UCONN U.S History Mid Term

Constitutional Convention

1787 meeting that created the U.S. Constitution.

Three-fifths Clause

Compromise counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person.

Federalism

System dividing power between national and state governments.

The Federalist

Collection of essays supporting ratification of the Constitution.

Anti-Federalists

Group opposing the Constitution who wanted a Bill of Rights.

Hamilton’s Economic Plan

Plan to strengthen the economy with debt assumption, tariffs, and a national bank.

Federalists

Political party favoring a strong national government.

Republicans

Democratic-Republicans who supported states’ rights.

Revolution of 1800

Peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Republicans.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws restricting immigrants and limiting free speech.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 land deal doubling the size of the United States.

Monroe Doctrine

Policy warning European nations not to interfere in the Americas.

Embargo Act

Law stopping American trade with foreign nations.

Marshall Court

Supreme Court under John Marshall that expanded federal power.

Marbury v. Madison

Case establishing judicial review.

Market Revolution

Economic shift to industry and national markets.

Cotton Gin

Machine that increased cotton production and slavery.

Indian Removal Act

Law forcing Native Americans west.

Worcester v. Georgia

Case ruling states had no power over Native tribes.

The Nullification Crisis

South Carolina’s attempt to nullify a federal tariff.

The American System

Henry Clay’s plan for tariffs, bank, and internal improvements.

Cult of Domesticity

Belief that women belonged in the home.

Family Wage

Idea that men should earn enough to support families.

Era of Good Feelings

Time of political unity after War of 1812.

Tariff of Abominations

High tariff that angered the South.

Webster-Hayne Debate

Debate over states’ rights and nationalism.

The Liberator

Abolitionist newspaper by Garrison.

William Lloyd Garrison

Radical abolitionist leader.

Frederick Douglass

Former enslaved abolitionist speaker and writer.

Declaration of Sentiments

Document demanding women’s equality.

King Cotton

Term showing cotton’s power in the Southern economy.

Paternalism

Belief enslavers acted as caretakers.

Underground Railroad

Secret escape network for enslaved people.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

1831 slave uprising in Virginia.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Antislavery novel influencing Americans.

Gag Rule

Banned antislavery petitions in Congress.

Woman Suffrage

Movement for women’s right to vote.

Feminism

Movement for gender equality.

James K. Polk

Expansionist president during Mexican War.

Texas Revolt

Texas rebellion against Mexico.

Wilmot Proviso

Plan to ban slavery in new territories.

Compromise of 1850

Laws easing sectional conflict.

Fugitive Slave Act

Law forcing return of escaped enslaved people.

Popular Sovereignty

Let settlers vote on slavery.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Law allowing popular sovereignty.

Bleeding Kansas

Violence over slavery in Kansas.

Mexican-American War

War leading to U.S. expansion west.

Slavery and Expansion

Growth of slavery into western lands.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Ruling denying Black citizenship.

Election of 1860

Lincoln’s victory causing secession.

Lincoln’s Views of Abolition

Lincoln opposed slavery’s spread but prioritized union.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Debates over slavery’s expansion.

John Brown

Radical abolitionist who raided Harpers Ferry.

Fort Sumter

First battle of the Civil War.

Secession

Southern states leaving the Union.

Confederate States of America

Government formed by seceded states.

Radical Republicans

Group pushing equal rights after the war.

Battle of Gettysburg

Major turning point in the Civil War.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

Ended slavery, granted citizenship, protected voting rights.

Freedmen

Former enslaved people after the war.

The Freedmen’s Bureau

Government agency helping freed people.

Andrew Johnson

President after Lincoln who opposed Reconstruction.

Tenure of Office Act

Law limiting presidential power.

The Black Codes

Laws restricting freed Black Americans.

Tenants

Farmers renting land.

Sharecroppers

White landowners attempted to force freed African Americans into signing contracts to work the fields.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners moving south after war.

Scalawags

Southerners supporting Reconstruction.

Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce

First Black U.S. senators.

The Ku Klux Klan

Terrorist group opposing Reconstruction.

Election of 1876

The presidential election in which the Democrats won a clear majority of the popular vote, but the returns were contested. A special election commission gave all the electoral votes to Hayes, which lead to the Compromise of 1877.

The Hayes-Tilden Compromise

Deal ending federal occupation of South.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws enforcing segregation.

Poll Tax

Fee required to vote.

Grandfather Clause

Allowed individuals to vote if their ancestors had the right to vote; since African Americans were enslaved and could not vote, this excluded them from voting.

Literacy Test

Test to block Black voters.

Emancipation Proclamation

Order freeing enslaved people in Confederacy.

Black Soldiers

African Americans who fought for the Union.