APUSH Period 5 Vocabulary Review (1844–1877)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical definitions, and significance for APUSH Period 5 (1844–1877).

Manifest Destiny

Belief America was destined to expand west; justified westward expansion.

Stephen Austin

American empresario in Texas who brought American settlers to Texas.

Sam Houston

Texas independence leader who defeated Mexico at San Jacinto.

54°40′ or Fight

Slogan demanding Oregon expansion that increased U.S. expansion pressure.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty that ended the Mexican-American War, resulting in Mexico surrendering territory.

Mexican Cession

Land gained from Mexico that renewed slavery debates.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to ban slavery in Mexican lands, which increased sectional tensions.

Ostend Manifesto

Proposal to acquire Cuba that increased fears of slavery expansion.

Gadsden Purchase

Land bought from Mexico that secured a southern railroad route.

Free-Soil Party

Political party that opposed slavery’s expansion and challenged slavery in territories.

Popular Sovereignty

Principle where settlers vote on slavery, which increased conflict in Kansas.

Henry Clay

Senator known as the Great Compromiser who proposed the Compromise of 1850.

Compromise of 1850

Agreement over slavery and territories that temporarily delayed sectional conflict.

Irish Immigrants

Immigrants fleeing famine who faced nativist discrimination.

German Immigrants

Immigrants fleeing economic and political problems who strengthened antislavery movements.

Underground Railroad

Network helping enslaved people escape, which increased resistance to slavery.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Antislavery novel by Stowe that increased Northern opposition to slavery.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Act that allowed popular sovereignty and repealed the Missouri Compromise restriction.

Bleeding Kansas

Violence over slavery in Kansas that increased sectional violence.

Sumner-Brooks Incident

Incident in which Brooks beat Senator Sumner, showing growing sectional hatred.

Know-Nothing Party

Anti-immigrant political party that reflected growing nativism.

Republican Party

Political party that opposed slavery’s expansion, increasing Southern fears.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court decision that denied Black citizenship and declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.

Harper’s Ferry

John Brown’s raid on an arsenal, which increased Southern fears of rebellion.

Fort Sumter

Confederate attack on a Union fort that started the Civil War.

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to blockade the South, which weakened Confederate supplies.

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general who led major Confederate armies.

Battle of Antietam

Major Union victory that led to the Emancipation Proclamation.

Battle of Gettysburg

Major Union victory in Pennsylvania that served as the turning point of the Civil War.

Appomattox Courthouse

Site where Lee surrendered to Grant, ending major Civil War fighting.

Confiscation Acts

Acts allowing the seizure of Confederate property, which weakened slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation

Decree that freed enslaved people in rebelling areas and made ending slavery a war goal.

Massachusetts 54th Regiment

African American Union regiment that demonstrated Black military contributions.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln’s speech honoring soldiers that emphasized equality and national unity.

Homestead Act

Act granting settlers western land, which encouraged western settlement.

Pacific Railway Act

Act funding the transcontinental railroad, which connected the East and West.

Reconstruction

Period of rebuilding the South after the Civil War, which expanded Black rights.

Lincoln’s Reconstruction

Reconstruction plan based on the Ten Percent Plan, offering easy Southern reunification.

Johnson’s Reconstruction

Lenient Southern restoration plan that allowed Black Codes to develop.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Agency that helped formerly enslaved people by providing education and aid.

Radical Republicans

Political group that supported stronger Reconstruction and protected freedpeople’s rights.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery and ended legal slavery.

14th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that granted citizenship and equal protection, protecting civil rights.

15th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that protected Black men’s voting rights, expanding political participation.

Scalawags

Southern white Republicans who supported Reconstruction governments.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South and participated in Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist terrorist group that used violence to suppress Black rights.

Black Codes

Laws restricting Black freedom that maintained white control.

Sharecropping

System of farming for a share of crops, which kept many freedpeople in debt.

Compromise of 1877

Agreement ending Reconstruction that removed federal troops from the South.