Jacksonian Era-Reconstruction

What is Alexis de Tocqueville known for?

A French political thinker who wrote Democracy in America (1835), analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of American democracy and its social and political institutions.

What is the Spoils System?

The practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs, popularized by Andrew Jackson.

What was the significance of the Garfield Assassination?

The 1881 assassination of President James A. Garfield by Charles J. Guiteau, motivated by political patronage disputes, leading to civil service reform.

What led to the Rise of the Whigs?

A political party formed in opposition to Andrew Jackson’s policies, supporting federal power and economic modernization.

What does the Political Party Split refer to?

The division of the Democratic-Republican Party into the Democrats and the Whigs during the 1830s and 1840s.

What was the Bank Battle?

The political and economic struggle over the rechartering of the Second Bank of the United States, led by Andrew Jackson’s opposition.

What was Andrew Jackson's stance on the Bank Recharter?

Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States in 1832, viewing it as unconstitutional and harmful to the common man.

What was the Species Circular of 1836?

Executive order by Andrew Jackson requiring land purchases to be made in hard currency (gold or silver) rather than paper money.

What triggered the Panic of 1837?

A financial crisis caused by speculative lending, Jackson’s policies, and the collapse of state banks, leading to widespread economic depression.

What did the Indian Removal Act of 1830 entail?

A law signed by Andrew Jackson to forcibly relocate Native American tribes from the southeastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River.

What was the outcome of Cherokees v. Georgia?

A Supreme Court case in 1831 ruling that Native American tribes were 'domestic dependent nations' but did not have standing to sue in federal court.

What did Worcester v. Georgia establish?

A 1832 Supreme Court case that ruled Georgia’s laws did not apply to the Cherokee Nation, affirming the sovereignty of Native American tribes.

What does the Trail of Tears refer to?

The forced relocation of the Cherokee people in 1838, resulting in thousands of deaths during the journey to the Indian Territory.

What is the Treaty of New Echota?

A treaty signed by a minority of Cherokees in 1835, ceding their lands to the U.S. government, leading to the removal of the Cherokee people.

What happened during the Nullification Crisis of 1833?

A confrontation between South Carolina and the federal government over state sovereignty and tariff laws, resolved by a compromise tariff.

What was the Force Bill of 1833?

Legislation that authorized President Jackson to use military force against South Carolina if it resisted federal law during the Nullification Crisis.

Who was Martin Van Buren?

The 8th U.S. president (1837-1841), known for his handling of the Panic of 1837 and his role in the formation of the Democratic Party.

What occurred during the 1840 Election?

The presidential election where Whig candidate William Henry Harrison defeated Martin Van Buren, marking the rise of the Whig Party.

What does 'Tippecanoe and Tyler Too' refer to?

A slogan from the 1840 election supporting William Henry Harrison and his running mate, John Tyler.

Who were Harrison and Tyler?

William Henry Harrison, who became president in 1841, and John Tyler, his vice president, who became president after Harrison’s death.

What is Manifest Destiny?

The belief in the 1840s that the U.S. was destined by God to expand westward across the North American continent.

Who were The Austins?

Stephen F. Austin, known as the 'Father of Texas,' instrumental in the colonization of Texas by American settlers.

What was the Texas Revolt?

The 1835-1836 rebellion of American settlers in Texas against Mexican rule, leading to the establishment of the independent Republic of Texas.

What was the Texas Annexation?

The 1845 incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States, leading to the Mexican-American War.

What is the Aristocrat War?

A term sometimes used to describe the conflict between the American elites and Jacksonian populism.

Who was James K. Polk?

The 11th president of the U.S. (1845-1849), known for expanding U.S. territory through the Mexican-American War and the annexation of Oregon.

What was the Slidell Mission?

An unsuccessful diplomatic mission in 1845 by John Slidell to negotiate the purchase of California and settle the Texas border dispute with Mexico.

What was the Taylor Expedition?

General Zachary Taylor’s military campaign during the Mexican-American War, leading to U.S. victories in northern Mexico.

What was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?

The 1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American War, ceding large territories in the Southwest to the U.S.

What was the Wilmot Proviso?

A proposal to prohibit slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American War, which was defeated in Congress.

What was the Ostend Manifesto?

A document in 1854 in which U.S. diplomats advocated for the acquisition of Cuba from Spain, though it was controversial and failed.

Who was William Walker?

A filibuster who led several unsuccessful attempts to seize parts of Central America in the 1850s, including Nicaragua.

What are Filibusters?

Individuals who engaged in unauthorized military expeditions to expand U.S. territory, especially in Latin America during the mid-1800s.

Who was Matthew C. Perry?

U.S. naval officer who opened Japan to trade with the U.S. in 1854 through the Treaty of Kanagawa.

What is Seward’s Folly?

The 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia, initially criticized but later seen as a major acquisition.

What was the Second Great Awakening?

A religious revival movement in the early 19th century that led to the growth of evangelical Protestantism and social reforms.

What were the Southern Defenses of Slavery?

Arguments used by Southerners to justify slavery, often based on biblical interpretations, economics, and racial theories.

What are Abolitionist Groups?

Organizations like the American Anti-Slavery Society that advocated for the immediate emancipation of slaves.

What is the American Colonization Society?

An organization founded in 1816 that sought to resettle freed African Americans in Liberia.

What is the American Anti-Slavery Society?

A prominent abolitionist organization founded by William Lloyd Garrison, calling for the immediate abolition of slavery.

What was The Free Soil Party?

A political party that opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories, advocating for free soil for free men.

What is the Abolitionist Press?

Newspapers and pamphlets like The Liberator that were central to the abolitionist movement.

What was The Liberator?

An abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison in 1831, calling for the immediate emancipation of slaves.

Who were the Grimke Sisters?

Sarah and Angelina Grimke, Southern-born sisters who became prominent abolitionists and advocates for women’s rights.

What was The North Star?

An abolitionist newspaper founded by Frederick Douglass, promoting the abolition of slavery.

Who was Harriet Beecher Stowe?

Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), a novel that played a major role in shaping public opinion against slavery.

What is Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that dramatized the horrors of slavery and was a powerful abolitionist tool.

What are Petitions 1836?

Petitions submitted to Congress in 1836 calling for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, sparking a national debate.

What was Congress’ Gag Rule?

A rule adopted in the 1830s that automatically tabled any petitions related to the abolition of slavery, preventing discussion.

What does Resistance Mob Attack refer to?

Violent actions taken by pro-slavery forces to suppress abolitionist movements and free speech.

What does the South Carolina Post Office incident involve?

The South Carolina Postmaster General’s refusal to deliver abolitionist literature, including materials from the American Anti-Slavery Society.

What were Slave Revolts?

Uprisings by enslaved people, including Gabriel Prosser’s 1800 revolt and Nat Turner’s 1831 rebellion.

Who was Gabriel Prosser?

A Virginia enslaved blacksmith who led a planned slave rebellion in 1800 that was foiled before it could take place.

Who was Nat Turner?

Leader of a slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831, which led to the deaths of 60 white people and harsh repercussions for African Americans.

Who was John Brown?

An abolitionist who attempted to start a slave revolt by seizing the federal armory at Harpers Ferry in 1859.

What does Bleeding Kansas refer to?

The violent conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas during the 1850s, triggered by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

What is Harpers Ferry?

The site of John Brown’s failed 1859 raid to incite a slave rebellion, which became a symbol of the abolitionist cause.

What role did Black Women play in abolition?

African American women like Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman played key roles in abolition and the Underground Railroad.

Who was Sojourner Truth?

An African American abolitionist and women’s rights activist, famous for her speech 'Ain’t I a Woman.'

Who was Harriet Tubman?

An escaped enslaved woman who became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, helping hundreds of slaves to freedom.

What is the Road to Civil War?

Refers to the series of events and conflicts (such as slavery, states’ rights, and sectionalism) that led to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.

What was the Aftermath of the Mexican-American War?

Following the U.S. victory in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), the U.S. gained vast territories in the West, but tensions over the expansion of slavery into these new territories contributed to rising sectional conflict.

What was the Compromise of 1850?

A series of laws intended to resolve disputes over slavery in territories acquired from Mexico. It included the Fugitive Slave Act and the admission of California as a free state, among other provisions.

Who was Henry Clay?

A leading American statesman known as the 'Great Compromiser,' Clay played a significant role in brokering the Missouri Compromise (1820) and the Compromise of 1850.

Who was Daniel Webster?

A prominent Whig senator and statesman who advocated for preservation of the Union and played a key role in negotiating the Compromise of 1850.

Who was Stephen A. Douglas?

A senator from Illinois who introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) and promoted popular sovereignty as a solution to the issue of slavery in the territories.

What is the Republican Party?

A political party founded in the 1850s, primarily in opposition to the expansion of slavery into new territories, and supported by a coalition of Free Soilers, anti-slavery Whigs, and anti-slavery Democrats.

What are Free Soilers?

A political party and movement that opposed the extension of slavery into the western territories, advocating for free land for free men.

Who were the Know-Nothings?

A nativist political party that emerged in the 1850s, opposing immigration, particularly from Ireland and Germany, and promoting anti-Catholic sentiment.

Who were Anti-Slavery Whigs?

Former members of the Whig Party who opposed the expansion of slavery and eventually joined the Republican Party in the 1850s.

What is Jury Nullification?

The act of a jury acquitting a defendant, despite evidence of guilt, because the jury disagrees with the law or its application, often used in cases involving slavery.

What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854?

A law that allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty, leading to violent conflict known as 'Bleeding Kansas.'

What is the Brooks-Sumner Incident?

A violent altercation in 1856 in which South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks physically attacked Senator Charles Sumner on the Senate floor after Sumner gave an anti-slavery speech.

What are Jayhawkers?

Anti-slavery activists, primarily from Kansas, who fought against pro-slavery forces in 'Bleeding Kansas.'

What was the Pottawatomie Massacre?

A violent event in 1856 when abolitionist John Brown and his followers killed five pro-slavery men in Kansas, escalating the violence of Bleeding Kansas.

What was the Dred Scott Decision?

An 1857 Supreme Court ruling that denied African Americans citizenship and stated that Congress had no power to ban slavery in the territories.

What is Dred Scott v. Sanford?

The case where Dred Scott, an enslaved man, sued for his freedom, but the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens and had no right to sue.

Who was Chief Justice Roger B. Taney?

The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who delivered the majority opinion in the Dred Scott decision, affirming that African Americans could not be citizens.

What does African Americans Cannot Be U.S. Citizens refer to?

A key component of the Dred Scott decision that ruled African Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be U.S. citizens.

What are the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?

A series of debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois, focusing on the issue of slavery.

What was the 1858 Illinois Senate Race?

The election where Abraham Lincoln challenged Stephen A. Douglas for the Senate seat in Illinois. The debates brought national attention to Lincoln.

What is Douglas’ Freeport Doctrine?

Stephen Douglas’s position in the Lincoln-Douglas debates, arguing that despite the Dred Scott decision, territories could still exclude slavery by not passing laws to protect it.

What was Lincoln’s 'House Divided' Speech?

An 1858 speech by Abraham Lincoln stating that the nation could not endure permanently half slave and half free, emphasizing the moral and political stakes of the slavery debate.

What is Harpers Ferry?

The location of John Brown’s 1859 failed raid on the federal armory in an attempt to incite a slave rebellion, which ultimately failed but escalated tensions between North and South.

What was Weak Presidential Leadership in the 1850s?

The inability of Presidents Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan to address the growing sectional tensions over slavery, leading to the secession crisis.

What was the 1860 Election?

The presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln won the presidency, prompting several Southern states to secede from the Union.

What was Lincoln v. Douglas?

The 1860 presidential election contest between Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and Stephen A. Douglas (Northern Democrat), with Lincoln emerging victorious.

What was Lincoln’s Belief on Secession?

Abraham Lincoln firmly opposed the secession of Southern states, believing that the Union was perpetual and that no state had the right to secede.

What was Fort Sumter?

The first battle of the Civil War, where Confederate forces attacked the Union garrison at Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April 1861.

What was the Battle of Manassas (Bull Run)?

The first major battle of the Civil War, fought in 1861, resulting in a Confederate victory and signaling that the war would not be easily won.

What was Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan?

A strategy devised by Union General Winfield Scott to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River, effectively 'squeezing' the Confederacy.

What was the Monitor v. Merrimack battle?

The famous naval battle between the Union’s Monitor and the Confederate Merrimack (also called the Virginia) in 1862, marking the first meeting of ironclad warships.

What was The Hunley?

The first successful Confederate submarine, which sank the USS Housatonic in 1864.

What was the Emancipation Proclamation?

Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 executive order that freed enslaved people in Confederate-held territories.

What was the Battle of Antietam?

The bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War (1862) in Maryland, which ended in a tactical draw but gave Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

What is referred to as Civil War Congress?

Refers to the U.S. Congress during the Civil War, which passed significant wartime legislation such as the Homestead Act and the National Banking Act.

What was the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act?

A law passed by Congress in 1863 allowing the suspension of habeas corpus, enabling the government to detain individuals without trial during wartime.

What was the Conscription Act?

The 1863 law that established a draft for the Union Army during the Civil War, leading to protests and riots in some Northern cities.

What was the Draft $300 Buyout?

The provision in the Union’s Conscription Act that allowed wealthy men to avoid the draft by paying a $300 fee, which led to class-based resentment.

What was the Revenue Act?

The 1861 act that imposed the first federal income tax to finance the Civil War.