APUSH Anchors (3-4)

Frederick Douglass

An escaped slave who taught himself how to read and write. He became a leading abolitionist and wrote an autobiography entitled “The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave.”

Abraham Lincoln

16th president elected in 1860 for the new Republican Party. His goal of stopping the spread of slavery in the territories led to the secession of several southern states. He also issued the Emancipation Proclamation and gave the Gettysburg Address.

Dred Scott

A slave who sued for his freedom based on the fact that his owner took him to live in free territory. The Supreme Court decided that as an African American, he was not a citizen and could therefore not sue in court. He was also deemed to be property and that property could be taken anywhere therefore nullifying the Missouri Compromise.

James K. Polk

The 11th president of the US. Known as a “Dark Horse Candidate” (an unexpected winner) He was a democrat who favored expansion. He led the US into the Mexican- American War and annexed Texas, the Mexican Cession, and the Oregon Territory.

Daniel Webster

He strongly supported the Compromise of 1850 along with Henry Clay because he believed the most important thing is to keep the Union (Nation) together.

Stephan A. Douglas

A senator from Illinois. He was a strong advocate of popular sovereignty and supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act. His debates with Lincoln before the Civil War were famous. He won the Illinois Senate seat against Lincoln but later lost the presidential election of 1860.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

The author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin that convinced a lot of northerners to become abolitionists. Lincoln called her “The little lady that started this great war.”

Harriet Tubman

An escaped slave who became a leader of the Underground Railroad. She helped over 300 slaves escape to freedom.

John Brown

A radical abolitionist from the North who massacred slave owners during the event called “Bleeding Kansas”. He disappeared and turned up later to lead the Harper’s Ferry revolt. He was captured and executed by the Federal government. He became a martyr to the Abolitionist movement and a vile criminal in the South.

Robert E. Lee

The General for the South during the Civil War. Known as the best military leader on either side, he was asked by Lincoln to lead the Union but he replied that he “couldn’t raise his sword against Virginia”.

Ulysses S. Grant

He won fame in the Western theater of the Civil War at Battles like Shiloh and Vicksburg. He eventually became the main General of the North to defeat Lee who surrendered at Appomattox.

Andrew Johnson

The vice president of Abraham Lincoln, he became president after Lincoln’s assassination. He supported the Presidential Plan for Reconstruction and due to clashes with the Radical Republicans in Congress became the first president to be impeached.

Sitting Bull

A Lakota Sioux holy man and leader who united the Sioux tribes in their struggle for survival on the North American Great Plains. He is best known for his victory over General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator and author who founded the Tuskegee Institute. He believed that African Americans should focus on economic self-improvement and vocational training rather than demanding immediate social and political equality.

Nat Turner Revolt

A violent slave rebellion that took place in Virginia in 1831, led by Nat Turner. It resulted in the deaths of white inhabitants and led to stricter slave codes and laws prohibiting the education of slaves across the South.

Freedom’s Journal

The first African American newspaper in the United States, founded in 1827. It provided a voice for African Americans to speak out against slavery and advocate for civil rights.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that America would spread from sea to shining sea. The term was coined in 1845 by John L. O’Sullivan and it implies that America will stop at nothing to expand including removing Indians from their homeland and fighting other countries like Mexico.

Mormons

A religious group founded by Joseph Smith. Due to religious persecution, they migrated west under the leadership of Brigham Young and settled in the Utah territory near the Great Salt Lake to practice their faith freely.

54,40 or Fight

The phrase that was used by people who wanted to take all of the Oregon Territory from Britain and to extend America’s northern border to the 54’, 40’th parallel.

Mexican American War

Fought for the Annexation of Texas, a border dispute and the desire of America to attain California.

Compromise of 1850

This attempted to resolve what would happen to the Mexican Cession in terms of if the land would become free or slave. California became free and a new fugitive slave law was passed.

Fugitive Slave Act

This said that a southern slave owner could go North and claim any African American as his escaped slave, even if the person had never been a slave before.

Popular Sovereignty

Voting to determine if land will become free or slave.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

This act nullified the Missouri Compromise and allowed for people to vote by popular sovereignty over Kansas or Nebraska becoming free or slave.

Bleeding Kansas

Violence erupted over the voting in Kansas. John Brown killed several slave owners.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book showed the horrors of slavery. Many in the North joined the abolitionist cause.

Dred Scott Case

This centered on a slave named Dred Scott who argued he should be free. The court said that slaves are property and cannot be kept out of the territories. It also said that African Americans are not citizens.

Know Nothing Party

This was largely a nativist party that opposed the power of Catholics in the country which they believed were gaining power due to the large Catholic immigration (Irish) at the time. They later were absorbed by the Republican Party after the Dred Scott decision when slavery became the dominant issue.

Harper’s Ferry

John Brown raided this train depot which had an arsenal in hopes of sparking a slave revolt in Virginia. He was captured and executed by the federal government.

The Republican Party

This party formed for the purpose to stop the spread of slavery in the years before the Civil War.

The Election of 1860

The election of Lincoln was the last straw for the South. Several southern states seceded from the Union after this election.

The Confederacy

The government formed by the Southern states that seceded from the Union. They fought against the North in the Civil War to preserve the institution of slavery and states' rights.

Ft. Sumter

The first shots of the Civil War were fired here by the South.

First Battle of Bull Run

The first major battle of the war. The North retreated and it showed that the war would be much longer than anticipated.

Anaconda Plan

The North’s 3 part strategy to win the war. 1. Put a naval blockade around the south. 2. Capture the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in 2. 3. Capture Richmond which was the capital of the south.

Battle of Antietam

The bloodiest single day in American history. Although the battle was technically a draw, Lincoln claimed it as a victory and announced the Emancipation Proclamation.

Emancipation Proclamation

This freed the slaves in the confederacy but not the border states for fear they would join the confederacy. This was mostly a political tool to stop the British from recognizing the Confederacy since they were opposed to slavery.

New York City Draft Riots

Violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots turned into racial violence against African Americans.

Battle of Gettysburg

The turning point of the war. This was in Pennsylvania and was as far north as Lee got. After this 3 day battle, the north won, Lee never invaded the North again and Lincoln announced his famous Gettysburg Address which said the ending slavery is now a war aim.

Battle of Vicksburg

After a month’s siege, the north captured this town and succeeded in capturing the Mississippi River and cutting the south in 2.

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Sherman marched through Georgia, burning Atlanta and destroying the South as he went.

Total war

The strategy the North used to defeat the south using everything at their disposal to achieve victory. It resulted in the complete destruction of the south.

Freedman’s Bureau

This organization helped freed slaves to adjust to freedom after the Civil War by setting up schools and helping them utilize their rights.

Sharecropping

Freedmen were not given land after they were freed. Instead they entered into a cycle of debt.

Reconstruction

The time period after the Civil War that attempted to rebuild the nation.

Black Codes

These oppressive regulations attempted to prevent African Americans from exercising their rights. This was the pre cursor to the period known as segregation in the South.

13th Amendment

This amendment freed the slaves.

14th Amendment

This amendment made African Americans citizens and overturned the Dred Scott case.

15th Amendment

This amendment gave African American men the right to vote.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who came down to the south to buy up land.

Scalawags

Southerners who joined the Republican Party and were seen as traitors to the south.

Compromise of 1877

This compromise ended Reconstruction by the decision that Hayes was allowed to become president in exchange for the North removing the military occupation of the south.

Westward Expansion

The movement of settlers into the American West after the Civil War, fueled by the Homestead Act, railroads, and the belief in Manifest Destiny. It resulted in economic growth but also the displacement of Native American tribes.

The Grange

An organization of farmers formed to help them with economic and political issues. They fought against the high prices charged by railroads to transport their grain and advocated for the interests of agriculture.

Homestead Act

A law passed in 1862 that gave 160 acres of land to citizens willing to live on and cultivate it for five years. It encouraged rapid westward settlement.

Dawes Act

A law intended to assimilate Native Americans into American society by breaking up tribal lands and distributing them to individual families. It resulted in a significant loss of Native American land and culture.

Ghost Dance

A spiritual movement among Native Americans that prophesied the return of the buffalo and the disappearance of white settlers. It caused fear among the US government and led to the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Carlisle Indian Industrial School

A boarding school for Native American children established to assimilate them into white culture. The students were forced to cut their hair, change their names, and forbidden to speak their native languages.

The “New South”

A slogan used to describe the South after Reconstruction, promoting a shift from a purely agrarian economy to one based on industrialization and modernization.

Plessy vs. Ferguson

A 1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality, establishing the doctrine of "separate but equal."

The Massacre of Wounded Knee

The final major conflict between the US Army and Native Americans in 1890, where hundreds of Lakota Sioux were killed. It marked the end of armed Native American resistance in the West.

Sitting Bull

A Lakota Sioux holy man and leader who united the Sioux tribes in their struggle for survival on the North American Great Plains. He was killed by Indian agency police during an attempt to arrest him over fears of the Ghost Dance movement.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator who founded the Tuskegee Institute. In his "Atlanta Compromise" speech, he argued that African Americans should focus on economic self-improvement and vocational training rather than demanding immediate social and political equality.

J. P. Morgan

A powerful banker and financier who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street. He arranged the merger that formed General Electric and bought Carnegie Steel to create U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish-American industrialist who led the expansion of the American steel industry. He utilized vertical integration to dominate the market and later wrote the "Gospel of Wealth," advocating for philanthropy.

John D. Rockefeller

The founder of the Standard Oil Company, he became the richest man in modern history. He used horizontal integration and trusts to monopolize the oil industry, controlling 90% of oil refining in the U.S.

Eugene V. Debs

A labor leader who helped organize the American Railway Union and led the Pullman Strike. He later became a leading Socialist, running for president five times, including once from prison.

Jane Addams

A pioneer American settlement activist/reformer and leader in women's suffrage and world peace. She founded Hull House in Chicago to provide social services and education to working-class immigrants.

Jacob Riis

A muckraking journalist and social reformer who used photography to expose the terrible living conditions in New York City tenements. His book How the Other Half Lives shocked the public and led to housing reform.

Upton Sinclair

A muckraker who wrote the novel The Jungle, which exposed the appalling conditions in the meatpacking industry. His work led directly to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.

W.E.B. DuBois

An African American sociologist and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP. Unlike Booker T. Washington, he argued for immediate political and social equality and believed the "Talented Tenth" should lead the African American community.

Teddy Roosevelt

The 26th president, known for his "Square Deal" domestic policy. He was a "trust-buster," a conservationist who established many national parks, and an advocate for a strong foreign policy.

Susan B. Anthony

A social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. She traveled the country giving speeches and was arrested for voting, paving the way for the 19th Amendment.

Homestead Act

A law passed in 1862 that gave 160 acres of land to citizens willing to live on and cultivate it for five years. It encouraged rapid westward settlement but often displaced Native Americans.

Dawes Act

A law intended to assimilate Native Americans into American society by breaking up tribal lands and distributing them to individual families. It resulted in a massive loss of Native American land and the erosion of tribal culture.

Ghost Dance

A spiritual movement among Native Americans that prophesied the return of the buffalo and the disappearance of white settlers. It caused fear among the U.S. government and led to the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. They mandated "separate but equal" status for African Americans but in practice led to inferior conditions and facilities.

“New South”

A slogan used to describe the South after Reconstruction, promoting a shift from a purely agrarian economy to one based on industrialization and modernization, though sharecropping remained prevalent.

Sharecropping

A system of agriculture where a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced. It often trapped freedmen and poor whites in a cycle of debt and poverty.

Gilded Age

A term coined by Mark Twain to describe the late 19th century. It refers to an era that looked "golden" on the outside due to great wealth and industrialization, but was "rotten" on the inside due to corruption and poverty.

Horizontal and Vertical Integration

Business strategies used to create monopolies. Vertical integration involves owning all steps of production (supply chain), while horizontal integration involves buying out competitors in the same industry.

Laissez-Faire Capitalism

An economic philosophy that opposes government intervention in business affairs. During the Gilded Age, this allowed businesses to grow without regulation, leading to monopolies and poor working conditions.

Captains of Industry/Robber Barons

Two terms used to describe the wealthy industrialists of the late 19th century. "Captains of Industry" suggests they benefited the economy, while "Robber Barons" implies they got rich through ruthless and unethical business practices.

Bread and Butter Issues

The basic goals of labor unions, such as higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions. The American Federation of Labor focused on these rather than broad social reform.

Haymarket Square Riot

A labor protest in Chicago in 1886 that turned violent when a bomb was thrown at police. The incident turned public opinion against the labor movement and led to the decline of the Knights of Labor.

Homestead Strike

A violent labor dispute between the Carnegie Steel Company and many of its workers in 1892. The strike was crushed by private security agents (Pinkertons) and the state militia, setting back the union movement in the steel industry.

Pullman Strike

A nationwide railroad strike in 1894 led by Eugene V. Debs. It shut down much of the nation's freight and passenger traffic west of Detroit and was eventually ended by federal troops sent by President Cleveland.

Knights of Labor

One of the first major labor organizations in the US, open to both skilled and unskilled workers, as well as women and African Americans. They declined after being unfairly associated with the violence at Haymarket Square.

American Federation of Labor

A labor union founded by Samuel Gompers that catered only to skilled workers. They focused on practical "bread and butter" goals through collective bargaining and strikes.

Ellis Island

The primary immigration inspection station in New York Harbor. Millions of immigrants, mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe, passed through here to enter the United States.

Nativism/ Social Darwinism

Nativism is the policy of protecting the interests of native-born inhabitants against those of immigrants. Social Darwinism applied the theory of "survival of the fittest" to society, justifying the gap between rich and poor.

Chinese Exclusion Act

A federal law signed in 1882 prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. It was the first law implemented to prevent a specific ethnic group from immigrating to the United States.

Gospel of Wealth

An article written by Andrew Carnegie that describes the responsibility of philanthropy by the new upper class of self-made rich. He argued the wealthy should redistribute their surplus means in a responsible and thoughtful manner.

Social Gospel Movement

A religious movement that arose during the second half of the nineteenth century. Ministers argued that people must emulate the life of Jesus by helping the poor, leading to the creation of organizations like the Salvation Army and YMCA.

Populist Party

A political party formed by farmers to represent the interests of the common people against the banking and railroad interests. They advocated for the direct election of senators, a graduated income tax, and the unlimited coinage of silver.

Bi-mentalism (Bimetallism)

A monetary system in which the government would give citizens either gold or silver in exchange for paper currency or checks. Farmers supported this because they believed more money in circulation would raise crop prices.

The Grange

Originally a social organization for farmers, it developed into a political movement. They fought against the monopolistic practices of railroads and grain elevators.

The “Cross of Gold” speech

A famous speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan at the 1896 Democratic National Convention. He supported bimetallism and decried the gold standard, saying "you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."

Tammany Hall

A powerful political machine in New York City famously led by "Boss" Tweed. It was known for corruption and graft, but also for helping immigrants find jobs and housing in exchange for their votes.

Progressivism

A reform movement that sought to return control of the government to the people, restore economic opportunities, and correct injustices in American life caused by industrialization.