APUSH - Vocab Set 2

Great American Desert

A term used to describe the arid region of the central United States, particularly during the westward expansion.

Silver Rush

A period of increased migration to areas where silver was discovered, most notably in Nevada.

Stephen Austin

Known as the 'Father of Texas,' he played a key role in the early settlement of Texas.

Santa Anna

The Mexican general who led the army against Texan independence and was defeated at the Alamo.

Sam Houston

The first President of the Republic of Texas and a key figure in the Texas Revolution.

Alamo

A historic Spanish mission in San Antonio, Texas, known for the battle in which Texan defenders fought for independence from Mexico.

Aroostook War

A conflict between the United States and Britain over the boundaries of the Maine-Canada border.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

1842 treaty that resolved border disputes between the U.S. and Britain.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The treaty that ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, leading to significant territorial gains for the United States.

Commodore Matthew C. Perry

A U.S. naval officer who opened Japan to American trade in 1853.

John Tyler

The 10th President of the United States, who served from 1841 to 1845, and was the first to assume the presidency after the death of a sitting president.

54 Forty or Fight

A slogan from the 1844 presidential campaign of James K. Polk, advocating for the U.S. to claim the entire Oregon Territory up to latitude 54°40′. It reflected the expansionist sentiment of the time.

James K. Polk

The 11th President of the United States who was a strong proponent of westward expansion.

Wilmot Proviso

An unsuccessful proposal to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico.

Franklin Pierce

The 14th President of the United States, who served from 1853 to 1857, known for his pro-Southern policies and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Mexican American War

A conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848, resulting in a large territorial expansion for the U.S.

Zachary Taylor

A Mexican-American War hero and the 12th President of the United States.

Bear Flag Republic

A short-lived breakaway state in what is now California, proclaimed in 1846.

Mexican Cession

The region ceded to the United States by Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Gadsden Purchase

An 1853 agreement in which the U.S. acquired land from Mexico for $10 million to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad.

Kanagawa Treaty

An 1854 treaty establishing trade relations between the United States and Japan.

Free Soil Movement

A political movement that opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories.

Conscience Whigs

A faction of the Whig Party that opposed the Mexican-American War on moral grounds.

Hunker Democrats

A faction of the Democratic Party that opposed the extension of slavery.

Barnburners

A faction within the Democratic Party who were against the expansion of slavery into territories.

Bleeding Kansas

Violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas during the 1850s.

Lecompton Constitution

A pro-slavery constitution devised in Kansas for admission to the Union.

Lewis Cass and Popular Sovereignty

The doctrine that allowed the people in a territory to decide whether to allow slavery.

Compromise of 1850

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

Stephen A. Douglas

An American politician known for the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

Millard Fillmore

The 13th President of the United States, who took office after the death of Zachary Taylor.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 law that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed for popular sovereignty.

Crittenden Compromise

An unsuccessful proposal to resolve the secession crisis by extending the Missouri Compromise line.

Know-Nothing Party

An anti-immigrant political party of the 1850s.

James Buchanan

The 15th President of the United States, whose presidency was marked by rising tensions leading to the Civil War.

Fugitive Slave Law

A law requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

A landmark Supreme Court case that ruled enslaved people were not citizens and thus could not sue.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

A series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas during the Illinois Senate race of 1858.

Sumner-Brooks Incident

The violent attack of Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks on the Senate floor.

John Brown and Harpers Ferry

An abolitionist's raid on a federal armory in an attempt to incite a slave rebellion.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

An anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that contributed to the abolitionist movement.

Sociology of the South

A term that refers to the social structures and dynamics in the Southern United States, particularly around slavery.

Border States

Slave states that remained in the Union during the Civil War.

Confederate States of America

A coalition of southern states that seceded from the Union.

Jefferson Davis

The President of the Confederate States during the Civil War.

Second American Revolution

A term used to describe the profound social and political changes that occurred during the Civil War.

Morrill Land Grant Act

A law that provided land for states to establish agricultural colleges.

Homestead Act

An 1862 law providing 160 acres of public land to settlers for a small fee.

Fort Sumter

The site of the first military engagement of the American Civil War.

Bull Run/Manassas

The first battle of the Civil War, which resulted in a Confederate victory.

Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan

The Union strategy for defeating the Confederacy by blockading southern ports.

Robert E. Lee

A prominent Confederate general during the American Civil War.

Antietam

The bloodiest single-day battle in American history, fought in 1862.

Ulysses S. Grant

The leading Union general during the Civil War who later became the 18th President of the United States.

Gettysburg

A significant and turning battle in the Civil War, marked by a major Union victory.

Appomattox Court House

The site where Lee surrendered to Grant, effectively ending the Civil War.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order by President Lincoln freeing slaves in the Confederate states.

Reconstruction Acts

Laws that laid out the process for readmitting Southern states into the Union.

54th Massachusetts Regiment

An African American regiment that fought bravely in the Civil War.

Copperheads

A faction of Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War.

Laird Rams

Ironclad warships built by Britain for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

A law that aimed to guarantee equal treatment in public accommodations.

Civil Rights Cases of 1883

Supreme Court cases that struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875, leading to segregation.

Jay Gould and Credit Mobilier

Financial scandals during the Gilded Age involving corruption and bribery.

Jay Gould vs. Cornelius Vanderbilt

A famous financial rivalry during the Gilded Age.

“Boss” Tweed

A political figure known for his corrupt practices while head of Tammany Hall.

Thomas Nast

A political cartoonist who helped bring down Boss Tweed through his work.

Panic of 1873

A financial crisis that triggered a severe international economic depression.

Rutherford B. Hayes

The 19th President of the United States who ended Reconstruction.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement that resolved the contested 1876 presidential election.

Lincoln’s 10% Plan

A proposal that allowed Southern states to rejoin the Union once 10% of the voters took an oath of allegiance.

Radical Republicans

A faction of the Republican Party that sought to impose harsher measures on the South during Reconstruction.

Wade-Davis Bill

A bill proposed by Congress that required a majority of white male citizens in a state to swear loyalty to the Union.

Freedman’s Bureau

A federal agency established to aid former enslaved persons and poor whites in the South.

Black Codes

Laws passed in the South after the Civil War aimed at restricting the rights of freed slaves.

Tenure of Office Act

A law that aimed to restrict the president's power to remove certain office-holders without the Senate's approval.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often perceived as exploiting the region.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party after the Civil War.

Hiram Revels

The first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress.

Sharecropping

An agricultural system where landowners allow tenants to use the land in exchange for a share of the crops.

Force Acts

Laws passed to protect African Americans' voting rights during Reconstruction.

Amnesty Act of 1872

Law that removed the last restrictions on former Confederates, allowing them to return to politics.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

A prominent American businessman and philanthropist, known for his role in the shipping and railroad industries during the 19th century.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad that connected the eastern and western United States, completed in 1869.

Jay Gould and Watering Stock

A method of inflating the value of stocks for profit during the Gilded Age.

Rebates

Discounts or refunds given by railroads to favored customers.

Pools

Agreements among railroad companies to divide markets and fix prices.

Andrew Carnegie

An industrialist who led the expansion of the steel industry in the U.S.

Vertical Integration

A business model where a company owns all aspects of production from raw materials to finished products.

J.D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil Company

A monopoly that controlled the oil industry in the late 19th century.

Horizontal Integration

A business strategy where a company acquires competitors to increase market share.

Interlocking Directorates

When the same individuals serve on the boards of directors of multiple companies.

J.P. Morgan and the Panic of 1893

A major banking and financial panic that occurred in the U.S.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act

An 1890 law that required the U.S. Treasury to purchase silver and issue currency.

Bessemer Process

An innovative method for producing steel from molten pig iron.

Alexander Graham Bell

The inventor of the telephone.

Thomas Alva Edison and Menlo Park

An inventor known for his development of the electric light bulb and establishment of the first industrial research lab.

Interstate Commerce Act

A law passed to regulate railroad rates and practices.

Interstate Commerce Commission

The first federal regulatory agency established to oversee railroad operations.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

A law aimed at curbing monopolistic practices.