APUSH Period 5: (1844–1877)

John Tyler

Whig who became president. He was claimed to be a “Democrat in Whig’s clothing”, and was later expelled from his party

Zachary Taylor

American General in the Mexican War who defeated the Mexicans in a campaign, becoming a national hero and later elected as president of the US

James K. Polk

Pro-slavery Democrat President of the US who aggressively pursued the Manifest Destiny through the territorial expansion, & his presidency was defined by the Mexican-American war, annexation of Texas, & the Oregon boundary dispute

John C. Fremont

Supporter of the Manifest Destiny & heavily contributed to westward expansion. He was Captain in the Mexican War who helped overthrow the Mexican rule.

Manifest Destiny

19th century belief that it was the divine right and destiny of the US to expand its territory across the North American continent, justifying westward expansion.

Tariff of 1842

Protective tariff that reversed the effects of the Compromise Tariff. It was enacted by President Tyler, who was expelled from the Whig party. The tariff restored high tariffs.

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

Peace treaty that ended the Mexican-American war. Mexico ceded a vast territory known was the Mexican Cession to the US in exchange for 15 million. the treaty also established the border between US & Mexico at the Rio Grande.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed amendment to a bill that would’ve banned slavery in any territory from Mexico. It was never adopted into law, but ignited intense sectional conflict over slavery’s expansion.

Mexican Cession

Territory that Mexico ceded to the US in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Fort 15M, the US acquired land that would make up present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, & parts of Colorado & New Mexico

William Henry Harrison (1841)

President that was famous for his victory over a Native American confederation at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He was the first time a candidate from the Whig Party was selected

54°40’ or Fight

Slogan used by American expansionists, especially during the presidential campaign of James K Polk, advocated for the US to claim the Oregon territory up to latitude 54 40 north.

Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Mexican general & political who dominated Mexican history, known as a controversial dictator & for his command during the Mexican-American War

Election of 1848

Presidential election between Zachary Taylor (Whig), Lewis Cass (Democrat), and Martin Van Buren (Free Soil); highlighted slavery expansion debate after the Mexican-American War.

Stephen A. Douglas

Illinois senator; champion of popular sovereignty, author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and Lincoln’s rival in the 1858 debates.

Daniel Webster

Influential Whig senator from Massachusetts; supported the Compromise of 1850 to preserve the Union.

Harriet Tubman

Former enslaved woman who became a leading conductor on the Underground Railroad, helping hundreds escape slavery.

Underground Railroad

Secret network of routes and safe houses used to help enslaved people escape to free states or Canada.

Popular sovereignty

Doctrine allowing settlers in a territory to vote on whether to permit slavery.

Free Soil Party

Political party opposing the expansion of slavery into western territories; slogan: “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men.”

Fugitive Slave Law

Law requiring escaped enslaved people to be returned to owners even in free states; part of the Compromise of 1850 and widely resented in the North.

"Beecher's Bibles"

Sharps rifles sent to antislavery settlers in Kansas, disguised as Bibles, to fight pro-slavery forces.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 law creating Kansas and Nebraska territories using popular sovereignty; repealed the Missouri Compromise and intensified sectional conflict.

Gadsden Purchase (1853)

U.S. bought large amt of land from Mexico for $10M to build a southern railroad route & to resolve border disputes from the Mexican-American War

Republican Party (1854)

Antislavery party formed in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act; opposed the expansion of slavery.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

uthor and abolitionist who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, exposing the cruelty of slavery.

Compromise of 1850

Series of laws easing sectional tensions after Mexican-American War: California admitted as free-state, stricter Fugitive Slave Law, popular sovereignty in western territories, banned slave trade but not slavery

John Brown

Radical abolitionist who used violence against slavery; led the Harpers Ferry raid.

Sectionalism

Intense loyalty to one’s region (North, South, West) over national unity, driven by different economic interests, social structures, & political beliefs

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Antislavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that fueled Northern opposition to slavery and angered Southerners.

“Bleeding Kansas”

Violent clashes between pro- and antislavery settlers in Kansas following the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Dred Scott decision

Supreme Court ruling stating enslaved people were property, not citizens, and Congress couldn’t ban slavery in territories.

Panic of 1857

Economic depression caused by railroad speculation, gold inflation, & banking issues that hurt the North more than the South, worsening sectional divisions.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Debates over slavery and popular sovereignty during the Illinois Senate race between Republican Abraham Lincoln & Democrat Stephen Douglas

Harper’s Ferry raid

attempt by abolitionist John Brown to start a slave revolt by seizing a federal arsenal in Virginia to start a massive slave rebellion

Fort Sumter

South Carolina fort where the first shots of the Civil War were fired

Habeas corpus

Constitutional right requiring the government to justify a person’s imprisonment; suspended by Lincoln during the Civil War.

New York Draft Riots

Violent protests against the Civil War draft, fueled by racial and class tensions.

Homestead Act

law granting free land to settlers who farmed it; encouraged western expansion.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

Clara Barton

Civil War nurse and humanitarian who later founded the American Red Cross

Emancipation Proclamation

executive order issues by President Abraham Lincoln during Civil War freeing enslaved people in Confederate-held territories

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery in the United States

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln’s speech redefining the Civil War as a fight for liberty, equality and democracy.

Copperheads

Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and wanted peace with the Confederacy.

Appomattox Courthouse

Site of Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Ulysses S. Grant in 1865, effectively ending the Civil War.

Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson

Skilled Confederate general known for defensive tactics, devout Christianity, & role in early Confederate victories

George B. McClellan

Union general criticized for caution and failure to pursue Confederate forces aggressively

Robert E. Lee

49. George Pickett

50. Ulysses S. Grant

51. William Tecumseh Sherman

52. John Wilkes Booth

53. Freedmen's Bureau

54. Ten Percent Plan

55. Wade-Davis Bill

56. Black Codes

57. 14th Amendment

58. Reconstruction Act

59. 15th Amendment

60. Redeemers

61. Scalawags

62. Carpetbaggers

63. Tenure of Office Act