APUSH unit 4 - chapters 15-18

West Africa Squadron

British Royal Navy force formed to enforce the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. It intercepted hundreds of slave ships and freed thousands of Africans.

black belt

Region of the Deep South with the highest concentration of slaves. The “black belt” emerged in the nineteenth century as cotton production became more profitable and slavery expanded south and west.

breakers

Slave drivers who employed the lash to brutally “break” the souls of strong-willed slaves.

responsorial

Call and response style of preaching that melded Christian and African traditions. Practiced by African slaves in the South.

Nat Turner’s rebellion

Virginia slave revolt that resulted in the deaths of sixty whites and raised fears among white southerners of further uprisings.

Amistad

Spanish slave ship dramatically seized off the coast of Cuba by the enslaved Africans aboard. The ship was driven ashore in Long Island and the slaves were put on trial. Former president John Quincy Adams argued their case before the Supreme Court, securing their eventual release.

American Colonization Society

Reflecting the focus of early abolitionists on transporting freed blacks back to Africa, the organization established Liberia, a West African settlement intended as a haven for emancipated slaves.

Liberia

West African nation founded in 1822 as a haven for freed blacks, fifteen thousand of whom made their way back across the Atlantic by the 1860s.

An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World

Incendiary abolitionist tract advocating the violent overthrow of slavery. Published by David Walker, a southern-born free black.

The Liberator

Antislavery newspaper published by William Lloyd Garrison, who called for the immediate emancipation of all slaves.

American Anti-Slavery Society

Abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison, who advocated the immediate abolition of slavery. By 1838, the organization had more than 250,000 members across 1350 chapters.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Vivid autobiography of the escaped slave and renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Mason-Dixon line

Originally drawn by surveyors to resolve the boundaries between Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia in the 1760s, it came to symbolize the North-South divide over slavery.

Gag Resolution

Prohibited debate or action on antislavery appeals. Driven through the House by proslavery southerners, the Gag Resolution passed every year for eight years and was eventually overturned with the help of John Quincy Adams.

slave narratives

Eighteenth and nineteenth century accounts of slavery written by former slaves, most of whom had escaped from bondage. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration recorded oral histories with former slaves, which added to the body of personal testimonies about slavery by the enslaved.

Nat Turner

(1800-1831) Black slave who led an ill-fated rebellion in Virginia in 1831. The deeply religious Turner sought a violent overthrow to the sinful institution of slavery. Before they were apprehended, Turner and his followers murdered more than sixty whites, sending a shockwave throughout the South.

William Lloyd Garrison

(1805-1879) Ardent abolitionist and publisher of The Liberator, an antislavery newspaper that advocated the immediate emancipation of slaves. In 1833, Garrison founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, which became the largest abolitionist organization in the North, counting more than 250,000 members by 1838.

David Walker

(1796-1830) Black abolitionist and author of the incendiary Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, which advocated a bloody end to white supremacy.

Sojourner Truth

(1799-1883) Black abolitionist, preacher, and women’s rights activist, who worked tirelessly on behalf of slaves and freed blacks.

Frederick Douglass

(1818-1895) Prominent back abolitionist, whose autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, detailed his experience in bondage and his daring escape to the North. More practical than many of his fellow abolitionists, Douglass looked to politics to put an end to slavery. After the Civil War, he continued to write and speak on behalf of blacks, calling on the federal government to help ensure economic independence for newly freed slaves.

Tariff of 1842

Protective measure passed by Congressional Whigs, raising tariffs to pre–compromise tariff of 1833 rates.

Caroline

Diplomatic row between the United States and Britain. Developed after British troops set fire to an American steamer carrying supplies across the Niagara River to Canadian insurgents, during Canada’s short-lived insurrection.

Creole

American ship captured by a group of rebelling Virginia slaves. The slaves successfully sought asylum in the Bahamas, raising fears among southern planters that the British West Indies would become a safe haven for runaway slaves.

Aroostook War

Series of clashes between American and Canadian lumberjacks in the disputed territory of northern Maine, resolved when a permanent boundary was agreed upon in 1842.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the United States was destined by God to spread its “empire of liberty” across North America. Served as a justification for mid-nineteenth-century expansionism.

“Fifty-four forty or fight”

Slogan adopted by mid-nineteenth-century expansionists who advocated the occupation of Oregon Territory, jointly held by Britain and the United States. Though President Polk had pledged to seize all of Oregon, to 54^40’ , he settled on the forty-ninth parallel as a compromise with the British.

Liberty party

Antislavery party that ran candidates in the 1840 and 1844 elections before merging with the Free Soil party. Supporters of the Liberty party sought the eventual abolition of slavery, but in the short term hoped to halt the expansion of slavery into the territories and abolish the domestic slave trade.

Walker Tariff

Revenue-enhancing measure that lowered tariffs from 1842 levels, thereby fueling trade and increasing Treasury receipts.

spot resolutions

Measures introduced by Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln, questioning President James K. Polk’s justification for war with Mexico. Lincoln requested that Polk clarify precisely where Mexican forces had attacked American troops.

California Bear Flag Republic

Short-lived California republic, established by local American settlers who revolted against Mexico. Once news of the war with Mexico reached the Americans, they abandoned the Republic in favor of joining the United States.

Battle of Buena Vista

Key American victory against Mexican forces in the Mexican War. Elevated General Zachary Taylor to national prominence and helped secure his success in the 1848 presidential election.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Ended the war with Mexico. Mexico agreed to cede territory reaching northwest from Texas to Oregon in exchange for $18.25 million in cash and assumed debts.

Conscience Whigs

Northern Whigs who opposed slavery on moral grounds. Conscience Whigs sought to prevent the annexation of Texas as a slave state, fearing that the new slave territory would only serve to buttress the southern “slave power.”

Wilmot Proviso

Amendment that sought to prohibit slavery from territories acquired from Mexico. Introduced by Pennsylvania congressman David Wilmot, the failed amendment ratcheted up tensions between North and South over the issue of slavery.

John Tyler

(1790-1862) Tenth president of the United States. A Whig in name only, Tyler opposed central tenets of the Whig platform, including tariffs, internal improvements, and a national bank.

James K. Polk

(1795-1849) Eleventh president of the United States. A North Carolina Democrat, largely unknown on the national stage, Polk campaigned on a platform of American expansion, advocating the annexation of Texas and the "reoccupation" of Oregon. As president, Polk provoked war with Mexico, which added vast tracts of land to the United States but led to a bitter sectional conflict over the expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories.

John C. Frémont

(1813-1890) Explorer who helped overthrow the Mexican government in California after the outbreak of war with Mexico. He later ran for president as the Republican nominee in 1856 but lost the election to Democratic candidate James Buchanan.

Winfield Scott

(1786-1866) Military officer and presidential candidate, Scott first made a name for himself as a hero of the War of 1812. During the war with Mexico, he led the American campaign against Mexico City, overcoming tremendous handicaps to lead his men to victory. He later made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1852 as the Whig candidate.

Nicholas P. Trist

(1800-1874) American diplomat who negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which ended the Mexican War and through which the United States acquired a vast amount of territory from Mexico.

David Wilmot

(1814-1868) Pennsylvania congressman best known for his "Wilmot Proviso," a failed amendment that would have prohibited slavery from any of the territories acquired from Mexico. He later went on to help organize the Free Soil and Republican parties, supporting Abraham Lincoln in 1860.

fire-eaters

Southern nationalists characterized by unapologetic defenses of the South and slavery. Their radicalism and political brinksmanship won them attention and popularity among white Southerners.

popular sovereignty

Notion advanced before the Civil War that the sovereign people of a given territory should decide whether to allow slavery. Seemingly a compromise, it was largely opposed by northern abolitionists, who feared it would promote the spread of slavery to the territories.

Free Soil party

Antislavery party in the 1848 and 1852 elections that opposed the extension of slavery into the territories, arguing that the presence of slavery would limit opportunities for free laborers.

California gold rush

Inflow of thousands of miners to northern California after news reports of the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in January of 1848 had spread around the world by the end of that year. The onslaught of migrants prompted Californians to organize a government and apply for statehood in 1849.

Underground Railroad

Informal network of volunteers that helped runaway slaves escape from the South and reach free-soil Canada. Seeking to halt the flow of runaway slaves to the North, southern planters and congressmen pushed for a stronger fugitive slave law.

Seventh of March speech

Daniel Webster’s impassioned address urging the North to support the Compromise of 1850. Webster argued that topography and climate would keep slavery from becoming entrenched in Mexican Cession territory and urged northerners to make all reasonable concessions to prevent disunion.

Compromise of 1850

Admitted California as a free state, opened New Mexico and Utah to popular sovereignty, ended the slave trade (but not slavery itself) in Washington, D.C., and introduced a more stringent fugitive slave law. Widely opposed in both the North and South, it did little to settle the escalating dispute over slavery.

Fugitive Slave Law

Passed as part of the Compromise of 1850, it set high penalties for anyone who aided escaped slaves and compelled all law enforcement officers to participate in retrieving runaways. Strengthened the antislavery cause in the North.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

Signed by Great Britain and the United States, it provided that the two nations would jointly protect the neutrality of Central America and that neither power would seek to fortify or exclusively control any future isthmian waterway. Later revoked by the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901, which gave the United States control of the Panama Canal.

Ostend Manifesto

Secret Franklin Pierce administration proposal to purchase or, that failing, to wrest militarily Cuba from Spain. Once leaked, it was quickly abandoned due to vehement opposition from the North.

Opium War

War between Britain and China over trading rights, particularly Britain’s desire to continue selling opium to Chinese traders. The resulting trade agreement prompted Americans to seek similar concessions from the Chinese.

Treaty of Wanghia

Signed by the United States and China, it assured the United States the same trading concessions granted to other powers, greatly expanding America’s trade with the Chinese.

Treaty of Kanagawa

Ended Japan’s two-hundred-year period of economic isolation, establishing an American consulate in Japan and securing American coaling rights in Japanese ports.

Gadsden Purchase

Acquired additional land from Mexico for $10 million to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Proposed that the issue of slavery be decided by popular sovereignty in the Kansas and Nebraska Territories, thus revoking the 1820 Missouri Compromise. Introduced by Stephen Douglas in an effort to bring Nebraska into the Union and pave the way for a northern transcontinental railroad.

Zachary Taylor

(1784-1850) Military general and twelfth U.S. president, Taylor emerged as a popular war hero after defeating Santa Anna’s forces at Buena Vista in the war with Mexico. As president, Taylor, a Louisiana slave owner, sought to avoid a sectional confrontation over slavery, though he opposed the Compromise of 1850.

Harriet Tubman

(ca. 1820-1913) Famed conductor on the Underground Railroad, Tubman helped rescue more than three hundred slaves from bondage. Born into slavery, she fled to the North in 1849 but returned to the South nineteen times to guide slaves to freedom. After the Civil War, she worked to give freedpeople access to education in North Carolina.

Millard Fillmore

(1800-1874) New York congressman and vice president under Taylor, Fillmore took over the presidency after Taylor’s death in 1850. A practical politician, he threw his support behind the Compromise of 1850, ensuring its passage. He was passed over for the Whig nomination in 1852 when the party chose to select the legendary war hero Winfield Scott.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s widely read novel that dramatized the horrors of slavery. It heightened northern support for abolition and escalated the sectional conflict.

The Impending Crisis of the South

Antislavery tract, written by white southerner Hinton R. Helper, arguing that nonslaveholding whites actually suffered most in a slave economy.

New England Emigrant Aid Company

Organization created to facilitate the migration of free laborers to Kansas in order to prevent the establishment of slavery in the territory.

Lecompton Constitution

Proposed Kansas constitution, whose ratification was unfairly rigged so as to guarantee slavery in the territory. Initially ratified by proslavery forces, it was later voted down when Congress required that the entire constitution be put up for a vote.

Bleeding Kansas

Civil war in Kansas over the issue of slavery in the territory, fought intermittently until 1861, when it merged with the wider national Civil War.

Dred Scott v. Stanford

Supreme Court decision that extended federal protection to slavery by ruling that Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in any territory. Also declared that slaves, as property, were not citizens of the United States.

panic of 1857

Financial crash brought on by gold-fueled inflation, overspeculation, and excess grain production. Raised calls in the North for higher tariffs and for free homesteads on western public lands.

Tariff of 1857

Lowered duties on imports in response to a high Treasury surplus and pressure from southern farmers.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

Series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas during the U.S. Senate race in Illinois. Douglas won the election, but Lincoln gained national prominence and emerged as the leading candidate for the 1860 Republican nomination.

Freeport question

Raised during one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates by Abraham Lincoln, who asked whether the Court or the people should decide the future of slavery in the territories.

Freeport Doctrine

Declared that since slavery could not exist without laws to protect it, territorial legislatures, not the Supreme Court, would have the final say on the slavery question. First argued by Stephen Douglas in 1858 in response to Abraham Lincoln’s “Freeport question.”

Harpers Ferry

Federal arsenal in Virginia seized by abolitionist John Brown in 1859. Though Brown was later captured and executed, his raid alarmed southerners, who believed that northerners shared in Brown’s extremism.

Constitutional Union party

Formed by moderate Whigs and Know-Nothings in an effort to elect a compromise candidate and avert a sectional crisis.

Crittenden amendments

Failed constitutional amendments that would have given federal protection for slavery in all territories south of 36^30’ where slavery was supported by popular sovereignty. Proposed in an attempt to appease the South.

Confederate States of America

Government established after seven southern states seceded from the Union. Later joined by four more states from the upper South.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

(1811-1896) Connecticut-born abolitionist and author of the best-selling Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel that awakened millions of northerners to the cruelty of slavery.

Henry ward Beecher

(1813-1887) Preacher, reformer, and abolitionist, Beecher was the son of famed evangelist Lyman Beecher and brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe. In the 1850s, he helped raise money to support the New England Emigrant Aid Company in its efforts to keep slavery out of Kansas Territory. After the Civil War, Beecher emerged as perhaps the best-known Protestant minister, in part because of his ability to adapt Christianity to fit the times, emphasizing the compatibility of religion, science, and modernity.

James Buchanan

(1791-1868) Fifteenth president of the United States, Buchanan, a Pennsylvania-born Democrat, sympathized with the South and opposed any federal interference with its "peculiar institution." As president, he supported Kansas’s Lecompton Constitution and opposed the Homestead Act, antagonizing northern Democrats and hopelessly splitting the Democratic party.

Charles Sumner

(1811-1874) Massachusetts senator and abolitionist, Sumner opposed the extension of slavery, speaking out passionately on the civil war in Kansas. Sumner is best known for the caning he received at the hands of Preston Brooks on the Senate floor in 1856. After his recovery, he returned to the Senate and led the radical Republican coalition against Andrew Johnson during Reconstruction.

Preston S. Brooks

(1819-1857) Fiery South Carolina congressman who senselessly caned Charles Sumner on the Senate floor in 1856. His violent temper flared in response to Sumner’s "Crime Against Kansas" speech, in which the Massachusetts senator threw bitter insults at the southern slaveocracy, singling out Brooks’s South Carolina colleague, Senator Andrew Butler.

Dred Scott

(1800-1858) Black slave who sued his master for freedom, triggering the landmark Supreme Court decision that extended federal protection for slavery in the territories. Backed by abolitionists, he based his case on the five years he spent with his master in free-soil Illinois and Wisconsin.

Roger B. Taney

(1777-1864) Chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1836 to 1864, Taney overturned Marshall’s strict emphasis on contract rights, ruling in favor of community interest in the famous Charles River Bridge case in 1837. Maryland-born Taney also presided over the landmark Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress had no power to restrict slavery in the territories.

Stephen A. Douglas

(1813-1861) U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate, Douglas played a key role in passing the Compromise of 1850, though he inadvertently reignited sectional tensions in 1854 by proposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In 1858, Douglas famously sparred with Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas debates, defeating Lincoln in the Senate race that year but losing to the Illinois Republican in the presidential election of 1860.

Abraham Lincoln

(1809-1865) Sixteenth president of the United States. An Illinois lawyer and politician, Lincoln briefly served in Congress from 1847 to 1848, when he introduced the famous "spot" resolutions on the Mexican War. He gained national prominence in 1858 during the Lincoln-Douglas debates in the Illinois senate race and emerged as the leading contender for the Republican nomination in 1860. Lincoln’s election in 1860 drove South Carolina from the Union, eventually leading to the Civil War.

John Brown

(1800-1859) Radical abolitionist who launched an attack on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in an effort to lead slaves in a violent uprising against their owners. Brown, who first took up arms against slavery during the Kansas civil war, was captured shortly after he launched his ill-conceived raid on the armory and was sentenced to hang.

John C. Breckinridge

(1821-1875) Vice president under James Buchanan, Breckinridge ran as the candidate of the southern wing of the Democratic party in 1860 and lost the election to Abraham Lincoln. A Kentucky slave owner, Breckinridge acknowledged the South’s right to secede but worked tirelessly to hammer out a compromise in the weeks before Lincoln’s inauguration. Once the Civil War began, he served as a Confederate general, briefly serving as Jefferson Davis’s secretary of war in 1865.

John Jordan Crittenden

(1787-1863) U.S. senator from Kentucky who introduced a compromise in 1860 in an effort to avoid a civil war. Crittenden proposed to amend the Constitution to prohibit slavery in territories north of 36° 30’ but to extend federal protection for slavery in territories to the south.