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Manifest Destiny
The 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. It was driven by a belief in American exceptionalism and a desire for territorial expansion.
Oregon Trail
A historic east-to-west route used by thousands of American pioneers in the mid-1800s to migrate to the western United States, particularly Oregon.
Texas Annexation
The 1845 incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States, which led to significant political and military conflict with Mexico.
Rio Grande
The river that serves as a border between the United States and Mexico, significant in the context of the Mexican-American War and the Texas Annexation.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The 1848 agreement that ended the Mexican-American War, resulting in Mexico ceding a large portion of its northern territory to the United States, including present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Po
Popular Sovereignty
The principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, typically through their elected representatives, often applied to the issue of slavery in new territories.
Homestead Act
Legislation that provided land to settlers for farming, promoting westward expansion in the United States.
Nativism
The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants. It often involves opposition to immigration and an emphasis on national identity.
Fugitive Slave Acts
Laws that required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, imposing penalties on those who aided fugitives.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe published in 1852 that depicted the harsh realities of slavery and fueled anti-slavery sentiments in the North.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Legislation passed in 1854 that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, allowing settlers to determine if they would allow slavery within their borders through popular sovereignty.
Secession
The act of withdrawing formally from an organization, union, or political entity, particularly the withdrawal of Southern states from the United States before the Civil War.
Anaconda Plan
A military strategy proposed by General Winfield Scott during the Civil War to blockade Southern ports and capture the Mississippi River, effectively squeezing the Confederacy.
Emancipation Proclamation
A presidential decree issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory.
Juneteenth
A holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States, celebrated on June 19, marking the day in 1865 when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas.
Battle of Gettysburg
A pivotal battle fought in July 1863 during the American Civil War, known for being a turning point that halted the Confederate invasion of the North.
10% Plan
A proposal by President Abraham Lincoln that allowed Southern states to rejoin the Union if 10% of their voters swore allegiance, aimed at reconstruction.
Carpetbaggers
Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, often to seek economic opportunities or influence Reconstruction policies.
Scalawags
Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party, often viewed as traitors by other Southerners.
Jim Crow Laws
State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States, enacted after the Reconstruction era.
13th amendment
A constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.1
14th amendment
A constitutional amendment granting citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States
15th amendment
A constitutional amendment that gave African American men the right to vote, ending race based discrimination in the polls
Compromise of 1850
Added California as a free state and defined the Texas border.
Forty-niners
People who tried to take advantage of the gold rush
Morill land-grand act
Passed in 1862, gave each state 30,000 acres of land per congressman to build colleges.
Wilmot Proviso
Failed bill which would’ve prohibited slavery in territories newly acquired from Mexico.
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Ruled that African Americans were not citizens, and could not sue.
Greenbacks
The first national currency of the United States
Black Codes
Limited the rights of Africans in the South. Prevented them from owning certain lands, businesses, or living in certain areas.
