period 5 and 6

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand westward.

Texas Annexation (1845)

U.S. adds Texas, angering Mexico and leading to the Mexican-American War.

Mexican-American War (1846–1848)

War over Texas and land; U.S. wins and gains the Mexican Cession.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Ends the Mexican-American War; U.S. gets California and the Southwest.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Failed attempt to ban slavery in new territories from the war.

Compromise of 1850

Admits California as a free state, strengthens the Fugitive Slave Law, and allows popular sovereignty in new territories.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Opens new territories to popular sovereignty, leads to Bleeding Kansas.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent conflict over slavery in Kansas.

Dred Scott Decision (1857)

Supreme Court rules slaves are property, and Congress cannot ban slavery.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

Debates over the spread of slavery; Lincoln opposes expansion.

Election of 1860

Lincoln wins, prompting Southern secession.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Declares slaves in Confederate states free; shifts the Civil War’s goal to ending slavery.

Gettysburg & Vicksburg (1863)

Major Union victories that become turning points in the Civil War.

13th Amendment (1865)

Officially abolishes slavery in the U.S.

Reconstruction

The era of rebuilding the South after the Civil War.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Provides support (education, food, jobs) for freed slaves.

14th Amendment

Grants citizenship and equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Gives Black men the right to vote.

Sharecropping

Economic system that trapped freedmen in poverty and debt.

Compromise of 1877

Ends Reconstruction by pulling federal troops out of the South, leading to the rise of Jim Crow laws.

Gilded Age

Era of industrial growth, extreme wealth, political corruption, and inequality.

Andrew Carnegie

Leader of the steel industry; believed in the Gospel of Wealth (rich should help society).

John D. Rockefeller

Controlled the oil industry; known for creating monopolies.

Social Darwinism

Belief that the strongest businesses and people survive.

Gospel of Wealth

Idea that the rich have a duty to give back through charity.

Knights of Labor

Early labor union open to all workers; declined after the Haymarket Riot.

AFL (American Federation of Labor)

Labor union for skilled workers, focused on better wages and hours.

Haymarket Riot (1886)

Labor protest that turned violent; hurt the labor movement’s image.

New Immigrants

Came from Southern and Eastern Europe; settled in cities and faced discrimination.

Boss Tweed

Corrupt political leader of Tammany Hall who stole millions from NYC.

Homestead Act (1862)

Provided free land to settlers willing to farm it.

Transcontinental Railroad (1869)

Connected the East and West coasts, helping trade and expansion.

Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)

Major Native American victory against U.S. forces.

Dawes Act (1887)

Attempt to assimilate Native Americans by giving them farmland and U.S. culture.

Populist Party

Political party of farmers demanding reforms like free silver and direct election of senators.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

First law to regulate railroads and prevent unfair rates.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Law meant to break up monopolies; weak at first but important later.