US History Final Exam

John C. Calhoun

John C. Calhoun

South Carolina Senator - advocate for state's rights, limited government, and wants territory seized from Mexico to allow Slaves.

Southern Economy

Economy based on cash crops cultivated in large plantations, used more rivers than rail for transportation; economecly dependant on slaves.

Northern Economy

Economy based on industry and trade with extensive rail networks to transport goods and people; large immigrant population which opposed slavery.

Wilmot Proviso

Unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War.

California Statehood

Resolution to this issue was delayed because Congress was split on weather it would be a free or slave state; this issue was paramount because of the territories rapid growth, and its strategic position.

Slavery in D.C.

This was a hotly contested issue because of the implications around foreign relations and how the US represented slavery.

Fugitive Slave Issue

The South was a huge proponent of this issue because they felt the North was not abiding by the law.

Henry Clay

A politician from Kentucky, he developed the American System as well as negotiated numerous compromises.

Compromise of 1850

series of measures that were intended to settle the disagreements between free states and slave states created by Henry Clay and supported by Stephan A. Douglas.

Calhoun's Response

Accused congress of becoming to lopsided in favor of the north, and that agitation was being caused by the "Slave Question"; also warned of southern secesion if balance wasn't restored.

Webster's response

Acknowledged that the North had not been enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act, and empathised with the South's reliance on slavery; Prioritized the Union above all.

Stephan A. Douglas

Illinois senator who introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed new territories to choose their own position on slavery; debated Abraham Lincoln on slavery issues in 1858

Provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Marshals would be fined $1000 if negligent, Marshals allowed to deputize the public for a hunt, If Public ignores Marshals they can be fined $1000 and have to pay a $1000 reparation to the slave owner for every fugitive, Marshals were paid $10 if fugitive is found guilty and only $5 if they were the wrong person.

Harriet Tubman

Former slave who helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad

A system that helped enslaved African Americans follow a network of escape routes out of the South to freedom in the North

Uncle Tom's Cabin

a novel published by harriet beecher stowe in 1852 which portrayed slavery as brutal and immoral and enraged both the South and North

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A law that allowed voters in Kansas and Nebraska to choose whether to allow slavery

John Brown

An abolitionist who attempted many uprisings

Pottawatomie Massacre

Abolitionist John Brown and his men killed 5 pro-slavery men in Kansas; response to Sack of Lawrence

Bleeding Kansas

A sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro-Slavery elements that took place in Kansas-Nebraska Territory. The dispute further strained the relations of the North and South, making civil war imminent.

Popular Sovereignty

A government in which the people rule by their own consent.

Dred Scott

American slave who sued his master for keeping him enslaved in a territory where slavery was banned under the missouri Compromise

Dred Scott Decision

Supreme Court ruling that declared slaves were not viewed as citizens but as property

Lecompton Constitution

Proposed Kansas constitution, whose ratification was unfairly rigged so as to guarantee slavery in the territory. Initially ratified by proslavery forces, it was later voted down when Congress required that the entire constitution be put up for a vote.

Harper's Ferry

Federal arsenal in Virginia seized by abolitionist John Brown in 1859. Though Brown was later captured and executed, his raid alarmed Southerners who believed that Northerners shared in Brown's extremism.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States

Election of 1860

Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won because the Democratic party was split over slavery. As a result, the South no longer felt like it has a voice in politics and a number of states seceded from the Union.

Southern Secession

South Carolina secedes on December 20, 1860, after that the 6 southern most states also secede which were Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana. Became the Confederate states of America in Feb 1861, Jefferson Davis being the president. US President Buchanan claimed that he could not do anything about the Southern secession, was really just waiting out until his term would end

Confederate States of America

A republic formed in February of 1861 and composed of the eleven Southern states that seceded from the United States

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America

Fort Sumter

Federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina; the confederate attack on the fort marked the start of the Civil War

Union Strategy

Anaconda Plan: naval blockade of the South; capture New Orleans and control the Mississippi River; Capture Richmond

Confederate Strategy

fight a defensive war, gain foreign allies, wear out the North's will to fight

Bull Run/Manassas

first major battle of the war that happened outside of Washington; people went with picnic baskets to watch the South come out victorious against the North; frenzied retreat proved the war would be longer than everyone thought

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

Confederate general whose men stopped Union assault during the Battle of Bull Run and was given a famous nickname

George McClellan

He was a Union general that was in charge during the beginning of the war. known for being extremely cautious

Ulysses S. Grant

A failed civilian and West Point graduate, who was however, a brave, tough, and decisive military commander.

Forts Henry and Donelson

Grant's forces captured two Confederate forts that held strategic positions on important rivers, Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River.

Shiloh

Confederate forces surprised union troops & drove them across the Tennessee river; union got backup and won the battle but it was the most bloody battles in the civil war so far

David G. Farragut

Admiral of the Union Navy during the Civil War. Led the daring attack on New Orleans the led to the Union's control of the Mississippi River.

Iron Clads

Steam propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates. Examples are the Monitor and Merrimack

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general who had opposed secession but supported is home state of Virginia

7 days battle

series of battles fought between Lee and McClellan; Lee won and went on the offensive

Antietam

the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with almost 23,000 casualties. After the Union won McClellan, cautious as ever did not chase down the weak Confederate forces

The Trent Affair

Foreign event involving Union seizure of British ship with Confederate diplomats; tensions btw Britain & US eased w/ Lincoln's negotiations to release the prisoners

Emancipation Proclamation

Proclamation was issued by Lincoln, freeing all slaves in areas still at war with the Union. Carried major symbolic implications as the North was now fighting for Abolition. European powers didn't want to go against such a noble cause

North's reaction to the Proclamation

Free Blacks were relieved, and especially appreciated that they could now enlist in the Union army. Union soldiers may not have agreed with abolition but would do anything to keep the Union together. Democrats claimed it would prolong the War.

South's reaction to the Proclamation

Jefferson Davis thought it was "most execrable [hateful] measure recorded in the history of guilty man." And everyone knew that compromise was no longer an option

Habeas Corpus

A court order that requires authorities to bring a person held in jail before the court to determine why he or she is being jailed. Lincoln suspended this during war time, drawing criticism

Copperheads

A group of northern Democrats who opposed abolition and sympathized with the South during the Civil War

Conscription

A military draft

New York Draft Riots

Uprising, mostly of working-class Irish-Americans, in protest of the draft. Rioters were particularly incensed by the ability of the rich to hire substitutes or purchase exemptions.

Chancellorsville

A major battle in the American Civil War (1863), the Confederates under Robert E. Lee forced the Union forces under Joseph Hooker to retreat. General Jackson was killed by friendly fire.

Gettysburg

A large battle in the American Civil War that took place in southern Pennsylvania from July 1 to July 3, 1863. This is the war's most famous battle because of its large size, high cost in lives, location in a northern state, and for it being the turning point in the war

George Meade

Commanded the Union Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg

Pickett's Charge

failed assault on Union positions on final day of Battle of Gettysburg

Siege of Vicksburg

the Union army's six-week blockade led the city to surrender during the Civil War, giving the North control of the Mississippi River

Edward Everett

famous orator who gave a two-hour speech at Gettysburg

The Gettysburg Address

A 3-minute address by Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War (November 19, 1963) at the dedication of a national cemetery on the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. America are to America is

Effect of Gettysburg and Vicksburg

The South could never again muster the resources to attack the North and were rapidly losing control of their territory

Confederate Morale

In the later stages of the war, it was low because of serious losses and a lack of supplies. Some troops disserted to the North

William Tecumseh Sherman

United States general who was commander of all Union troops in the West in the later half of the war

Total War

A war that involves the complete mobilization of resources and people, affecting the lives of all citizens in the warring countries, even those remote from the battlefields.

Grant the Butcher

This is what critics called Grant because of his high casualty fighting style at Places like Cold Harbor

Sherman's March

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's destructive march through Georgia. An early instance of "total war," purposely targeting infrastructure and civilian property to diminish morale and undercut the Confederate war effort.

Appomattox

Famous as the site of the surrender of the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant

National Bank Act of 1863

This created National Charters and a National Currency. These were created to stabilize the banking system (and pay for the Civil War)

13th Amendment 1865

Abolition of slavery w/o compensation for slave-owners

Clara Barton

Nurse during the Civil War; founder of the American Red Cross

Red Cross

An international organization dedicated to the medical care of the sick or wounded in wars and natural disasters founded in 1881

John Wilkes Booth

was an American stage actor who, as part of a conspiracy plot, assassinated Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865.

Andersonville

infamous Civil War prisoner-of-war camp in Macon County, Georgia. Over 13,000 of 33,000 Union soldiers died in the camp.

African Americans during wartime

In the south slaves had more optimism due to war progress, they also proved inconsequential in the war effort.

Economy during wartime

Even in the north people struggled due to supplies shortages, but in the south it was much harsher due to the north having most of the industry.

Women during wartime

On the battlefront women helped as nurses and doctors, while at home they became responsible for everything from finances to matenence.

Soldiers during wartime

Even when not fighting soldiers had to deal with harsh weather, disease, and little rations; and sometime pay was hard to secure.

Healthcare during wartime

Due to the primitive nature of medical care at the time most war wounds lead to amputations, as well as a great deal of sickness.

Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States, A Southerner form Tennessee

Charles Sumner

A leader of the Radical republicans. He was from Massachusetts and was in the senate.

Thaddeus Stevens

A Radical Republican who believed in harsh punishments for the South. Leader of the Radical Republicans in Congress.

Ten Percent Plan

Lincoln's plan that allowed a Southern state to form its own government after ten percent of its voters swore an oath of loyalty to the United States. Radicals thought this was to leniant

Wade-Davis Bill

Congress' plan for Reconstruction that denied the right to vote or hold office for anyone who had fought for the Confederacy... Lincoln refused to sign this bill thinking it was too harsh.

Johnson's Plan

Offered to pardon all former citizens of the confederacy who took the oath of loyalty to the union and to return their property. Did not offer pardon to confederate military leaders and property owners that were worth more than $20,000. Johnson blamed them for the civil war

Freedmen's Bureau

government agency founded during Reconstruction to help former slaves

Civil Rights Act of 1866

The act states that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition.

Black Codes

Laws denying most legal rights to newly freed slaves; passed by southern states following the Civil War

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Necessary requirements for the former Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union

Tenure of Office Act

Required the president to seek approval from the Senate before removing appointees.

Johnson's Impeachment

Certain the tenure act was unconstitutional Johnson fired the secretary of was Stanton. house brough eleven charges of impeachment, nine were based on violation of the tenure act

15th Amendment

Citizens cannot be denied the right to vote because of race, color , or precious condition of servitude

Enforcement Act of 1870

passed by Congress to ban the use of terror, force, or bribery to prevent people from voting because of their race

Scallywags

white Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies after the American Civil War

Carpetbaggers

A northerner who went to the South immediately after the Civil War; especially one who tried to gain political advantage or other advantages from the disorganized situation in southern states

Hiram Revels

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

40 acres and a mule

1865 as Sherman moved through the south he issues a grant of 40 acres of farmable land and a mule to freed slaves in an attempt to solve the problems of refugees

Sharecropping

A system used on southern farms after the Civil War in which farmers worked land owned by someone else in return for a small portion of the crops.

Ku Klux Klan

A secret society created by white southerners in 1866 that used terror and violence to keep African Americans from obtaining their civil rights.

Amnesty Act of 1872

gave forgiveness to former Confederates and Whites in the South and allowed them to vote again

Credit Mobilier Scandal

This scandal occurred in the 1870s when a railroad construction company's stockholders used funds that were supposed to be used to build the Union Pacific Railroad for railroad construction for their own personal use. To avoid being convicted, stockholders even used stock to bribe congressional members and the vice president.