U.S. History 1301 Test #3 Vocab

Tariff of Abominations

• Enacted by Andrew Jackson, it was a high protective tariff on imports that was opposed by Southerners

• 38% tax on all imports

• Vice President John Calhoun called it “The Tariff of Abominations

• Significance: Severely harmed the Southern economy, which was dependent on cash crops

Cherokee Nations vs. Georgia

• Landmark Supreme Court Case

• The Cherokee Nation is a “domestic dependent nation,” not a foreign nation

• Only the federal government has the power to regulate Indian tribes, but Andrew Jackson ignores

• Signifiance: Set a precedent for the relationship between tribes and the federal government.

Indian Removal Act

• Signed by President Andrew Jackson

• The forced relocation of natives west of the Mississippi River into a new Indian territory

• Significance: Led to the tragic and deadly “Trail of Tears”

Five Civilized Tribes

• The Cherokee, Chikasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes

• Labelled as “civilized” by adopting many American customs'

• Signifiance: Forced assimilation and removal highlighted the US government’s hypocrisy

Trail of Tears

• Occurred after the signing of the Indian Removal Act signed by President Andrew Jackson

• A brutal forced migration that resulted in thousands of deaths from disease, starvation, and exposure

• Significance: Represents the forceful expansion of the US at cost of human suffering

Martin van Buren

• Supported by Andrew Jackson and continued his policies as the 8th president

• Implemented the Independent Treasury System to separate government funds from private banks.

• Significance: Presidency characterized by the Panic of 1837, a major economic depression

John Tyler

• The 10th President of the United States

• His presidency was marked by conflict with the Whig Party due to disagreements

• Significance: Annexed Texas during his presidency 

Battle of San Jacinto

• The final, decisive battle of the Texas Revolution.

• Led by General Sam Houston, Texas launched an attack on Mexican General Santa Anna.

• Signifiance: Secured Texas independence from Mexico and fueled US annexation of Texas

Alexis de Tocqueville

• A French writer who came to the US in the 1830s.

• Analyzed American democracy and individualism.

• Significance: Wrote Democracy in America, which detailed the functions of political society.

William L. Garrison

• Prominent American abolitionist known for his radical stance against slavery.

• Published The Liberator and co-founded the American Antislavery Society.

• Significance: Advocated for the immediate emancipation of slavery.

Frederick Douglass

• A formerly enslaved man who became a leading abolitionist.

• Publisher of the abolitionist newspaper, The North Star.

• Significance: Championed civil rights for African Americans and helped change the public opinion of slavery.

Harriet B. Stowe

• American abolitionist and author who wrote Uncle Tomś Cabin.

• Exposed the brutality of slavery to a new audience in the North.

• Significance: Intensified the sectional conflict that led to the Civil War.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

• Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

• Dramatized the horrors of slavery to a wider audience in the North.

• Significance: Helped fuel the abolitionist movement.

Transcendentalism

• Intellectual and literary movement that emphasized the inherent goodness of people and nature.

• People make their own decisions; individual freedom.

• Significance: Influenced social reforms such as abolitionism and women’s rights. 

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

• Central leader of early women’s suffrage and rights movements.

• Organized the Seneca Falls Convention in New York.

• Significance: She was one of the first leaders of the Women’s Rights Movement.

James K. Polk

• The 11th President of the United States.

• A strong advocate for Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion.

• Significance: His presidency was defined by the Mexican-American War, which extended the U.S.

“54-40 or Fight”

• A slogan used by American expansionists like James Polk.

• Advocated for the United States to claim Oregon Territory up to the 54 40’ north latitude line.

• Significance: Represented the sentiment of Manifest Destiny.

California Trail

• A major overland migration route to the American West.

• Branched off from the Oregon Trail and went southwest into Nevada to California.

• Significance: It was the site of the greatest mass migration in American history, carrying over 250,000 people.

Panama Route

• An overland route that helped settlers migrate to California.

• Made possible by the Panama Railroad, which significantly reduced travel time.

• Significance: Its completion was driven by the California Gold Rush.

Nueces vs. Rio Grande

• A border dispute between the United States and Mexico.

• Nueces River was a traditional boundary claimed by Mexico for the southern border of Texas.

• Rio Grande was the boundary claimed by the United States and Texas after its independence. 

• Significance: A major cause of the Mexican-American War.

Zachary Taylor

• A Mexican-American war hero who fought Mexican general Santa Anna.

• A member of the Whig Party.

• Significance: His fame led to his election as the 12th President of the United States.

Winfield Scott

• A decorated military officer with a long career.

• Successfully invaded Mexico City in the Mexican-American War.

• Devised the Anaconda Plan in the American Civil War.

• Significance: Was the general in-chief of the US army for decades.

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

• Treaty that officially ended the Mexican-American War. 

• Mexico ceded a vast amount of its territory for $15 million.

• Significance: Caused the Mexican Cession, a major land cession.

Gadsden Purchase

• An agreement between the US and Mexico.

• The United States bought a land strip from Mexico for $10 million to build a railroad.

• Significance: The US secured land for a southern Transcontinental Railroad.

Nativism

• Policy of favoring native-born inhabitants over immigrants based on hostility towards foreigners.

• Emerged due to economic fears and cultural differences.

• Significance: Led to the creation of strict immigration laws like the Immigration Act of 1924.

Guano Islands Act

• US federal law that allowed citizens to obtain any uninhabited islands with guano (bird droppings) for the United States.

• Provided legal basis for the US to acquire overseas territories.

• Significance: A major step in American imperialism.

Compromise of 1850

• Organized by Henry Clay, a series of laws was created to resolve the conflict between slave and free states over new territories acquired from Mexico.

• Organized the New Mexico territory as a slave territory using popular sovereignty. 

• Signifiance: Temporarily eased sectional conflict.

Fugitive Slave Act

• Federal law passed by the US.

• Required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners, even if they are in free states.

• Significance: Sparked widespread resistance in the North, leading to increased abolitionist movements.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

• US law that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.

• Allowed residents to decide whether or not they want slavery via popular sovereignty.

• Significance: Repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and overturned the geographic line.

James Buchanan

• Served as the 15th President of the United States.

• Served as the Secretary of State under James Polk.

• Significance: Failed to effectively resolve the growing tensions between the North and South that led to the American Civil War.

Roger B. Taney

• The Chief Justice in the Dred Scott v. Sanford Supreme Court case.

• Ruled that Scott is still a slave and declared the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional.

• Significance: His ruling greatly Intensified the national debate over slavery.

Dred Scott vs. Sanford

• A Supreme Court ruling that people of African descent were not U.S. citizens and could not sue in court.

• Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories, so the Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional.

• Significance: Contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War.

John Brown

• Radical abolitionist known for using violence to end slavery.

• Led a failed slave revolt at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, before he was captured and executed.

• Significance: His actions contributed to the violence and polarization surrounding the issue of slavery.

Abraham Lincoln

• 16th President of the US who led the country through the Civil War.

• Declared that slaves were free with the Emancipation Proclamation.

• Significance: Preserved the Union with his leadership during the Civil War.

Harpers Ferry

• A raid led by abolitionist John Brown to seize the federal armory. 

• The raid would fail, resulting in John Brown’s executions.

• Significance: Increased tensions between the North and the South.

Jefferson Davis

Confederacy

Fort Sumter

George B. McClellan

Anaconda Plan

Blockade

Commerce Raiding

Ulysses Grant

Robert E. Lee

Confiscation Act

Homestead Act

Battle of Antietam

Emancipation Proclamation

10% Plan

Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Vicksburg

Election of 1864

John Wilkes Booth

13th Amendment

Andrew Johnson

Reconstruction

Black Codes

Freedmen’s Bureau

14th Amendment

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Tenure of Office Act

Ku Klux Klan

15th Amendment

Rutherford B. Hayes

Compromise of 1877