IB History Chapter 13-15 Facts and Terms

Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny

The idealistic view to migrate westward; rested on the idea that America was destined by God to expand coast to coast; coined by John O'Sullivan and was a major justification of the Mex.-Amer. War

Expansionism

Reflected the idea of American expanding is root to include all the space possible for democracy; led to the belief that Mexicans and Native Americans were inferior and should not be pushed out of the way

Stephen Austin

Established the 1st American settlement in Texas in 1820; he and his followers wanted more autonomy within Mexico, but with Santa Anna ruling Mexico, he and his followers decided to fight for independence

Oregon Country

Included a large sum of land from the south border of present day Oregon to the present southern boundary of Alaska (54'40°); both Britain and the US claimed it for 20 years; the territory was finally divided at the 49th parallel; helped keep the US out of war with Britain

Joint Occupation

A treaty in 1818 that allowed the citizens of England and the US equal access to the Oregon territory

James Polk

The 11th President of The United States (the dark-horse candidate) and is known for expanding U.S. territory more than any other president other than Thomas Jefferson; he had a clear objective in expansion and led America into the Mex.-Amer. War

Rio Grande/Nueces River

Once Texas won its independence from Mexico, they claimed that their border stretched down to the Rio Grande while Mexico said it went to the Nueces River; Polk sent Zach Taylor to the approach the Rio Grande and the Mex.-Amer. War started

John Slidell

Sent by Polk to purchase California from Mexico, but the Mexicans wouldn't sell it to the Americans

Treaty of Guadeloupe-Hidalgo

The treaty that ended the Mexican-American War in 1848; America got all of the disputed territory including all of the present day west; however America took over the debts of Mexican citizens living in the territory and paid Mexico $15 million.

Wilmot-Proviso

Proposed by David Wilmot in 1846, it would've banned slavery in territory acquired by Mexico; it passed in the House but failed in the Senate; this made the South feel that the North wanted to destroy slavery

Popular Sovereignty

Allowed for people of each state to decide the status of slavery in the territory; first called "squatter sovereignty"; became the key project of Stephen Douglas in the Kansas-Nebraska act caused many of the later troubles in Kansas

Compromise of 1850

Originally proposed by Henry Clay, but broken up into different sections by Douglas:

- CA was admitted as a free state

- Pop. Sovereignty in new territories of Utah and New

Mexico

- TX yield in boundary dispute with NM

- Slave trade, but not slavery itself, was banned in D.C.

- Fugitive Slave Act

Stephen Douglas

Was the most important man in getting the passage of the Compromise of 1850; he was committed to sectional and personal gain and broke down Clay's proposal's into 8 individual bills which then passed; later proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and ran against Lincoln for the senate

Free Soil Party

Anti-Slavery Northerners that were against slavery in the new territories because they wanted nothing to do with blacks, and wanted America to be reserved only for whites to be independent farmers and free labor workers

Fugitive Slave Act

If a slave was caught in the North after escaping the South, they would have to be sent back to their owner; blacks accused of being runaways had no right to a trial or a jury, or even to plead their case

Ostend Manifesto

Pierce had been secretly trying to buy Cuba from Spain for quite some time, but the news was leaked through this letter coming from a commissioner in Belgium; Northern Antislavery Defenders accused the South for trying to bring in another slave state

Bleeding Kansas

After about 1,000 people crossed the border to vote in Kansas to ensure its slavery status, anti and pro slavery sides were at each other's throats; many believed violence in Kansas helped bring about the Civil War

John Brown

This man was a fiercely committed abolitionist who gathered 6 followers and killed 5 pro slavery people; he took over Harper's Ferry but was forced out by federal troops, he was later hanged; his raid convinced southerners that they could no longer live peacefully with the south

Charles Sumner

Was a Massachusetts senator who rose and gave a great speech in front congress in which he insulted a South Carolina senator, Andrew Butler; Butler's cousin, Brooks, then beat this senator with a cane and he was out for 4 years; he became an inspiration for the north

Slave Power Conspiracy

Northern free slavery defenders believed that the South was involved in a conspiracy to spread slavery further; they believed slavery threatened the future of white laborers and land owners in the north; they also felt that slave owners were trying to take over power of the government

Republican Party

Formed in 1854 from remnants of the Whig, Liberty, and Know-Nothing Parties; believed in preserving free labor and considered slavery a threat to white opportunity; they did not approve of the idea of secession

Freeport Doctrine

The response given by Douglas to Lincoln in the Illinois primary, which won him a spot as senator, but destroyed his Presidential ambitions by alienating the South; this belief was that if people didn't draft any laws legalizing slavery in the territories, then slavery could not exist

Gag Rule

A rule in which congress would table all antislavery petitions without being read; showed the extremes of the South and how they would attempt to prevent debate on slavery

Buchanan

Was a Democratic President in 1856; supported pro-slavery people in Kansas by favoring statehood based on the Lecompton Const.; believed southern states did not have the right to secede but also believed that the federal gov. did not have the power to stop them

Dred Scott v. Stanford

A Supreme Court decision when Chief Justice Taney ruled that no Afr.-American had rights to sue in fed. courts, slaves were considered property and could be taken to any territory, neither Congress nor terr. legislatures had right to prohibit slavery since this infringed on 5th amendment rights; it was a major blow to the anti-slavery cause. Dred Scott was property of army surgeon and sued for freedom when his owner died. Owner’s brother appealed to state supreme court and won.

Lecompton Constitution

Was a pro-slavery constitution drawn up in Kansas, but it was then rejected by the people of Kansas; the const. was resubmitted but failed again, so Kansas wasn't allowed in as a state until 1861; it protected slave holding and contained a bill of rights that excluded free blacks

Abraham Lincoln

This man emerged after debates in the senate with Douglas; he believed that slavery was morally wrong but was not an abolitionist; South Carolina seceded shortly after he he became president and he led the North to war against the south, issuing the emancipation proclamation

Fort Sumter

A federal fort off of the coastline in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina; Confederates didn't have enough power to take that fort; Lincoln sent a relief mission to the island, but SC fired on the fort and took the island; the first shots of the civil war begun.

Crittenden Compromise

A compromise that included amendments to the const. that guaranteed slavery in the slave states and reestablished the Missouri compromise, extending it to the pacific ocean; the South approved it but the Republicans refused; last major attempt at a compromise that would prevent the civil war

Homestead Act

Permitted citizens to claim 160 acres of surveyed government land; after 5 years on the land, it was offered for a small price.

Greenbacks

Printing of paper currency rose during the Civil War and were known by this name; values of the paper currency fluctuated according to union victories

Andrew Johnson

Johnson was a war democrat who opposed his state's secession and became Lincoln's vp; he became president after Lincoln and alienated radical and moderate republicans; was impeached by the House of Reps but not convicted by the senate

Battle of Antietam

Union Army defeated the Confederate Army, and was the bloodiest day of the Civil War; gave Lincoln an opportunity to announce his intention of using wartime powers to free all slaves in the confederacy, leading to the signing of the emancipation proclamation

54th MA Infantry

The most renown of all black units that fought for the union; led by Robert Shaw (he and half of the infantry died in battle outside Charleston in 1863)

Sherman's March to Sea

During the last stage of the Civil War, Sherman decided to advance towards Atlanta, burning every city within a 60 mile gap until he reached Savannah; was done in order to damage confederate morale

U.S. Sanitary Commission

Dorthea Dix and a group of volunteers established this group; this mobilized many women to serve as nurses and helped bring new health standards throughout the nation, lowering risks of death by diseases

Clara Barton

Founder of the American Red Cross; active in the accumulation and distribution of medical supplies; became an important force in the world of nursing

Jefferson Davis

Named President of the Confederacy for a 6 year term; he was an unsuccessful president, serving as his own sec. of war and rarely provided genuine leadership

Ulysses S. Grant

He became an officer in the civil war and won key battles in the west; Lincoln named him as his commander of the entire union army and he made the armies and resources the target of military efforts; he was elected president but his time in office was marred by corruption/conflict over reconstruction

Monitor and Merrimac

(South v. North) Ironclad ships that were heavily advanced ships for their time; not a defined winner in the ship's battle

Jayhawkers

Union sympathizers in Kansas organized in bands known as these

Freedman's Bureau

Established as a means to distribute work to former slaves, establish schools, and redistribute the land; only was in operation for 1 year and its extension was vetoed by pres. Johnson

Thaddeus Stevens

A Radical Republican from Pennsylvania who urged that political and military leaders of the former Confederacy should be heavily punished; believed their land should be distributed to former slaves; helped lead the effort to impeach pres. Johnson

Black Codes

Slate legislatures in the south enacted these set of laws in attempts to reassert the supremacy of the white planter aristocracy and to control freed slaves; was extremely discriminatory against African Americans

13th Amendment

Passed in 1865 and abolished slavery in all states and territories; states were required to ratify this amendment before they were readmitted to the Union

14th Amendment

The amendment offered a definition of American citizenship, imposed penalties on states that denied male inhabitants of his rights of citizenship, and protected people against being regulated without due process

15th Amendment

Forbade states the right to deny suffrage to any citizen on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude; was adopted with the support of Southern States who had to ratify it in order to reenter the union; it had little affect on black suffrage for many years

Tenure of Office Act

An act passed by radicals in congress that forbade the president from removing civil officials; Johnson broke this act and was thus impeached; the parallel act was the Commander of Army Act

Civil Service Reform

Made sure that only qualified people got federal jobs, not just supporters of the winning candidate; passed into law in 1883 by the Pendleton Act

Credit Mobilier

A French-owned construction company that helped build Union Pacific Railroad; it hoarded millions of dollars from the railroad and the government and then transferred that money to key congressmen and Grant's vp; the biggest scandal of Grant's presidency

Compromise of 1877

Settled the election result of 1876, giving Hayes the votes as long as he removed federal troops from the south, thus ending reconstruction

Sharecroppers

Farmers were given land, tools, and possibly shelter, but in return had to give up the majority of their harvest back to the landlord; there lives were in many ways as bad as they had been in slavery

Booker T. Washington

This man strongly advocated the importance of education for former slaves and blacks; he urged industrial skills over classical education and felt that blacks should concentrate on self-improvement and preparation for equality

Atlanta Compromise

Outlined in a speech that blacks should engage in activities to improve their economic lot, then they will be given political equality.

Jim Crow

After reconstruction these laws advocated for segregated public services and restricted enfranchisement (especially for blacks); they had reached everywhere in the south by the 20th century and was named after a character that put on a racially offensive plays in the antebellum period

Plessy v. Ferguson

Ruled that separate accommodations did not deprive blacks of equal rights if accommodations were equal; was the legal basis for segregating aspects of southern society and was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education

Literacy Tests

One of the main devices that prevented black men from voting in the South; required voters to demonstrate ability to read and interpret the constitution