APUSH Review Unit 5

1844-1877

James K. Polk

11th President of the United States, known for his expansionist policies including the annexation of Texas, the Oregon Territory settlement, and leading the country during the Mexican-American War.

Harriet Beacher Stowe

Author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which depicted the harsh realities of slavery and helped galvanize the abolitionist movement in the United States.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States, known for leading the nation during the Civil War and delivering the Emancipation Proclamation, which aimed to abolish slavery.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States during the American Civil War, who struggled to maintain unity within the Confederacy and eventually was captured by Union forces.

Hiram Revels

First African American senator in US history, who served from Mississippi during Reconstruction.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable, promoting the belief in American cultural superiority.

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

The 1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American War, resulting in the US acquiring territories that would become California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.

Compromise of 1850

A set of laws aimed at resolving disputes over the expansion of slavery into territories acquired from Mexico. It included provisions such as the admission of California as a free state and stronger fugitive slave laws.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A 1854 law that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, allowing settlers to determine through popular sovereignty whether they would allow slavery, leading to significant conflict and violence known as "Bleeding Kansas."

Dred Scott Decision

A landmark Supreme Court case in 1857 that ruled African Americans could not be American citizens and that Congress lacked authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, exacerbating sectional tensions.

Gettysburg Address

A speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 at the dedication of a cemetery for Union soldiers, emphasizing the principles of human equality and the importance of preserving the Union.

Appomattox Court House

The site of the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865, effectively ending the American Civil War.

Reconstruction Amendments

The Reconstruction Amendments refer to the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution, which were designed to secure rights for former slaves following the Civil War. These amendments abolished slavery, granted citizenship rights, and guaranteed voting rights regardless of race.

Sharecropping

a system of farming where tenants work land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crop.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement that resolved the 1876 presidential election by settling disputes over electoral votes, resulting in Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president and ending Reconstruction.

Effects of Manifest Destiny

The effects included the westward expansion of the United States, the displacement of Native American tribes, and increased tensions over slavery in new territories.

Effects of Anti-Slavery Sentiments

The effects included heightened abolitionist activities, the formation of anti-slavery groups, and increased tensions between free and slave states leading up to the Civil War.

Causes of Civil War

The causes included economic disparities between the North and South, conflicts over states' rights, and the contentious issue of slavery, among others.

Union v. Confederacy

The Union represented the northern states that remained loyal to the federal government during the Civil War, while the Confederacy consisted of the southern states that seceded from the Union, primarily over issues related to slavery and states' rights.

African Americans After/During Reconstruction

faced significant challenges, including persistent discrimination, struggles for civil rights, and attempts to secure economic opportunities in a post-war society. Despite these hurdles, many African Americans sought to exercise their newfound rights and engage in political processes.

Gold Rush

The Gold Rush was a mass migration of people to California in the mid-19th century, sparked by the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848, leading to significant economic and demographic changes in the region.

Mexican American War

A conflict between the United States and Mexico that lasted from 1846 to 1848, resulting in the U.S. acquiring a large portion of Mexico's northern territories, including California and New Mexico.

Dred Scott V. Stanford

the US Supreme Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens and thus could not sue in federal court

Reconstruction

The period following the Civil War during which the U.S. aimed to rebuild the South and integrate formerly enslaved people into society, lasting from 1865 to 1877. It involved significant political and social changes, including the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory.