Video Notes: Civil War, Reconstruction, Westward Expansion, and Gilded Age Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Civil War, Reconstruction, Westward Expansion, and the Gilded Age notes.

Civil War

The conflict between the North and South (1861–1865) over slavery, sectionalism, westward expansion, and states’ rights.

Westward Expansion

The 19th-century movement of settlers into U.S. western territories, driven by land, opportunity, and resources.

Freeport Doctrine

Stephen Douglas’s idea that residents of a territory could ban slavery despite the Dred Scott decision.

Compromise of 1850

A package of laws addressing slavery and territorial status, including California as a free state and the Fugitive Slave Law.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Legislation that repealed the Missouri Compromise by allowing popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska.

Ostend Manifesto

A 1854 proposal urging the U.S. to purchase Cuba to expand slave territory.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Part of the Compromise of 1850; required the return of escaped enslaved people and denied certain rights in pursuit.

Dred Scott Decision (1857)

Supreme Court ruling that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress couldn’t ban slavery in new territories; slaves were property.

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to suffocate the Confederacy with a naval blockade and control of the Mississippi River.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s 1863 order declaring slaves in rebelling states free (not in border states loyal to the Union).

Gettysburg (Battle)

July 1863 turning point of the Civil War; Union victory halted Confederate invasion of the North.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln’s short speech honoring Union soldiers and redefining the purpose of the war.

Vicksburg

1863 Union victory giving the North control over the Mississippi River and the Western theater.

Reconstruction

The post–Civil War era focused on readmitting Southern states, defining citizenship, and rebuilding the economy.

Black Codes

Southern laws restricting the rights of freedmen, spurring the push for civil rights protections (14th Amendment).

Republicans

The political party formed in the 1850s; supported the Union during the Civil War and pursued Reconstruction policies.

Radical Republicans

A faction demanding strict Reconstruction measures and full civil rights for African Americans.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

Defined citizenship and guaranteed due process and equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Prohibited denying the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous servitude.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War seeking political and economic opportunities.

Sharecropping

A system where landowners allow tenant farmers to use land in exchange for a share of the crops.

African American Migration

Mass movement of African Americans from the South to the North and other regions seeking better opportunities.

Debt Peonage

Debt slavery; workers remain bound to a debt and must work to pay it off.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist groups that terrorized African Americans and hindered civil rights.

Nadir

The lowest point of race relations and civil rights during Reconstruction and its aftermath.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws enforcing racial segregation in the South after Reconstruction.

Reservation System

Lands set aside for Native American tribes; restricted movements and rights.

Homestead Act (1862)

Encouraged western settlement by granting 160 acres to settlers who improved the land.

Dawes Act (1887)

Aimed at assimilating Native Americans by allotting land to individuals and dissolving tribal land holdings.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890)

Required the government to purchase silver, expanding the money supply.

Granger Laws

State laws regulating railroad rates and practices as part of the Grange movement.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

Federal law regulating interstate railroad rates and prohibiting unfair practices.

Farmers’ Alliance

A farmer organization that educated members and pushed for reforms; helped spark Populism.

Populism (People’s Party)

A late-19th-century movement led by farmers for economic reforms and political influence.

Cross of Gold

William Jennings Bryan’s 1896 speech criticizing the gold standard and advocating farmers’ interests.

Free Enterprise / Capitalism

An economic system with privately owned means of production and a free market.

Munn v. Illinois (1877)

Supreme Court decision that allowed state regulation of private industries for the public interest.

Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

Supreme Court ruling that limited state regulation of interstate commerce, prompting federal regulation.

First Industrial Revolution

The early phase of industrialization featuring mechanization and new production methods.