Period 5 Of Apush

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the United States was destined to expand across North America.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Legislation that allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide on the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by President Lincoln that freed slaves in Confederate states during the Civil War.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War focused on rebuilding the South, readmitting Confederate states, and integrating newly freed slaves into society.

13th, 14th, 15th Amendments

Constitutional amendments passed after the Civil War to abolish slavery, grant citizenship and equal protection under the law, and ensure voting rights regardless of race.

Freedmen's Bureau

A federal agency established to provide assistance to newly freed slaves and impoverished whites in the South.

California Gold Rush

A significant event that brought a large influx of settlers to California in search of gold in the mid-1800s.

Dred Scott Decision

A Supreme Court ruling that declared African Americans were not citizens and could not sue in federal courts, further intensifying sectional tensions.

Bleeding Kansas

A series of violent conflicts over the issue of slavery in Kansas, foreshadowing the Civil War.

Compromise of 1850

A set of laws aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War.