Modern American History Midterm 1 Review Guide

A set of vocabulary flashcards derived from Modern American History lecture notes, covering key terms and concepts relevant to the midterm exam.

Compromise of 1820

An agreement that attempted to balance the power between slave and free states by allowing Missouri to enter as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

Compromise of 1850

A series of legislative measures aimed at resolving conflicts between free and slave states, including the admission of California as a free state.

Trail of Tears

The forced relocation of Native American nations from their ancestral homelands, resulting in the suffering and death of thousands.

Fugitive Slave Law

A law that mandated the return of escaped enslaved people to their owners and imposed penalties on those who assisted them.

John Brown and Bleeding Kansas

John Brown's violent actions against pro-slavery forces in Kansas that highlighted the intense sectional conflicts over slavery.

The Second Middle Passage

The internal slave trade within the United States, which forcibly relocated countless enslaved individuals to the Deep South.

Black Social and Political Networks in Reconstruction

The relationships and organizations formed by African Americans during Reconstruction that facilitated political engagement and community support.

Freedman's Bureau

A federal agency established to assist formerly enslaved individuals with education, employment, and social services during Reconstruction.

Colfax Massacre

A violent confrontation in 1873 resulting in the deaths of dozens of African Americans, representing the extreme racial tensions of the era.

Compromise of 1877

An unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 presidential election, resulting in federal withdrawal from the South and the end of Reconstruction.

Racial Terrorism, the KKK

The use of violent intimidation by groups like the Ku Klux Klan to suppress African American civil rights and maintaining white supremacy.

Decoration Days

Commemorative events organized to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War, often used to foster Southern identity and memorialize the 'Lost Cause'.

The 'Lost Cause'

A cultural narrative that romanticizes the Confederate cause and downplays the role of slavery in the Civil War.

13th Amendment

The constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

The amendment that granted citizenship and equal protection under the laws to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

15th Amendment

The amendment that prohibited the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude.'