Honors U.S History Study Guide.

Westward Expansion

Controversy over how new land would be divided as slave or free states; created tension between North and South.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

1st established geographic boundary between free and slave states; land North of Ohio River was free.

The Compromise of 1850

Congress issued acts in an attempt to settle North vs. South tensions; delayed a real solution.

Fugitive Slave Act

Part of 1850 Compromise; incentivized the capture and return of runaway slaves.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

Stated that settlers of Kansas & Nebraska territories would decide if the land were to be free or slave; known as 'popular sovereignty'.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Extremely influential novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that humanized slaves and shed light on the brutality of slavery.

The Dred Scott Decision

Supreme Court case that ruled that black men were not citizens and therefore had no rights to bring anything to court.

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry

Attempt to seize US arsenal and rally slaves to revolt; convinced southerners that the Union wasn't safe.

The Election of Abraham Lincoln

South felt threatened by Lincoln; 7 states seceded before his inauguration.

Secession of Southern states

Strongly tied to their opinion on slavery; viewed Lincoln's moderate position as a threat.

Cotton gin

Invention that caused the cotton industry to become highly profitable; slavery became financially ideal labor.

Abraham Lincoln's view on slavery

Personal views: believed slavery was a moral wrong; Political views: recognized importance of slavery as an institution.

States that seceded in order

South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee.

First battle of the war

Fort Sumter (1861).

Union advantages

Material, population (2x), industrial system, transportation (2x railroad track).

Confederate advantages

Defensive war on familiar land with local support; firm war commitment; potential European support.

The Anaconda Plan

Cut off all trade export or import from South by a water blockade; 'squeeze' the strength out of the South.

Technology and its effect on the war

Changed nature of combat; improved mobility (railroads), communication (telegraph), and armaments.

Women's role in society during the war

Filled positions left vacant by men; became a major force in field hospitals.

Robert E. Lee

Confederate military advisor to Davis.

Stonewall Jackson

General & military officer; held his ground and turned the tide at Bull Run.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general chosen by Lincoln for his strategy of active offense.

William Sherman

Believed in 'Total War'; aimed to destroy Southern morale through obliteration of Southern land.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy.

Bull Run

1st major battle; sobering point for nation; Confederate victory.

Shiloh

Secured TN River to Mississippi River + railroad crossings; Union victory.

Antietam

Single most deadly day of Civil War; Union victory led to preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

Gettysburg

Turning point during the war; deadliest of all CW battles; Union victory.

Union victory after Antietam

Following Antietam, Lincoln issued preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

Engagements at Gettysburg

Little Round Top, The Devil's Den, Pickett's Charge

Chattanooga

Gateway to the deep South; Union wanted to use it to take/destroy Confederate gunpowder factories

Sherman's March to Sea

William T. Sherman marched through Georgia into the South while J. Johnston tried to resist him

Appomattox Courthouse

Location where Lee (Conf.) surrendered to Grant (Union)

Lincoln's Reconstruction plan

10% plan: 10% of the voting pop. of 1860 was required to swear loyalty to the Union to be readmitted

Johnson administration and Reconstruction

Lenient in approving amnesties, allowing many former Confederate leaders to regain power

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship and equal protection/due process

15th Amendment

Granted black men the right to vote

Achievements of Reconstruction

Established the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and laid the ground for civil rights

Failures of Reconstruction

Did little to uphold the civil rights of freedmen and failed to protect them from the KKK

Freedman's Bureau

Branch of the US Army created to protect freedmen while they were being settled in a changing South

Black Codes

Legislation that heavily restricted rights & freedoms of African Americans

KKK

Violent white supremacist group aimed to prevent white republicans and freedmen from voting

Jim Crow Laws

Allowed southern state governments to pass laws that segregated blacks and whites

Poll Taxes

Taxes forced on poor African Americans to prevent them from voting in the south

Literacy tests

Meant to keep blacks from voting but also affected poor whites

Lynchings

Mob-supported murder of a black person, often based on accusations of crime

Sharecropping

Method of systematic debt that unfairly took advantage of poor and often illiterate black people

Reasons for North abandoning Reconstruction

Northern commitment to black civil rights did not last long; tensions were still present

Rutherford B. Hayes

Elected president because he ran on ending reconstruction

Grant administration successes

Stopped the KKK for a period of time and passed the enforcement acts

Grant administration failures

Marked by scandals and inexperience; financial crisis in 1873

New South

Much more industry than before but still not as much as the north; wages were half those of the north

Chinese immigration

Greatly increased during the Gold Rush.

Prospector

A gold or mineral searcher.

Racist laws

Passed to restrict Chinese immigration and rights.

Transcontinental Railroad

Many immigrants worked on its construction after the gold craze.

Chinatowns

Created due to the influx of Chinese immigration.

Reasons for Chinese migration

Fleeing bad social conditions and the 1848 Gold Rush.

Foreign Miners Tax

Passed to limit Chinese miners due to their success.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Legislation passed to limit Chinese immigration and mining.

Exodusters

Freedmen leaving the South to start new lives in the Great Plains.

Homestead Act

Provided land deals to encourage migration to the Great Plains.

Pacific Railway Act of 1862

Legislation that funded the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Union Pacific Railroad

Started in Omaha, Nebraska, and primarily employed Irish immigrants.

Central Pacific Railroad

Started in Sacramento, California, and primarily employed Chinese immigrants.

Impact of the railroad

Enabled farmers to ship produce and raw materials to Eastern markets.

Problems faced by farmers

Extreme weather, little water, no trees, locusts, dust storms, and poor soil.

Major industries of the West

Farming, cattle ranching, mining, and forestry.

Dawes Act

Allotted land from Indian reservations to convert Indians into American citizens.

Reasons for U.S. industrialization

Large resources, labor force, transportation, and few business restrictions.

Steel's significance

Every major structure is made of steel, boosting the economy.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Railroad king known for his aristocratic nature.

J.D. Rockefeller

Owner of the largest oil company, Standard Oil.

Andrew Carnegie

Perfected steel making and was known for philanthropy.

J.P. Morgan

Banker who founded the national reserve.

Robber Baron

Takes advantage of workers with long hours and low pay.

Captain of Industry

Leads the way in industry and helps the economy.

Social Darwinism

Only the fittest businesses survive, with no rules or morals.

Gospel of Wealth

Belief that wealthy individuals have a responsibility to use their wealth for society.

Laissez-faire Economics

Government should keep hands off businesses, allowing self-regulation.

Monopoly

One business controls all or almost all of an industry.

Vertical Integration

Control of each step of manufacturing for efficiency and quality.

Horizontal Integration

One industry buys and controls other similar industries.

Emerging labor unions

Threatened strikes but often failed due to lack of support.

Muckrakers

Exposed terrible working conditions and health hazards.

Ellis Island

Most significant immigration port, where over 12 million immigrants entered.

Angel Island

Restrictive immigration station primarily for Asians.

Nativist movement

Favored native-born citizens and targeted immigrant groups.

Chinese Exclusion Act significance

First race-based exclusionary legislation on immigration.