Unit 3 exam vocab
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21 Terms
Erie Canal
Who: New York State legislature; Governor DeWitt Clinton; private investors; thousands of Irish immigrant laborers
What: A state-funded, artificial waterway stretching 363 miles, linking inland western territories to Atlantic trade routes
Where: Connects the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo, bypassing the Appalachian Mountains
When: Construction begins 1817; completed and opened 1825
Why: Overland transportation costs are extremely high; farmers in the Old Northwest struggle to get crops to eastern markets
How: Built with hand tools (no modern machinery); financed by New York bonds after Congress refuses federal funding
Significance:
Transportation costs drop from about $100 per ton to $10 per ton
New York City overtakes Philadelphia and Boston as the nation’s leading port
Western cities like Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit grow rapidly
Strengthens the North’s market economy, increasing sectional differences with the South
it dramatically cut shipping costs and travel time, linking the Atlantic to the Great Lakes, making NYC the primary port, fueling westward expansion, enabling farm goods to reach Eastern markets, and sparking the growth of cities like Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, transforming the U S. economy and settlement patterns in the 19th century
Cotton gin
What it was: A machine that rapidly separated cotton fibers from seeds, drastically increasing cotton processing efficiency.
Who invented it: Eli Whitney, an American inventor.
Where it was used: Primarily in the Southern United States, especially in states growing short-staple cotton like Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
When: Invented in 1793; widely adopted in the early 1800s.
Why it mattered: Before the cotton gin, removing seeds by hand was extremely slow, limiting cotton production. Whitney’s invention solved this labor bottleneck.
How it worked: Used a system of wire teeth and rotating brushes to pull cotton fibers through a mesh that left seeds behind.
Significance:
Led to a massive increase in cotton production, making cotton the dominant cash crop in the South (“King Cotton”) and fueling the global textile industry.
Directly expanded slavery, because plantations required more labor to plant, harvest, and process the growing cotton; entrenched the South’s economic reliance on enslaved labor.
American System of Manufactures
What it was: A system of mass production that relied on interchangeable parts, mechanization, and division of labor to produce goods efficiently and at lower cost.
Who was involved: Eli Whitney pioneered interchangeable parts; the U.S. government and Northern industrialists implemented these methods in armories and factories.
Where it was used: Northern factories and federal armories (e.g., Springfield and Harpers Ferry).
When: Early 1800s, roughly 1800–1830.
Why it developed: driven by the need for national self-sufficiency, lower costs, and increased production by developing specialized machinery and interchangeable parts, initially perfected in armories for firearms, to move beyond reliance on skilled artisans and British imports, creating mass production and a more efficient, mechanized industry.
How it worked: Machines produced identical components that could be easily assembled, reducing reliance on skilled artisans; division of labor increased productivity.
Significance:
Enabled large-scale industrial production in the U.S., particularly in the North, which strengthened the Northern economy relative to the South.
Lowered costs of goods, increased availability of manufactured items, and laid the foundation for the industrial revolution in America.
Manifest destiny
what it was: The belief that the United States was destined by God to expand westward across the North American continent.
Who promoted it: Politicians like James K. Polk, journalists such as John L. O’Sullivan, and settlers seeking land and opportunity. white American settlers (farmers, miners, pioneers, cowboys) seeking land, gold, and new opportunities
Where it applied: From the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean; specifically used to justify westward expansion into Texas, Oregon, California, and the Southwest.
When: Term popularized in 1845, but the ideology influenced expansion from the 1840s through the 1850s.
Why it mattered: Driven by nationalism, economic ambition, land hunger, and Protestant missionary beliefs. Used to justify territorial expansion, war, and Native displacement.
How it was carried out: Encouraged settlement, promoted war (e.g., Mexican-American War), and pressured Native Americans and Mexico for land cessions.
Significance:
Led directly to U.S. territorial expansion, including the annexation of Texas, Oregon, and lands gained from the Mexican-American War.
Intensified debates over the expansion of slavery, contributed to sectional conflict, and increased tensions that would lead to the Civil War.
Second Great Awakening
What it was: A nationwide religious revival emphasizing personal salvation, emotional faith, and moral responsibility.
Who was involved: Evangelical preachers like Charles Grandison Finney, Methodist and Baptist ministers, and ordinary believers across frontier regions.
Where it was strongest: The “Burned-Over District” of New York, frontier regions of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and eventually spread nationwide.
When: Early 19th century, approximately 1800–1840.
Why it occurred: Reaction to Enlightenment rationalism, social change, and rapid expansion; people sought personal connection to God and moral guidance.
How it operated: Through camp meetings, revival sermons, emotional preaching, and local congregational gatherings.
Significance:
Inspired widespread social reform movements, including abolition, temperance, education reform, and women’s rights, embedding moral responsibility into American culture.
Increased participation of women in public activism and reshaped American society by emphasizing the possibility of individual and collective moral improvement.
McCulloch vs. Maryland
What it was: A landmark Supreme Court case that addressed the balance of power between state governments and the federal government, specifically regarding the constitutionality of a national bank and whether states could tax it.
Who was involved:
James McCulloch, cashier of the Second Bank of the United States.
State of Maryland, which tried to impose a tax on the Baltimore branch of the Bank.
Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall.
Where: The case originated in Maryland and was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
When: Decided in 1819.
Why it happened: Maryland imposed a tax on the Second Bank of the U.S. to challenge federal authority and assert state sovereignty. McCulloch refused to pay the tax, arguing that the Bank was constitutional and states could not interfere.
How the Court ruled:
Declared the Second Bank of the United States constitutional under the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution.
Ruled that states could not tax federal institutions, establishing the supremacy of federal law over state law.
Significance:
Strengthened federal power by affirming the doctrine of implied powers, giving the federal government flexibility to enact laws beyond those explicitly written in the Constitution.
Limited state authority and reinforced the principle that states cannot interfere with or control federal institutions, setting a key precedent for later cases involving federal-state power conflicts.
Missouri Compromise
What it was: A legislative agreement that regulated the expansion of slavery in the western territories and maintained the balance of power between slave and free states.
Who was involved: U.S. Congress, particularly Henry Clay (“The Great Compromiser”); President James Monroe signed it into law.
Where it applied: Missouri Territory, Maine, and the Louisiana Purchase lands north of the 36°30′ latitude line.
When: 1820.
Why it happened: Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state, which threatened the balance of 11 free states vs. 11 slave states in the Senate. Northern states opposed the spread of slavery; southern states wanted to maintain parity.
How it resolved the issue:
Missouri entered as a slave state.
Maine entered as a free state.
Slavery was prohibited north of the 36°30′ line in remaining Louisiana Purchase territory (except Missouri).
Significance:
Temporarily maintained political balance in Congress and postponed sectional conflict.
Created a geographic precedent for regulating slavery, demonstrating the U.S. government’s growing role in the slavery debate.
Revealed that compromise was only a temporary fix; sectional tension would continue and grow over new territories.
Nullification crisis
What it was: A political confrontation over whether states had the power to nullify federal laws they deemed unconstitutional.
Who was involved: John C. Calhoun (Vice President, advocating nullification), Andrew Jackson (President, opposing nullification), South Carolina state legislature.
Where it took place: Primarily South Carolina, but impacted federal policy.
When: 1832–1833.
Why it happened: The Tariff of 1828 (“Tariff of Abominations”) raised import duties, hurting Southern economy, especially South Carolina’s cotton trade. South Carolina argued states could ignore federal laws.
How it was resolved: Jackson issued a Proclamation to the People of South Carolina, asserting federal supremacy and threatening military action; Congress passed a compromise tariff in 1833, again led by Henry Clay.
Significance:
Strengthened federal authority over states and set a precedent that nullification would not be tolerated.
Highlighted the sectional economic and political tensions that foreshadowed secession and Civil War debates.
Tested the balance between state and federal power in U.S. history.
Indian Removal Act
What it was: A federal law authorizing the president to negotiate treaties to relocate Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the Southeast to lands west of the Mississippi River.
Who was involved: President Andrew Jackson, Congress, Native tribes including the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole.
Where it applied: Southeastern United States (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee) to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).
When: 1830.
Why it happened: Settlers and state governments wanted fertile land for cotton cultivation; southern states resisted Cherokee and Creek sovereignty.
How it was implemented: Forced relocation via military enforcement and coercion, often under the guise of “voluntary” treaties.
Significance:
Led directly to the Trail of Tears, causing thousands of deaths from disease, starvation, and exposure.
Demonstrated federal prioritization of expansion and economic interests over human rights.
Set a precedent for U.S. treatment of Native peoples and the legality of forced displacement.
Worcester vs. Georgia
What it was: Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the state of Georgia had no authority over Cherokee lands.
Who was involved: Chief Justice John Marshall, missionaries Samuel Worcester and the Cherokee Nation, Georgia state government.
Where it applied: Georgia and Cherokee territory.
When: 1832.
Why it happened: Georgia attempted to enforce state laws over Cherokee lands, violating federal treaties.
What the Court decided: The Cherokee Nation was a sovereign entity, and only the federal government could regulate Native relations.
Significance:
Jackson ignored the ruling (“John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it”), showing executive defiance of judicial authority.
Allowed the forced removal of the Cherokee to continue, highlighting the limits of legal protections for Native Americans.
Marked a significant moment in U.S. constitutional history regarding tribal sovereignty.
Trail of Tears
What it was: The forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation and other Native tribes from the Southeast to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).
Who was involved: Cherokee Nation, U.S. Army, and federal and state authorities; Andrew Jackson enforced removal policies.
Where: From Georgia, Alabama, and surrounding states to Oklahoma.
When: 1838–1839.
Why it happened: Enforcement of the Indian Removal Act (1830), motivated by white settlers’ desire for fertile land for agriculture.
What happened: About 16,000 Cherokee were forced to march over 1,000 miles; nearly 4,000 died from disease, starvation, and exposure.
Significance:
Became a symbol of U.S. government oppression against Native Americans and the human cost of expansionist policies.
Demonstrated how economic and political interests overrode human rights, resulting in lasting cultural and population loss for Native peoples.
Peculiar Institution
What it was: A euphemism used by Southern leaders to describe slavery in the United States.
Who used it: Coined by Southern politicians like John C. Calhoun in the 1830s to justify slavery as distinct and morally acceptable.
Where: Southern states, especially in the Deep South (e.g., Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana).
When: 1830s-40s
Why it existed: To rationalize slavery as a positive, unique system necessary for the Southern economy and social order; framed slavery as paternalistic rather than exploitative.
Key details: Portrayed enslaved people as dependent but cared for; argued that slavery allowed Southern prosperity and moral guidance.
Significance:
Reinforced Southern social and economic dependence on slavery, making it harder to abolish.
Created a cultural and ideological divide between North and South that contributed to Civil War tensions.
Cotton is King/King Cotton
What it was: The belief that cotton dominated Southern economy, society, and even global trade.
Who promoted it: Southern planters and politicians like James Hammond.
Where: Deep South—states such as Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia.
When: 1840s–1850s.
Why it existed: Cotton accounted for more than half of U.S. exports and fueled British textile industry, giving the South economic leverage.
Key details: Southern leaders argued that the global dependence on cotton gave the South political and economic security; underestimated Northern industrial and naval strength.
Significance:
Strengthened Southern resistance to abolition and industrialization.
Contributed to overconfidence that economic power would protect the South, influencing secessionist thinking.
Underground Railroad
What it was: A secret network of safe houses and escape routes that helped enslaved people flee to free states or Canada.
Who was involved: Harriet Tubman, abolitionists, free African Americans, and sympathetic white allies.
Where: From Southern states to Northern states and Canada.
When: Early 1800s to 1860s, before the Civil War.
Why it existed: To rescue enslaved people from slavery, often in defiance of laws like the Fugitive Slave Act.
How it worked: Used safe houses (“stations”), conductors, coded messages, and secret routes; Harriet Tubman personally led dozens of enslaved people to freedom.
Significance:
Directly challenged the institution of slavery and helped enslaved people attain freedom.
Heightened North-South tensions, contributing to the sectional conflict that led to the Civil War.
Nat Turners Rebellion
What it was: A violent slave revolt in Virginia led by Nat Turner.
Who was involved: Nat Turner and a small group of enslaved African Americans; white residents and militia in Southampton County, Virginia.
Where: Southampton County, Virginia.
When: August 1831.
Why it happened: Turner believed he was chosen by God to lead a revolt against slavery; he was inspired by religious visions and anger over the cruelty of enslavement.
What happened: Turner and his followers killed approximately 60 white people; the revolt was suppressed, and Turner was captured and executed.
Significance:
Led to stricter slave laws across the South, restricting movement, literacy, and assembly of enslaved people.
Increased white fear of rebellion, ending most discussions of emancipation in the South and entrenching slavery further.
Utopian Communities
What they were: Experimental societies attempting to create ideal social, economic, and religious structures.
Who founded them: Reformers like Robert Owen (New Harmony, Indiana) and John Humphrey Noyes (Oneida, New York).
Where: Northern U.S., mostly New York and Indiana.
When: 1820s–1840s.
Why they existed: emerged as responses to societal problems like industrial hardship, inequality, and spiritual dissatisfaction, driven by ideals of creating perfect societies , often rooted in religious revivalism (Second Great Awakening) or secular philosophies (socialism, transcendentalism) during the 19th century
Key details: Often included communal ownership, shared labor, and social reforms; most eventually failed due to financial or interpersonal conflicts.
Significance:
Reflected optimism of reformers and desire to create perfect societies.
Influenced later social and religious reform movements, providing early models for cooperative living.
American Colonization Society
What it was: An organization that promoted the resettlement of free African Americans to Africa, primarily in Liberia.
Who founded it: White politicians and elites, including leader Henry Clay; supported by some moderate anti-slavery advocates. Robert Finley: Founder
Where: United States and Liberia (the colony established for African Americans).
When: Founded in 1816.
Why it existed: Motivated by racial prejudice and the belief that free African Americans could not fully integrate into American society.
How it worked: Purchased land in Africa, facilitated emigration, and encouraged African Americans to leave voluntarily.
Significance:
Highlighted tensions between anti-slavery sentiment and racial prejudice, showing that even some reformers did not support full integration.
Most free African Americans rejected the idea, emphasizing that America was their home, demonstrating limitations of early reform efforts.
Removing free blacks would make it easier for slavery to continue because it reduces pressure for abolition
American Anti-Slavery Society
What it was: A radical abolitionist organization that demanded immediate emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
Who was involved: William Lloyd Garrison (founder), Frederick Douglass, Arthur Tappan, and other abolitionists.
Where: Founded in Philadelphia, spread across Northern cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.
When: 1833, during a period of growing tension over slavery.
Why it existed: Frustration with gradualist approaches to ending slavery and moral opposition to the institution of slavery itself.
How it operated: Distributed newspapers, pamphlets, petitions, and organized lectures and rallies to spread abolitionist messages.
Significance:
Mobilized widespread Northern opposition to slavery and increased public awareness of its moral injustices.
Intensified sectional tensions between North and South, pushing the country closer to Civil War.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
What it was: An anti-slavery novel exposing the brutality of slavery and humanizing enslaved people. It Introduces Uncle Tom, a patient and faithful slave, and Eliza, a slave mother desperate to save her child from being sold.
Who wrote it: Harriet Beecher Stowe, a Northern abolitionist author.
Where it had influence: United States and Europe; particularly read in Northern states and Britain.
When: Published in 1852.
Why it mattered: Aimed to awaken moral outrage in readers who had not personally experienced slavery; depicted the suffering of enslaved people and the cruelty of slaveholders.
Key details: Sold hundreds of thousands of copies, was widely discussed, and became a cultural phenomenon; inspired abolitionist activism.
Significance:
Galvanized Northern opposition to slavery and increased support for abolitionist movements.
Heightened sectional tensions between North and South, contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War.
Gag Rule
What it was: A rule in the U.S. House of Representatives that automatically tabling or ignoring all anti-slavery petitions without discussion.
Who was involved: Southern politicians, including pro-slavery Congress members; abolitionists like John Quincy Adams fought against it.
Where: U.S. House of Representatives.
When: Enforced from 1836 to 1844.
Why it happened: Southern legislators wanted to prevent debates on slavery and maintain political control over the issue.
How it worked: Any petition related to slavery was immediately “gagged” and not considered, essentially silencing abolitionist voices in Congress.
Significance:
Violated freedom of speech principles and angered Northern abolitionists.
Strengthened the resolve of abolitionists, highlighting sectional tensions and contributing to growing national division over slavery.
Women’s Suffrage
What it was: The movement advocating for women’s right to vote and full political participation.
Who led it: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and later Susan B. Anthony.
Key events: Seneca Falls Convention (1848): the first women's rights convention in the U.S., organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Quaker women, which launched the organized women's rights movement by issuing the Declaration of Sentiments, demanding equal rights, and famously, the controversial right to vote (suffrage) for women, making it a foundational moment for American feminism and suffrage.
Where: New York and northern reform centers; spread across the U.S. over decades.
Why it mattered: Women were denied legal, political, and educational rights; suffrage was central to achieving equality.
Key details: The movement emphasized education, temperance, abolition, and broader reform alongside voting rights.
Significance:
Laid the groundwork for the 19th Amendment (1920).
Expanded democratic ideals and inspired later social reform movements, including labor rights and civil rights campaigns.