APUSH Unit 5 Vocab

Manifest Destiny

Idea that white Americans were divinely ordained to colonize West

The Homestead Act

A U.S. law that allowed any citizen or intended citizen to claim 160 acres of public land for a small filing fee. It gave away free or nearly free land to encourage settlement in the American West.

President James Polk (1845-1849)

11th President of the United States known for his aggressive expanding of the nation’s territory. His presidency focused on Manifest Destiny, which led to significant territorial gains during the Mexican American War.

Texas Revolution (1835-1836)

Anglo American settlers fought against the Mexican government. They were disatisstified with Mexican policies, like in 1829 when they mandated Catholicism and abolished slavery. Mexico closed migration when settlers refused. Anglo Americans won and gained independence. 

Oregon Trail 

Wagon route trail to Oregon used by hundreds of thousands of people(initially fur traders and missionaries), to migrate west in search of new opportunities

Mexican and American War (1846-1848)

A 1846-1848 conflict between the U.S. and Mexico, fought over a boundary dispute after the U.S. annexed Texas. The U.S. won, but tensions over slavery increase due to the new land gained, as America needed to maintain the balance between slave and free states.

Treaty of Guadlaupe Hidalgo

1)  Mexico gave up all claims to Texas and ceded a large portion of its territory to the U.S., known as the Mexican Cession

2) The treaty set the new boundary between the two countries, with the Rio Grande serving as a major part of the border. 

3) The treaty also promised to protect the rights of Mexican citizens who chose to remain in the ceded territories, though this was not always enforced

California Genocide

The Indigenous population before the Gold Rush was 150k and after it was 16k.

The Gold Rush

Thousands of Indigenous people were killed, enslaved, or displaced. They were forced into contracts they were not being paid and made to mine gold.

49er

A prospector or migrant who arrived in California in 1849 to join the gold rush in search for gold. Thousands of people made this journey, leading to a rapid growth of settlements in the region

Compromise of 1850

The goal was to address the new territory gained from Mexico

1. California=free state

2. Slave trade abolished in D.C.

3. Fugitive Slave Act of 1850: mandated citizens to assist in capturing "fugitives"

4. Utah and New Mexico to vote on slavery (popular sovereignty)

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

An anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852. It exposed the horrors of slavery, like the idea of splitting up families, which fueled abolitionist sentiment. 

Kanasa Nebraska Act

A bill let Kansas and Nebraska vote on slavery (popular sovereignty), to gain Southern support for a transcontinental railroad). The act nullified the Missouri Compromise.

Republican Party (1854)

Founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the expansion of slavery into new western territories. The political party advocated for individual liberty, limited government, and economic freedom. Their goals were to repeal the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Act. 

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Scott an enslaved man, sued that he was free after being taken into free areas. The result of the case was SCOTUS, which ruled that Black Americans had no constitutional rights because they weren’t citizens. 

Bleeding Kansas

Both pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups moved into Kansas to sway the vote, leading to political conflict and violence. Included rigged elections, voter fraud, raids, and massacres.

John Brown

Radical Abolitionist who used violence to try and end slavery. He murdered pro slavery supporters (e.g. Pottawatomie massacre). 

Election of 1860

The presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first Republican president, contributing to the secession of Southern states and the American Civil War

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order by President Abraham Lincoln, effective January 1, 1863, that declared slaves in Confederate-held territory to be free. He feared that ending slavery in the Union would lead to secession.

What event started the Civil War?

The Confederacy attack on Fort Sumter, a US fort in South Carolina.

Confederacy (CSA)

11 Southern states that succeeded (first beginning with South Carolina) and formed to preserve slavery and their way of life.

Advantages of Confederacy

1) Defensive (in their own territory)

2) Long coastline (difficult to blockade)

3) Cotton industry

4) Experienced generals

The Union

The states remaining loyal to the U.S. government, representing national unity against secession. 

Advantages of the Union

 1) Larger population (22 mil vs 9 mil)

2) Industrial (over 85% of factories, 70% of railroads, and 65% of farmland)

3) Immigration (from the South and Europe)

US Confiscation Acts (1861-1862)

Laws that allowed the Union to seize property, including enslaved people, from the Confederates to weaken war effort. Enslaved people poured into US Army Camps.

Conscription (Draft)

The mandatory enlistment of citizens for military service 

Enrollment Act of 1863

A Union federal draft for men aged 20 to 45 and led to protests like the New York City draft riots

New York Draft “Riots”

Anti-draft massacre that led to around 120 killed (mostly African Americans). Additionally, Irish Americans were angered that they were getting drafted and attacked African Americans and wealthy people because “they thought they caused the war but were avoiding the consequences”

Liberation of New Orleans (1862)

South’s most industrial city liberated. This helped change the trajectory of the war. 

Antietam (1862)

The deadliest day of combat (23k casualties). Although a draw, the CSA did not get foreign recognition. It was significant because it stopped foreign investment of Confederacy 

Gettysburg (1863)

A Union victory and a major turning point. The Confederates retreated back to the South.

Sherman’s March to the Sea (1864)

A Union military campaign led by General William Tecumseh Sherman in late 1864 that involved a destructive march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia

Juneteenth 

June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, announcing that all enslaved people in Texas were free