Unit 5 APUSH

Oregan Trail

The route west from the Mississippi River to the Oregan territory. By 1860, some 350,000 Americans had made the journey along the trail looking for economic prospects. Funds were needed for wagons/supplies so most travelers were middle class farmers composed of communities and families traveling together.

James K. Polk

Wanted Oregan and Mexico expansion and annexation. Democrat.

Liberty Party

Anti-slavery political party in 1840 to place slavery at the center of political debates. Denounced the annexation of Mexico and gained enough votes that Polk won the election by disrupting the election

Democratic Review

Magazine founded by democrat John O'Sullivan in 1837. It acted as a prominent mouthpiece for the Young America movement and the democratic party and the jacksonian democracy. It coined the term “Manifest Destiny” in 1845

Manifest Destiny

Describes what John O'Sullivan saw as the nation's god given right to expand its borders. Was used to justify US expansion and defined Polk's presidency

Comache

Natives that raided Mexico because Mexico didn’t have supplies to give gifts as per tradition. Traded with New Mexico, weakening Mexican hold of North areas

Mexican-American War

Began over border disputes of Texas because Polk sent a delegate AND troops to negotiate so the Mexicans sent troops and they fought near Rio Grande and people died. Whigs opposed the war. 1846-1848 war between the US and Mexico. Ultimately Mexico ceded 1 million square miles to the US. Debates over slavery in this new area reignited the national debate about the expansion of slavery. Whigs and some democrats saw the war as a southern conspiracy to expand slavery.

Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo

1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American war. The US gained control over Texas north and east of the Rio Grande + New Mexico + California

California Gold Rush

The rapid influx of migrants to CA after the discovery of gold in 1848. Migrants came from all over the world. Men largely outnumbered women.

Wilmot Proviso

1846 proposal by democratic congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania to outlaw slavery in all territory acquired from Mexico. It was rejected, but the fight over its adoption foreshadowed the sectional conflicts of the 1850s. Followed Free Soil Party ideas and gave a voice to free soilers. Extended opposition to slavery by farmers and workers

Free Soil Party

Believed that not having slavery in the west benefited the northern white economy. Appealed so small farmers and urban workers hoping to benefit from western expansion. The Liberty Party eventually combined with them

Compromise of 1850

Henry Clay said California should be admitted as a free state, remaining land from Mexico should be split into Utah and New Mexico where slavery is decides by the people, the border dispute between New Mexico and Texas would favor New Mexico but Texas’ debts would be assumed, the slave trade is abolished in the district of Columbia, and new and more fugitive slave laws will be created and enforced. After months of debate, President Fillmore passed it 1 clause at a time

Fugitive slave act of 1850

Act strengthening earlier fugitive slave laws, passed as part of the compromise of 1850. Provoked anger in the North and intensified sectional tensions. Eliminated jury trials for alleged fugitives. Required citizens (not just authorities) to return fugitives. Aroused sympathy for the abolitionist cause as the north thought the government protected slaveholders too much. Free black people were arrested and enslaved. Commissioners were paid more money for returning fugitives than declaring their innocence.

Young America Movement

1850s political movement that supported nationalism, manifest destiny, and expansionism. Supported by the democratic party. Wanted expansion south (Cuba, Nicaragua, Spanish areas) and west

Filibusters

Unauthorized military expeditions by southern democrats to gain Cuba and cause rebellions in these territories. Disliked by northern democrats so when these people were captured they were abandoned by the government

Ostend Manifesto

1854 letter from US ambassadors to President Pierce to conquer Cuba. The north was outraged at what they believed to be a plot to expand slave territory so they forced him to give up these plans. Pierce and democrats endorsed some other guy to take Nicaragua who invited other southern planters to do the same/join him. He was eventually overthrown so Pierce failed to expand and increased sectional tensions

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Meant to publicize the evils of the slavery. It struck an emotional chord in the North and increased abolitionism support in the North where they’ve never been truly exposed to or able to comprehend this horror before. Inspired by the passage of the 1850 fugitive slave act

Transcontinental railroad

A railroad linking the east and the west coasts of north America. Completed in 1869, facilitated the flow of migrants and development of economic connections between the east and west. Established Nebraska area with some slavery becuse the south wanted some sort of balance if the railroad wasnt in their area.

Kansas-Nebraska act

1854 act creating the territories of Nebraska and Kansas out of the land the natives were forced to. Slavery decided here by popular Sovereignty. Repealed the Missouri Compromise. Opposition from whigs and northern democrats

American Party

Also known as the Know-Nothing Party. Arose in the northeast during the 1840s. They were anti-catholic and anti-immigration. Supported workers rights against buissness owners who were perceived to support immigration as a way to keep wages low. Workers and protestants farmers were drawn to these policies

Republican Party

Advocated to stopping the expansion of slavery and advocated for economic development and internal improvements. Comprised of anti-slavery whigs, free-soilers, and Abraham Lincoln. Rooted in the north

John Brown

Abolitionist, carried rifles to Kansas and kidnapped and killed proslavery people. Infuriated southern settlers in Kansas who then declared Kansas as a slave state (though it was eventually admitted as a free state). Tried to insight a slave rebellion in John brown’s raid. Wanted total equality. Was a hero to the north and madman to the south (though of as a conspiracy created by the power-hungry north). His death caused mass anger from citizens (parades in his honor) but politicians mostly thought his actions as rash

Bleeding Kansas

The Kansas territory during a period of violent conflicts over the fate of slavery in the 1850s. Intensified sectional division over slavery

Dred Scott Case

1877 Supreme Court case centered on the status of Dred Scott and his family. He said that because his slave master moved them to a free slave state that he is now free. The court ruled that slaves are not citizens so they can’t sue, the family stays enslaved, Congress can’t ban slavery in any territory (nullified the Missouri Compromise), and restricted efforts to restrict slavery's expansion. The north was outraged and thought this was a south and federal government conspiracy to protect slavery

Abraham Lincoln

Nominated by the republican party for senate. Had many debates for the position. Believed in economic but not social equality for black people at this time before he became president

Lincoln-Douglass Debates

A series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglass during the 1859 Illinois senate election. Focused on the expansion of slavery. Douglass won but this put Lincoln in the spotlight as an eloquent and intelligent republican

John Brown's Raid

1859 attack on the federal arsenal of Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Led by John Brown who hoped to inspire a slave uprising and arm slaves with weapons from the arsenal. No uprising occurred and he was captured and executed.

Confederate States of America

Lincoln won the presidential election without a single southern votes so the south was angry they weren’t represented. This is the name of the portion of the southern government that ceceded from the union after Lincoln's election. Also called the confederacy

Crittenden Plan

A political compromise to slavery. Failed after a portion of the south ceceded. Would have protected slavery where it already existed from federal interference and extended the Missouri Compromise line to California. Republicans disliked it because they didn’t want to encourage the south to seek south America as it is below the line

Fort Sumter

Union fort that guarded the harbor in Charleston, South Carolina. The confederacy's decision to fire on the fort and back up supplies started the Civil War as originally Lincoln wanted the Confederate back without having to use military force

Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)

First major battle of the Civil War. Confederate troops defeated union forces

Contraband

A term first used by a union general to describe slaves who had fled to union lines to obtain freedom. By allowing the slaves in, the union could fight slavery without declaring emancipation. Some generals returned slaves but others used them for their knowledge of the area and other services

Confiscation Act

Laws passed by congress during the Civil War that authorized the confisication of Confederate property. Any slaves forced to work for the Confederate army would no longer be bound to slaveholders. A continuation of contraband

Second Battle of Bull Run

1862 union defeat

Battle of Shiloh

1862 battle that provided the union entrance to the Mississippi Valley. Extremely bloody and exposed northern soldiers to the horrors of slavery increasing abolitionism support

Battle of Antietam

1862, Sharpsburg, Maryland. A lot of people died. The union won so Abraham Lincoln used this victory to announce emancipation to the cabinet

Emancipation Proclamation

1863, declared slaves in areas still in rebellion free. Didn’t abolished slavery outright but was a victory for abolitionists. Many slaves fled the south to fight in the union army as a result. Didn’t free slaves in union slave states for fear of secession

Industrialization

The massive shift from homemade goods to factory mass production that occurred during the 19th century

Women’s national loyal league

An organization founded by abolitionist women to force congress to declare total emancipation

The enrollment act

1863 union draft law in which draftees were picked by an unbiased lottery but the rich could escape service by paying a fee or hiring a substitute. Caused working class resentment

Copperheads

Northern democrats who did not support the civil war. Comprised of east and Midwest people

Battle of Gettysburg

1863 battle that helped turn the tide for the union in the Civil War. The union victory in Gettysburg, Pa along with a victory at Vicksburg, MS the same month eliminated the threat of European intervention in the war and positioned the union to push father into the south. Marked the last time the confederacy tried to invade the north. The union had more men so they won

Siege of Vicksburg

After a prolonged siege, the union troops forced confederate forces to surrender here leading to untion control of the rich Mississippi river valley. Cut some states off so ensured the union’s control of the west

Gettysburg Address

A speech given by Abraham Lincoln to introduce the federal cemetery at Gettysburg. 1863, he expressed his belief that the war was a struggle for freedom

Sherman’s March to the Sea

total war tactics employed by General William Tecumseh Sherman to capture Atlanta, Georgia, and the Carolinas, devastating the region in 1864

Field Order Number 15

Order issued by Tecumseh Sherman in 1865 to set aside confederate land for free people. This was in response to pressure from black leaders

13th amendment

1865, banned slavery, led to desegregation in the north. The confederates looming defeat and abolitionists efforts eventually convinced congress to support it

Ulysses S. Grant

The leading union general in the Civil War. Won Vicksburg, was nicknamed “the butcher” because of his total war tactics of destroying civilian property, fields, and food, allowing huge casualties for victories, and relative disregard for human life. Defeated Lee

Freedmen’s Bureau

1865 federal agency that provided freed people with economic and legal resources. Created by congress. Gave land to free people. Opened schools for black people and helped families relocate each other

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

1863, established the basic parameters of Lincoln’s approach to reconstruction: abolition of slavery, amnesty to the south except for high ranking confederates, 10% of south voters must swear an oath to the union, and new southern governments need to be established

Radical Republicans

Republican politicians who actively supported abolition prior to the civil war and sought tighter controls over the south after the war

Wade-Davis bill

1864, created higher barriers for the confederate states to be readmitted to the union and gave freedmen the right the vote. Vetoed by Lincoln

Black codes

racial laws passed by southern legislators after the civil war that aimed to keep free people in conditions as close to slavery as possible

14th amendment

Defined citizenship and protected individual civil and political rights from abridgment by states. Overturned the Dred-Scott case. Refused to assume the confederates’ debts or politicians

Military Reconstruction Acts

1867, divided southern states into military districts and required those states to grant black male suffrage

Tenure of Office Act

1867, prevented Johnson from removing cabinet members sypathetic to the Republican party’s approach to reconstruction without senate approval

15th amendment

prohibited the abridgment of citizens’ right to vote on the basis of race. Southern states tried many loop holes around it

American Equal Rights Association

a group of black and white people in 1866 to promote gender and racial equality. Split in 1869 over the 15th amendment: women worried that black men getting rights would decrease their rights, there was no talk of black women rights, and some said it was necessary for black men to vote to ensure their freedom so getting the same privilege for women could wait

National Women Suffrage Association

Sought voting rights for women after the Civil War

Scalawags

Insult for white southerners who supported Reconstruction

Carpetbaggers

Insult for white northerners whi moved to the south after the Civil War. White southerners belived such migrants wanted to exploit their suffering

Sharecropping

System that emerged as the dominant mode of agriculture and production in the South after the Civil War. Share clippers received tools and supplies from landowners in exchange for a share of the eventual harvest. Black and poor white people were often share choppers abused by whites by being forced into debt and never able to get out

Exodusters

Black people who migrated from the south to Kansas in 1879 seeking land and economic opportunities. Pooled their resources to create land companies and purchase property. They were more free hut the land and weather were bad for farming

Redeemers

White democrats who challenged and other threw republican rule in the South during Reconstruction

Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

Organization formed in 1865 by General Nathan Bedford Forrest to enforce prewar racial norms. Members used threats and violence to intimidate black people and white Republicans

Force Acts

3 acts passed by Congress in 1870 and 1871 in response to vigilante attacks on southern black people. Meant to protect black political rights and ended violence by the KKK and similar organizations. The president could send officials into the south to supervise elections and prevent voting interference

Panic of 1873

Severe econmice depression triggered by the collapse of the northern pacific railroad

Great Railway Strike

Series of nationwide railway worker strikes in 1877 following the collapse of several railroad and wage cuts. In response to these strikes, US troops were removed from the south and sent North and west to contain these strikes

Slaughterhouse cases

1873 Supreme Court decision that was one of the first tests of the 14th amendment when it decided that, although the 14th amendment guaranteed federal protection for black people, that protection did not extend to civil or property rights, which were decided by the states

US vs Crulkshank

1876 Supreme Court ruling that further defined and limited the federal powers under the 14th amendment after the slaughterhouse ruling. Protected black people against abuse only by state officials and agencies but exempted private groups like the KKK

Civil rights act of 1875

Act extending “full and equal treatment” for all races in public accommodations, including jury service and public transportation

Compromise of 1877

Compromise between Republicans and democrats that resulted in the election of the republican (Hayes). Democrats agreed to support him in the disputed presidential election in exchange for his promise to end Reconstruction, appointing a southerner to his cabinet, withdraw all troops from the south, and construct a transcontinental railroad in the south. This compromise created a crisis over presidential succession, underscored the increase of democratic influence in Congress, and marked the end of strong federal protections for black people in the south