APUSH Unit 5

Oregon Trail

the route West from the Mississippi River to the Oregon Territory. By 1860, 350,000 Americans made the 3-6 month long journey. Mostly middle class Americans made the journey, as it required resources. They often travelled in wagon trains for support.

Liberty Party

antislavery political party formed in 1840. Along with the Free Soil Party, helped to place slavery at the center of national political debates. In the 1844 election, the Liberty Party nominated James G. Birney for election, who won the state of New York, which gave Polk enough votes to win presidency.

manifest destiny

American belief/justification that they had the God-given right to expand Westward. Popularized by the Democratic Review.

Democratic Review

magazine founded by Democrat John O. Sullivan in 1887. Acted as a prominent mouthpiece for the Young America movement. Coined the term “manifest destiny.”

Mexican-American War

1846-1848 war between the U.S and Mexico. Mexico ceded 2 million square miles of land to the U.S., including the present day states of California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. Debates over slavery in these territories reignited national debate about the expansion of slavery.

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

1840 treaty ending the Mexican-American war. U.S acquired control over Texas lands north and east of the Rio Grande, and New Mexico territory in the present day states of Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Utah, Nevada, and Colorado. Also ceded Alta California, which had declared itself an independent republic during the war, to the US.

California Gold Rush

rapid influx of migrants into CA after discovery of gold in 1848. Came from all over the world seeking riches

Comanche

smallpox and cholera devastated the Comanche population in the Great Plains, freeing up the land for further U.S expansion.

Wilmot Proviso

1848 proposal by Democrat Congressman David Wilmot of PA to outlaw slavery in all new territory acquired by Mexico. Was defeated, but the fight over it’s adoption foreshadowed the sectional conflicts in the 1850’s. Gave voice to Free-Soilers.

Free Soil Party

party founded by abolitionists in 1848 to expand appeal of Liberty Party by focusing less on moral wrongs of slavery, and more on benefits of providing Northern white people with economic opportunities in Western territories.

Compromise of 1850

series of acts following California’s application for admission as a free state. Meant to ease sectional tensions over slavery by providing solutions for all sides, but ended up fueling more conflict.

Bills: Banned slave trade in District of Columbia. Passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Admitted CA as a free state. Established New Mexico and Utah and states their slave status would be decided by popular sovereignty. Defined Texas border.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

act strengthening earlier fugitive slave laws, passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. Eliminated jury trials for fugitives. Required citizens to return runaways, compared to the earlier Fugitive Slave Act which only required the local government to do so. Led to an increase of fugitive searches, but also an increase of Northern abolitionists trying to help fugitives escape (e.g. underground railroad.) Provoked widespread anger and intensified sectional tensions.

“Young America” movement

mid 19th-century movement that supported nationalism, manifest destiny, and expansionism

filibusters

unauthorized military expeditions launched by American adventurers to gain control of Cuba, Nicaragua, and other Spanish territories in the 1850s

Ostend Manifesto

1854 letter from U.S. ambassadors and the Secretary of State to President Pierce urging him to conquer Cuba. When leaked to the press, the North voiced outrage of what they saw as a plot to expand slave territories.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe meant to publicize the evils of slavery. Struck an emotional chord in the North. Was an international best seller. The expansion of antislavery press, including autobiographies of Frederick Douglass, Josiah Henson, Henry Bibb etc, helped it become successful. Stowe had influence as part of the family of the nation’s leading clergy.

transcontinental railroad

a railroad linking the East and West coasts of North America. Completed in 1869, the railroad facilitated the flow of migrants and the development of economic connections between the West and the East

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 act creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska out of what was then Native land. Stipulated that the issue of slavery would be settled by a popular referendum in each territory. Extinguished the Native’s treaty rights to the region. Repealed the Missouri Compromise. Opposed by Whigs and Northern Democrats, who liked the MO Compromise

American Party

aka “Know-Nothing" party, political party that arose in the Northeast during the 1840’s. Anti-Catholic and anti-immigration. Supported worker’s right. Against business owners. who were perceived to support immigration as a way to keep wages low. Attracted native farmers and Protestant farmers. Died out because nativism just wasn’t top priority anymore.

Republican Party

party formed in 1854 that was committed to stopping the expansion of slavery and advocated for economic development and internal improvements. Although their appeal was limited in the North, it became a major political force. Abraham Lincoln was one of their early members.

Bleeding Kansas

Kansas Territory during a period of violent conflicts over fate of slavery in mid-1859s. Intensified sectional conflicts over slavery.

Dred Scott case

1857 Supreme Court case centered on statues of Dred Scott and his family. Court denied the claim that black men had any rights and blocked Congress from excluding slavery from any territory. Essentially said black people were not U.S. citizens, and therefore cannot sue. Was overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Lincoln-Douglass debates

series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglass during the 1854 Illinois Senate Race. Mainly focused on expansion of slavery and their positions on Dred Scott case.

John Brown’s raid

1854 attack on federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, led by John Brown, who hoped to inspire a slave uprising and arm slaves with weapons. No uprising happened. Brown was executed. He was seen as a hero in the North and his hanging caused outrage.

Confederate States of America

name of government that seceded from the Union after the election of President Lincoln in 1860 because of their opposing view on the protection of slavery. Fought the Union army in the Civil War. Mostly Southern states - South Carolina was the first to secede. General Robert E. Lee was the general who surrendered his army, ending the war. Jefferson Davis was their first and only president. The Civil War was fought mostly in their territory, but they had less soldiers.

Crittenden Plan

a political compromise over slavery which failed after 7 Southern states from the Union in early 1861. Would have protected slavery from federal interference where it already existed and extend the Missouri Compromise Line to California.

Fort Sumter

Started the Civil War. Union fort that guarded the harbor in Charleston, South Carolina. Confederacy’s decision to fire on the fort and block resupply in April 1861 marked the beginning of the Civil War.

Battle of Bull Run

aka Manassas. July 1861, first major battle of the Civil War. Confederacy victory.

Contraband

term first used by Union General Benjamin Butler in May 1861 to describe slaves who fled to Union lines to obtain freedom. By designating slaves as property forfeited by the act of rebellion, the Union was able to strike at slavery by proclaiming a general emancipation.

Second Battle of Bull Run

April 28-30. 1862. Union defeat. Lead President Lincoln to relieve General Pope of command and replace him with George B. McClellan.

Battle of Shiloh

April 1862 battle in Tennessee that provided the Union entrance to Mississippi Valley. Union soldiers got their first real glimpse of slavery and were shocked by what they saw, further push of abolition. Black people provided intelligence to the Union.

Battle of Antietam

September 1862 battle in Sharpsburg, Massachusetts. Bloodiest battle in U.S. history. Gave Lincoln the victory he sought before announcing Emancipation Proclamation.

Emancipation Proclamation

January 1, 1863 proclamation that declared all slaves in areas still in rebellion forever free. Seen by black people and white abolitionists as a great victory. Also allowed black people to join the Union army. Did not include border states.

industrialization

massive shift from artisanal and homemade goods to factory mass production that occurred during the 19th century.

Women’s National Loyal League

organization founded by abolitionist women during the Civil War to press Lincoln and Congress to enact universal emancipation.

Enrollment Act

March 1863 Union draft law that provided for drafters to be selected by an impartial lottery. A loophole allowing the wealthy to pay a $30 fine or hire a substitute created widespread resentment.

copperheads

Northern Democrats who did not support the Union effort. Had considerable support in Eastern cities and parts of Midwest.

Battle of Gettysburg

July 1863 battle that helped turn the tide for the Union in the Civil War

Siege of Vicksburg

after a prolonged siege, Union troops forced Confederate forces to surrender at Vicksburg, Mississippi, leading to Union control of the rich Mississippi River Valley. The Union now controlled the richest plantation region in the South.

Gettysburg Address

a speech given by President Lincoln to inaugurate the federal cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in November 1863. Expressed his belief that the war was a struggle for a “new birth of freedom.” Tied the Union’s war efforts to ending slavery. By doing this, ended any possibility of the South receiving foreign aid, as no one liked slavery.

Sherman’s March to the Sea

1864 total war tactics (soldiers destroy civilian crops, livestock, fields, property) employed by General William Tecumseh Sherman to capture Atlanta and huge swaths of Georgia and the Caroline, devastating this crucial region of the Confederacy

Field Order #15

order issued by General William Sherman in January 1865 setting aside more than 400k acres of Confederacy land to be divided into plots for freedpeople. Came in response to pressure from black people.

Thirteenth Amendment

prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude anywhere in the U.S. The South responded by developing sharecropping, which kept black people in virtual slavery.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Federal agency created in 1865 to provide freed people with economic/legal resources. Played active role in shaping black lives in post-war South. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson rejected Congress’s bill to extend the Bureau’s life for 2 more years.

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

1863 proclamation that established the basic parameters of President Lincoln’s approach to Reconstruction. Lincoln’s plan would have readjusted the South to the union on relatively lenient laws. The South would have to accept abolition and at least 10% of the states eligible voters would need to swear an oath of allegiance.

Radical Republicans

Republican politicians who actively supported abolition prior to the Civil War and sought tighter controls over the South after the war.

Wade-Davis bill

1864 bill that created higher barriers for the Confederate states to be readmitted to Union and granted freedmen the right to vote. Asked for 50% of eligible voters to swear oath, instead of Lincoln’s 10%. Vetoed by Lincoln.

Black codes

Racial laws passed by Southern legislatures in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War that aimed to keep freed people in a condition as close to slavery as possible. Included laws prohibiting black people from bearing arms, outlawing intermarriage, and excluding them from serving as juries.

Fourteenth Amendment

Amendment to the Constitution defining citizenship and protecting individual civil and political rights from abridgement by the states. Overturned Dred Scott decision. Extended equal protection and due process of law to all, not just citizens.

Military Reconstruction Acts

1867 acts dividing Southern states into military districts and requiring those districts to grant black voting rights. Divided the 10 states into 5 military districts and made them form constitutional conventions to ratify the 14th and guarantee black voting rights.

Tenure of Office Act

law passed by Congress in 1867 to prevent President Andrew Johnson from removing members of Congress sympathetic to the Republican Party’s approach to Congressional Reconstruction without Senate approval. Johnson was impeached, but not convicted, for violating this act. Effectively ended his power to shape Reconstruction policy.

Fifteenth Amendment

amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the abridgement of a citizen’s right to vote on the basis of “race, color or previous condition of servitude.” From the 1870s on, Southern states circumvented the 15th — found ways to go around it, like initiating poll taxes, literacy exams, and Klan intimidation to prevent black people from voting.

American Equal Rights Association

group of black and white women and men formed in 1866 to promote gender and racial inequality. The organization split in 1869 over support for the Fifteenth.

National Women Suffrage Association

sought voting rights for women in the aftermath of the Civil War

scalawags

derogatory term for white Southerners who supported Reconstruction

carpetbaggers

derogatory term for white Northerners who moved South. White Southerners believed such migrants were intent on exploiting their suffering.

sharecropping

a system that emerged as the dominant mode of agricultural production in the South in the years after the Civil War. In this system, sharecroppers received tools and supplies from landowners in exchange for a share of the annual harvest. Landowners raised debt to keep black sharecroppers in virtual slavery.

Exodusters

black people who migrated from the South to Kansas in 1879 seeking land, economic opportunity and a better way of life. Attracted by it’s Republican rule and the fact it was home to John Brown, 40k black people migrated.

redeemers

white conservative Democrats who overthrew Republican rule in the South during Reconstruction.

Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

organization formed in 1865 by General Nathan Bedford Forrest to enforce pre-war racial norms. Used threats and violence to intimidate black people and white Republicans.

Force Acts

three acts passed by Congress in 1870 and 1871 in response to vigilante attacks on Southern black people. Designed to the protect black political rights and end violence by the KKK. Allowed the President to dispatch officials to the South to supervise elections and prevent voting interference. Banned secret organizations from using force to violate equal protection of the laws.

Panic of 1873

severe economic depression triggered by collapse of Northern Pacific Railroad. Caused Republicans to rethink priorities and focus less on Reconstruction.

Great Railway Strike

series of nationwide strikes by railroad workers in 1877 following collapse of railroads and wage cuts. In response, U.S. troops were removed from the South and sent North and West to contain strikes.

Slaughterhouse cases

1873 Supreme Court decision that was one of the first tests of the 14th Amendment when it decided that, although the 14th guaranteed federal protection for black people, that protection did not extend to civil or property rights, which were to be determined by the states.

U.S. vs. Cruikshank

1876 Supreme Court ruling that further defined and limited federal powers under the 14th after 1873 Slaughterhouse ruling. Protected black people against abuses only by state officials and agencies, but exempted private groups like the KKK.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

act extending full and equal treatment for all races in public accommodations, including jury service and public transportation. Ruled unconstitutional by Supreme Court and was not passed.

Compromise of 1877

compromise between Republicans and Southern Democrats that resulted in the election of Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. Southern Democrats agreed to support Hayes as president in exchange for removal of all troops from the South, effectively marking the official end of Reconstruction.

James K. Polk

11th President nominated in 1844. Strongly promoted the idea of “Manifest Destiny" — pushed for Westward expansion into Brtain’s Oregon Territory and Mexico. Started Mexican-American war in May 1846. Secured the Oregon Territory and territories from Mexico for the U.S.

John Brown

dedicated abolitionist known for his involvement in the Pottawatomie Massacre in 1865 Kansas while it was preparing to vote on the existence of slavery in the state — he, his 2 sons, and 2 others kidnapped 5 proslavery settlers and hacked them to death. He also lead the raid on the Harper’s Ferry arsenal. After being hanged, he became a martyr for the abolitionist cause and sparked even more tension.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President during the Civil War who led the Union to victory. His election is what led the South to secede. Played an important role in Reconstruction. Passed the Emancipation Proclamation and gave the Gettysburg Address, which played a big role in ending slavery in the U.S.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union General and 18th President of the U.S. Defeated the Confederate Army with tactics like his total war strategy. Also worked on Reconstruction — signed the 15th Amendment into law. His administration was involved in scandals which tarnished his reputation, and caused Republicans to not renominate him for the 1876 Election.