History Vocab: 1770-1870 Final

Erie Canal

A canal connecting the Hudson River to Lake Erie. It started production in 1817, and was finished in 1825. It lowered shipping costs, allowed for shipping from the east cost to the west, and brought more west-ward expansion.

Common Sense

Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775 which advocated for America’s separation from the British- written in simple english

Bleeding Kansas

A very violent conflict over whether or not Kansas would be admitted to the Union as a slave state. The issue was caused by the introduction of popular sovereignty with the Compromise of 1850, when new settlers came into the territory to sway the election in their favor, causing multiple failed elections and even violent massacres. The conflict ended in 1861 when Kansas was admitted as a free state. IT SHOWED PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO DIE OVER SLAVERY

Manifest Destiny

A belief in the 1800’s that the United States was destined by God to expand across North America, spreading civilization and democracy. It was used as a justification for the removal of Native Americans.

Fugitive Slave Act

Part of the Compromise of 1850, it stricken slavery laws by forcing people in the North to hunt and return slaves to their owners if they managed to escaped from the South. The act made the issue of slavery more present to Northerners, as they now had to actively deal with slavery themselves. -Made any black person slave

Texas Revolution

A war from 1835-36 were American settlers and Tejano rebels fought for Independence from Mexico, and to become a U.S. state. It was caused by the abolishing of Mexico’s Constitution, the increasing control over Texas, and the abolishing of slavery.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidaglo

The peace treaty that ended the Mexican-American war in 1848. The treaty resulted in Mexico ceding the territory of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and some parts of Wyoming and Colorado (Basicaly cut mexico in half), it established the Rio Grande as the border between Mexico and Texas, and have the U.S. pay Mexico 15 million dollars.

Sistema de Castas

A system that ranked people in Spanish colonies by race. Spaniards born in Spain were at the top, and natives were at the bottom. This determined social status, jobs, and rights.

Seneca Falls Conference

The first woman's rights convention, held in New York over July 19th and 20th in 1848. It addressed the lacking and repressive social, civil, and religious rights that women had to deal with. It resulted with the Declaration of Sentiments being created, which advocated for equality between women and men, and was modeled after the Declaration of Independence. It kicked off the fight for Women’s rights

Marbury v. Madison

A 1803 supreme court case where Marbury sued Madison over a commission, and while it was ruled that Marbury had the right to the commission, Marbury was using a law to pass the commission that was deemed uncostiuntal. This lead to the decision that before a law was passed by congress the supreme court would determine whether or not it followed the constitution, and if the law didn’t the court has the power to strike it down.

Compromise of 1877

A theorised unwritten agreement to settle the intense debates caused by the results of the 1876 election as there was a tie, which ended the delaying of the official results and the threat of political violence in exchange for a federal reconstruction. The compromise itself has never been proven to exist and is very debated, but most historians agree that a policy of leniency for the south was adopted by the government, along with Hayes being elected as president.

Tecumseh

A Shawnee chief who lead a group of Native Americans to fight against the U.S.’s  westward exposition in the early 1800’s.

Missuri Compromise of 1820

A compromise to the Missouri Crisis that evenly split the U.S. between free and slave states. It had three parts- the first admitted Missouri as a slave state, the second admitted Maine as free state to maintain the balance between free and slave states, and the third split the remaining Louisiana territory at the 36˚30 latitude line, where slavery was permitted below the line, but illegal above it.

Nullification Crisis

A problem from 1832-33 between South Carolina and the Federal government about national tariffs. South Carolina claimed that tariffs the government was trying to impose was unconstitutional, and threatened to secede if they were imposed. A compromise was reached were the tariffs were lowered and the federal government gained more authority- federal law overrides state law

Nativism

The ideology of favoring Native-born Americans over immigrants. It normally centers around the idea that immigrants will disrupt the “American” way of life. These beliefs has lead to many discriminatory acts, as seen in the mid-1800’s with anti-Irish and anti-chinese propaganda. The Know-nothings party was built on these beliefs

Popular Soverinty

In the context of the mid 1800s, it was a doctrine that allowed for the people in each U.S. territory to decide for themselves weather or not their territory was going to enforce slavery. It was first used after the Compromise of 1850, with the territories of Utah and New Mexico. Made famous by Steven Douglass

Sherman’s March

A military campaign during the Civil War, led by General Sherman, where around 62,000 Union soldiers marched from Atlanta Georgia to Savannah Georgia, using total war tactics and destroying everything in their path. During the march, the soldiers used a tactic called Sherman’s Neckties, where soldiers would heat and twist railroad tracks around trees. At then end of the march, Sherman captured Savannah and presented it to Lincoln as a Christmas gift. “Wanted to bring the south to its knees”- Burnt down Atlanta