Unit 5 apush

Sectionalism

The division of the United States into regions with differing interests, particularly over slavery, which grew during 1844-1877.

Civil War

The war from 1861 to 1865 between Northern states (Union) and Southern states (Confederacy), primarily over issues including states' rights and slavery.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War (1865-1877) focused on rebuilding the South and integrating freed slaves into society.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine that it was the destiny of the U.S. to expand its territory across North America.

Abolitionists

Individuals who advocated for the end of slavery in the United States.

Black Codes

Laws passed in Southern states during Reconstruction to restrict the freedoms of African Americans.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election, withdrawing federal troops from the South and effectively ending Reconstruction.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order by President Lincoln in 1863 freeing slaves in the Confederate states.

Sharecropping

A system in which landowners allowed tenants to farm land in return for a share of the crops, often leading to cycle of debt for farmers, particularly African Americans.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed amendment to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico, highlighting the sectional conflicts over slavery.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

An 1857 Supreme Court case that ruled African Americans could not be citizens and Congress had no authority to ban slavery in federal territories.

Fugitive Slave Law

A law requiring escaped slaves to be returned to their owners, which angered many in the North.

Nativism

An anti-immigrant sentiment that arose in response to an influx of Irish and German immigrants, often rooted in fears over job competition and cultural differences.

Fort Sumter

The site in South Carolina where the first shots of the Civil War were fired in April 1861.

Radical Republicans

A faction within the Republican Party during Reconstruction that advocated for the full civil rights of African Americans.

Territorial Expansion

The process of the United States acquiring new lands, such as Texas, Oregon, and California, often linked with the ideology of Manifest Destiny.

Ironclad Ships

Revolutionary warships made with iron plating, significant in naval warfare, particularly during the Civil War.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

A series of debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas over the issue of slavery and its expansion into the territories.

The Great American Desert

The region between the Mississippi River and the Pacific coast that was largely unsettled until the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

Crittenden Compromise

A last ditch proposal to prevent Civil War that failed to gain support, seeking to extend the Missouri Compromise line.

Political Conflict over Slavery

The ongoing struggles between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions that intensified leading up to the Civil War.