U.S History 7th Grade Notes

Flashcards - Vocabulary Style

Compromise of 1850

Compromise in which California entered the Union as a free state and a new, strict Fugitive Slave law was passed.

Fugitive Slave Law

Law which required all citizens, including northerners, to help catch runaway slaves and return them to their owners.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Abolitionist book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe to show the evils of slavery and protest the Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Stephen Douglas proposed this compromise in 1854 creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and opened slavery up into these territories through popular sovereignty.

Dred Scott Case

1857 Supreme Court case in which the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property and the federal government can not restrict someone from owning slaves in a territory.

Republican Party

Political party formed in the 1850s to stop the spread of slavery into the western territories.

Election of 1860 (sectionalism)

Lincoln wins the election of 1860. The election results show how divided by regions the country had become.

South's reaction to the election of 1860

The South felt they no longer had a voice in the national government so 7 states seceded from the Union before Lincoln was sworn in.

Civil War begins

The Civil War starts in April 1861 when the Southern states fire on the federal fort at Ft. Sumter.

Fort Sumter

Federal fort in Charleston, S.C.- Confederate soldiers fired on the fort starting the Civil War.

Border States

States that allowed slavery but remained loyal to the Union.

Jefferson Davis

Elected President of the (South) Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln

President of the US. (North/Union) during the Civil War.

North's official goal during the Civil War

Save the Union.

Emancipation Proclamation

Freed the slaves in the rebelling states only. Added freeing the slaves as another reason to fight the Civil War.

Battle of Gettysburg

Turning point in the American Civil War Union victory.

Gettysburg Address

Speech given by Lincoln to dedicate the cemetery at Gettysburg. Stated that the Civil War is being fought to protect and defend liberty and freedom.

Appomattox Courthouse

Place where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General U.S. Grant.

The Great Compromise

Helped settle the dispute between the big states and small states over representation in Congress.

The Bill of Rights

1st 10 amendments added to the Constitution, protects the basic rights of citizens.

Electoral College

Today a candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to be elected President.

Washington's view on foreign policy (Farewell Address)

Washington wanted the U.S. to practice unity at home and neutrality abroad. Washington wanted the U.S. to trade with foreign countries but not enter into any foreign political alliances.

Neutrality Proclamation

Washington proclaimed the U.S. will remain neutral in foreign affairs.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws passed by the Federalist controlled Congress and supported by John Adams. These laws made it illegal to speak out or criticize the government.

Hamilton's Financial Plan

Hamilton created a plan for paying off the nation's debt.

Washington's Farewell Address

Washington wanted the U.S. to practice unity at home and neutrality abroad. Washington wanted the U.S. to trade with foreign countries but not enter into any foreign political alliances.

Jefferson's View on Government

Jefferson reduced the federal budget and cut back on the power of the federal gov't.

Louisiana Purchase

Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Purchase from France, it doubled the size of the United States and gave the U.S. total control of New Orleans and the Mississippi River.

Importance of Mississippi River for trade

The key trade route for western farmers.

War of 1812 (causes)

Cause - Britain violating American neutrality and impressment of American sailors.

Industrial Revolution

The change of things being produced by machines instead of by hand.

Forming of unions

Workers started uniting together and forming unions to get better working conditions and higher pay.

Erie Canal - Impact on New York

Caused New York and New York City to become a major center in the United States. Connected New York and the east coast to Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes.

Protective Tariff

A tax on imported goods, the purpose is to get people to buy products made locally in the United States.

Adams-Onis Treaty

Treaty that allowed the United States to purchase Florida from Spain for $5 million dollars.

The Goal of Columbus in 1492

Find a faster trade route to Asia

1st permanent English colony in North America?

Jamestown, Virginia

Why Pilgrims left England

The Pilgrims left England because they were being persecuted because of their religious beliefs.

House of Burgesses

1st representative government put in place in Jamestown in 1619 to help govern the Jamestown colony.

Mayflower Compact

Created a representative government for the settlers of the Plymouth colony Promoted the idea of democratic government in the colonies.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Plan of government for the colony of Connecticut which put limits on the power of the governor. Promoted the idea of democratic government in the colonies. 1st Constitution in the colonies

Economies & characteristics of the New England, Middle and Southern colonies

New England - trade & manufacturing, Middle - trade, manufacturing, farming, South - farming

Mercantilism

The belief that colonies exist to benefit the mother country. A country does this by keeping strict control over its own trade.

French and Indian War (results)

Puts England in debt and causes the British to start taxing the colonies to help pay for the war debt.

"No taxation without Representation"

Slogan used by colonists to protest the fact that colonists were being taxed without representation in Parliament.

Join or Die cartoon

Colonies are stronger if they are united.

Intolerable Acts

acts passed to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party.

Lexington and Concord

Towns in Massachusetts where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired.

Common Sense

By Thomas Paine-convinced many colonists to support independence. Argued that kings were wrong and that people should govern themselves.

Declaration of Independence

Stated why the colonists were breaking away from England.

Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was called to fix the Articles of Confederation. The U.S. Constitution gave more power to the federal government and created a better.

Monroe Doctrine

Foreign policy statement issued by President Monroe stating the western hemisphere is no longer open to new European colonization.

What did the 1st successful factories make in the United States?

Textiles (cloth)

Cotton Gin

Invented by Eli Whitney, machine could separate the cotton seeds from the cotton fibers much quicker then doing it by hand. Led to a huge increase in the amount of cotton produced in the South. Also led to an increase in slavery.

Sectionalism

When people feel more loyalty to their section of the country then to the country as a whole.

Spoils system

rewarding friends with political jobs

Indian Removal Act

Law passed by President Jackson which legally forced the Native Americans off their lands.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the U.S. had the right and authority to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Mexican Cession

Land the U.S. acquired as a result of the Mexican War. Land including present day California.

New Inventions (telegraph & railroads)

Railroads allowed goods to be shipped faster and cheaper around the country. Telegraphs revolutionized communications, allowing people to communicate over great distances immediately.

Southern Economy

The South develops an economy based on farming because the climate and soil were ideal for growing cash crops.

Slave codes

Laws that restricted the rights of slaves and tried to prevent them from running away.

Abolitionists movement

Movement in the U.S. to bring an end to slavery.

Seneca Falls Convention

First organized meeting to discuss women's rights. Held in Seneca Falls, New York.

Missouri Compromise

Compromise reached in 1820 in which Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Also drew an imaginary line through the Louisiana Purchase and slavery was banned above the line (exception was Missouri itself)