Unit 5 APUSH Terms (1844-1877)

Confederate States of America (1860-1865)

1) Southern states who seceded from the U.S. formed this.

2) Jefferson Davis was elected as the first president.

3) Their constitution limited the power of the government in order to maintain slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

1) Issued by Lincoln after the Battle of Antietam, this mandated that slaves in rebelling states were free.

2) This technically freed only 1% of slaves, as it couldn't logically be enforced.

3) This changed the narrative of the war, as troops now fought against slavery, and not just against secession.

Gettysburg Address (1863)

1) This was given by Abraham Lincoln, months after the actual battle.

2) Lincoln mentioned ideals of liberty and equality as the basis of the founding of the United States.

3) By doing so, he created a larger purpose for the Civil War and established his commitment to continue the fight.

13th, 14th & 15th Amendments (1865, 1868, 1870)

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery.

2) The 14th Amendment declared that all persons born in the U.S. were citizens.

3) The 15th Amendment prohibited any state from denying anyone the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Black Codes (1865)

1) These were adopted by many southern states after the Civil War.

2) They were meant to prevent former slaves from having economic freedoms.

3) As a result, many were forced into a farming system that gave them little room for social mobility.

Freedmen’s Bureau (1865)

1) Agency established to help former black slaves and poor whites in the aftermath of the Civil War.

2) Served as an early example of a welfare agency, providing food, housing, medical aid, schooling, and legal assistance to those in need after the Civil War.

3) It had the greatest impact on the education of freed blacks, and it established 3,000 schools, including several colleges.

Radical Republicans (1866-1877)

1) Group led by Thaddeus Stephens and Charles Sumner who after the Civil War advocated for greater civil rights for blacks and policies that would punish Southern whites for their role in the war.

2) Led Congressional Reconstruction from 1866 to 1877, placing the Southern states under military control and forcing them to adopt the 14th Amendment.

3) They impeached President Andrew Johnson, but failed to remove him from office by 1 vote.

Sharecropping (late 1800s and early 1900s)

1) An agricultural system that emerged after the Civil War in which black and white farmers rented land and residences from a plantation owner in exchange for giving him a percentage of each year's crop.

2) Most former slaves were forced into this system because Reconstruction failed to address their economic needs.

3) Plantation owners manipulated the system to keep their tenant farmers in constant debt and poverty, unable to leave their plantations.

Ku Klux Klan (1867)

1) An extremist, white supremist group that was founded by former Confederate soldiers after the Civil War and was revived in the 1920s.

2) Its members cloaked themselves in sheets to conceal their identities and used violence to terrorize freed blacks and sympathetic whites in the South during Reconstruction.

3) This terrorist group used threats of violence to strip freed blacks of the rights that they earned during Reconstruction, including the right to vote.

Redeemers (1870s)

1) Southern Democratic politicians who sought to gain back control of the South towards the end of Reconstruction.

2) Wanted to restore the glory of the South by limiting the influence of Republicans, scalawags, carpet-baggers, and Freedmen in the southern states after the Civil War.

3) Worked to re-establish white supremacy in the South by establishing segregation and passing laws that made it harder for freed blacks to vote.

Compromise of 1877 (1877)

1) Agreement that resolved the 1876 election and officially ended Reconstruction.

2) In exchange for the Republican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes, winning the presidency, Hayes agreed to end Reconstruction and withdraw the last federal troops from the South.

3) This deal allowed the Redeemers to regain power in the South.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

1) Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of segregation laws emerging in the New South.

2) Case stated that as long as blacks were provided with "separate but equal" facilities, segregation laws did not violate the 14th Amendment.

3) Later court cases demonstrated the South was more interested in enforcing the "separate" than the "equal" part of the ruling, and black facilities were often poorly maintained and underfunded when compared to white facilities.

Jim Crow laws (1870s-1960s)

1) System of legalized racial segregation in the American South that sought to empower whites and strip African Americans of their social status.

2) Attempted to establish two separate societies by preventing racial mixing in schools, public transportation, restaurants, movie theaters, and even prevented interracial marriage.

3) This system of discrimination was often perpetuated through custom, violence, and intimidation.

Free-Soil Movement (1848-1865)

1) This was formed in response to the U.S. gaining more land after the Mexican War.

2) Believers in this were the first to oppose allowing slavery in new territories.

3) They wanted to protect the jobs of small white farmers.

Stephen Douglas (1850s)

1) He was a politician who defeated Abraham Lincoln in a congressional election but lost the presidency to him. 2) He believed that people should vote on if slavery should be allowed in a new territory (aka popular sovereignty).

3) Some Southerners wanted him to take a more aggressive stance on protecting slavery which split the Democratic party.

Know-Nothing party (1850s)

1) This group formed in reaction against the influx of Irish and German immigrants arriving to the United States.

2) Its main purpose was to oppose immigration.

3) It never won any national elections and waned in popularity.

Compromise of 1850 (1850)

1) This compromise was created by Henry Clay because California wanted to become a state, which would upset the balance between slave and free states in the U.S.

2) California was admitted to the union as a free state. Additionally, Utah and New Mexico allowed its residents to decide whether or not to permit slavery. The slave trade was also banned in Washington, D.C.

3) The most controversial aspect of it was the Fugitive Slave Law, which required the north to help southerners apprehend runaway slaves. This element of the compromise caused the most division, and many northerners resisted its enforcement.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

1) This novel was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and showed the human side to slavery.

2) The book depicted slave owners in a vicious and cruel manner, making readers empathetic to slaves.

3) It was the second-best-selling book of the 19th century (behind the Bible) and was so controversial that it was banned in parts of the South.

George Fitzhugh (1850s)

1) He was one of the most influential proponents of slavery in the 19th century through writing.

2) He argued that blacks were morally inferior to whites and could not survive in a free society.

3) He defended slavery by claiming that slaves were more free and enjoyed a better life than a factory-worker.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

1) This was proposed by Stephen Douglas who advocated for these territories being settled by popular sovereignty.

2) People within these territories got to vote if slavery would be allowed or not there which violated the 1820 Missouri Compromise line.

3) As a result many pro and anti-slavery advocates poured into the region which resulted in 55 deaths and was known as "Bleeding Kansas".

Founding of the Republican party (1854)

1) This was a response against the Kansas-Nebraska Act as many angry Northerners joined this.

2) Its main purpose was to not allow slavery to spread to new territories.

3) Abraham Lincoln was the first president elected from this group.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

1) This Supreme Court case involved a slave arguing for his freedom after living in a free territory.

2) The court ruled that, as a slave, he had no right to sue in a court of law because he was not a citizen.

3) It also ruled the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional because it excluded slavery from territories like Wisconsin.

John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry (1859)

1) He led a raid on a federal arsenal, hoping to arm slaves and start a rebellion in Virginia.

2) The raid was unsuccessful, and he was tried and executed for treason.

3) Many in the south were frightened of similar events in the future.

Election of 1860 (1860)

1) The Democrats were divided over their candidates and split their support among two candidates, whereas the Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln.

2) Lincoln won the election.

3) As a result of Lincoln's victory, South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union.

Underground Railroad (1830s-1850s)

1) A system that helped enslaved African Americans follow a network of escape routes out of the South to freedom in the North or Canada.

2) The Underground Railroad was neither underground, nor a railroad, but a system of homes, barns, churches, and businesses that helped runaway slaves hide and escape to the north.

3) The most famous "conductor" along the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman, who made at least 19 trips to the south, after escaping slavery herself.

Samuel Morse (1844)

1) Invented the telegraph.

2) Allowed people to send messages over a longer distance.

3) His invention was often built along the same lines as railroads to match the growth of transportation.

James K. Polk (1844

1.) Won the presidential election in 1844 (11th president of the U.S.) and was considered a "dark horse" candidate.

2.) Was a protégé of Andrew Jackson and ran on the platform of continued expansion and Manifest Destiny. Favored the annexation of Texas and acquisition of Oregon, rallying Americans under the slogan "Fifty-four Forty or Fight" to symbolize his commitment to acquiring the Oregon Territory.

3.) Was president during the Mexican War and was responsible for the Mexican Cession.

Annexation of Texas (1846)

1) Texas declared its independence from Mexico, which then led to debates over whether the U.S. should take it over or not.

2) Texas wasn't made a state right away due to the concerns over admitting another slave state.

3) Became an issue in 1844 presidential election with Polk who was in favor of Manifest Destiny.

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

1) A war fought between the U.S. and Mexico over land.

2) Early cause was the annexation of Texas, but Manifest Destiny was the driving force of the war.

3) Ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which led to the cession of a large portion of Mexico to the United States for 15 million dollars.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

1) An unsuccessful proposal to ban slavery in the territory acquired in the Mexican-American War.

2) Proposed by a Northern congressman David Wilmot in order to stop the spread of slavery.

3) Showed that as the U.S. acquired more land, there were more debates over whether slavery should be extended.

“Fifty-four Forty or Fight” (1846)

1) This was the slogan of Polk and the Democratic party in the election of 1844.

2) Demanded that U.S. should take all land up to the southern border of Alaska or go to war.

3) Manifest Destiny was the driving force behind this but U.S. settled on the 49th parallel as the northern border.

Mexican Cession (1848)

1) The U.S. won this land as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

2) This territory refers to the southwestern portion of the U.S.

3) This territory made the debate over the spread of slavery the prime issue of the 1850's.

California Gold Rush (1848)

1) Began when discovered at Sutter's Mill.

2) Caused a massive migration of settlers to move to the territory.

3) Led to this territory becoming a state in the Compromise of 1850.