Period 5: 1844-1877

Manifest Destiny

An American belief coined by John O’Sullivan meaning Americans had the God-given right to expand westward in order to spread their culture, values, and technology.

Oregon Trail

A dangerous path that involved families venturing to Oregon facing bad weather conditions, accidents involving wagons, and conflicts with Native Americans (conflicts with Natives were rare as most encounters between the two groups were friendly).

54 40 or Fight

President James K. Polk’s campaign slogan meaning that the United States would fight to get Oregon territory from Britain.

Texas Revolution (1835-1836)

The causes were that Americans in Texas were angry over the Mexican ban on slavery and the demand that all residents become Catholic. Rebellions began as Texian settlers (mainly Americans) resisted Mexican control. Texan forces, led by Sam Houston, decisively defeated the Mexican army securing Texas’ independence. However, Mexico wouldn’t recognize Texas as an independent nation.

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

The US annexed Texas in 1845, which Mexico saw as an act of war, since it still considered Texas part of its territory. In addition, the US and Mexico disagreed on the border between Texas and Mexico, with the US claiming the Rio Grande as the southern boundary of Texas and Mexico claiming the Nueces River farther to the north. Eventually, these tensions between US and Mexico increased and war broke out. The US won the war.

Sam Houston

When the Mexican government and American settlers began fighting for control over Texas during the Texas Revolution, Houston became one of the American leaders. He became commander in chief of their army that defeated Mexico. He was also significant in gaining the admission of Texas to the United States in 1845.

Wilmot Provisio (1846)

A bill that was never enacted that would not allow slavery in the Mexican Cession. Shows the growing tensions before Civil War

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

This treaty ended the Mexican-American War and gave the United States their present day Southwest.

Mexican Cession

The Mexican Cession is a term that describes the land the US gained from the Mexican-American war.

California Gold Rush (1848)

A discovery of gold in California that led to California's growing population.

Free Soil Party (1848)

A party with the major agenda of not allowing slavery in new Western states so people wouldn’t have to compete with farmers using slave labor

Compromise of 1850

Created by Henry Clay, this plan would attempt to fix the growing debates of the power of free versus slave states in Congress. It would ban slave trade in DC, admit California as a free state, enforce the Fugitive Slave Act in a more harsh manor, give New Mexico and Utah the power to choose if they would like to be slave or free states and give Texas compensation for giving up a part of New Mexico’s territory.

“Positive Good” argument

This was a justification of slavery that meant that slaves benefited from the institution and were not capable of being free citizens. Differed greatly from founders who felt guilty holding slaves but needed to for economic reasons

Underground Railroad

A passage that would help slaves in the South escape to the North.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852)

An anti-slavery book that expressed concerns over treating other people like property and discussed the frustrations with the Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Kansas and Nebraska would choose if they wanted to be slave or free states, which would overturn the deal in Compromise of 1820. Also bitterly divided the Whig party into Cotton Whigs and Conscience Whigs

Bleeding Kansas (1855-1861)

Violence that erupted due to the anti-slvery and pro-slavery debates in Kansas became known as Bleeding Kansas.

Republican Party

Born in 1854, gathering many diverse groups like former Know-Nothings, Abolitionists, Free Soilers, and Conscience Whigs that focused on stopping the expansion of slavery in new western territories.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

The court ruled that slave owners could take their slaves anywhere they wanted to (even above the Missouri Compromise line), as slaves were property and it was not legal to take someone’s property without due process. This meant that slavery could exist anywhere. The chief justice also said that all African Americans were not citizens and therefore could not sue in a federal court.

John Brown and Harpers Ferry Raid (1859)

John Brown stole weapons to arm slaves and planned a rebellion in Harper’s Ferry to end slavery since he saw rebellion as the only way to end it. This rebellion was eventually ended by Virginia’s military.

Significance of the Election of 1860

Caused the secession of South Carolina and the rest of the Confederate States and the start of the Civil War.

Characteristics of North in Civil War (1861-1865)

he North had a central government with an effective president and a better manufacturing industry. However, they suffered from bad military leadership.

Characteristics of South in Civil War (1861-1865)

The South had effective military leadership and were fighting a defensive war. However, they were unable to find assistance from other countries which was one of their biggest strategies and did not have a good manufacturing industry to produce resources.

Anaconda Plan

A plan made during the Civil War by the North which included a naval blockade of the Confederacy, a take over of the Mississippi River and a capture of the Confederacy capital.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

It freed slaves in the Confederacy but did not apply to enslaved people in border states. The Proclamation was issued as a war measure that changed the scope of the war. Enslaved workers in the South could escape to the North, weakening the South’s economy and also giving the Union more soldiers. The British had also just outlawed slavery, so they couldn’t back the Confederates anymore

Gettysburg Address (1863)

A speech delivered by President Lincoln during the American Civil War at the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, following the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. The speech was aimed at unifying the nation and helping redefine the Civil War as not only a conflict over preserving the Union but as a battle for the fundamental principles of equality and democracy.

Ten-Percent Plan (1863)

Allowed Confederate states to return to the union if they had 10% of their voters pledge allegiance to the union, as part of Lincoln’s views of more lienient rejoining requirements

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)

Required 50% of voters instead of 10% to pledge allegiance to the Union as part of a stricter readmission process

13th Amendment

abolished slavery

14th Amendment

gave citizenship to African Americans and therefore equal protections

15th Amendment

gave African American men voting rights

Radical Republicans

They were a more intensely focused sector of the Republican party on Civil Rights and Reconstruction. They did not like Johnson and wanted Congress to be in charge of Reconstruction policy, not the president

Freedmen’s Bureau (1865)

Legislation passed that would assist former slaves to get used to their new lives. It gave food, clothing, shelter, and medical assistance to African Americans.

Reconstruction Acts (1867-1868)

Outlined terms that Southern states had to follow to be readmitted successfully into the Union.

Sharecropping

A farming system in which the owner of a plot of land would allow someone to farm on it for a percentage of their crops. This system was mainly used by African Americans after trying to adjust to the end of slavery and had to farm for others to support themselves and their families. It was an exploitative system as farmers had a hard time giving up their percentage and supporting their family at the same time.

KKK

A white supremacist organization that used forms of intimidation and lynched black people to frighten them.

Black Codes

Similar to slave codes, black codes restricted the lives of black people. They placed restrictions on where they could buy land, where they could shop, etc. They also forced them to work for low wages

Compromise of 1877

In the election of 1876, there was a disagreement in who had won between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden. To compromise, Democrats allowed Republican Hayes to win as long as he removed all troops in Southern states placed during Reconstruction. This allowed Democrats to assume control of the South and therefore ended Reconstruction.

Preemption Acts

Passed during 1830s and 1840s making vast tracts of land available for cheap

Gadsden Purchase (1853)

Contributed to even more land in the Southwest from Mexico

Lecompton Constitution

Resulting from Bleeding Kansas where the proslavery legislature was recognized as legitimate by president Pierce while the antislavery government was deemed fraudulent

New York City Draft Riots (1863)

Working-class men riot in New York because of draft dodging fee that only the rich could afford

First Battle of Bull Run (1861)

Union troops meet Confederate troops in Bull Run, Virginia. Union starts strong but Confederacy forces them to retreat with backup from Stonewall Jackson. Shows that the war will not be quick and easy for either side.

Fort Sumter

Where first shots of the war were fired as Confederate forces fired on Union supplying the fort, starting the war

Battle of Vicksburg (1863)

Union gained control of the Mississippi River under General Grant, meaning the plan of splitting the Confederacy in half was complete

Sherman’s March to the Sea (1864)

March by Union forces from Atlanta to Savannah with a scorched earth plan to destruction to make southern recovery impossible and devastate Southern infrastructure

Meeting at Appomattox Courthouse (1865)

Confederate Lee surrenders to Union Grant and war is over

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Protected citizenship of black people and gave them equal protection under laws. Congress overrides Johnson’s veto of it and want to protect it under Constitution, leading to Reconstruction Amendments

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

After Johnson violated the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 passed by Congressional Republicans who want him out, they held an impeachment trial and were unsuccessful by one vote in the Senate. The process made him essentially powerless to direct future policies of Reconstruction.

National Woman Suffrage Association

After 15th Amendment split women’s rights movement, it was formed by Stanton and Anthony which continued to fight for the vote and is upset over 15th Amendment not including women

American Woman Suffrage Association

After women’s rights movement split, it was formed by others like Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell who were disappointed but argued the importance of supporting Reconstruction efforts federally while working for suffrage on state levels

The Liberator

Abolitionist newspaper by William Lloyd Garrison that helped the abolitionist sentiment spread throughout the North despite them being the minority