Period 5 Vocab

1844-1877

13th Amendment

Ratified in 1865, it abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

14th Amendment

Ratified in 1868, it granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people.

15th Amendment

Ratified in 1870, it prohibited the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

American Anti-Slavery Society

Founded in 1833, it was a leading abolitionist organization that advocated for the immediate emancipation of enslaved people and racial equality.

Anaconda Plan

A Union military strategy during the Civil War, proposed by General Winfield Scott, aimed at blockading the Confederacy and cutting off its supplies and trade routes.

Appomattox Court House

The site in Virginia where General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865, effectively ending the Civil War.

Battle of Antietam (1862)

A pivotal Civil War battle fought in Maryland, resulting in a tactical draw but a strategic Union victory. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history.

Battle of Gettysburg (1863)

A turning point in the Civil War, this major Union victory ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s second invasion of the North.

Bear Flag Republic

A short-lived, unrecognized republic established by American settlers in California in 1846 before it was annexed by the U.S.

Carpetbaggers

Northern politicians, businesspeople, and opportunists who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often viewed as exploiting the region for political or economic gain.

Charles Sumner

A leading abolitionist and Radical Republican senator who advocated for the end of slavery and civil rights for freedmen.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

A law aimed at guaranteeing African Americans equal rights in public accommodations, transportation, and juries, but it was poorly enforced and declared unconstitutional in 1883.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

The first federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law, passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto.

Clement L. Vallandigham

A prominent Copperhead (Peace Democrat) who opposed the Civil War and was exiled to the South for his anti-war activities.

Compromise of 1850

A package of five laws passed to resolve disputes between slave and free states, including the Fugitive Slave Act, California’s admission as a free state, and the organization of Utah and New Mexico territories.

Compromise of 1877

An informal agreement that resolved the contested 1876 presidential election, resulting in Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Confederate States of America

The government formed by southern states that seceded from the Union in 1861, leading to the Civil War. It was led by President Jefferson Davis.

Crédit Mobilier Scandal

A corruption scandal in the 1870s involving a construction company and government officials, resulting in political fallout during the Grant administration.

Crop-lien system

A system used by Southern farmers after the Civil War where they would pledge a portion of their future crops as collateral for loans, leading to a cycle of debt and poverty.

Crittenden Plan

A failed attempt to avoid Civil War through constitutional amendments protecting slavery in southern states and territories.

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

A landmark Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be American citizens and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the territories.

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued by President Lincoln in 1862 and effective in 1863, it declared all enslaved people in Confederate states to be free.

Ex parte Merriman (1861)

A Supreme Court case where Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that President Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War was unconstitutional, though the ruling was not enforced.

Ex parte Milligan (1866)

A Supreme Court case that ruled it was unconstitutional to try civilians in military tribunals when civilian courts are open.

Exodusters

African Americans who migrated west to Kansas and other areas in the late 1870s in hopes of escaping racial discrimination in the South.

First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas

The first major battle of the Civil War, fought in Virginia in 1861, resulting in a Confederate victory and shattering Northern hopes of a quick victory.

Forty-Niners

The prospectors who arrived in California during the 1849 Gold Rush in search of fortune.

Freedman's Bureau

A federal agency established in 1865 to aid newly freed slaves by providing food, education, medical care, and legal assistance during Reconstruction.

Free Soil movement & party

A political movement and party that opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories, advocating for free land for homesteaders.

Fugitive Slave Act (1854)

Part of the Compromise of 1850, it required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners and imposed penalties on people who aided in their escape.

Gadsden Purchase (1853)

The purchase of land from Mexico in southern Arizona and New Mexico for $10 million, intended for the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad.

George B. McClellan

Union general during the Civil War, known for his cautious approach and failure to decisively defeat Confederate forces, especially at the Battle of Antietam.

Grandfather clause

A legal provision that allowed white voters to bypass literacy tests and poll taxes by proving their ancestors had the right to vote, used to disenfranchise African American voters in the South.

Homestead Act (1862)

A law that provided 160 acres of public land to settlers who would farm it for five years, encouraging westward expansion.

Jefferson Davis

The president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

Jim Crow laws

State and local laws in the South that enforced racial segregation and disenfranchised African Americans from the late 19th century into the 1960s.

John C. Frémont

A military officer, explorer, and politician who was the first presidential candidate of the Republican Party in 1856 and an advocate for abolition.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

A law that allowed settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide whether to permit slavery, leading to violent conflict known as 'Bleeding Kansas'.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist group founded in the South during Reconstruction, aimed at intimidating and violently suppressing African Americans and Republican voters.

Lone Star Republic

The independent nation of Texas from 1836 to 1845 before it was annexed by the U.S.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Morrill Tariff Act (1861)

A law that raised tariffs to protect American industries and fund the Union war effort during the Civil War.

New York Draft Riots (1863)

Violent protests in New York City against the Civil War draft, which were fueled by anger over exemptions that allowed the rich to avoid service.

Ostend Manifesto (1854)

A document that outlined the U.S. desire to purchase Cuba from Spain, and if Spain refused, the U.S. would justify taking it by force.

Pacific Railway Act (1862)

A law that provided federal support for the construction of the first transcontinental railroad.

Panic of 1873

A major economic depression caused by over-speculation in railroads and the collapse of the banking system.

Peace Democrats [Copperheads]

Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and sought an immediate peace settlement with the Confederacy.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that the residents of a territory should decide the issue of slavery for themselves, rather than the federal government.

Preston Brooks

A South Carolina congressman who, in 1856, famously beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane on the Senate floor in response to Sumner’s anti-slavery speech.

Radical Republicans

A faction within the Republican Party during and after the Civil War that advocated for the complete abolition of slavery, full civil rights for African Americans, and harsh Reconstruction policies.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

A law that divided the South into five military districts and required Southern states to draft new constitutions, ratify the 14th Amendment, and allow African American men to vote.

Redeemers

Southern Democrats who sought to restore white supremacy and remove Republican influence from the South after the Civil War.

Republican Party

A political party founded in the 1850s that opposed the expansion of slavery and supported economic modernization and federal power.

Robert E. Lee

The commanding general of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Sam Houston

A leader of Texas independence and the first president of the Republic of Texas; later a U.S. senator and governor of Texas.

Santa Anna

The Mexican general and dictator who led the Mexican army in the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party, often viewed as traitors by their fellow Southerners.

Sharecropping

An agricultural system in which landowners allowed tenants to farm their land in exchange for a share of the crop, often leading to debt and poverty for the sharecroppers.

Sherman's 'March to the Sea'

A destructive military campaign led by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman from Atlanta to Savannah in 1864, aimed at crippling the South’s war effort.

Social Darwinism

A theory that applied Charles Darwin’s ideas of natural selection to human society, used to justify laissez-faire capitalism, imperialism, and racial inequality.

Stephen Austin

An American settler and leader of Texas independence, known as the 'Father of Texas.'

Stephen Douglas

A Democratic senator from Illinois and the architect of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, who ran for president against Abraham Lincoln in 1860.

Ten Percent Plan

Lincoln’s proposal for Reconstruction, which allowed Southern states to rejoin the Union if 10% of voters pledged loyalty to the Union.

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

A law designed to limit President Andrew Johnson’s power by restricting his ability to remove cabinet members without Senate approval.

Thaddeus Stevens

A Radical Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who played a key role in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson and the passage of Reconstruction laws.

Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson

A Confederate general known for his tactical brilliance and leadership, especially during the First Battle of Bull Run and the Shenandoah Valley campaign.

Ulysses S. Grant

The Union general who won the Civil War and became the 18th President of the United States.

Union Party

A temporary coalition of Republicans and War Democrats during the Civil War that supported the war effort and re-election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864.

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)

A proposed Reconstruction plan that required 50% of a state’s white male citizens to swear loyalty before it could rejoin the Union, much stricter than Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan.

War Democrats

Northern Democrats who supported the Civil War and President Lincoln’s efforts to preserve the Union.

Whiskey Ring

A scandal during Grant's administration involving government officials and distillers who cheated the federal government out of whiskey taxes.

Winfield Scott

A senior Union general during the Civil War, known for his 'Anaconda Plan' to defeat the Confederacy.

William H. Seward

Secretary of State under Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, known for negotiating the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.

Wilmot Proviso

A failed proposal in 1846 to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico, which heightened sectional tensions between the North and South.

Writ of habeas corpus

The constitutional protection against unlawful imprisonment, which was suspended by Lincoln during the Civil War.

Zachary Taylor

The 12th President of the United States and a general in the Mexican-American War, known for his military success in the war but short presidency before his death.