APUSH Vocab

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States, led the nation through the Civil War.

Alamo

A historic Spanish mission in San Antonio, Texas, site of a pivotal battle in the Texas Revolution.

Bear Flag Revolt

An 1846 revolt by American settlers in California against Mexican rule.

Bleeding Kansas

A series of violent political confrontations involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery settlers in Kansas.

Charles Sumner

A prominent abolitionist senator who was attacked in the Senate chamber in 1856.

Compromise of 1850

A package of five bills aimed at defusing sectional tensions between free and slave states.

Dred Scott decision

A Supreme Court ruling that declared African Americans were not U.S. citizens.

Election of 1860

Presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln was elected, leading to the Civil War.

Fifty-four forty or fight!

A slogan referring to the northern boundary of the Oregon Territory.

Franklin Pierce

14th President of the U.S., promoted the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Free-soil party

A political party that opposed the extension of slavery into the territories.

Gadsden Purchase

An 1854 agreement in which the U.S. acquired land from Mexico to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad.

Gold Rush

A rapid movement of people to California in search of gold, beginning in 1849.

Harpers Ferry

Site of John Brown's raid in 1859 in an attempt to initiate an armed slave revolt.

James Buchanan

15th President of the U.S., his presidency was marked by rising tensions leading to the Civil War.

James K. Polk

11th President of the U.S., known for territorial expansion and the Mexican-American War.

John Brown

A radical abolitionist who believed in armed insurrection to overthrow slavery.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 legislation that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed for popular sovereignty.

Lecompton Constitution

A pro-slavery constitution proposed for Kansas, rejected by Congress.

Lincoln-Douglas debate

A series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas during the Illinois Senate race.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that U.S. expansion across North America was justified and inevitable.

Mexican American War

A conflict between the U.S. and Mexico from 1846 to 1848, resulting in significant territorial gains for the U.S.

Oregon Trail

A historic east-to-west wagon route used by settlers traveling to the western U.S.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that the authority of the government is created and sustained by the consent of its people.

Positive good argument

A pro-slavery justification suggesting that slavery was beneficial for both slaves and society.

Sam Houston

Leader of the Texan army, first President of the Republic of Texas.

Slave power conspiracy

A theory that the South was trying to expand slavery and impose it on the whole nation.

Stephen A. Douglas

U.S. Senator known for his debates with Lincoln and his role in the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Tejanos

Mexican residents of Texas.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

An 1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American War and ceded vast territories to the U.S.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to ban slavery in territories acquired from Mexico.

Zachary Taylor

12th President of the U.S., a key military leader in the Mexican-American War.

54th Massachusetts infantry

One of the first military units consisting of black soldiers during the Civil War.

Alexander Stephens

Vice President of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Antietam

The bloodiest single-day battle in American history, fought in 1862.

Appomattox Court House

Location of the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant.

Confederate States of America

A coalition of 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union.

Confiscation Acts

Laws passed during the Civil War that allowed the Union to seize property, including slaves, from rebels.

Conscription

Mandatory enlistment for military service.

Crittenden Compromise

An unsuccessful proposal aimed at preventing the Civil War by addressing slavery.

Election of 1864

Presidential election during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected.

Emancipation proclamation

An order issued by Abraham Lincoln freeing slaves in the Confederate states.

First (and second) Battle of Bull Run

Major battles in Virginia that resulted in Confederate victories, boosting Southern morale.

Fort Sumter

The site of the first shots fired in the Civil War.

George McClellan

Union general known for organizing the Army of the Potomac.

Gettysburg

A significant and turning battle in the Civil War, marked by high casualties.

Greenbacks

Paper currency issued during the Civil War that was not backed by gold or silver.

Homestead Act

1862 legislation that allowed citizens to claim land in the West.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States during the Civil War.

Monitor and Merrimac

Ironclad warships that fought to a draw in a historic naval battle.

Morrill Land Grant College Act

An 1862 act granting land to states to fund colleges focusing on agriculture and the mechanic arts.

Robert E. Lee

Confederate General who led the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War.

Siege of Vicksburg

A decisive Union victory that split the Confederacy in two.

Shiloh

An early battle in the Civil War, resulting in heavy casualties and a Union victory.

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

A Confederate general known for his fearless fighting style.

Transcontinental railroad

A railroad that connected the eastern U.S. with the Pacific Coast.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general and the 18th President of the United States.

William T. Sherman

Union general known for his 'March to the Sea' during the Civil War.

14th amendment

An amendment granting citizenship rights and equal protection under the law.

15th amendment

An amendment prohibiting the denial of voting rights based on race.

Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States, took office after Lincoln's assassination.

Atlantic Compromise

Booker T. Washington's philosophy of vocational education and economic advancement for African Americans.

Black Codes

Laws passed in southern states to restrict the rights of freed African Americans.

Booker T. Washington

African American educator and leader who focused on vocational training for former slaves.

Carpetbagger

Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often perceived as exploiters.

Civil rights cases of 1883

Supreme Court cases that weakened federal protections for African Americans.

Compromise of 1877

Agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election and ended Reconstruction.

Congressional reconstruction plan

A series of laws and amendments aimed at rebuilding the South after the Civil War.

Credit Mobilier scandal

A railroad construction scandal involving bribery and corruption in the 1870s.

Crop-lien system

A system where farmers borrowed against their future crops, leading to debt and poverty.

Enforcement Acts

Laws passed to combat the Ku Klux Klan and protect African American voting rights.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Established in 1865 to help former slaves transition to freedom and citizenship.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

Colleges and universities established to educate black students.

Ida B. Wells

A journalist and activist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States.

Impeachment

A process of charging a government official with misconduct.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States.

John Wilkes Booth

The assassin of President Abraham Lincoln.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist group that emerged during Reconstruction to oppose African American civil rights.

Literacy test

A method used to disenfranchise voters by requiring reading or writing skills.

Minstrel show

A form of entertainment featuring comic performances, often disparaging to African Americans.

New South

A term used to describe the South after the Civil War, emphasizing economic modernization.

Panic of 1873

A financial crisis that triggered a nationwide depression in the 1870s.

Plessy v. Ferguson

An 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Poll tax

A fee required to vote, used to disenfranchise poor African Americans.

Presidential reconstruction plan (Johnson’s plan)

Andrew Johnson's lenient approach to restoring Southern states after the Civil War.

Radical Republicans

A faction of the Republican party that advocated for harsh Reconstruction policies.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War aimed at rebuilding the United States, particularly the South.

Redeemers

Southern Democrats who sought to regain control after Reconstruction.

Scalawag

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican party.

Seward’s Folly

A term used to mock the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.

Sharecropping

A system where farmers worked land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crop.

Ten Percent Plan

Lincoln's proposal that allowed a Southern state to re-enter the Union if 10% of voters took an oath of loyalty.

Tenure of Office Act

A law restricting the President's ability to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval.

Thaddeus Stevens

A Radical Republican leader in the House of Representatives during Reconstruction.

The Lost Cause

An interpretation of the Civil War that glorifies the Confederate cause and diminishes the role of slavery.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general, later became the 18th President of the United States.

Wade-Davis Bill

An 1864 proposal that required a majority of white males in a Southern state to swear loyalty before regaining statehood.