APUSH Period 5 Vocab List

John Tyler

The 10th President of the United States (1841–1845), who assumed office after William Henry Harrison's death. His presidency was marked by conflicts with his own Whig Party and efforts to annex Texas.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)

An agreement between the U.S. and Britain that settled border disputes in the Northeast, particularly the Maine-Canada boundary, and addressed issues like the suppression of the slave trade.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the North American continent, spreading democracy and capitalism.

Lewis Cass

A Democratic politician who advocated for popular sovereignty, the idea that settlers in a territory should decide the issue of slavery.

Sam Houston

A key leader in Texas' independence movement and its first president. He later served as a U.S. senator and governor. A key figure in the Texas Revolution, he defeated Mexican General Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, securing Texas' independence. Later, he served as the first president of the Republic of Texas and advocated for its annexation by the U.S.

Mexican-American War

A conflict (1846–1848) between the U.S. and Mexico stemming from disputes over Texas and territorial expansion.

Oregon Fever

A surge of migration to Oregon in the 1840s due to fertile lands and the promise of opportunity.

49th Parallel

The U.S.-Canada boundary established in the Oregon Treaty (1846), dividing the Oregon Territory between Britain and territories in the Pacific Northwest.

Franciscan Missions

Catholic missions established by Spanish Franciscans in California to convert Native Americans and integrate them into Spanish colonial society.

Annexation of Texas

The 1845 incorporation of Texas into the United States, sparking tensions with Mexico.

Annexation of California – Bear Flag Republic

 California declared independence from Mexico in 1846 during the Mexican-American War, briefly becoming the "Bear Flag Republic" before being annexed by the U.S.

John C. Fremont

An explorer, military officer, and the first Republican presidential candidate in 1856. He played a key role in the American expansion to the West, particularly during the California Gold Rush and the Mexican-American War.

James K. Polk

The 11th President (1845–1849), known for his expansionist policies, including the annexation of Texas, Oregon, and the Mexican Cession. victory in the Mexican-American War.

Winfield Scott

A U.S. general who led the successful campaign to capture Mexico City during the Mexican-American War. A U.S. Army general and presidential candidate where he led successful campaigns, and for developing the Anaconda Plan during the Civil War.

Zachary Taylor

12th president of the U.S. (1849–1850). A career military officer, he became a national hero for his leadership during the Mexican-American War. He died in office after just 16 months as president.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The 1848 treaty ending the Mexican-American War. Mexico ceded vast territories (Mexican Cession) to the U.S. for $15 million.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed amendment to ban slavery in territories acquired from Mexico. It intensified sectional tensions.

Mexican Cession

The land ceded by Mexico to the U.S. in 1848, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of several other states.

Matthew C. Perry

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

Gadsden Purchase

The 1854 purchase of land from Mexico (southern Arizona and New Mexico) to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

An agreement between the U.S. and Britain that neither nation would unilaterally build a canal through Central America, ensuring shared control of any future waterway.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that settlers in a territory should decide whether to allow slavery

Secession

The withdrawal of Southern states from the Union, beginning with South Carolina in 1860, leading to the Civil War.

Free-Soil Party

A political party opposing the expansion of slavery into new territories, emphasizing "free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men."

California Gold Rush

The mass migration to California following the discovery of gold in 1848, spurring economic growth and statehood.

Compromise of 1850

A package of laws aimed at resolving sectional tensions, admitting California as a free state, and enacting a stricter Fugitive Slave Law.

The Great Debate – Stephen A. Douglas

A series of debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, focusing on slavery's expansion. Douglas supported popular sovereignty, while Lincoln opposed slavery's spread.

Nativism

A political and social movement favoring native-born Americans over immigrants, often driven by anti-Catholic sentiment.

Fugitive Slave Law

Part of the Compromise of 1850, it required citizens to assist in capturing escaped slaves and penalized those aiding fugitives

Underground Railroad

A network of safe houses and routes used by enslaved people to escape to free states and Canada.

Harriet Tubman

An escaped slave and leading abolitionist who helped hundreds to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

An 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that exposed the horrors of slavery, galvanizing abolitionist sentiment in the North.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

The author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, her work had a profound impact on public opinion about slavery.

Franklin Pierce

The 14th President (1853–1857), whose administration saw the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and heightened sectional tensions.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A 1854 law allowing popular sovereignty to decide slavery in Kansas and Nebraska, nullifying the Missouri Compromise.

“Bleeding Kansas”

Violent conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas following the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Sumner-Brooks Incident

A violent attack in the Senate where pro-slavery Rep. Preston Brooks beat anti-slavery Sen. Charles Sumner with a cane in 1856  after Sumner's anti-slavery speech criticizing Brooks' relative. The incident highlighted deep sectional divides..

Know-Nothing Party

A nativist political party opposing immigration and Catholic influence in U.S. politics.

Republican Party

founded in 1854, opposed the expansion of slavery and promoted free labor. Abraham Lincoln was its first successful presidential candidate.

John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

An 1859 attempt by abolitionist John Brown to incite a slave rebellion by seizing a federal arsenal.

James Buchanan

The 15th President (1857–1861), criticized for his inability to prevent the secession crisis. whose inaction and pro-Southern policies exacerbated the sectional crisis leading to the Civil War.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

A Supreme Court case ruling that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress could not restrict slavery in territories.

Lecompton Constitution

A pro-slavery Kansas constitution rejected by Congress due to widespread opposition and fraudulent voting practices, highlighting sectional divisions.

Panic of 1857

An economic crisis exacerbated by declining international demand for American goods and sectional disparities.  It disproportionately affected the North, deepening sectional tensions.

Abraham Lincoln

The 16th President (1861–1865), who led the Union during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

A series of debates in 1858 over slavery and sectional conflict between Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas

Freeport Doctrine

Stephen Douglas' argument during the debates that territories could effectively exclude slavery by refusing to adopt laws to protect it, alienating Southern Democrats.

Fort Sumter

The site of the first Civil War battle in 1861 when Confederate forces fired on the Union garrison.

Border States

Slave states (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and later West Virginia) that remained in the Union during the Civil War.

Jefferson Davis

 was the president of the Confederate States during the Civil War. Before that, he served as a U.S. senator and Secretary of War.

Civil War

A conflict (1861–1865) between the Union and the Confederacy over slavery and states’ rights

Ulysses S. Grant

A Union general and later the 18th President, known for his leadership in Civil War victories like Vicksburg.

Battle of Bull Run – “Anaconda Strategy”

The first major Civil War battle. The Anaconda Plan was the Union’s strategy to blockade and divide the Confederacy.

Robert E. Lee

The Confederacy’s leading general, known for his tactical brilliance.

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

 A Confederate general famous for his steadfastness in battle, particularly at the First Battle of Bull Run, earning him the nickname "Stonewall."

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s declaration freeing enslaved people in Confederate-held territories, changing the war's purpose to ending slavery.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln’s 1863 speech emphasizing national unity and the principles of equality and liberty.

Vicksburg

A pivotal 1863 Union (North) victory  led by Grant, gained control of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy.

March to the Sea

General Sherman’s destructive campaign through Georgia in 1864, undermining the Confederacy’s ability to wage war.

Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse

The 1865 event where Lee surrendered to Grant, effectively ending the Civil War.

Homestead Act

Legislation offering settlers 160 acres of public land for free if they farmed it for five years, promoting westward migration.

Pacific Railway Act

Legislation providing government support for the construction of a transcontinental railroad.

Thirteenth Amendment:

Abolished slavery in the U.S. (1865).

Fourteenth Amendment

Guaranteed equal protection under the law and granted citizenship to all born in the U.S. (1868).

Fifteenth Amendment:

Prohibited voting discrimination based on race, color, or previous servitude (1870)

Radical Republicans

A faction of the Republican Party advocating for harsh Reconstruction policies and civil rights for freedmen.

Freedmen’s Bureau

A federal agency providing aid to freed slaves and poor whites during Reconstruction.

Reconstruction

The post-Civil War period of rebuilding the South and integrating freed slaves into society.

John Wilkes Booth

The actor and Confederate sympathizer who assassinated President Lincoln in 1865.

Andrew Johnson

17th U.S. president (1865–1869), succeeding Abraham Lincoln after his assassination. He led during Reconstruction but faced criticism for opposing civil rights for freed slaves and was impeached by Congress, though he was not removed from office.

Black Codes

Laws passed in the South restricting freedmen’s rights and maintaining white supremacy.

Sharecropping

A farming system after the Civil War where landowners let tenants (often freed slaves) farm their land in exchange for a share of the crops, keeping many in poverty and debt.

Thaddeus Stevens

A Radical Republican leader advocating for civil rights and harsh Reconstruction measures.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction to seek economic or political opportunities.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party. often viewed as traitors by their peers.

Horace Greeley

Founder of the New York Tribune and 1872 Liberal Republican presidential candidate.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist group using terror to oppose Reconstruction and suppress Black rights.

Compromise of 1877

The agreement resolving the disputed 1876 election, ending Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the South.