AP United States History Course Description

Pre-Columbian Native Americans

Diverse indigenous peoples living in North America before European contact; they adapted to and transformed their environments through innovations in agriculture, resource use, and social structure​

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, people, and culture between the Americas (New World) and Europe/Africa (Old World) following Columbus's voyages (1492), which reshaped diets and populations on both sides of the Atlantic​

Encomienda System

Labor system in Spanish colonies where Spanish encomenderos were granted land and could demand tribute and forced labor from Indigenous people in exchange for supposed protection and Christianization; led to exploitation and severe decline of native populations.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

16th-century Spanish priest and former encomendero who became an outspoken critic of Spanish colonial cruelty and the encomienda system, advocating for the humane treatment of Native Americans and helping to pass the New Laws of 1542 to limit abuses.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607 in Virginia; its early years were fraught with famine and conflict until tobacco cultivation (pioneered by John Rolfe) made it profitable, laying the groundwork for the plantation system.

Indentured Servitude

Labor system in the colonies where migrants (often poor Europeans) contracted to work for a fixed term (typically 4-7 years) in exchange for passage to America, room, and board; widely used in the 17th-century Chesapeake before being largely supplanted by African chattel slavery after events like Bacon's Rebellion.

House of Burgesses

Established in Virginia in 1619, it was the first representative assembly in the English colonies, marking the beginning of self-government in colonial America (though limited to property-holding white men).

Mayflower Compact

An agreement signed aboard the Mayflower in 1620 by Pilgrims at Plymouth, establishing self-governance through majority rule among the colonists; often cited as an early step toward colonial democratic governance.

Puritans

English Protestants who sought to "purify" the Church of England; many migrated to Massachusetts Bay (founded 1630 under John Winthrop) and established a strict religious society ("City upon a Hill") with an emphasis on community and a covenant with God, influencing New England's culture and governance.

Roger Williams

A Puritan dissenter who was banished from Massachusetts Bay and founded Rhode Island (1636) on principles of religious freedom and separation of church and state, making Rhode Island a haven for religious dissenters (like Anne Hutchinson) and persecuted groups.

Maryland Toleration Act

A 1649 law in the Maryland colony that granted religious toleration to all Christians (especially intended to protect Catholic settlers); an early attempt to ensure religious freedom in the colonies, although it punished those who denied Jesus.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that drove European colonial policies, viewing colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for the mother country's goods. Under mercantilism, the British enacted Navigation Acts to ensure colonies exported more than they imported and traded primarily with England, aiming to accumulate wealth (gold/silver) for the empire.

Navigation Acts

A series of English laws in the 17th century regulating colonial trade (e.g. requiring goods to be carried on English ships and pass through England) to enforce mercantilist policies. These laws were loosely enforced at first (salutary neglect), allowing the colonies economic autonomy, but stricter enforcement after 1763 caused resentment.

First Great Awakening

A widespread Protestant religious revival in the 1730s-1740s across the American colonies marked by emotional preaching and an emphasis on personal faith. Leaders like Jonathan Edwards ("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God") and George Whitefield inspired greater religious diversity, challenged established churches, and fostered ideas of equality and dissent that some argue influenced revolutionary thought.

Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and natural rights. Enlightenment ideas (such as John Locke's theories of natural rights and the social contract) influenced many colonial leaders and documents, including the Declaration of Independence's emphasis on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

French and Indian War

North American theater (1754-1763) of the Seven Years' War, pitting British and colonial forces against the French and their Native American allies. Britain's victory expelled France from North America (Treaty of Paris 1763) but left Britain with heavy debts, leading to taxation of colonists and the end of salutary neglect, which in turn sowed seeds of colonial discontent.

Proclamation of 1763

British decree forbidding colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, issued after Pontiac's Rebellion to stabilize the frontier by reserving land for Native Americans. Colonists resented this restriction on westward expansion, and many ignored it, exacerbating tensions between Britain and its colonies.

Stamp Act

A 1765 direct tax by Britain on the colonies requiring an official stamp (and tax) on all legal documents, newspapers, and printed materials. It sparked widespread colonial protest under the slogan "no taxation without representation," led to the Stamp Act Congress and boycotts, and was eventually repealed - marking a major step toward colonial unity and resistance​

Sons of Liberty

A secret organization of American colonists formed in 1765 to oppose British policies like the Stamp Act. Led by figures such as Samuel Adams, they used protests (sometimes violent, like tar-and-feathering tax collectors) and helped orchestrate events like the Boston Tea Party in resistance to taxation and British rule.

Boston Massacre

A 1770 incident in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists in Boston who were taunting them, killing five people. Patriot leaders like Paul Revere and Sam Adams used it as propaganda to fuel anti-British sentiment, labeling it a "massacre" and increasing colonial outrage at British oppression.

Boston Tea Party

A protest on December 16, 1773, in which Boston colonists (disguised as Mohawk Indians) boarded British East India Company ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. It was a reaction against the Tea Act (which gave the company a monopoly and maintained a tea tax), and it provoked Britain to pass the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts as punishment.

Intolerable Acts

Name used by American colonists for the Coercive Acts of 1774: a series of punitive laws passed by Britain (closing Boston Harbor, revoking Massachusetts' self-government, and allowing quartering of troops, among others) in response to the Boston Tea Party. These harsh measures galvanized colonial unity, as other colonies rallied to Massachusetts' aid and convened the First Continental Congress to organize resistance.

First Continental Congress

A meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies (Georgia excepted) in Philadelphia in 1774, convened in response to the Intolerable Acts. The Congress petitioned King George III to redress grievances, endorsed a boycott of British goods, and agreed to reconvene, thus coordinating inter-colonial resistance on the eve of revolution.

Lexington and Concord

The first battles of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775, in Massachusetts. British troops seeking to confiscate colonial arms clashed with colonial militia (the "Minutemen"); the skirmishes ("shot heard 'round the world") marked the outbreak of armed conflict between Britain and the colonies.

Second Continental Congress

Assembly of delegates from all 13 colonies that first met in May 1775 in Philadelphia. It managed the colonial war effort (appointing George Washington as commander of the Continental Army) and moved incrementally toward independence, ultimately adopting the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

A pamphlet published in January 1776 that made a compelling case for American independence from Britain, arguing in plain language that monarchy was corrupt and that America had a destiny to be an independent, democratic republic. Common Sense sold widely and swayed public opinion toward supporting independence.

Declaration of Independence

Document adopted July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson. It announced the colonies' break from Britain, enumerated grievances against King George III, and articulated Enlightenment principles of natural rights ("all men are created equal" with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness).

George Washington

Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and later the first President of the United States (1789-1797). As a general, he led American forces to victory (notably enduring hardships at Valley Forge and triumphing at Yorktown), and as President he set key precedents (such as the two-term limit) and advocated neutrality in foreign affairs.

Battle of Saratoga

A 1777 Revolutionary War battle in New York that ended in a decisive American victory over the British. Saratoga is considered the turning point of the war because it boosted American morale and convinced France (and later Spain and the Netherlands) to form a military alliance with the United States against Britain​

Battle of Yorktown

The final major battle of the Revolution (1781) in which American and French forces, led by George Washington, trapped British General Cornwallis's army at Yorktown, Virginia. Cornwallis's surrender in October 1781 effectively ended the war with an American victory, leading to the Treaty of Paris.

Treaty of Paris 1783

The peace agreement that officially ended the Revolutionary War. Britain recognized the independence of the United States, and the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River. Americans also secured fishing rights off Canada, and both sides agreed to honor lawful debts and property (including a recommendation to return Loyalist property, though this was not fully enforced).

Articles of Confederation

The first governing document of the United States, ratified in 1781, which created a loose confederation of sovereign states. The Articles established a weak national government (no power to tax, no executive or judiciary, and requiring unanimous consent to amend), which proved ineffective at resolving national issues like war debt and interstate commerce, leading to calls for a stronger federal government.

Northwest Ordinance

Enacted by the Confederation Congress in 1787, it provided a framework for governing the Northwest Territory (lands north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi) and a method for admitting new states on equal footing. It guaranteed freedom of religion, trial by jury, prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, and set aside land for public education, making it one of the notable successes of the Articles of Confederation government.

Shays' Rebellion

A 1786-1787 uprising of indebted farmers in western Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays, protesting high taxes, debt imprisonment, and farm foreclosures. The inability of the weak national government under the Articles of Confederation to easily help Massachusetts quell the rebellion highlighted the need for a stronger central government, directly influencing the calling of the Constitutional Convention.

Constitutional Convention

Meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 where 55 delegates from 12 states (Rhode Island absent) originally convened to revise the Articles, but instead drafted a new U.S. Constitution. Major compromises included the Great Compromise (bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate) and the Three-Fifths Compromise (counting each enslaved person as 3/5 of a person for representation and taxation). The resulting Constitution strengthened federal authority while balancing power among three branches.

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

The two opposing groups in the debate over ratification of the Constitution (1787-1788). Federalists (like Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay) supported the new Constitution's stronger central government and wrote the Federalist Papers to defend it, while Anti-Federalists (like Patrick Henry, George Mason) feared centralized power and the lack of a bill of rights. The promise to add a Bill of Rights helped secure ratification.

The Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. These essays explained and defended the principles of the Constitution (e.g. Federalist No. 10 discussed controlling factions via a large republic) and remain an important source for interpreting the framers' intent.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791 to fulfill promises made during ratification. The Bill of Rights protects individual liberties and states' rights by limiting the power of the federal government (e.g. freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly in 1st Amendment; right to bear arms in 2nd; protections for accused persons in 4th-8th; reservation of unenumerated rights to the people and states in 9th and 10th).

Alexander Hamilton

Founding Father and first Secretary of the Treasury (1789-1795) under President Washington. He advocated a strong central government and implemented a bold financial plan: assuming state Revolutionary War debts, creating a national bank, and promoting manufacturing. Leader of the Federalist Party, Hamilton's policies (like the excise tax leading to the Whiskey Rebellion) often clashed with Thomas Jefferson's views.

Hamilton's Financial Plan

Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton's plan to stabilize the American economy in the 1790s. Key elements included federal assumption of state debts from the Revolution, creation of a national bank (Bank of the United States) to manage finances, and tariffs/excise taxes (such as the whiskey tax) to raise revenue and protect domestic industry. The plan strengthened U.S. credit but deepened political divisions (Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans).

Whiskey Rebellion

A 1794 uprising by farmers in western Pennsylvania protesting the federal excise tax on whiskey (part of Hamilton's financial plan). President Washington led militia forces to suppress the rebellion, demonstrating the new Constitution's strength in enforcing laws (in contrast to Shays' Rebellion under the Articles) and asserting federal authority over the states.

First Party System

The earliest era of U.S. political parties (1790s) featuring the Federalists vs. the Democratic-Republicans. Federalists, led by Hamilton and Adams, favored a strong central government, loose interpretation of the Constitution, and were pro-British in foreign policy. Democratic-Republicans, led by Jefferson and Madison, favored states' rights, strict interpretation, an agrarian economy, and were pro-French. This partisan split emerged from debates over Hamilton's policies and foreign affairs like the French Revolution.

Jay's Treaty

A 1794 treaty between the U.S. and Britain negotiated by John Jay. It sought to resolve lingering issues from the Revolution: Britain agreed to evacuate forts in the Northwest Territory (which it had long promised) and ease trade restrictions, while the U.S. agreed to pay pre-war debts. The treaty averted war but was unpopular with many Americans (especially Democratic-Republicans) for being too favorable to Britain and not addressing impressment of sailors.

George Washington's Farewell Address

In 1796, President Washington's final message to the nation (published in newspapers) as he left office. He warned against the dangers of political parties/factions and entangling alliances in foreign affairs, counseling the U.S. to steer clear of permanent alliances and to maintain neutrality - advice that influenced U.S. foreign policy for many years.

John Adams

Founding Father, Federalist, and the second President of the U.S. (1797-1801). His presidency was marred by the Quasi-War with France (an undeclared naval conflict) and domestic controversy over the Alien and Sedition Acts. Adams did, however, avoid full-scale war with France through diplomacy (sending envoys to negotiate peace in 1800).

XYZ Affair

A 1797-1798 diplomatic episode in which French agents ("X, Y, and Z") demanded bribes and a loan from U.S. diplomats to begin negotiations, after France had been seizing American ships. The incident sparked outrage in the U.S., led to the slogan "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute," and precipitated the Quasi-War with France as Americans demanded honor and protection of neutral trading rights.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress in 1798 under President John Adams. The Alien Acts made it harder for immigrants to become citizens and allowed the President to deport or detain non-citizens deemed dangerous. The Sedition Act criminalized making "false, scandalous, and malicious" statements against the government. Aimed largely at silencing Republican critics, these acts sparked a backlash over First Amendment rights and states' rights theories.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Statements secretly authored by Jefferson (Kentucky) and Madison (Virginia) in 1798-1799 in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They advanced the idea of nullification, asserting that states have the right to nullify federal laws deemed unconstitutional. While no other states endorsed nullification at the time, these resolutions set an early precedent for states' rights arguments that would resurface later (e.g. in the lead-up to the Civil War).

Election of 1800

Hard-fought presidential race between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (with Aaron Burr). It resulted in a tie in the electoral college between Jefferson and Burr (both Democratic-Republicans), throwing the decision to the House of Representatives, which chose Thomas Jefferson as president (after Hamilton's influence). This election is often called the "Revolution of 1800" because it marked the first peaceful transfer of power between political parties in U.S. history, from Federalists to Democratic-Republicans.

Thomas Jefferson

Principal author of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. President (1801-1809). As president, Jefferson pursued an agenda of limited government (cutting taxes and military spending) but also made the Louisiana Purchase (1803), doubling the nation's size, and navigated issues like the Embargo Act of 1807. His election marked a shift to Democratic-Republican dominance and the ascendancy of agrarian interests.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 acquisition of the vast Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, during Jefferson's presidency. It doubled the size of the United States, giving the U.S. control of the Mississippi River and New Orleans, and opened the way for westward expansion. Jefferson used a treaty to justify the purchase despite constitutional doubts about federal land-buying power, demonstrating a pragmatic use of implied powers.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

An exploratory mission (1804-1806) led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, commissioned by Jefferson after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery mapped the Louisiana Territory to the Pacific, documented geography and native peoples, and strengthened U.S. claims to the Oregon region. With the help of Sacagawea as guide and translator, the expedition provided valuable knowledge of the West.

John Marshall

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1801-1835) whose decisions strengthened the power of the federal government and the judiciary. A Federalist, Marshall established the principle of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison and in cases like McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden upheld federal supremacy over the states, shaping American constitutional law for decades.

Marbury v. Madison

Landmark 1803 Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall's opinion established the principle of judicial review, giving the Court the power to strike down laws as unconstitutional​

McCulloch v. Maryland

1819 Supreme Court case (under John Marshall) that affirmed the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States and denied a state (Maryland) the power to tax it. The ruling established that Congress has implied powers (via the Necessary and Proper Clause) - in this case to create a national bank - and upheld the principle of federal supremacy by declaring that states cannot interfere with valid federal actions (as "the power to tax involves the power to destroy").

Gibbons v. Ogden

An 1824 Supreme Court decision (Marshall Court) that struck down a New York steamboat monopoly, ruling that only the federal government (Congress) has the power to regulate interstate commerce. This case broadly defined commerce and further asserted federal authority over state laws in economic matters, reinforcing federal control over the national economy.

War of 1812

Conflict between the United States and Great Britain (1812-1815) caused by issues like British impressment of American sailors, interference with American trade, and British support of Native American resistance on the frontier. Highlights include the burning of Washington D.C., the defense of Fort McHenry ("Star-Spangled Banner"), and Andrew Jackson's victory at New Orleans (actually fought after a peace was signed). The war ended with the Treaty of Ghent (essentially a stalemate) but boosted American nationalism and ended Native armed resistance in many areas.

Hartford Convention

A meeting of New England Federalists in late 1814 during the War of 1812, where they voiced grievances against the war and the Democratic-Republican government (even discussing amendments to reduce Southern power and hints of secession). The war's end and Jackson's victory at New Orleans made the Hartford Convention's complaints seem unpatriotic, contributing to the collapse of the Federalist Party as a national force.

Era of Good Feelings

Period of President James Monroe's two terms (1817-1825) characterized by the appearance of national unity and political cooperation following the decline of the Federalist Party. The era saw a surge in nationalism after the War of 1812, but it also masked rising sectional tensions (over tariffs, the national bank, and slavery) and included the Panic of 1819 and debates like the Missouri crisis.

American System

An economic plan championed by Henry Clay in the post-War of 1812 era, aiming to unite the country's economies. It advocated a strong banking system (national bank), protective tariffs to support American manufacturing, and internal improvements (federal funding for roads, canals, infrastructure) to link the nation. Parts of the plan were implemented (Second Bank, Tariff of 1816), but federal funding of internal improvements was controversial (President Madison and Monroe vetoed some projects).

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 agreement engineered by Henry Clay to maintain the balance of free and slave states in the Union. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine (carved from Massachusetts) as a free state, and banned slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of latitude 36°30′ (Missouri's southern border). This compromise temporarily eased sectional tensions over slavery's expansion for a generation, until it was effectively repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854.

Monroe Doctrine

A cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy proclaimed by President James Monroe in 1823, warning European powers against further colonization or interference in the Western Hemisphere. It stated that the Americas were closed to new European colonization and that the U.S. would regard any European intervention in the hemisphere as a threat; in return, the U.S. would not interfere in European affairs. Although the U.S. lacked military power to enforce it at the time (Britain's navy informally backed it), the doctrine became a longstanding principle of American policy​

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Market Revolution

The economic transformation in the early 19th century U.S. (roughly 1810s-1840s) characterized by the expansion of markets and emergence of a national economy. Key aspects included transportation improvements (canals like the Erie Canal in 1825, steamboats, and later railroads), industrialization (the rise of factories, starting in New England's textile mills), and commercial farming (expansion of cash-crop agriculture aided by inventions like the cotton gin and mechanical reaper). This revolution led to greater regional specialization: the Northeast industrialized, the Northwest grew food, and the South grew cotton for textile mills.

Industrial Revolution (in America)

The transition to mechanized manufacturing in the U.S. beginning in the early 1800s. Pioneered by the Lowell Mills in Massachusetts (where young women worked in textile factories under the Lowell System), it introduced mass production and the factory system. Interchangeable parts (promoted by Eli Whitney) and new technologies (like the telegraph by Samuel Morse in 1844) increased efficiency. This led to rapid urbanization in the North and changes in labor, including the rise of wage labor and early labor unions.

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin

Invented in 1793, this device quickly separated cotton fibers from seeds, revolutionizing cotton production. The cotton gin made cotton a highly profitable export crop in the South ("King Cotton"), dramatically increased the demand for land and enslaved labor, and as a result, entrenched slavery in the Deep South even as it was gradually ending in the North.

Second Great Awakening

A Protestant religious revival movement roughly from the 1790s through the 1830s, which was even more widespread than the first. It featured mass camp meetings and fiery preaching (such as Charles G. Finney's revivals), emphasizing individual salvation, personal piety, and the possibility of improving society. The movement led to a wave of antebellum reform movements - including temperance, asylum and prison reform, women's rights, and abolitionism - as converts were inspired to perfect society and do good works.

Abolitionist Movement

The campaign to end slavery in the United States, which gained momentum in the early-to-mid 19th century. Abolitionists ranged from radical immediatists like William Lloyd Garrison (who founded the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator in 1831) and Frederick Douglass (an escaped slave turned influential writer and speaker) to moderate anti-slavery politicians who merely opposed slavery's expansion. This movement, often fueled by religious fervor from the Second Great Awakening, heightened sectional tensions by denouncing slavery as morally wrong.

Temperance Movement

A social reform movement in the 19th century aimed at reducing or banning alcohol consumption. Led by groups like the American Temperance Society (founded 1826), it advocated personal abstinence ("teetotalism") and pushed for legal prohibition of alcohol, viewing drunkenness as a cause of social ills. The movement had significant success, with many states passing dry laws, and it laid the groundwork for the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) decades later.

Seneca Falls Convention

The first women's rights convention in the U.S., held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 and organized by women including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. The convention issued the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled on the Declaration of Independence, declaring that "all men and women are created equal" and listing grievances against women's political and social inequality. It called for various women's rights, notably suffrage (the right to vote), thus launching the women's suffrage movement.

Jacksonian Democracy

A political movement during the 1820s-1830s championed by President Andrew Jackson that celebrated the "common man" and expanded democratic participation. It was marked by the expansion of white male suffrage (removing property requirements for voting), the use of the spoils system (rewarding political supporters with public office), and a suspicion of entrenched elites and institutions like the national bank. Jacksonian Democracy emphasized majority rule and sought to empower ordinary white citizens in politics.

Andrew Jackson

Seventh U.S. President (1829-1837), a populist leader born in humble circumstances who became a symbol of the expanding democratic spirit. Nicknamed "Old Hickory," Jackson vetoed the recharter of the Second Bank of the U.S. (Bank War), forcibly removed Native Americans (pushing the Indian Removal Act and defying the Supreme Court in Worcester v. Georgia), and faced down South Carolina in the Nullification Crisis. His presidency strengthened the power of the presidency and was beloved by many farmers and workers, though criticized by others for his strong-arm tactics.

Indian Removal Act

A law passed in 1830 under President Andrew Jackson, authorizing the federal government to negotiate treaties to relocate Native American tribes living in the Southeast to lands west of the Mississippi River (in "Indian Territory," present-day Oklahoma). Its enforcement led to the Trail of Tears (1838-1839), the forced march of the Cherokee and other tribes from their ancestral lands, during which thousands died from exposure, disease, and starvation.

Worcester v. Georgia

An 1832 Supreme Court case where the Marshall Court ruled that the Cherokee Nation was a distinct community and that Georgia's laws had no force within Cherokee territory, thus recognizing a degree of tribal sovereignty. President Jackson allegedly responded, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it," and he proceeded with Indian Removal despite the ruling. This case highlighted the limits of judicial power when defied by the executive and states.

Nullification Crisis

A sectional crisis during Jackson's presidency (1832-1833) over tariffs. South Carolina, led by John C. Calhoun, opposed the "Tariff of Abominations" (1828) and declared the tariff acts of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the state, asserting the doctrine of nullification (a state's right to invalidate federal law). Jackson responded forcefully, threatening military force via the Force Bill. The crisis was resolved with Henry Clay's Compromise Tariff of 1833, which gradually lowered tariffs, but it foreshadowed states' rights conflicts to come.

Bank War

The political struggle in the early 1830s over the rechartering of the Second Bank of the United States. President Andrew Jackson viewed the Bank as an undemocratic tool of Eastern elites and vetoed its recharter in 1832, then moved to "kill" the bank by withdrawing federal deposits and placing them in "pet banks." The Bank War led to the Bank's collapse, contributed to a more volatile economy (preceding the Panic of 1837), and solidified Jackson's image as a champion of the common man against the powerful.

Whig Party

A political party formed in the early 1830s in opposition to Andrew Jackson and the Democrats. The Whigs, including Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, supported the American System (national bank, protective tariffs, internal improvements), a strong legislative branch, and often moral reform causes. They saw Jackson as a tyrant ("King Andrew") and chose their name after British anti-monarchists. The Whigs won the presidency with William Henry Harrison (1840) and later Zachary Taylor (1848) but collapsed in the 1850s over sectional divisions regarding slavery.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that it was America's God-given destiny and mission to expand westward across the continent, spreading democracy and civilization. Coined by journalist John L. O'Sullivan in 1845, Manifest Destiny was used to justify U.S. territorial growth, including the annexation of Texas, the Oregon Trail migration, and the Mexican-American War, often with little regard for the native peoples and other nations in those lands.

Texas Annexation

The 1845 incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States as the 28th state. Texas had won independence from Mexico in 1836, but U.S. annexation was delayed due to the slavery issue (Texas would enter as a slave state) and fear of war with Mexico. President John Tyler pushed annexation through a joint resolution of Congress. The annexation angered Mexico and helped set the stage for the Mexican-American War.

Mexican-American War

War between the United States and Mexico (1846-1848) sparked by disputes over Texas and the U.S. desire for California and other Mexican territories. After U.S. forces won decisive victories (with generals like Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott), the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war: Mexico ceded about half its territory (the Mexican Cession, including present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, etc.) to the U.S. in exchange for $15 million. This expansion fulfilled much of Manifest Destiny but reignited the debate over the extension of slavery into new territories.

Wilmot Proviso

A failed 1846 proposal by Congressman David Wilmot to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. Though it never became law (blocked in the Senate), the Wilmot Proviso galvanized sectional tensions by making slavery's expansion a central political issue and helped give rise to the Free-Soil Party, which opposed the spread of slavery to western territories.

California Gold Rush

The mass migration to California after gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in early 1848. By 1849, "Forty-Niners" from the U.S. and abroad flocked to California in search of riches, spurring a boomtown atmosphere. The Gold Rush accelerated California's population growth and economic development, leading to California's quick admission as a free state in 1850 (which in turn prompted the Compromise of 1850).

Compromise of 1850

A package of five laws crafted by Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Stephen Douglas to resolve the status of territories acquired from Mexico and ease North-South tensions. Key provisions: California admitted as a free state; Utah and New Mexico territories to decide slavery by popular sovereignty; the slave trade (but not slavery) banned in Washington D.C.; and a strict Fugitive Slave Act was enacted to appease the South by compelling citizens to assist in the capture of escaped slaves. The compromise postponed secession but the harsh Fugitive Slave Law inflamed Northern anti-slavery sentiment.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Part of the Compromise of 1850, this law required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners, even if found in free states, and imposed penalties on anyone who helped fugitives. It denied accused runaways a jury trial and increased federal involvement in capturing slaves. The act enraged many in the North, led to resistance (some states passed "Personal Liberty Laws"), and strengthened the abolitionist cause by bringing the reality of slavery into northern communities.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

An influential anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in 1852. The book humanized enslaved people (with characters like the dignified Uncle Tom) and dramatized the cruelties of slavery (such as the brutal slaveholder Simon Legree), swaying public opinion in the North against the institution. It became a bestseller and intensified sectional conflict, with Abraham Lincoln (perhaps apocryphally) calling Stowe "the little lady who made this great war" due to the book's impact.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 law sponsored by Senator Stephen Douglas that created the Kansas and Nebraska territories and allowed settlers there to decide the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise line (36°30′) that had prohibited slavery in those territories. This act led to "Bleeding Kansas," as pro- and anti-slavery forces flooded into Kansas and engaged in violent conflict over the slavery vote. It also sparked the formation of the Republican Party, founded on opposition to the expansion of slavery.

Republican Party (1850s)

A political party formed in 1854 by anti-slavery Whigs, Free Soilers, and Northern Democrats in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The new Republican Party's core platform was preventing the expansion of slavery into the western territories (though it initially stopped short of calling for abolition in the South). By 1860, the Republicans - appealing to many Northerners with free labor ideology - had grown strong enough to elect Abraham Lincoln as president, prompting Southern secession.

Bleeding Kansas

The period of violent conflict in the Kansas Territory (mid-1850s) between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers vying to decide whether Kansas would enter the Union as free or slave. Rival territorial governments were established, and violent incidents occurred, including the sacking of the anti-slavery town of Lawrence and the retaliatory Pottawatomie Massacre led by abolitionist John Brown. "Bleeding Kansas" exposed the failure of popular sovereignty and was a prelude to the Civil War, inflaming sectional tensions.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Infamous 1857 Supreme Court decision in which Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that African Americans were not citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court, and also declared that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories​

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. This effectively made the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and allowed slavery to spread to all territories. The decision delighted the South but shocked and outraged the North, further polarizing the nation.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

A series of seven debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and Stephen Douglas (Democrat) during their Illinois Senate race. The debates centered on slavery and its expansion, with Lincoln arguing that slavery was morally wrong and should not spread (though he denied intent to abolish it where it existed), and Douglas defending popular sovereignty (articulating the Freeport Doctrine that territories could effectively bar slavery by not enforcing laws to protect it). Lincoln lost the Senate race, but the debates made him a national figure and clarified the divisions on slavery.

John Brown's Raid

An 1859 raid led by radical abolitionist John Brown on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Brown aimed to seize weapons to start a slave uprising. The attempt failed - Brown was captured by U.S. Marines under Robert E. Lee and later executed - but it terrified the South (who saw it as Northern aggression inciting slave revolt) and made Brown a martyr to many in the North. The raid further divided North and South and was a harbinger of the coming Civil War.

Election of 1860

The presidential election won by Republican Abraham Lincoln with a platform opposing slavery's expansion. The Democratic Party split (Northern Democrats for Douglas, Southern Democrats for Breckinridge) and a fourth candidate, John Bell, ran for the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln's victory (without any Southern electoral votes) was the immediate trigger for Southern states to begin seceding from the Union, as they feared an end to slavery.

Confederate States of America

The nation formed by eleven Southern states that seceded from the U.S. between 1860 and 1861 (starting with South Carolina, followed by states like Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, etc.). The Confederacy, led by President Jefferson Davis, was founded on the principle of states' rights and the preservation of slavery. Its secession and attack on Fort Sumter led to the Civil War with the Union (the Northern states).

Fort Sumter

A federal fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired in April 1861. After South Carolina's secession, U.S. Major Robert Anderson refused to surrender the fort; Confederate forces bombarded it, and Anderson eventually surrendered. The fall of Fort Sumter galvanized the North to rally behind the Union cause and led Lincoln to call for volunteers, prompting the Upper South states to secede as well.

Civil War (1861-1865)

The war between the Northern states (Union) and seceding Southern states (Confederacy) primarily over slavery and states' rights. Key events include major battles like Antietam (the bloodiest single day, 1862), Gettysburg (turning point Union victory in July 1863), Sherman's March to the Sea (1864), and Appomattox (Lee's surrender in April 1865). The Union, led by Lincoln and generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, ultimately prevailed over the Confederacy led by Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee. The war resulted in about 750,000 deaths and led to the abolition of slavery (13th Amendment) but left the South devastated.

Antietam

A September 1862 Civil War battle in Maryland that was the single bloodiest day in American military history (around 22,000 casualties). Though tactically inconclusive, it halted Lee's first invasion of the North and gave President Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The Union's strategic victory discouraged British and French recognition of the Confederacy and shifted the war aims toward ending slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by President Lincoln effective January 1, 1863, declaring all slaves in areas still in rebellion (Confederate-held territory) to be forever free. While it did not immediately free all slaves (it didn't apply to Border States or Confederate areas under Union control), it transformed the Civil War into a war for human liberation, allowed for the enlistment of Black soldiers in the Union Army, and ensured that a Union victory would mean the end of slavery.