Period 5 Key Terms

Westward Migration

Movement of settlers towards the western frontier for access to resources, economic opportunities, and religious refuge.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent, driving annexation of western lands.

Mexican Cession Impact

Raised debates on slavery, Native Americans, and Mexicans in the acquired territories like the Wilmot Proviso.

Government Encouragement

Utilized legislation like the Homestead Act and subsidies to promote westward migration and support railroad companies.

Nativist Movement Goal

Aimed to limit immigrant influence, particularly Anti-Catholic sentiments towards Irish and Germans.

Free Soil Movement

Advocated against the expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories.

Abolitionist Campaigns

Employed moral arguments, assisted escapes through the Underground Railroad, and sometimes resorted to violence against slavery.

Southern Justification of Slavery

Argued slavery as a positive good, as advocated by John C. Calhoun.

Compromise of 1850

Addressed issues in the Mexican Cession through popular sovereignty, banning slave trade in D.C., and adding California as a free state.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Repealed the Missouri Compromise, introducing popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, contributing to the rise of the Republican Party.

Dred Scott Case

Declared slaves as property, not citizens, and restricted Congress from legislating slavery in territories.

Lincoln's 1860 Campaign

Focused on a free soil platform, opposing the extension of slavery.

Union Victory Factors

Improved leadership, key victories like Gettysburg, increased resources, and destruction of the South's infrastructure.

13-15 Amendments

Abolished slavery (13), granted citizenship and equal protection (14), and provided universal male suffrage (15).

15th Amendment Impact

Divided the women's rights movement as some advocated for extending suffrage to women alongside African American males.

Reconstruction End

Compromise of 1877 withdrew troops from the South, and declining Northern support led to its conclusion.

Sharecropping

System where former slaves rented land from wealthy farmers/landowners, limiting economic opportunities for them and poor whites in the South.

Southern Resistance

Employed segregation laws, violence through groups like the KKK, Supreme Court decisions like Plessy v. Ferguson, and political tactics to resist the 14th and 15th amendments.