Manifest Destiny and the Civil War Era

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to Manifest Destiny and the Civil War era.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that it was the destiny of the United States to expand westward across North America.

Oregon Trail

The most famous trail to the west, a 2,000-mile route from Missouri to the Pacific.

49ers

The nickname for those who migrated to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush.

Mormon Exodus

The migration of Mormons to Utah due to religious persecution.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The treaty that ended the Mexican-American War, granting the US territory including California and New Mexico for $15 million.

Gadsden Purchase

A 1853 agreement in which the US acquired additional land from Mexico to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad.

The Wilmot Proviso

An unsuccessful proposal to ban slavery in territories acquired from Mexico.

Bleeding Kansas

The violent conflict between proslavery and antislavery factions in Kansas during the 1850s.

Dred Scott Decision

The 1857 Supreme Court ruling that declared African Americans were not citizens and invalidated the Missouri Compromise.

The Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's 1862 order declaring the freedom of all slaves in Confederate states.

Jim Crow Laws

State laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Grandfather Clause

A legal mechanism that allowed individuals to bypass literacy tests and poll taxes if their ancestors had the right to vote before the Civil War.

Radical Reconstruction

A period of reconstruction in which Congress took control and implemented measures to protect the rights of freed slaves.

The Compromise of 1850

A series of laws passed to ease tensions over slavery, including admitting California as a free state.

The Know-Nothing Party

A political party that aimed to limit the influence of immigrants and Catholicism in American politics.

The Homestead Act (1862)

Law providing free land to settlers willing to farm it, although many failed due to lack of skills.

The Fugitive Slave Act

A controversial law that mandated the return of runaway slaves to their owners.