APUSH - HP 5 Review (Vocab, SAQ, Connections)

AP U.S. History Historical Period 5: 1844–1877 (Civil War, Reconstruction)

Slave Codes

Laws restricting enslaved people’s movement/education to maintain white control (led to harsher systems).

Task System

Slavery labor system where workers completed daily tasks then had limited free time.

Compromise of 1850

CA free state, popular sovereignty in UT/NM, ended DC slave trade, strict Fugitive Slave Act (slaves must be returned, led to tension).

Manifest Destiny

Belief U.S. was destined to expand west; justified war and displacement (led to Mexican–American War).

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Popular sovereignty in Kansas/Nebraska; repealed Missouri Compromise (led to Bleeding Kansas + GOP rise).

Popular Sovereignty

People vote on slavery in each territory (led to Kansas violence).

Wilmot Proviso

Tried to ban slavery in Mexican Cession; failed but increased sectional conflict.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Enslaved people not citizens; Congress can’t ban slavery anywhere.

John Brown

Abolitionist who led Harper’s Ferry raid to spark uprising; increased Southern fear.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Ended Mexican–American War; U.S. gained Mexican Cession (led to Compromise of 1850).

Oregon Trail

Migration route west to Oregon; part of Manifest Destiny.

Forty-Niners

Gold seekers in 1849 in California; population boom → California statehood/Compromise of 1850.

Free-Soil Party

Opposed spread of slavery to protect free labor (foundation of Republican Party).

Emancipation Proclamation

Freed enslaved people in Confederate areas; shifted war aim to ending slavery.

Antietam

Bloodiest day of the war; Union victory allowed Emancipation Proclamation.

Fort Sumter

Site of first Civil War shots; Confederates fired on Union fort.

Gettysburg

Turning point of the war; stopped Lee’s invasion and lifted Union morale.

Homestead Act

160 acres for settlers who improved land; encouraged westward migration.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy; struggled with states’ rights tensions.

Morrill Land Grant Act

Gave land to states to build agricultural/technical colleges.

Black Codes

Southern laws limiting freedmen’s rights (led to Radical Reconstruction).

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction; viewed as opportunists.

Compromise of 1877

Ended Reconstruction; Hayes wins presidency, troops withdrawn (led to Jim Crow).

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery nationwide.

14th Amendment

Citizenship + equal protection for all born in U.S.

15th Amendment

Voting rights cannot be denied by race (led to Southern suppression).

Freedmen’s Bureau

Aid organization for freedpeople: food, schools, labor contracts.

Jim Crow Laws

Segregation laws enforcing “separate but equal” system.

Panic of 1873

Economic depression that weakened Northern support for Reconstruction.

Plessy v. Ferguson

“Separate but equal” ruling that legalized segregation.

Scalawags

Southern whites supporting Reconstruction; seen as traitors.

Radical Republicans

Wanted harsh Reconstruction + Black rights + military enforcement.

Wade-Davis Bill

Harsh Reconstruction plan requiring majority loyalty; vetoed by Lincoln.

Lincoln’s 10% Plan

Lenient Reconstruction plan; 10% oath needed to rejoin Union replaced with Wade-Davis bill (requiring 50% of voters to swear an oath, which Lincoln vetoed)

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy: blockade South, control Mississippi, strangle Confederacy.

Sharecropping

Labor system trapping freedmen in debt; replaced slavery in practice.

Copperheads

Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and wanted peace.

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Total war campaign destroying Southern infrastructure.

Reconstruction Acts (1867)

Military control of South; required new constitutions + Black voting.

[SAQ] What was one major cause of the Civil War?

[SAQ] Expansion of slavery (Wilmot Proviso debate where slaves must be returned); failed compromises (Kansas–Nebraska Act of popular sovereignty → Bleeding Kansas); Dred Scott increased fear of Slave Power.

[SAQ] How did the Mexican–American War increase sectional tension?

[SAQ] Mexican Cession reopened slavery issue; Wilmot Proviso exposed divisions; led to Compromise of 1850 + Fugitive Slave backlash.

[SAQ] How did the Civil War’s purpose change over time?

[SAQ] Antietam allowed Emancipation Proclamation; war shifted to ending slavery; discouraged European aid to Confederacy.

[SAQ] How did Reconstruction try to protect freedpeople?

[SAQ] 13–15th Amendments expanded rights; Freedmen’s Bureau support; Military Reconstruction Act enforced rights.

[SAQ] Why did Reconstruction fail?

[SAQ] Compromise of 1877 ended federal protection; KKK violence weakened rights; Northern fatigue + Panic of 1873 reduced support.

[SAQ] What was one economic effect of westward expansion?

[SAQ] Homestead Act encouraged farming; Gold Rush boosted migration; railroads linked markets.

[SAQ] How did Lincoln’s and Radical Republicans’ Reconstruction plans differ?

[SAQ] Lincoln’s 10% Plan was lenient; Radicals wanted military rule + rights; Wade-Davis Bill set strict requirements.

[SAQ] What were the effects of the Kansas–Nebraska Act?

[SAQ] Repealed Missouri Compromise; led to Bleeding Kansas; helped form Republican Party.

[SAQ] Explain one way the Compromise of 1850 increased sectional tensions

[SAQ] Fugitive Slave Act (forced return of escaped enslaved people), CA free state (upset balance), popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico (people vote on slavery)

[SAQ] Explain one political effect of the Dred Scott decision

[SAQ] African Americans can’t have citizenship (enslaved people not citizens), Congress can’t ban slavery (slavery allowed everywhere)

[SAQ] Explain one way the Civil War affected the Northern economy

[SAQ] Homestead Act (free western land), Morrill Land Grant Act (funded colleges), railroad expansion (boosted industry)

[SAQ] Explain one way the Civil War affected the Southern economy

[SAQ] Sherman’s March (destroyed farms/railroads), cotton shortages (blockade), inflation (currency collapse)

[SAQ] Explain one success of Reconstruction

[SAQ] 13th Amendment (ended slavery), 14th Amendment (citizenship + equal protection), Freedmen’s schools (education expanded)

[SAQ] Explain one failure of Reconstruction

[SAQ] Black Codes (restricted Black rights), KKK violence (terror campaigns), Compromise of 1877 (troops removed)

[SAQ] Explain one economic change in the postwar South

[SAQ] Sharecropping (debt-based farming), crop-lien system (credit with high interest), decline of plantation economy (ruined by war)

[SAQ] Explain one reason Reconstruction ended

[SAQ] Compromise of 1877 (troops removed), Panic of 1873 (economic crisis), declining Northern support (Reconstruction fatigue)