Union campaign of total war through Georgia, destroying Confederate infrastructure and morale.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general who secured victory through aggressive warfare; later 18th U.S. president.

Battle of Vicksburg (1863)

Union victory that gained control of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy.

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general whose leadership was crucial but ultimately led to surrender at Appomattox.

Appomattox Court House (1865)

Site of Lee's surrender to Grant, marking the end of major Confederate resistance.

Gettysburg Address (1863)

Lincoln's speech redefining the war as a fight for freedom and equality.

John Wilkes Booth

Actor and Confederate sympathizer who assassinated Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

Abraham Lincoln

16th president; preserved the Union, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and was assassinated shortly after the war's end.

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to blockade the South, control the Mississippi River, and squeeze the Confederacy into surrender.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction, often seeking political or economic opportunities.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party; viewed as traitors by other Southerners.

KKK (Ku Klux Klan)

White supremacist group using terror to suppress Black political participation and restore white control in the South.

Freedmen's Bureau (1865)

Federal agency providing assistance (education, labor rights, housing) to formerly enslaved people.

Black Codes

Laws in the South restricting African Americans' rights and enforcing racial labor hierarchies after emancipation.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

First federal law defining citizenship and guaranteeing equal rights regardless of race.

Andrew Johnson

Lincoln's successor; opposed Radical Reconstruction and was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act.

Sharecropping

Labor system where freedmen farmed land for a share of the crop; kept many in poverty and dependency.

Radical Republicans

Congressional faction seeking full civil rights for freedpeople and harsh penalties for the South.

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolished slavery throughout the United States.

14th Amendment (1868)

Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

15th Amendment (1870)

Prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Reconstruction Amendments

Collective term for the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which aimed to establish civil rights for freedmen.

Corrupt Bargain (1877)

Alleged deal that ended Reconstruction: Hayes became president in exchange for removing federal troops from the South.

Rutherford B. Hayes

19th president; ended Reconstruction and sought to reconcile North and South.

Redeemers

Southern Democrats who regained power after Reconstruction, restoring white supremacy and dismantling Black rights.