APUSH Unit 4 Key Terms

Bleeding Kansas

Term that described the prairie territory where a small-scale civil war erupted between Jayhawkers and Border Ruffians in 1856

Caning of Sumner

Involved violence in the United States Senate and a bloody beating of a Senator with a cane

Compromise of 1850

A series of agreements between North and South that temporarily ignored the slavery controversy and led to a short-lived era of national good feelings

Constitutional Union Party

A compromise party in the election of 1860 looking to appease Northerners and Southerners

Crittenden Proposal

A last-ditch effort to save the union by providing guarantees for slavery in the territories

Dred Scott Decision

Ruled that blacks had no civil or human rights, and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories because slaves were private property

Freeport Doctrine

Stephen Douglas’ statement that slavery could not exist in a community of local citizens did not pass laws (angering Southern Democrats

Fugitive Slave Act

The provision of the Compromise of 1850 that required all freedom seekers, upon capture, be returned to the enslaver and that citizens of free states had to cooperate.

Gadsden Purchase

1853 treaty in which the United States bought from Mexico parts of what is now southern Arizona and southern New Mexico

Harper's Ferry

Site of a federal arsenal where a militant abolitionist attempted to start a stave rebellion

Harriet Tubman

Prominent conductor of the Underground Railroad believed to have helped over 300 people find freedom

The Impending Crisis of the South

A southern book that argued how reliance on enslavement weakened Southern economy (while also asserting white supremacy)

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Legislation that created new territories and enraged many by repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820

Manifest Destiny

The widespread American belief that God had ordained the United States to occupy all of North America

Oregon Treaty

Resolved the dispute between Britain and the U. S. over land in 1846 and set the border at the 49th parallel

Ostend Manifesto

Document that threatened war with Spain to gain control of Cuba - seen as an attempt to acquire enslaved territory

Peculiar Institution

Southern justification of enslavement as unique to only those in Southern society

Popular Sovereignty

Principle that people living in a territory should decide if a region should be free or enslaved

Slidell Mission

The United States’ offer to Mexico to purchase California and New Mexico for $25 million

Stephen Austin

Brought 300 families into Texas, beginning a steady migration of American settlers to the vast territory

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

Treaty ending the Mexican-American War, acquiring about half of Mexico and payment of several million dollars in compensation

Treaty of Kanagawa

Agreement  that established diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Japan and opened up U.S. trade with Japan.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Influential book depicting enslavement’s vicious treatment that created strong opposition to slavery

Underground Railroad

The informal network that conducted freedom seekers from the South to Canada

Wilmot Proviso

Controversial proposal which passed the House but not the Senate, stipulating that enslavement should be forbidden in the territory acquired from Mexico

Emancipation Proclamation

Closed the door on possible compromise with the South

Ku Klux Klan

Paramilitary group that terrorized freedmen and sympathetic whites throughout the South after the Civil War

Sharecropping

Dominant form of southern agriculture where a person rents land from a plantation owner in exchange for giving a certain portion of each year’s crop

Conscription Act

Legislation that drafted men into the armed forces on a nationwide scale and whose provisions were grossly unfair to the poor

Habeas Corpus

Lincoln suspended this in Maryland to give military authorities the necessary power to silence dissenters

Substitute Provision

Enabled rich northerners to hire poorer individuals for $300 to take their place in the draft

New York City Drafts Riots

Occurring in 1863, violent reaction opposing conscription

Gettysburg Address

Reflected the struggle against enslavement as the fulfillment of America’s democratic ideals

Compromise of 1877

An informal arrangement that ended the Reconstruction Era in the South

Redeemers

Southern White Democrats who took control of state governments after reconstruction

Republicans

Issues of slavery, western settlement, and anti-immigrant nativism fostered the emergence of this largely Northern political party

Freedman’s Bureau

Federal agency that greatly assisted blacks educationally, but Congress refused to adequately fund it

Clara Barton

Known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” and founded the American Red Cross

Hiram Revels

Representing Mississippi, he was the first African American to serve in Congress

54th Massachusetts

Famous group of African American soldiers remembered for their bravery and fierce fighting against Confederate forces

Black Codes

The harsh southern state laws of 1865 that limited black rights and imposed restrictions to ensure a stable labor supply

10% Percent Plan

Lincoln's 1863 program for a rapid Reconstruction of the South

Military Reconstruction Act

Congressional law that imposed military rule on the South and demanded harsh conditions for readmission of the seceded states

Scalawags

Derogatory term for white southerners who cooperated with the Republican Reconstruction governments

Carpetbaggers

Derogatory term for Northerners who came to the South during Reconstruction and sometimes took part in Republican state governments

Ex-Parte Milligan

Supreme Court ruling that military tribunals could not try civilians when the civil courts were open

Tenure of Office Act

A constitutionally questionable law, violated by President Johnson, that formed the official basis for his impeachment

13th Amendment

The constitutional amendment freeing all slaves

14th Amendment

The constitutional amendment granting civil rights to freed slaves and barring former Confederates for office

15th Amendment

The constitutional amendment guaranteeing black men the right to vote