Connecting APUSH Unit 5 and Unit 6

A vocabulary flashcard deck covering the key historical terms, dates, and thematic connections linking APUSH Period 5 (1844–1877) and Period 6 (1865–1898).

Manifest Destiny

An 1840s ideology that justified westward expansion and influenced conflicts over slavery in newly acquired territories.

Mexican-American War

A war (1846–1848) resulting in territorial gains that intensified national tensions over the expansion of slavery, ultimately leading to the Civil War.

Compromise of 1850

A temporary legislative solution in 1850 that failed to resolve underlying sectional tensions over slavery and set the stage for future conflicts.

Fugitive Slave Act

An 1850 law that heightened tensions between the North and South, leading to increased activity within abolitionist movements.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 law that led to violent conflicts ('Bleeding Kansas') over the issue of slavery, contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Civil War

A major conflict spanning 1861 to 1865 that ended slavery in the United States and set the stage for Reconstruction.

Abraham Lincoln

The U.S. President (1809–1865) during the Civil War who issued the Emancipation Proclamation to free enslaved people.

Emancipation Proclamation

An 1863 presidential proclamation that freed enslaved people in Confederate states, serving as a key milestone leading to the 13th Amendment.

Reconstruction

The post-Civil War era (1865–1877) aimed at reintegrating Southern states into the Union and addressing the rights of freedmen.

Reconstruction Amendments

Constitutional amendments ratified between 1865 and 1870 as outcomes of the Civil War: the 13th (abolition of slavery), 14th (citizenship), and 15th (voting rights).

Gilded Age

A period from the 1870s to 1900 characterized by rapid industrialization, following the economic transformations brought about by the Civil War.

Industrialization

An economic transformation occurring from 1865 to 1898 following the Civil War, facilitated by resources obtained from westward expansion.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad completed in 1869 connecting the East and West coasts, driven by demands stemming from westward expansion and economic growth.

Andrew Carnegie

A major steel industry leader (1835–1919) who symbolized the rise of industrial capitalism post-Civil War.

John D. Rockefeller

An industrial figure (1839–1937) who established Standard Oil Company and exemplified the rapid growth of big business.

Populism

An 1890s movement that emerged from the economic hardships and challenges faced by farmers affected by industrial capitalism.

Social Darwinism

A late 19th-century ideology based on 'survival of the fittest' that justified economic inequality and imperialism, evolving from earlier ideas of Manifest Destiny.

Spanish-American War

An 1898 war that marked the emergence of the United States as a global power, linked to earlier 19th-century expansionist policies.