Key Events and Concepts in American History

Mayflower Compact

An agreement among Pilgrims to form a government and obey its laws; early form of self-government.

Olaudah Equiano

A former enslaved African who described the horrors of the Middle Passage.

Indentured servitude

A labor system where people worked for a set time in exchange for passage to America.

Metacom

Metacom (King Philip) led a Native American uprising against New England settlers.

Treaty of Paris 1763

Ended the French and Indian War; Britain gained Canada and land east of the Mississippi.

Stamp Act

A British tax on paper goods that angered colonists.

Boston Massacre

British soldiers killed 5 colonists; used as propaganda to rally anti-British sentiment.

Treaty of Paris 1783

Ended the American Revolution; Britain recognized U.S. independence.

Articles of Confederation

Weak central government, no power to tax or regulate trade.

New Jersey Plan

Equal representation.

Virginia Plan

Population-based representation.

Connecticut Plan

Bicameral legislature with both equal and population-based representation.

⅗ Compromise

Counted 3 out of 5 enslaved people for representation and taxation.

Federalist Number 10

A strong federal government can protect liberty because it guards against the dangers of control by a narrow interest

How a bill becomes a law

Introduced in Congress, passed by both houses, signed by the President.

Federalists and Anti-federalists

Compromised by adding the Bill of Rights.

Federalists - Believed in a strong central government. Went against the Articles of Confederation

Anti-Federalists - Strong state government, Limited federal Gov.. Supported the Articles of Confederation

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established judicial review.

Causes of the War of 1812

Impressment, trade restrictions, British support of Native attacks.

Jefferson's Embargo Act of 1807

Banned U.S. trade with all foreign nations; hurt U.S. economy.

Protective Tariff of 1816

Tax on imports to protect U.S. industry.

Henry Clay's American System

Plan to strengthen economy with tariffs, a national bank, and infrastructure.

Adams-Onis Treaty

Spain ceded Florida to the U.S.

Monroe Doctrine of 1823

Warned Europe not to colonize or interfere in the Americas.

Missouri Compromise of 1820

Admitted Missouri as slave and Maine as free; banned slavery north of 36°30′.

Indian Removal Act of 1830

To relocate Native Americans west of the Mississippi.

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

States could not impose laws on Native lands.

Second Great Awakening

Emphasized religious revival and social reform.

Personal salvation

The concept of individual redemption and spiritual fulfillment.

Emotional preaching

A style of preaching that appeals to the emotions of the congregation.

Need to improve society through reform

The belief in the necessity of social changes to enhance community welfare.

African-American Church roles

Provided spiritual support, education, and a space for organizing social and political action.

Civil Disobedience

The refusal to obey unjust laws as a form of peaceful protest.

William Lloyd Garrison

Advocated for the immediate emancipation of all enslaved people; published The Liberator.

Frederick Douglass

Published The North Star.

David Walker

A free African-American who wrote Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, urging resistance to slavery.

Nat Turner

Led a violent slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831.

Grimke sisters

Southern abolitionists; Angelina wrote An Appeal to Christian Women of the South.

Antebellum

Refers to the period in the U.S. before the Civil War.

Cult of Domesticity

Belief that women should focus on home and family, and be pious, pure, and submissive.

Temperance Movement

Social campaign to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption.

Seneca Falls Convention

First women's rights convention, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott; demanded suffrage and equality.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the North American continent.

Treaty of Fort Laramie

Set boundaries for Native tribes in exchange for peace, but was often broken by settlers.

Trails used during western movement

Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, Mormon Trail, California Trail.

Tension between Native Americans and Mexicans in Texas

Competition over land and resources led to conflicts and distrust.

Mexico's invitation to American settlers

To help develop land and control Native populations.

Stephen F. Austin

Brought the first American settlers into Mexican Texas.

James K. Polk

Strongly supported expansion and provoked war to gain land.

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Mexican general and president who fought against Texas and U.S. forces.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Ended the Mexican-American War; U.S. gained present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, and more.

Wilmot Proviso

Ban slavery in Mexican Cession (failed).

Compromise of 1850

CA = free, strict Fugitive Slave Law, pop. sovereignty.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Let settlers decide on slavery—led to violence.

Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law

Formed vigilance committees, passed liberty laws, aided Underground Railroad.

Effects of Uncle Tom's Cabin

Increased Northern opposition to slavery, outraged Southern leaders.

Democratic Party

Pro-expansion, states' rights, some pro-slavery.

Know-Nothing Party

Anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic.

Republican Party

Opposed spread of slavery.

Whig Party

Supported economic modernization; split over slavery.

Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling

Slaves were not citizens; Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

John Brown

Radical abolitionist who led Harpers Ferry raid to incite slave rebellion.

First battle of the Civil War

Battle of Fort Sumter; Confederate victory that started the war.

Key generals of the Civil War

Grant and Sherman for the Union; Jackson and Lee for Confederacy; McClellan led early Union troops.

Emancipation Proclamation

Freed slaves in Confederate territories; changed war's purpose.

Clara Barton

Nurse, later founded American Red Cross.

Harriet Tubman

Spy and nurse; helped slaves escape.

Massachusetts 54th

First African-American regiment; showed bravery at Fort Wagner.

Effects of the Civil War on the North

Industrial boom, preserved the Union.

Effects of the Civil War on the South

Economic ruin, cities and farms destroyed.

Gettysburg Address

Defended equality, national unity, and democratic ideals.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the U.S.

Terms of surrender at the end of the Civil War

Confederate soldiers were pardoned, allowed to keep personal property and horses, officers kept sidearms, weapons were surrendered, and Union provided food—aimed at healing, not punishment.

Ten Percent Plan

Lincoln's lenient plan requiring 10% of voters to pledge loyalty for state readmission.

Congressional Reconstruction vs. Andrew Johnson's plan

Johnson's plan was lenient and restored states quickly; Congress wanted strict terms and protections for freedmen.

Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Divided South into military zones; required new constitutions and Black suffrage.

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship and equal protection to all born in the U.S.

15th Amendment

Gave voting rights regardless of race or previous servitude.

40 acres and a mule

Proposal to redistribute land to freedmen; rarely fulfilled.

Carpetbaggers and scalawags

Carpetbaggers: Northern opportunists in the South; Scalawags: Southern whites who supported Reconstruction.

Commerce Act of 1887

Regulated railroads.

Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

Outlawed monopolies.

Obstacle to enforcement of Commerce and Sherman Acts

Weak enforcement and vague terms.