All APUSH Vocab

Trail of Tears

The Cherokee Indians were forced to leave their lands. They traveled from North Carolina and Georgia through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas-more than 800 miles (1,287 km)-to the Indian Territory. More than 4, 00 Cherokees died of cold, disease, and lack of food during the 116-day journey.

Nullification Crisis

South was mad about the Tariff of Abominations. John C. Calhoun supported States' Rights and said they had a right to nullify a law. In 1832 the tariff was lowered. South Carolina passed the Nullification Act, and threatened to secede; Jackson was furious, so he passed the Force Bill which said that Jackson can use the army to enforce the tariff

Pet Banks

A term used by Jackson's opponents to describe the state banks that the federal government used for new revenue deposits in an attempt to destroy the Second Bank of the United States; the practice continued after the charter for the Second Bank expired in 1836.

Specie Circular

issued by President Jackson July 11, 1836, was meant to stop land speculation caused by states printing paper money without proper specie (gold or silver) backing it. It required that the purchase of public lands be paid for in specie. It stopped the land speculation and the sale of public lands went down sharply. The panic of 1837 followed.

Church of Latter-Day Saints

AKA Mormons. Founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith, the sect was a product of the intense revivalism of the burned-over district of New York; Smith's successor Brigham Young led 15,000 followers to Utah in 1847 to escape persecution.

Henry David Thoreau

American transcendentalist who was against a government that supported slavery. He wrote down his beliefs in Walden. He started the movement of civil-disobedience when he refused to pay the toll-tax to support him Mexican War.

James Fenimore Cooper

one of the nation's first writers of importance; attained recognition in the 1820's; changed the mood of national literature, started textbooks in America being written by Americans, two pieces of his literature include THE SPY and THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, American themes-example of the nationalism after the Revolution and War of 1812. (pg. 212-213).

Temperance

Restraining the drinking of alcohol.

Women's Christian Temperance

The largest and longest all woman organization in the world. Against consumption of alcohol

issues such as domestic violence, poverty, and children's education.

Founded in 1874

Union

The North? Wtf how is this a vocab term.

Dorothea Dix

A reformer and pioneer in the movement to treat the insane as mentally ill, beginning in the 1820's, she was responsible for improving conditions in jails, poorhouses and insane asylums throughout the U.S. and Canada. She succeeded in persuading many states to assume responsibility for the care of the mentally ill. She served as the Superintendant of Nurses for the Union Army during the Civil War.

Thomas Gallaudet

studied techniques for instructing hearing impaired people and established the first american school for the hearing impaired

Grimke Sisters

Angelina and Sarah Grimke wrote and lectured vigorously on reform causes such as prison reform, the temperance movement, and the abolitionist movement.

Panic of 1837

Ecnomic downturn caused by loose lending practices of stat banks' and overspeculation. Martin Van Buren spent most of his time in office attempting to stablize and lessen the economic situation that was created during Jackon's presidency.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

First women's rights convention in American History. Issued "Declaration of Sentiments"-declared "all men and women are created equal" and listed women's grievances against laws and customs that discriminated against them.

The Liberator

An anti-slavery newspaper written by William Lloyd Garrison. It drew attention to abolition, both positive and negative, causing a war of words between supporters of slavery and those opposed.

Frederick Douglass

one of the most prominent african american figures in the abolitionist movement. escaped from slavery in maryland. he was a great thinker and speaker. published his own antislavery newspaper called the north star and wrote an autobiography that was published in 1845.

Harriet Tubman

United States abolitionist born a slave on a plantation in Maryland and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad leading other slaves to freedom in the North (1820-1913)

Manifest Destiny

This expression was popular in the 1840s. Many people believed that the U.S. was destined to secure territory from "sea to sea," from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This rationale drove the acquisition of territory.

Alamo

the mission in San Antonio where in 1836 Mexican forces under Santa Anna besieged and massacred American rebels who were fighting to make Texas independent of Mexico

Aroostook War

Maine lumberjacks camped along the Aroostook Rive in Maine in 1839 tried to oust Canadian rivals. Militia were called in from both sides until the Webster Ashburn - Treaty was signed. Took place in disputed territory.

Oregon Territory

For twenty years, the British and the United States agreed to jointly occupy this region. But in the mid-1840s this region became a political issue in the United States, with many expansionists willing to risk war to get all of the territory, including present-day British Columbia (54 40 or fight!). In 1846, Britain and the United States agreed to extend the 49th Parallel, forming the modern border between Canada and the United States. The settlers quickly applied for territorial status, which Congress granted in 1849. The territory was gradually split up, and in 1859, it—with its present borders—became the 33rd state.

54 40 or Fight!

An aggressive slogan adopted in the Oregon boundary dispute, a dispute over where the border between Canada and Oregon should be drawn. This was also Polk's slogan - the Democrats wanted the U.S. border drawn at the 54º40' latitude. Polk settled for the 49º latitude in 1846.

Mexican-American War

1846 - 1848 - President Polk declared war on Mexico over the dispute of land in Texas. At the end, American ended up with 55% of Mexico's land.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

agreement that ended the Mexican War; under its terms Mexico gave up all claims to Texas north of the Rio Grande and ceded California and the Utah and New Mexico territories to the United States. The United States paid Mexico fifteen million dollars for the lands, but the land cession amounted to nearly half that nation's territory.

Mexican Cession

Historical name for the region of the present day southwestern United States that was ceded to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican-American War. This massive land grab was significant because the question of extending slavery into newly acquired territories had become the leading national political issue.

Wilmot Proviso

Bill that would ban slavery in the territories acquired after the War with Mexico (1846). Shot down and was not passed.

Ostend Manifesto (1852)

Franklin Pierce adopted a pro southern polices and dispatched three American diplomat to Ostend, Spain, where they secretly negotiated to but Cuba from Spain. Angry reactions were created and he was forced to drop the scheme.

Gadsden Purchase (1853)

U.S. acquisition of land south of the Gila River from Mexico for $10 million; the land was needed for a possible transcontinental railroad line through the southern United States. However, the route was never used.

Panic of 1857

Economic downturn caused by overspeculation of western lands, railroads, gold in California, grain. Mostly affected northerners, who called for higher tariffs and free homesteads. South was unaffected because of the cotton economy.

Free Soil

the belief that slavery must be kept out of the Western territories, for the sake of preserving Northern free labor. Didn't actually even like blacks.

Conscience Whigs

Anti-slavery whigs who opposed both the Texas annexation and the Mexican War on moral grounds.

Popular Sovreignty

people in a territory get to vote on whether their territory = slave or free territory. Supported by Democrats, especially Stephen Douglas.

Compromise of 1850

it abolished the slave trade in the District of Columbia, admitted California as a free state and opened much of the Mexican Cession to popular sovereignty. Benefited the North much more than the South. Shafted the Missouri Compromise.

Stephen A. Douglas

an Illinois statesman who ran against Lincoln, Bell, and Breckenridge in the 1860 presidential election on a popular sovereignty platform for slavery, Douglas also authored the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and heightened the slavery debate

Fugitive Slave Law

Enacted by Congress in 1793 and 1850, these laws provided for the return of escaped slaves to their owners. The North was lax about enforcing the 1793 law, with irritated the South no end. The 1850 law was tougher and was aimed at eliminating the underground railroad.

Underground Railroad

a system that helped enslaved African Americans follow a network of escape routes out of the South to freedom in the North

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1853 that highly influenced england's view on the American Deep South and slavery. a novel promoting abolition. intensified sectional conflict.

The Impending Crisis of the South

A book written by Hinton Helper. Helper hated both slavery and blacks and used this book to try to prove that non-slave owning whites were the ones who suffered the most from slavery. The non-aristocrat from N.C. had to go to the North to find a publisher that would publish his book.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An act made to decide if the Kansas-Nebraska territory would be slave or free by popular sovereignty. The dispute strengthened the rift between the north and south states. Ended the Missouri Compromise. 1854

Republican Party

Political party that believed in the non-expansion of slavery and comprised of Whigs, Northern Democrats, and Free-Soilers, in defiance to the Slave Powers

Bleeding Kansas

A sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro-Slavery elements that took place in Kansas-Nebraska Territory. The dispute further strained the relations of the North and South, making civil war imminent.

John Brown

violent abolitionist who murdered slaveholders in Kansas and Missouri (1856-1858) before his raid at Harpers Ferry (1859), hoping to incite a slave rebellion; he failed and was executed, but his martyrdom by northern abolitionists frightened the South.

Sumner-Brooks Incident

Sumner was an MA senator and unyielding foe of slavery. He was physically attacked by Senator Brooks of SC in retaliation for a two-day speech made denouncing the proslavery Missourians who had crossed into Kansas and Brook's pro-slavery uncle who supported the Missourians- showed the split of the government. 1856

LeCompton Constitution

Supported the existence of slavery in the proposed state and protected rights of slaveholders. It was rejected by Kansas, making Kansas an eventual free state.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857 Supreme Court decision that stated that slaves were not citizens; that living in a free state or territory, even for many years, did not free slaves; and declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. More importantly, ruled that Congress had no right to declare an area banned from slavery since property was protected by the constitution.

Abraham Lincoln

Vampire Hunter., 16th President of the United States saved the Union during the Civil War and emancipated the slaves; was assassinated by Booth (1809-1865)

Freeport Doctrine

Doctrine developed by Stephen Douglas that said the exclusion of slavery in a territory could be determined by the refusal of the voters to enact any laws that would protect slave property. It was unpopular with Southerners, and thus cost him the election.

Election of 1860

The election in which Abraham Lincoln was first elected President due to the schism of the Democrats. Caused a chain reaction of southern states to secede from the Union since they were afraid of Lincoln's policies.

Crittenden Compromise

A last-ditch effort to resolve the secession crisis by compromise. It proposed to bar the government from intervening in the states' decision of slavery, to restore the Missouri Compromise, and to guarantee protection of slavery below the line. Lincoln rejected the proposal, causing the gateway to bloodshed to be open.

Border States

Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri; these slave states stayed in the Union and were crucial to Lincoln's political and military strategy. He feared alienating them with emancipation of slaves and adding them to the Confederate cause.

Anaconda Plan

Union war plan by Winfield Scott, called for blockade of southern coast, capture of Richmond, capture Mississippi R, and to take an army through heart of south

Antietam

(AL), 1862, the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with almost 23,000 casualties. After this "win" for the North, Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation

issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, it declared that all slaves in the rebellious Confederate states would be free

Thirteenth Amendment

the constitutional amendment ratified after the Civil War that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude

Copperheads

Most extreme portion of the Peace Democrats. They openly obstructed the war through attacks against the draft, against Lincoln, and the emancipation. Based in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. There was really no victory for this group.

Draft riots

Mob violence opposing conscription laws during the Civil War; the most violent occurred in New York City (July 1863).

Morrill Tariff Act (1861)

a major protectionist tariff bill instituted in the US. It was signed into law by Democratic president, Buchanan. The tax is significant for severely altering American commercial policy after a period of relative free trade to several decades of heavy protection. It replaced the Tariff of 1857. It was a contentious issue that fueled sectional disputes on the eve of the Civil War.

Homestead Act (1862)

encouraged westward settlement by allowing heads of families to buy 160 acres of land for a small fee ($10-30); settlers were required to develop and remain on the land for five years. Over 400,000 families got land through this law.

Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)

another one of the Government's acts worked to encourage more settlers into the Great Plains (passed along with the Homestead Act of 1862). the Act set aside land and provided money for agricultural colleges, eventually, agricultural science became a huge industry

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)

harsh Congressional Reconstruction bill that provided the president would appoint provisional governments for conquered states until a majority of voters took an oath of loyalty to the Union; it required the abolition of slavery by new state constitutions, the disenfranchisement of Confederate officials, and the repudiation of Confederate debt. Lincoln killed the bill with a pocket veto

Freedmen's Bureau

1865 - Agency set up to aid former slaves in adjusting themselves to freedom. It furnished food and clothing to needy blacks and helped them get jobs.

14th Amendment

This amendment declared that all persons born or naturalized in the United States were entitled equal rights regardless of their race, and that their rights were protected at both the state and national levels.

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

It was a measure passed by Congress in 1867 that prohibited the president from dismissing anyone whose appointment had required the consent of the Senate unless the Senate agreed to the dismissal. Passed because Johnson would violate it, it started the impeachment crisis.

Edwin Stanton

Secretary of War appointed by Lincoln. President Andrew Johnson dismissed him in spite of the Tenure of Office Act, and as a result, Congress wanted Johnson's impeachment.

Impeachment

The political equivalent of an indictment in criminal law, prescribed by the Constitution. The House of representatives may impeach the president by a majority vote for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

15th Amendment

Ratified 1870. One of the "Reconstruction Amendments". Provided that no government in the United States shall prevent a citizen from voting based on the citizen's race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Scalawags

Southern whites in the Republican party during Reconstruction; term has come to mean "scoundrels" or "worthless rascals". Honestly have no idea....

Carpetbaggers

northern whites who moved to the south and served as republican leaders during reconstruction

Ku Klux Klan

a secret society created by white southerners in 1866 that used terror and violence to keep African Americans from obtaining their civil rights

Redeemers

Largely former slave owners who were the bitterest opponents of the Republican program in the South. Staged a major counterrevolution to "redeem" the south by taking back southern state governments. Their foundation rested on the idea of racism and white supremacy. Redeemer governments waged an aggressive assault on African Americans.

Force Acts

These acts were passed in 1870 and 1871. They were created to put a stop to the torture and harassment of blacks by whites, especially by hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. These acts gave power to the government to use its forces to physically end the problems.

Rutherford B. Hayes

19th President, ended reconstruction by removing federal troops, disputed Tilden/Hayes election resulted in the Compromise of 1877

Samuel J. Tilden

Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 - August 4, 1886) was the Democratic candidate for the US presidency in the disputed election of 1876, the most controversial American election of the 19th century.

Compromise of 1877

Unwritten deal that settled the 1876 presidential election contest between Rutherford Hayes (Rep) and Samuel Tilden (Dem.) Hayes was awarded the presidency in exchange for the permanent removal of federal troops from the South. Ended Reconstruction.

Articles of Confederation

this document, the nations first constitution, was adopted by the second continental congress in 1781 during the revolution. the document was limited because states held most of the power, and congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or control coinage

Land Ordinance of 1785

It set up how the new land gained after the revolution would be distributed and organized. The ordinance set up townships that were 36 sq miles where each plot of land was 1 sq mile and the 16th plot was sold for public schooling. The action was a huge success for the new government; it prevented a second revolution and was used for the later frontier states.

Shays' Rebellion

Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Constitutional Convention

The meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia called to revise the Articles of Confederation. It instead designed a new plan of government, the US Constitution.

James Madison

The fourth President of the United States (1809-1817). A member of the Continental Congress (1780-1783) and the Constitutional Convention (1787), he strongly supported ratification of the Constitution and was a contributor to The Federalist Papers (1787-1788), which argued the effectiveness of the proposed constitution. His presidency was marked by the War of 1812.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan was presented to the Constitutional Convention and proposed the creation of a bicameral legislature with representation in both houses proportional to population. The Virginia Plan favored the large states, which would have a much greater voice. In opposition, the small states proposed the New Jersey Plan. In the end, the two sides found common ground through the Connecticut Compromise.

New Jersey Plan

New Jersey delegate William Paterson's plan of government, in which states got an equal number of representatives in Congress

Connecticut Plan

called for a two-house Congress in which both types of representation would be applied, and is also known as the Compromise Plan.

Great Compromise

the agreement by which Congress would have two houses, the Senate (where each state gets equal representation-two senators) and the House of Representatives (where representation is based on population).

House of Representatives

One of the two parts of Congress, considered the "lower house." Representatives are elected directly by the people, with the number of representatives for each state determined by the state's population.

Senate

this side of the legislative branch has an equal number of representatives from each state

Three-Fifths Compromise

the agreement by which the number of each state's representatives in Congress would be based on a count of all the free people plus three-fifths of the slaves

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution that were led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. They firmly believed the national government should be strong. They didn't want the Bill of Rights because they felt citizens' rights were already well protected by the Constitution.

Anti-Federalists

They opposed the ratification of the Constitution because it gave more power to the federal government and less to the states, and because it did not ensure individual rights. Many wanted to keep the Articles of Confederation. The Antifederalists were instrumental in obtaining passage of the Bill of Rights as a prerequisite to ratification of the Constitution in several states. After the ratification of the Constitution, the Antifederalists regrouped as the Democratic-Republican (or simply Republican) party.

The Federalist Papers

This collection of essays by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, explained the importance of a strong central government. It was published to convince New York to ratify the Constitution.

Cabinet

persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers. Begun by George Washington.

Judiciary Act (1789)

In 1789 Congress passed this Act which created the federal-court system. The act managed to quiet popular apprehensions by establishing in each state a federal district court that operated according to local procedures.

Supreme Court

The pinnacle of the American judicial system. The court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states, and maintains national supremacy in law. It has both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction, but unlike other federal courts, it controls its own agenda.

Tariffs

taxes on imports or exports

National Bank

Hamilton's big idea; fiercely opposed by Jefferson and Democratic-Rep. The bank would regulate money and draw investors; showed that the constitution could be construed in many a way.

Excise Tax

Tax created by Hamilton on whiskey.

Right of Deposit

Granted by Spain to America so that Americnas could transfer cargo in New Orleans without paying duties to the Spanish government

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Popular uprising of Whiskey distillers in southwestern Pennsylvania in opposition to an excise tax on Whiskey. In a show of strength and resolve by the new central government, Washington put down the rebellion with militia drawn from several states.

XYZ Affair

An insult to the American delegation when they were supposed to be meeting French foreign minister, Talleyrand, but instead they were sent 3 officials Adams called "X,Y, and Z" that demanded $250,000 as a bribe to see Talleyrand.