U.S. Labor & Work - Exam 2 Study Guide

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on key concepts from the 'Who Built America' lecture notes for Exam 2.

Compromise of 1850

A package of laws intended to ease tensions over slavery in new western territories, including California as a free state and the controversial Fugitive Slave Law.

Missouri Compromise

An agreement that balanced Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, banning slavery north of 36°30', later repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

New York City Draft Riots (1863)

Violent anti-draft protests by Irish immigrants, targeting Black individuals and elites, revealing racial tensions in the North.

Free Labor

The belief that labor should be free and wage-based, opposed to slave labor, and central to the North's anti-slavery stance.

Free-Soil Party

A political party that opposed the expansion of slavery into new western territories, advocating for land allocated for white free labor.

Liberty Party

The first political party focused primarily on abolition, which merged into the Free Soil and Republican movements.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that allowed settlers in new territories to vote on the legality of slavery, ultimately leading to conflicts, notably in Kansas.

Second Seminole War

A long conflict (1835-42) where Seminoles resisted forced removal in Florida, symbolizing Indigenous resistance.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

A proposed ban on slavery in territories acquired from Mexico, which failed but heightened sectional tensions.

Northern Divisions Over Slavery

The split among Northern workers regarding slavery's impact on wages versus profit interests tied to the South.

Southern Opposition to Industrialization

A stance by Southern elites favoring slavery over wage labor, opposing the growth of factories and deepening the economic divide.

Confiscation Acts (1861-62)

Laws permitting the Union to confiscate Confederate property, including enslaved individuals, marking steps toward emancipation.

Indian Removal Act (1830)

Legislation that forced Native American relocation west of the Mississippi, leading to tragedies like the Trail of Tears.

John Brown

A radical abolitionist who led a raid on Harpers Ferry, viewed as a martyr in the North and a terrorist in the South.

Mississippi Plan (1870s)

A strategy employing violence to suppress Black voting and restore white Democratic control following Reconstruction.

Nativism

An anti-immigrant movement targeting groups such as the Irish and Germans, driven by job competition and racial biases.

Bleeding Kansas (1854-59)

A series of violent confrontations between pro- and anti-slavery settlers, which foreshadowed the Civil War.

Internal Slave Trade

The mass relocation of over 1 million enslaved individuals from the Upper South to the Deep South, expanding slavery.

Workingmen's Movement

Early labor movement advocating for public education and fair wages, linking labor issues to democratic ideals.

Frederick Douglass

A former slave and prominent abolitionist leader who championed racial equality and civil rights.