Unit 4 APUSH Terms

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

1) The purchase of a large tract of land from Napoleon and the French after their failure in Haiti.

2) This greatly expanded borders of U.S. with land that would become parts of 11 states.

3) Also gave the U.S. a claim over the Oregon territory after the journey by Lewis and Clark.

Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806)

1.) Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to investigate the resources the U.S. had acquired with the Louisiana Purchase.

2.) They crossed the Rockies and reached the Pacific Ocean by way of the Columbia River. They recorded the types of wildlife, plants, and number of Indian tribes. They mapped the region and promoted fur trading.

3.) The men relied on the help of a Shoshone Native American woman named Sacagawea, who served as an interpreter and valuable resource navigating the land.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

1) The Supreme Court decision that established the principle of judicial review.

2) Established the judicial branch as having the power to determine whether or not laws are unconstitutional.

3) This case was considered a landmark Supreme Court case, as now the court actually had power to determine whether laws violate the U.S. Constitution.

Embargo Act (1807)

1) This prohibited American merchant ships from sailing into foreign ports, which prohibited trade with other countries.

2) This was passed as a reaction to the impressment of American sailors by the British and as a way to preserve U.S. neutrality during the conflict between the British and the French.

3) The act decreased national unity and led to a severe decline in the American economy before its repeal.

Tecumseh (Early 1800s)

1) Shawnee warrior and chief who became the leader of a multi-tribal confederacy against the U.S.

2) While he was absent recruiting his brother, he lost the battle of Tippecanoe in the Indiana territory in 1811.

3) Sided with the British during the War of 1812 and was killed, ending the Native American alliance that existed among natives east of the Mississippi River.

Barbary Pirates (1801)

1) The name given to several renegade countries on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa who demanded money in exchange for refraining from attacking ships in the Mediterranean. From 1795-1801, the U.S. paid the Barbary states for protection against the pirates.

2) President Jefferson stopped paying the money, and the U.S. fought the Barbary Wars (1801-1805) against the countries of Tripoli and Algeria.

3) The war was unresolved, and the U.S. went back to paying the money.

War Hawks (1811-1812)

1) Democratic-Republican Congressmen who pressed James Madison to declare war on Britain.

2) Largely drawn from the South and West, the "war hawks" resented British constraints on American trade (impressment) and accused the British of supporting Indian attacks against American settlements on the frontier.

3) Led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun

Hartford Convention (1814-1815)

1) Event at which New England Federalists met to discuss their grievances concerning the ongoing War of 1812 and their concern over the increase of federal power in the government.

2) Discussed removing 3/5 Compromise, criticized Louisiana Purchase and Embargo Act, and wanted to limit presidential terms.

3) Led to the collapse of the Federalist Party, especially after New England states considered seceding from the union.

Treaty of Ghent (1814)

1.) The official peace treaty that ended the War of 1812

2.) The treaty halted fighting and territory captured in the war was returned to the original owner. It also set up a commission to determine the disputed Canada/U.S. border.

3.) However, the treaty never addressed the original issues that began the conflict (i.e. impressment).

Second Great Awakening (1790-1820)

1) This was a religious revival that began in the “burnt over district” of upstate New York by ministers such as Charles Finney.

2) It created more divisions in American religious sects

3) It led to tremendous social reform

King Cotton (Early 1800s)

1) Phrase used by Southerners in the early 1800s to describe the economic importance of cotton to the southern economy.

2) As a result of the cotton gin, cotton overtook tobacco as the main cash crop of the South, making up more than half of the total exports of the U.S.

3) The growth of cotton led to an increased reliance on slavery in the southern states before the Civil War.

John C. Calhoun (1830s)

1) South Carolina politician and leader of the Democratic Party who served as Vice-President, Secretary of State, and a member of the Senate.

2) Strongly advocated for states’ rights, nullification, and slavery.

3) Argued that slavery was a “positive good” that morally improved the lives of those who were enslaved.

Cult of domesticity (1800s)

1) Philosophy that emphasized “separate spheres” between the genders where men were responsible for work and politics while women remained in the home.

2) Philosophy emerged during the time of the Market Revolution and discouraged women from taking wage labor jobs.

3) Was most prominent among white, Protestant, upper class families in the Northeast.

American Temperance Society (1826)

1) Reform organization that was created in opposition to the consumption of alcohol.

2) The group originally persuaded drinkers to take a pledge of abstinence; however, as time went on, they began to push for the prohibition of alcohol.

3) Founded by ministers, it was concerned about the impact of alcohol on the morality of American society.

Nat Turner’s rebellion (1831)

1) Most important slave uprising in 19th century America, led by a slave preacher, who with his followers, killed about sixty white persons in Southampton County, Virginia.

2) Led to a large debate within Virginia over the future of slavery, and the pro-slavery side won.

3) As a result, the Virginia government created harsher slave laws, which made it illegal to teach reading and writing to slaves and banned slaves from gathering in groups for religious purposes without a white minister present.

William Lloyd Garrison (1831)

1) Radical abolitionist who believed that all slaves should be immediately emancipated without any compensation to the slave owners.

2) Founded the Liberator newspaper, which helped spread the ideas of abolition before the Civil War.

3) One of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which viewed slavery as morally wrong and a corrupt institution within America.

Frederick Douglass (Mid-1800s)

1) Escaped slave who became a leading advocate for abolition.

2) Wrote and published The North Star as well as an autobiography that detailed the horrors and immorality of slavery.

3) As the only African American to attend the Seneca Falls Convention, he was also a strong advocate for women’s rights prior to the Civil War.

Oneida Community (1848)

1) Religious, Utopian community that was formed in New York.

2) Practiced free love and communalism, where members shared property and personal possessions.

3) The Utopian community collapsed by the late-1800s and became a joint-stock company in 1881, which still produces silverware today.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

1) As the first women’s rights convention in the United States, it launched the movement for women’s suffrage.

2) Organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, who had met as part of the abolitionist movement.

3) Resulted in the Declaration of Sentiments, which was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and called for equality for women.

Dorothea Dix (1820s and 1830s)

1.) Former school teacher from Massachusetts who was horrified by conditions in mental hospitals and prisons.

2.) Major reformer during the Second Great Awakening who publicized the horrible treatment and conditions.

3.) Her campaign led to new hospitals being built and better treatment for patients and inmates.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1840s)

1.) American transcendentalist author during the Second Great Awakening.

2.) The transcendentalist movement included writers and philosophers who believed in self-reliance, the importance of nature, the goodness of humanity, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience. Transcendentalist writings were a direct response to the Market Revolution.

3.) Emerson becomes an important voice in the 1840s, speaking out against the Mexican War and slavery.

Horace Mann (1830s-1840s)

1.) Reformer during Second Great Awakening and Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education; Known as the "Father of the public school system" and advocated for public school reform.

2.) Set the standard for public schools throughout the nation; lengthened academic year; supported training & higher salaries to teachers.

3.) Middle class reformers became concerned with the growing number of both immigrant and native-born Americans without access to a proper education.

Second Middle Passage (1800-1860)

1.) Internal slave trade in which slaves on old tobacco plantations in Virginia and North Carolina were sold "down the river" to areas in the deep south.

2.) Resulted from the U.S. Congress outlawing the international slave trade in 1808.

3.) Over 800,000 slaves were sold to the deep south between 1820-1860, concentrating slavery in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina, a region that became known as the "Black Belt".

Charles Ball (1790-1840)

1) Born into slavery in Maryland in 1781. He was sent into the Deep South in 1806 via the Second Middle Passage, where he worked on cotton plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. He later escaped back to the North in 1810.

2) He served in the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812 as a free man, and after the war he remained in Baltimore, purchasing land and building a home for himself and his family.

3) In 1830, he was kidnapped and sold back into slavery in Georgia. He escaped again and returned to his home in Maryland to find that his wife and children had also been kidnapped and sold into slavery. He then settled in Pennsylvania where he published his autobiography. He remained a fugitive slave for the rest of his life.

Universal white male suffrage (1830s)

1) This began in Western states such as Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri and then spread elsewhere

2) This removed the religious and property qualifications for voting

3) As a result, voter participation dramatically increased

Spoils System (1830s)

1) Endorsed by Andrew Jackson

2) Method of exchanging government officials with ones that were loyal to the new administration

3) Jackson justified this by arguing that it allowed for new people to participate in government

Whig party (1830s)

1) Led by Henry Clay

2) Supported tariffs and national bank

3) Support came largely from Northern business owners

Trail of Tears (1838)

1) Refers to the forced migration of Cherokee Indians from Georgia to present-day Oklahoma

2) Native Americans initially protested this action and were supported by the U.S. Supreme Court but President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the court's decision

3) About 4,000 Cherokee (¼ of the tribe) died on this journey due to hunger, disease, and exhaustion

Jackson’s bank veto (1832)

1) Caused by the President's belief that the national bank was unconstitutional and only benefited the wealthy

2) Henry Clay disagreed with this action

3) This led to the President transferring federal funds to various "pet banks" and ultimately contributed to a financial panic

Tariff of 1828 (1828)

1) This put an increased tax on imports which angered Southern farmers

2) Southerners labeled this "abominable" (horrible)

3) John Calhoun protested against this and threatened to nullify it

Nullification crisis (1832)

1) John Calhoun of South Carolina caused this by suggesting that states could void federal laws they disagree with

2) Although President Andrew Jackson was a supporter of states' rights, he sided with the federal government in this case and made South Carolina adhere to the tariff

3) This set the stage for future debates over states' rights and the power of the federal government

"King Caucus" (1830's)

1.) Up until 1820, presidential candidates were nominated by state legislatures or by closed-door meetings of a political party's leaders in Congress.

2.) In the 1830's, this was replaced by nominating conventions.

3.) This method allowed for more people to participate in the political process.

Cotton Gin (1793)

1) Eli Whitney's machine that quickly separates fibers from their seeds increasing production.

2) This led to an increase in demand for slaves and slavery becoming entrenched in the South, eventually dividing the country in the Civil War.

3) As a result of this invention, the South dramatically increased production and the North's textile industry was bolstered.

Interchangeable Parts (1798)

1) This was first invented by Eli Whitney as a way to make easily manufactured firearms.

2) This increased the production of many goods during the Market Revolution, as each part of an object could easily be replaced.

3) This led to the use of an assembly line, which solidified the north as a center of manufacturing.

Robert Fulton (1807)

1) Engineer and inventor who created the first commercially successful steamboat.

2) This increased trade and transportation between the east and west.

3) The Clermont was the first successful steamboat and proved the viability of steam power.

James Monroe (1817-1825)

1.) Monroe was the fifth president of the United States, serving two terms from 1817-1821 and 1821-1825.

2.) His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida (1819); the Missouri Compromise (1820), in which Missouri was declared a slave state; and the creation of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), declaring U.S. opposition to European interference in the Americas.

3.) Monroe's presidency is often referred to as the "Era of Good Feelings", as the nation was united under one political party: the Democratic-Republicans. This was a time of heightened nationalism after the War of 1812, and a strong desire for unity was present in the United States.

Lowell System (1811)

1) This allowed young women the opportunity to work in the textile industry and have their housing provided by employers.

2) Many women were from farming backgrounds, looking to make money for their families back home.

3) This system was eventually implemented by other factories, creating a northern textile industry.

Henry Clay’s American System (1816)

1) This was proposed to increase economic independence after the War of 1812.

2) It called for an increase in tariffs and a national bank.

3) The tariffs would then be used to finance internal improvements, such as roads and canals.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

1) This was meant to keep the balance of senators from slave and free states.

2) Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine was admitted as a free state.

3) Any state north of the 36/30 latitude line was to be a free state.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

1) This foreign policy initiative was meant to keep European powers out of the western hemisphere, stating that the U.S. was the sole protective power of all countries in North and South America.

2) In return, the U.S. promised not to intervene in European affairs.

3) Future presidents used this policy to justify imperial claims in the western hemisphere.

Erie Canal (1825)

1) This was built in New York by many Irish immigrants.

2)This linked western farms with eastern cities through the Great Lakes.

3) This led to improved transportation, which resulted in lower food costs and more settlement in the west.

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (1830)

1) This was the first commercial line that linked the east coast with the Midwest .

2) This gradually began to replace canals as the major system of transportation.

3) This led to more lines being built, which led to an increased transport of goods and people across the country.

McCormick's Mechanical Reaper (1834)

1) This allowed farmers to harvest wheat more efficiently.

2) Farmers were able to sell more wheat as a result.

3) This allowed for the creation of larger corporate farms out west.

Irish Potato Famine (1840s)

1) This led to a destruction of crops and mass starvation.

2) As a result, over two million immigrants came to the U.S.

3) Lacking farming skills, they settled in major cities like New York and Boston and faced heavy discrimination.

German Revolution (1840s)

1) This was a series of protests in which people fought for basic freedoms, such as freedom of the press, assembly, and advocated for a representative government.

2) As a result, many fled to the U.S. and settled in mostly midwestern cities.

3) Many immigrants found success in farming.