Alexander Hamilton
Federalist and former aide de camp to George Washington and appointed the first Secretary of Treasury by George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Served as George Washington's Secretary of State and as the third President of the United States. He was president when the US bought the Louisiana Purchase
XYZ Affair
When 3 French envoys requested a bribe of $250,000 from the United States to begin diplomatic talks between France and the US
Alien & Sedition Acts
Passed during John Adams' presidency, these acts were more directed at Democratic-Republicans than the perceived French threat
Marbury v. Madison
This case established the precedent of Judicial Review by the Supreme Court giving it the power to determine if a law was constitutional or not
The Whiskey Tax
This tax created by Alexander Hamilton was a 25% excise tax and angered Pennsylvania farmers
Whiskey Rebellion
Washington called out the Pennsylvania militia and headed up the army to put down this rebellion in response to a tax created by Alexander Hamilton
The Erie Canal
Hailed as an engineering marvel, completed in 1825, it cost over $7 million was 363 miles long and linked Lake Erie to the Hudson River.
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad or B & O Railroad
The first one completed in the United States in 1828 and linked Ellicott Mills to Baltimore.
Industrial Revolution
Known as a period when fundamental changes occurred in agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transportation and economic practices.
Andrew Jackson
Hero of the War of 1812 and 7th president of the United States; battled the Bank of the United States and forcibly removed the southeastern tribes to the West in the 1830s.
Paternalism
This ideal served as the justification for the institution of slavery and was practiced by large slaveholding farms in the South who believed their system benefitted the slaves.
Battle of Shiloh
Battle fought April 6-7, 1862; it was a Union victory by Grant. It was the bloodiest battle in American history up to that time and opened up KY, TN and the Mississippi River to the Union
Harriet Tubman
One of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad and was credited with leading 300 slaves to freedom
Jefferson Davis
Former senator from Mississippi, became the Confederate States of America's first and only president in 1861
John Wilkes Booth
Actor who assassinated President Lincoln on April 14, 1865
Manifest Destiny
Term coined by John O'Sullivan, editor of the Democratic Review and referred to our "God-given right" to spread our civilization across the continent
Anaconda Plan
Winfield Scott's strategy to defeat the South by strangling the South using blockades on land, sea and rivers
Impressment
The act of taking US sailors off ships by force by the British and using them on their vessels to fight the French
Lone Star Republic
This was formed when Texas rebelled from Mexico and gained it independence.
William Lloyd Garrison
Abolitionist that began the American Anti-Slavery Society as well as the journal, The Liberator in the 1830s
Stephen Douglas
Senator from Illinois who finally passed the Compromise of 1850 and was the architect of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Louisiana Purchase
Purchased from the French during Jefferson's presidency; it doubled the size of the United States.
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by President Lincoln after the Battle of Antietam, it freed the slaves in the states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863
John Brown
An abolitionist, he led raids against proslavery citizens in Kansas and later led a raid against the arsenal at Harper's Ferry to incite slaves to revolt.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Passed by Stephen Douglas to gain southern support for a northern terminus to the trans-continental railroad and organize Indian territory
Monroe Doctrine
Policy in 1823 that was never formalized by treaty but warned Europe that the countries in the western hemisphere were free and independent and could no longer be colonized
Dred Scott v Sanford
Supreme Court case in which the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens
Bill of Rights
First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution and passed to appease anti-federalists
Secession
The act of leaving the United States first done by South Carolina.
George McClellan
Twice led the Army of the Potomac and democrat presidential candidate in 1864.
Fort Sumter
Federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, SC. When the Confederates fired on it April 12-14, 1861, the Civil War began
Gettysburg Address
Four minute speech by Abraham Lincoln commemorating the cemetery honoring the dead that fought in the Civil War
John C. Calhoun
Andrew Jackson's vice president and senator from South Carolina who proposed the Nullification of the Tariff of Abominations.
Trail of Tears
the forced removal of the Cherokee nation to lands in the west 1838-1839 as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Policy
George Washington
First president of the United States and former General of the Revolutionary army
Missouri Compromise
Established the 36' 36 parallel that banned slavery above it and allowed Missouri to enter the Union
Compromise of 1850
Passed in response to new territories gained after the Mexican War; allowed California into the Union, established a tougher Fugitive Slave Act, ended the slave trade in Washington, D.C., Texas accepted NM's border and NM & UT would become territories
Wilmot Proviso
Congressional proposal to ban the expansion of slavery into the new territories gained from the Mexican War
Popular Soveriegnty
Doctrine that allowed the people of the newly formed territories from the Mexican War to decide if it would allow slavery or not in the new territory.
Abraham Lincoln
16th president during the American Civil War - assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
Nullification Crisis
Occurred in 1832 when South Carolina stated the Federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void. Based on the idea that states had the authority to determine if a Federal Law was valid or not.
War of 1812
War Hawks in Congress pushed for this war fought over British impressment of US Sailors and to finally remove the British from forts in the US.
Anti-Federalist
Party that formed desiring to block the power of the Federal government; believed states should hold most of the power. Later became known as the Republican party when Jefferson was elected president
Underground Railroad
Route the escaped slaves took to freedom in the North. Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous conductors
U.S. Constitution
Adopted after the Articles of Confederation proved they could not work as the form of government for the United States. To appease Anti-Federalists, a Bill of Rights was added to it.
Federalist
Political party that supported a strong central government with more power than the states
Barbary Wars
Fought against north African countries in order to stop piracy of American ships in the Mediterranean Sea
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Also known as the Corps of Discovery, this explored the Louisiana Purchase from St. Louis all the way to the Pacific Ocean
Battle of New Orleans
Actually fought after a peace agreement ended the War of 1812 and made Andrew Jackson a national war hero
Lowell, MA
New industrial town in Massachusetts created around textile mills and used single, white, New England women as the first source of labor
Tariff of Abominations
Federal tariff passed in 1828 that raised duties up to 50% that particularly affected South Carolina
Samuel F.B. Morse
Invented the telegraph - a device that sent electronic messages through a series of dots and dashes.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana
defeated the Texan rebels at a franciscan mission known as the Alamo
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Activist and leader of the women's rights movement in the 1840s who sought fair pay and expanded employment opportunities for women
Fugitive Slave Act
passed as part of the Compromise of 1850, that was stricter than the previous and upset Northerners as it stipulated they must assist in apprehending runaways
Harriet Beecher Stowe
wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin was a northerner who had never set foot in the South; but made slaves flesh and blood human beings.
Know Nothing Party
Political party that reached its height in 1854-1855 and were sworn to never vote for either foreign-born or Roman Catholic
Bleeding Kansas
Term given to the violence that exploded in Kansas territory in regards to whether a territory would be slave or free after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
A series of debates between senatorial candidates in Illinois that resulted in a democrat senator for Illinois in 1858 but a republican candidate for president in 1860
Army of the Potomac
Union Army during the Civil War that fought in the Eastern Theater and had seven commanders before General Ulysses S. Grant
Army of Northern Virigina
Confederate Army during the Civil War that fought in the Eastern Theater under the command of General Robert E. Lee
Ironclad
Term that referred to both the Monitor and the Merrimack ships that had an overlay of iron
Battle of Gettysburg
Battle that occurred July 1-3, 1863; was the last foray into the North for General Lee. Considered the Confederacy's Highwater Mark
Battle of Vicksburg
Grant conducted a siege of this city which began in May 1863 and ended July 3, 1863. Last hold out on the Mississippi River to Union forces
Confederate States of America
Government that was formed when the southern states left the Union last from 1861-1865
Border States
Term given to those slave states that were loyal to the Union
South Carolina
First state to secede from the Union and often referred to as the "Hotbed of Secession"
Maryland
Southern state that Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in and declared martial law to keep it in the Union
Jefferson Davis
First and only president of the Confederate States of America. Former Secretary of War and war hero for the USA
Frederick Douglass
Escaped slave and abolitionist who became a political activist. Taught himself how to read and write
Sherman's March to the Sea
Cut a path across the Confederacy from Tennessee to Savannah in 1864 100 miles wide conducted by General Sherman