APUSH period 5 and 6

Free Soil Party

A political party that opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories, arguing for “free soil, free labor.”

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

A law requiring escaped slaves to be returned to their owners, even if they were found in free states.

Know-Nothing Party

A nativist political party that opposed immigration, especially of Irish Catholics.

Bleeding Kansas

A period of violent conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas over whether it should be a free or slave state.

The Caning of Charles Sumner

A brutal attack on Senator Charles Sumner by a pro-slavery congressman that symbolized growing sectional violence.

Harper’s Ferry

John Brown’s 1859 raid on a federal armory in an attempt to start a slave rebellion.

Fort Sumter

The Confederate attack on this Union fort in 1861 officially started the Civil War.

William Walker

An American filibuster who attempted to establish slaveholding governments in Central America.

Fire Eaters

Southern extremists who strongly supported slavery and pushed for secession before the Civil War.

Monitor v. Merrimac

The first battle between ironclad warships, marking a new era in naval warfare.

Anaconda Plan

A Union strategy to defeat the Confederacy by blockading southern ports and controlling the Mississippi River.

First Bull Run (1861)

The first major Civil War battle, showing the conflict would be longer and deadlier than expected.

Robert E. Lee

The leading Confederate general who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia.

George B. McClellan

A cautious Union general known for training the army but failing to aggressively pursue Confederate forces.

Battle of Antietam (1862)

The bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history and a strategic Union victory.

Ulysses S. Grant

A successful Union general whose aggressive tactics helped defeat the Confederacy.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s order freeing slaves in Confederate-controlled territory, shifting the war’s purpose toward ending slavery.

54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment

One of the first African American regiments in the Union Army, known for its bravery.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln’s speech redefining the Civil War as a struggle for equality and democracy.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad connecting the East and West, promoting western settlement and economic growth.

Sherman’s March to the Sea

A Union campaign that destroyed southern infrastructure to break Confederate morale.

13th Amendment

The amendment that permanently abolished slavery in the United States.

Sea Island Experiment

A Reconstruction program that tested whether freed slaves could work land independently.

Sharecropping

A system where farmers rented land in exchange for a share of crops, often trapping them in debt.

The Freedmen’s Bureau

A federal agency that helped formerly enslaved people with education, jobs, and legal protection.

Crop-lien System

A credit system that kept poor farmers in debt by borrowing against future crops.

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all people born in the U.S.

15th Amendment

Prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude.

Radical Republicans

Republicans who wanted strong federal action to protect freedmen’s rights during Reconstruction.

Black Codes

Southern laws designed to restrict the freedom and rights of African Americans.

Civil Rights Bill of 1866

Granted citizenship and equal rights to African Americans, overriding a presidential veto.

Hiram Revels

The first African American U.S. senator during Reconstruction.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved south after the Civil War, often seeking political or economic opportunities.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party.

Redeemers

Southern Democrats who worked to regain political control and end Reconstruction.

The Bargain of 1877

A compromise that ended Reconstruction in exchange for Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy where a company controls all stages of production.

Captains of Industry

Business leaders praised for contributing to economic growth and innovation.

Labor Unions

Organizations formed by workers to improve wages, hours, and working conditions.

Jacob Riis

A journalist who exposed poor living conditions in urban slums.

Frederick Jackson Turner

A historian who argued the frontier shaped American democracy and culture.

Cowboys

Workers who herded cattle across long distances in the American West.

Chief Joseph

A Nez Perce leader who resisted forced relocation and is remembered for his surrender speech.

Dawes Act

A law that broke up Native American tribal lands to promote assimilation.

Social Darwinism

The belief that survival of the fittest justified social and economic inequality.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A nationwide labor strike protesting wage cuts that turned violent.

Knights of Labor

An early labor union that welcomed both skilled and unskilled workers.

Social Gospel

A religious movement that promoted social reform to address poverty and inequality.

Haymarket Affair

A violent labor protest in Chicago that hurt the labor movement’s public image.

Pullman Strike

A labor strike against the Pullman Company that was broken by federal troops.

William Jennings Bryan & Free Silver

Bryan supported unlimited silver coinage to help farmers and debtors.

Ida B. Wells

A journalist and activist who led an anti-lynching campaign.

Immigrant Restriction League

An organization that supported limiting immigration through literacy tests.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under “separate but equal.”

Booker T. Washington

An African American leader who promoted vocational education and economic self-help.

Samuel Gompers

Leader of the American Federation of Labor, focused on skilled workers’ rights.

Women’s Christian Temperance Union

A women’s organization that fought for prohibition and social reform.

“Splendid Little War”

A nickname for the Spanish-American War, highlighting its quick U.S. victory.

Rough Riders

A volunteer cavalry unit led by Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized reporting used to influence public opinion.

Platt Amendment

Limited Cuban independence and allowed U.S. intervention in Cuba.

Emilio Aguinaldo

A Filipino leader who fought against U.S. control after the Spanish-American War.

“White Man’s Burden”

A belief that imperialism was a duty to “civilize” non-Western peoples.

Anti-Imperialist League

A group that opposed U.S. imperialism, especially in the Philippines.