APUSH Period 5 (1844-1877) Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts from the APUSH Period 5 lecture on U.S. history from 1844 to 1877.

Manifest Destiny

19th-century belief that U.S. expansion across North America was inevitable and divinely ordained.

Civil War

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

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War (1865-1877) where the United States attempted to rebuild the South and integrate formerly enslaved people into society.

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declaring all slaves in Confederate-held territory free.

Black Codes

Laws passed in Southern states after the Civil War to restrict the rights of freed African Americans.

Terror as Political Strategy

The use of violence and intimidation by groups such as the KKK to suppress Black political participation during Reconstruction.

Dred Scott Decision

1857 Supreme Court ruling that declared African Americans could not be U.S. citizens and invalidated the Missouri Compromise.

Compromise of 1850

Series of laws aimed at addressing tensions between free and slave states, including California's admission as a free state and the Fugitive Slave Act.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Law that required all citizens to assist in the capture of runaway slaves, raising tensions between North and South.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 law that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed settlers to decide on the legality of slavery through popular sovereignty.

The Great Triumvirate

John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster, who were influential in discussing sectional issues and compromises.

The Mexican-American War

Conflict (1846-1848) sparked by U.S. annexation of Texas, resulting in significant territorial gains for the U.S.

Anti-immigrant sentiment

Rising hostility directed at immigrants, particularly during the 19th century, leading to measures like the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Secession

The act of Southern states withdrawing from the Union, beginning with South Carolina in December 1860 following Lincoln's election.

Cattle Frontier

A phase of Westward expansion in which cattle ranching became a major economic activity in the post-Civil War era.

Sharecropping

A system where freedmen and poor farmers would farm land owned by someone else in return for a share of the crops, often leading to cycles of debt.