Untitled Flashcards Set

Causes of Westward Migration

Desire for access to natural and mineral resources, hope of economic opportunities, and religious refuge.

Alamo

Battle led by Colonel William B. Travis where Mexico won, killing all 187 defenders.

James K. Polk

President whose actions during the Mexican-American War led to Texas becoming the 28th state.

Oregon Territory

Region claimed jointly by the United States and Great Britain.

Oregon Fever

The early 1840s movement that encouraged settlers to travel the Oregon Trail.

Second Great Awakening

Religious revival movement that contributed to the rise of various religious groups, including the Mormons.

Gold Rush

Mass migration to California following the discovery of gold in 1848.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that it was America's God-given right to expand across the continent.

Homestead Act

Law granting 160 acres to settlers who farmed the land for five years.

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad established to connect the eastern U.S. with the western territory.

Boundary Dispute (Texas)

Disagreement over whether the Texas border was the Rio Grande or the Nueces River.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Agreement that ended the Mexican-American War and defined the U.S.-Mexico border.

Wilmot Proviso

Failed amendment that aimed to prohibit slavery in territories acquired from Mexico.

Compromise of 1850

Series of laws aimed at balancing slave and free states, including California's admission as free.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Law that allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide on the legality of slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Kansas.

Dred Scott Decision

Supreme Court ruling that declared enslaved people were not citizens and nullified the Missouri Compromise.

Emancipation Proclamation

Presidential order that freed slaves in areas of rebellion against the Union.

Reconstruction

Period after the Civil War focused on rebuilding the South and integrating freed slaves.

Freedmen's Bureau

Agency that provided assistance to freed slaves in areas like education and employment.

Black Codes

Laws passed in the South to restrict the rights of freed slaves.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Legislation aimed at prohibiting racial discrimination in public accommodations.

Compromise of 1877

Agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election and ended Reconstruction.