431 U.S History MIDTERM Fall 2025
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107 Terms
What were the U.S. goals of westward expansion?
To gain land, resources, economic opportunity, and political power
Why did the U.S. remove Native nations from their land?
To open land for white settlement and agriculture, especially cotton
What law authorized Indian removal?
The Indian Removal Act of 1830
What was Indian Removal?
The forced relocation of Native nations west of the Mississippi River
How did Native Americans resist removal?
Through legal challenges, armed conflict, and alliances
Who was Black Hawk?
A Native American leader who resisted U.S. removal in the Midwest
Why were the Comanche powerful?
They dominated the Plains through horse culture, trade, and warfare
How did western expansion increase sectional tension?
It raised debates over the expansion of slavery
What was the Second Great Awakening?
A religious revival movement emphasizing individual salvation
How did the Second Great Awakening influence reform?
It inspired movements like abolition and temperance
Name one reform movement of the antebellum era.
Abolition, temperance, women’s rights
What was transcendentalism?
A movement emphasizing individualism and self-reliance
Name one transcendentalist belief.
People should trust their conscience and intuition
How did abolitionists challenge slavery?
Through moral arguments, publications, and activism
Why did Irish immigrants come to the U.S.?
The Irish Potato Famine
Where did many Irish immigrants settle?
Northern cities
How were German immigrants different from Irish immigrants?
They often had more money and settled in rural areas
Why did industrialization develop fastest in the North?
Access to capital, transportation, and free labor
What defined the Southern economy?
Cotton, plantations, and enslaved labor
What crop drove the Southern economy?
Cotton
What was the Market Revolution?
Economic changes involving transportation, industry, and markets
How did the Market Revolution change life?
It increased wage labor and regional specialization
What did Democrats believe in during this era?
Expansion and limited government
What did Whigs support?
Federal power and economic development
What was Manifest Destiny?
The belief that Americans were destined to expand west
Why was Texas annexed?
Expansion and support for slavery
What war resulted from Texas annexation?
The Mexican–American War
What was the Wilmot Proviso?
A proposal to ban slavery in new territories
What was the Compromise of 1850?
A set of laws to balance free and slave states
Name one part of the Compromise of 1850.
Fugitive Slave Act or California admitted as free
What caused Bleeding Kansas?
Violence over popular sovereignty and slavery
Why was Bleeding Kansas important?
It showed sectional conflict turning violent
What was the Republican Party formed to oppose?
The expansion of slavery
What was the Dred Scott decision?
A Supreme Court ruling denying citizenship to African Americans
Why did Dred Scott deepen division?
It invalidated compromises and angered the North
Why did Lincoln’s election lead to secession?
Southern states feared limits on slavery
What was the Confederacy?
A new government formed by seceding Southern states
What advantages did the Union have in the Civil War?
Population, industry, railroads
What advantages did the Confederacy have?
Defensive war and military leadership
What was the Emancipation Proclamation?
A declaration freeing enslaved people in Confederate states
How did emancipation change the war?
It gave the war a moral purpose
Why were Gettysburg and Vicksburg turning points?
They weakened the Confederacy and boosted the Union
What was the Freedmen’s Bureau?
An agency helping formerly enslaved people
What did Reconstruction aim to achieve?
Rebuild the South and define freedom
What amendment guaranteed equal protection?
The 14th Amendment
Why did Reconstruction collapse?
Violence, lack of support, and political compromise
What were Jim Crow laws?
Laws enforcing racial segregation
What did Plessy v. Ferguson establish?
Separate but equal doctrine
What was the Gilded Age?
A time of rapid industrial growth and inequality
How did leaders like Rockefeller gain power?
Monopolies and consolidation
What was Social Darwinism?
The belief that wealth reflected natural superiority
What problems did workers face?
Low wages, long hours, unsafe conditions
How did workers respond?
Strikes and labor unions
What was the Populist Party?
A movement of farmers demanding reform
Why did farmers support Populism?
Debt, low prices, and high railroad rates
What was the free silver debate?
The argument over expanding the money supply
Why did farmers support silver?
To increase inflation and reduce debt
What caused U.S. imperialism?
Economic, military, and cultural motives
What was yellow journalism?
Sensationalized news to sway public opinion
What event pushed the U.S. into war with Spain?
The explosion of the U.S.S. Maine
What did the Spanish–American War result in?
U.S. overseas expansion
Name one territory gained in 1898.
Puerto Rico, Guam, or the Philippines
Who was William Lloyd Garrison?
An abolitionist and publisher of The Liberator
Why was Garrison significant?
He pushed immediate abolition
What was the Indian Removal Act?
A law authorizing forced relocation
Why was the Indian Removal Act significant?
It caused widespread Native suffering
What was the Cotton Kingdom?
The Southern economy based on cotton and slavery
Why was the Cotton Kingdom important?
It tied slavery to economic growth
Who were Copperheads?
Northerners who opposed the Civil War
Why were Copperheads controversial?
They were seen as disloyal
What was the Pendleton Act?
A law creating civil service exams
Why did the Pendleton Act matter?
It reduced political corruption
What is eugenics?
The belief in improving society through selective breeding