Chapter 9-15

American System

A political program for economic development favored by some national leaders, including a high protective tariff, public-financed transportation improvements, and a national bank

Panic of 1819

An economic downturn that led some to view government involvement in the economy negatively

Era of Good Feelings

A period during President Monroe's presidency (1817–1825) characterized by a one-party system after the Federalist Party disintegrated

Democratic Party

A new political party that emerged as opponents of President John Quincy Adams’s vision of vigorous national power, coalescing under Martin Van Buren’s idea of healthy competing parties, and succeeding in electing Andrew Jackson to the presidency in 1828

Whig Party

A political party that formed in opposition to Andrew Jackson’s supporters (Democrats) during his two terms, taking shape amidst debates over nullification, Indian removal, and national banking policy. They took the White House in 1840 using techniques pioneered by the Democrats, portraying their candidate as a common man

Andrew Jackson (Popularity)

A two-term president (1829-1837) who symbolized defiance, boldness, and independence, making him a popular figure with whom Americans could identify, despite his apparent contradictions as an advocate of states' rights who also asserted national power. He was the first president elected in a grand popular plebiscite and from outside the colonial gentry

Nullification Crisis (1832-1833)

A confrontation during Jackson's presidency where South Carolina declared the "protective tariff" law unconstitutional and void, threatening the federal union. Jackson, despite being a southerner, firmly opposed nullification, stating it would lead to secession and civil war

Indian Removal

A policy centrally important to Andrew Jackson's initial presidential agenda, involving the relocation of eastern Indian tribes beyond the Mississippi River, often justified by claims of philanthropy and the need for American Indian self-preservation, but branded by critics as motivated by greed and racism. This policy led to the Trail of Tears.

Bank War

A major political and economic conflict during Jackson's presidency, marked by his famous veto of the Bank of the United States in 1832. Jackson opposed the bank as a corporate privilege benefiting "the rich and powerful" at the expense of "the humble members of society"

Panic of 1837

An economic depression that occurred during Martin Van Buren's presidency, which allowed the Whigs to win the White House in 1840. Jackson's policies, such as the Specie Circular, contributed to this panic

Log Cabin Campaign (1840)

The presidential campaign of 1840, primarily characterized by the Whig Party's strategy to promote their candidate, William Henry Harrison, as a "common man" in stark contrast to the incumbent Democratic President, Martin Van Buren

Spoils System

Andrew Jackson's policy of purging the federal bureaucracy of his political opponents and instituting "rotation in office," which his enemies dubbed the "spoils system." Jackson justified it by stating that "duties of all public officers are so plain and simple that men of intelligence may readily qualify themselves for their performance".

King Cotton

Refers to the economic dominance of cotton in the South between 1800 and 1860, which created a distinct system of business and commerce and heavily relied on slavery. Both the northern and international textile industries depended on this raw material.

Peculiar Institution

A euphemism for slavery in the South, highlighting how it was more than just an economic system but a "critical, creative force" in a social order that shaped the lives of planters, plain folk, and enslaved people.

Alexis de Tocqueville

A French aristocrat who toured the U.S. in 1831–1832 and published "Democracy in America," an analysis of American society emphasizing the "general equality of condition" and the pervasive influence of democracy, seeing Andrew Jackson as its exemplar.

Slave Codes

Legal constraints on slaves' lives and work, such as those in Louisiana, which declared that slaves could not possess anything in their own right, be parties to civil suits, or be witnesses against white persons. They were considered real estate, subject to being mortgaged, seized, and sold

Underground Railroad

A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans primarily during the 19th century in the United States to escape to free states and Canada

Nat Turner

The leader of an unsuccessful slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831, which is cited as evidence that slaves were not submissive people

Paternalism (Slavery)

A concept used to describe the relationship between slave owners and enslaved people, where owners viewed themselves as guardians or "fathers" to their slaves, often asserting a "kind superintending care" while justifying the institution as a "positive good"

Gang System

A method of organizing slave labor, particularly on large plantations, where field hands were nearly always worked in gangs, directed by a driver. This system demanded a certain daily output, and those who fell short were punished

Task System

A method of organizing slave labor, where each slave was assigned a specific daily task and could take their own time to complete it. More industrious hands often finished by early afternoon, allowing for some personal time

Free Blacks (in the South)

African Americans who were not enslaved in the South. The chapter on slavery examines their societal position and how they created communities and strategies to protect their dignity.

Abolitionism

The crusade against slavery that sought to reinvigorate the idea of freedom as a truly universal entitlement, with black abolitionists rejecting the nation’s claims as a land of liberty. This movement evolved from colonization efforts to advocating for immediate abolition.

Temperance Movement

A reform movement aimed at reducing or prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Women's Rights Movement (19th Century Feminism)

A movement that emerged from the abolitionist movement in the 19th century, comparing the condition of women to that of slavery as a powerful rhetorical tool. It sought to change society and improve the status of women

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

A significant event in the early feminist movement, concluding with the Declaration of Sentiments. It also led to a split in the organized abolitionist movement in 1840 over the proper role of women in antislavery work

Declaration of Sentiments

A document drafted at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, which outlined the grievances and demands of women for equal rights

Second Great Awakening

A religious revival movement that spurred the reform impulse in the antebellum period, relating to the idea of perfectionism and affecting definitions of freedom

Transcendentalism

A philosophical and literary movement that was a response to the market revolution and affected definitions of freedom through its emphasis on individualism and self-reliance

Horace Mann

A prominent figure in the education reform movement, who advocated for public schools to "equalize the conditions of men"

Dorothea Dix

A reformer who advocated for the humane treatment of the mentally ill and worked to improve conditions in asylums and prisons

William Lloyd Garrison

A radical abolitionist who published the anti-slavery newspaper "The Liberator" and advocated for immediate abolition

Frederick Douglass

A prominent African American abolitionist and former slave, known for his powerful narratives and speeches against slavery

Grimke Sisters

Sisters from a slaveholding family in South Carolina who became prominent abolitionists and advocates for women's rights, using the comparison of women's condition to slavery as a rhetorical tool

Moral Suasion

A tactic used by some abolitionists, particularly William Lloyd Garrison, who believed that slavery could be ended by appealing to the moral conscience of slaveholders and the public

Manifest Destiny

The widespread belief in the 1840s that it was America's "God-given destiny" to expand its empire of liberty across the continent to the Pacific Ocean, often used to justify territorial expansion, but seen by some as aggressive imperialism

Mexican War (1846-1848)

A controversial war initiated by President James Polk to acquire California, resulting in the U.S. gaining California and much of the present American Southwest (the Mexican Cession) through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

A proposal by Representative David Wilmot (D-Pennsylvania) to ban slavery from any territory acquired from Mexico. Though not passed, it intensified sectional debate and contributed to the rise of the Free Soil Party

Free Soil Party

A political party that emerged from the Wilmot Proviso, spreading anti-slavery's appeal preventing expansion slavery to western states more not for abolitionism

Compromise of 1850

A series of legislative measures designed to resolve the issue of slavery's status in the Mexican Cession, which included admitting California as a free state but also enacted a stronger Fugitive Slave Act

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

A component of the Compromise of 1850 that mandated the return of runaway slaves, making it more difficult for free states to protect them and creating new controversy

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

A controversial act that reopened the sectional divide over slavery in the territories by overturning the Missouri Compromise's prohibition on slavery in Kansas and Nebraska. It led to political realignment, the collapse of the Whigs, and the rise of the Republican Party

Popular Sovereignty

The principle, central to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, that the decision on whether to allow slavery in a territory should be left to the residents of that territory through a vote

Bleeding Kansas

A short civil war that broke out between pro-slavery and anti-slavery (freesoil) factions in Kansas as a consequence of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, due to the violence that ensued as settlers rushed into the territory to influence the vote on slavery

Republican Party (Pre-Civil War)

A political party that rose in the North after the Kansas-Nebraska Act, based on free labor ideology and opposing the expansion of slavery into the territories

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

A U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be U.S. citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery from territories. This pleased most southern whites but angered many northerners, further intensifying sectional tensions

John Brown's Raid (Harpers Ferry, 1859)

An attack led by abolitionist John Brown on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in an attempt to spark a slave rebellion. Though quickly suppressed, it dramatically escalated sectional tensions and deepened divisions between North and South

Election of 1860

A highly sectional presidential election amidst mounting tensions, where the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln won without a single electoral vote from the South, leading to the secession of seven slave states and the formation of the Confederate States of America before his inauguration

Secession (Causes)

The withdrawal of Southern states from the Union (starting with South Carolina on December 20, 1860) due to an increasing hostility from non-slaveholding states towards slavery, disregard for constitutional obligations, and the election of Abraham Lincoln, whose opinions were seen as hostile to slavery and who was believed to seek slavery's "ultimate extinction"

Fort Sumter (April 1861)

A U.S. fort in Charleston, South Carolina, where Confederate forces fired upon Union troops, marking the beginning of the Civil War

Modern War (Civil War)

Refers to the Civil War's characteristics, such as the use of new technologies (ironclads, repeating rifles, balloons) and massive mobilization of forces, even if some aspects like linear formations were traditional

Total War (Civil War)

Refers to the Civil War's nature, where massive mobilization, targeting of civilian resources (e.g., Sherman's March to the Sea), and the destruction of the South's society through emancipation became features, aiming to break the enemy's will to fight

Anaconda Plan

The Union's strategic plan early in the Civil War, which involved blockading Southern ports and controlling the Mississippi River to cut off the Confederacy and suffocate its economy

Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863)

An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln, based on his authority as Commander-in-Chief as a "fit and necessary war measure," declaring all persons held as slaves in rebellious states "then, thenceforward, and forever free." It allowed for the enlistment of African Americans into the Union army

Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863)

A short, powerful speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg, which redefined the purpose of the Civil War, emphasizing liberty, equality, and a "new birth of freedom" for the nation

African Americans (Civil War Role)

Nearly 200,000 free blacks and fugitive slaves enlisted in the Union army after the Emancipation Proclamation, and an additional 150,000 served in supply and engineering corps, fighting valiantly despite facing discrimination in pay and rank

Women (Civil War Role)

Women on both sides played crucial roles; Southern women ran plantations and farms, worked in factories (including munitions), and spun clothes. Northern women replaced men in factories and farms, and many took on nursing duties, like Clara Barton, exposing them to the war's horrors

Cotton Diplomacy

The Confederacy's strategy to gain financial support and allies from European powers, especially Great Britain and France, by relying on their dependence on Southern cotton. This strategy failed due to the Union blockade and Europe finding other sources of cotton

Sherman's March to the Sea (May-December 1864)

Union General William T. Sherman's destructive military campaign through Georgia (and later the Carolinas) aimed at making the Confederacy "sick of war" by targeting civilian resources and causing widespread destruction, exemplifying total war

Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

The site in Virginia where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War

Union vs. Nation (Lincoln's Shift)

A significant shift in Abraham Lincoln's language during the Civil War, moving from referring to "Union" (a collection of states) to "nation" (a unified entity), signifying his belief that the war settled the question of an indivisible, consolidated United States

Copperheads (Peace Democrats)

Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and advocated for a negotiated peace settlement with the Confederacy

Conscription Act

A law passed by both the Union and Confederacy during the Civil War to draft men into military service, signaling a new level of government involvement in individuals' lives

Reconstruction (Era)

The period following the Civil War (1865–1877) focused on determining the results of the war, including the place of freedmen in Southern society and how rebellious states would be brought back into the Union. It involved rewriting national laws and the Constitution to guarantee basic rights for former slaves

Freedmen's Bureau

A federal agency established during Reconstruction to aid former slaves and poor whites in the South by providing food, housing, medical care, and education

Black Codes

Laws implemented in the South during Presidential Reconstruction that sought to control newly freed African-Americans, restricting their rights and virtually re-enslaving them through labor contracts and limiting their freedom

Civil Rights Act of 1866

A federal law passed by congressional Republicans to counter the Black Codes, asserting that all citizens (except Native Americans) were equally protected by the law

Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

A Reconstruction amendment that defined national citizenship, guaranteed equal protection under the law, and prohibited states from abridging the "privileges or immunities" of citizens or depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process

Reconstruction Act (1867)

Legislation passed by Radical Republicans in Congress that divided the South into military districts, required Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment, and grant suffrage to black men before readmission to the Union

Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

A Reconstruction amendment that prohibited the denial of voting rights based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude," effectively granting suffrage to black men but causing a split in the feminist movement for not including women

Andrew Johnson's Impeachment (1868)

The process by which President Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives primarily for violating the Tenure of Office Act by firing his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. He was acquitted by the Senate, avoiding removal from office

Ku Klux Klan (KKK) (Reconstruction Era)

A white supremacist terrorist organization that emerged during Reconstruction, engaging in violence and intimidation against Republican voters, both white and black, to restore white political power in the South

Redeemers

White Democrats in the South who sought to "redeem" the South from perceived corruption, misgovernment, and Northern/black control, ultimately working to end Reconstruction and restore white supremacy

Sharecropping

An agricultural system that emerged after the Civil War where landowners divided their land and gave each worker (freed African-American or poor white) a few acres with seed and tools. In return, the worker gave a share (usually half) of their crop to the landowner, often leading to a cycle of debt and limited autonomy

Tenant Farming

A system where farmers paid rent for the land they farmed, often in cash or a share of the crop, giving them slightly more independence than sharecroppers but still often leading to poverty

Compromise of 1877

An unwritten political agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election. In exchange for Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) winning the presidency, federal troops were removed from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction

Jim Crow System

A system of state and local laws enacted in the post-Reconstruction South that enforced racial segregation and disenfranchisement, legally evading the spirit of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments

Lost Cause Myth

A historical interpretation prevalent in the South after the Civil War that presented the Confederate cause as noble and heroic, arguing that the war was fought for states' rights (not slavery), that slaves were happy, and that the South was overwhelmed by Northern numbers, thus glorifying Southern sacrifice and ignoring slavery and racism

Economic Nationalism (Monroe Era)

A policy push during the "Era of Good Feelings" that advocated for federal government support for American economic development through measures like protective tariffs and internal improvements, championed by figures like Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun

Judicial Nationalism (Marshall Court)

The trend of Supreme Court decisions under Chief Justice John Marshall that strengthened the power of the federal government and asserted its supremacy over state governments, as seen in cases like McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

A landmark Supreme Court case under Chief Justice John Marshall that upheld the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States and broadly interpreted the "necessary and proper" clause, strengthening federal power over states

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

A landmark Supreme Court case under Chief Justice John Marshall that affirmed the federal government's authority to regulate interstate commerce, further expanding federal power

Adams-Onís Treaty (1819)

Also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, negotiated by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, in which the U.S. acquired Florida from Spain and established a definitive border with Spanish territories in the West

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

A foreign policy declaration by President James Monroe, asserting that the Americas were off-limits for further European colonization and that any attempt by European powers to extend their political system to the Western Hemisphere would be considered "dangerous to our peace and safety"

Missouri Compromise (1820)

A legislative agreement brokered by Henry Clay that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to maintain the balance of power in Congress, and prohibited slavery in the Louisiana territory north of the 36°30′ parallel

Henry Clay ("The Great Compromiser")

A prominent statesman known for his legislative and leadership skills, who brokered key compromises like the Missouri Compromise (1820), the Nullification Crisis settlement (1832), and the Compromise of 1850, aiming to prevent sectional division and civil war

John C. Calhoun (Nullification)

A statesman from South Carolina who, as Vice President, masterminded the theory of nullification, arguing that states had the right to veto federal laws they deemed unconstitutional, especially regarding protective tariffs He also argued that slavery was a "positive good" for society

Daniel Webster (Nullification)

A Senator from Massachusetts who strongly opposed Calhoun's theory of nullification, arguing that the U.S. government was "the people's Constitution, the people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people," not a creature of individual states

Specie Circular (1836)

An executive order issued by Andrew Jackson requiring that government land be paid for in gold and silver (specie) rather than paper money, which contributed to the Panic of 1837 by restricting credit and devaluing paper currency

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

A Supreme Court case where Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee Nation was a "distinct community" with territorial boundaries where Georgia law had no force. President Andrew Jackson famously defied this ruling, facilitating Indian removal

Old Hickory

The popular nickname for Andrew Jackson, signifying his toughness and resilience, highlighting his image as a "quintessential product of American democracy"

Mexican Cession (1848)

The vast territory, including California and much of the American Southwest, acquired by the United States from Mexico as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican War

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

The treaty that formally ended the Mexican War, resulting in Mexico ceding a vast amount of territory (the Mexican Cession) to the United States and receiving $15 million in compensation

Gold Rush (California, 1848)

The rapid influx of thousands of Americans and others to California following the discovery of gold in early 1848, which created wealth but also led to significant ethnic conflict

Abolitionist Criticisms of Slavery

Critics of slavery, such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, attacked the institution on moral, ethical, and religious grounds, seeing it as fundamentally incompatible with American ideals of liberty and equality

Confederacy (Economic Crisis)

The Confederate states faced severe economic challenges during the Civil War, including food shortages due to manpower drain and Union occupation, skyrocketing prices (9000% inflation), and an inability to finance the war effectively through "Cotton Diplomacy" or adequate taxation, relying heavily on printing worthless paper money

Union (Economic Boom)

The Northern economy generally boomed during the Civil War due to army demands for uniforms, shoes, guns, and other supplies, stimulating industries like woolen mills, steel foundries, and coal mines. Labor shortages led to the adoption of labor-saving devices in agriculture, further boosting manufacturing55135

Robert E. Lee

The commanding general of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, who famously surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in April 18655589

Ulysses S. Grant

The commanding general of the Union Army during the latter part of the Civil War, known for his relentless pursuit of the Confederate forces and his acceptance of Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox

Forty Acres and a Mule

A promise made (though rarely fulfilled) to formerly enslaved African Americans after the Civil War, originating from General William T. Sherman's Special Field Order 15, to set aside 40-acre plots of land for former slave families, symbolizing the desire for land ownership as a path to true freedom and economic independence