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Manifest Destiny

belief that U.S. was destined to expand across North America, fueling territorial expansion and conflict.

Mexican‑American War

war between U.S. and Mexico over Texas and western lands (1846–1848).

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

treaty ending Mexican‑American War, U.S. gains Southwest.

Wilmot Proviso

proposed ban on slavery in territory from Mexico (failed).

Compromise of 1850

package of laws addressing slavery and territory status.

Fugitive Slave Law

required return of escaped slaves and penalized those assisting them.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

novel exposing slavery’s brutality, increased Northern opposition.

Kansas‑Nebraska Act

allowed popular sovereignty to decide slavery, leading to violence.

“Bleeding Kansas”

violent clashes in Kansas over slavery status.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court ruling African Americans not citizens and Congress couldn’t ban slavery.

Free‑Soil Party

political party opposing slavery’s expansion.

Republican Party (1850s)

formed to oppose slavery expansion.

Election of 1860

Lincoln elected, prompting Southern secession.

Secession

withdrawal of Southern states from the Union.

Confederate States of America

government formed by seceded states.

Fort Sumter

Confederate attack that began Civil War.

Civil War

conflict between the Union and Confederacy (1861–1865).

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to blockade and divide the South.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s decree freeing slaves in Confederate states.

Gettysburg

major battle and turning point in 1863.

Vicksburg

Union victory giving control of Mississippi River.

Appomattox Court House

site of Confederate surrender.

Abraham Lincoln

Union president during Civil War.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general and later president.

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general.

Draft riots

violent protests against conscription (primarily in the North).

Homestead Act

provided Western land to settlers to encourage expansion.

Morrill Land‑Grant Act

provided land for colleges teaching agriculture and mechanics.

Pacific Railway Act

supported transcontinental railroad construction.

Reconstruction

period rebuilding South and integrating freed slaves.

Presidential Reconstruction

Lincoln and Johnson’s lenient approach to reuniting the nation.

Wade‑Davis Bill

Congress’s strict Reconstruction plan (vetoed).

Andrew Johnson

president after Lincoln, clashed with Congress over Reconstruction.

Black Codes

laws restricting rights of freed African Americans.

Freedmen’s Bureau

agency aiding freed slaves with food, education, and legal help.

Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction

harsher Reconstruction led by Radical Republicans.

13th Amendment

abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

granted citizenship and equal protection under law.

15th Amendment

prohibited denial of voting rights based on race.

Military Reconstruction Acts

divided South into military districts under federal control.

Tenure of Office Act

restricted presidential removal of officials (led to Johnson’s impeachment).

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

charged for violating Tenure Act.

Carpetbaggers

Northern transplants to the South during Reconstruction.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction.

Sharecropping

labor system tying tenants to land through debt.

Ku Klux Klan

white supremacist group using terror to undermine Reconstruction.

Enforcement Acts

laws to protect African American voting rights.

Compromise of 1877

ended Reconstruction in exchange for Hayes’s presidency.

Reconstruction failure

inability to secure lasting civil rights and economic opportunities for African Americans.

Race relations

postwar social and political interactions between racial groups.