Early American History: Key Terms and Events

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key terms and events from early American history.

Dorr War

An 1841-1842 conflict in Rhode Island over voting rights and the reform of the state’s constitution.

American System

Economic plan that aimed to strengthen and unify the nation through a new national bank, tariffs, and internal improvements.

Panic of 1819

The first widespread economic crisis in the United States, leading to bank failures and widespread foreclosures.

Era of Good Feelings

A period of strong nationalistic fervor and political unity in the United States during Monroe's presidency (1817-1825).

Adams-Onis Treaty

1819 agreement in which Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

Missouri Compromise

1820 legislation that maintained the balance between slave and free states by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

Monroe Doctrine

1823 policy stating that the Americas were not to be colonized by European powers.

Corrupt Bargain

Allegation that the election of 1824 was manipulated, resulting in John Quincy Adams' presidency over Andrew Jackson.

Spoils System

The practice of a successful political party giving public office to its supporters.

Indian Removal Act

1830 law that authorized the removal of Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi River.

Five Civilized Tribes

Native American tribes including the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole, known for their adaptation to European ways.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

1831 Supreme Court case ruling that the Cherokee Nation was not a foreign nation, but a domestic dependent nation.

Trail of Tears

The forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation from their homeland, resulting in the deaths of thousands.

Nullification

The idea that a state can invalidate any federal law it deems unconstitutional.

Bank War of 1832

The struggle between President Andrew Jackson and the supporters of the Second Bank of the United States.

Pro-Slavery Argument

Rationale used by slaveholders to justify slavery as a positive good.

Slaveholding Statistics

Data reflecting the demographics and economics of slave ownership in the South.

Paternalism

The belief that slave owners had a duty to provide for enslaved people, framing slavery as a benevolent institution.

Gang Labor

A system of labor used in the antebellum South where enslaved people worked together in groups.

Task Labor

A system of labor where enslaved individuals had specific tasks to complete and could work at their own pace.

Slave Spirituals

Songs created by enslaved people that express their faith, longing for freedom, and personal narratives.

Harriet Tubman

A key figure in the Underground Railroad who helped enslaved people escape to freedom.

Dred Scott decision

1857 Supreme Court case stating that African Americans were not citizens and had no standing to sue in federal court.

Nat Turner's Rebellion

A slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831 led by Nat Turner, resulting in stricter slave laws.

Sabotage/Day to Day Resistance

Small, often unnoticed acts by enslaved people to resist their conditions of servitude.

Causes of Mexican War

Conflicts over Texas Annexation, territorial disputes, and the desire for westward expansion.

Horace Mann

An advocate for public education who pushed for reform in educational systems.

Dorothea Dix

A social reformer who worked to improve conditions for the mentally ill.

American Colonization Society

An organization that supported the relocation of free African Americans to Africa.

William Lloyd Garrison

A prominent abolitionist and journalist known for publishing 'The Liberator'.

The Liberator

An abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison that called for the immediate emancipation of slaves.

Declaration of Sentiments

A document outlining the rights of women, modeled after the Declaration of Independence, presented at the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848.

Stephen Austin

Considered the father of Texas, he led the second and ultimately successful colonization of the region.

Tejanos

Mexican residents of Texas who played a significant role in its early history.

Andersonville

A notorious Confederate prison known for its awful conditions during the Civil War.

The Alamo

A pivotal battle site in the Texas Revolution where Texan rebels fought for independence from Mexico.

Antonio López de Santa Anna

Mexican general and politician known for leading the Mexican Army against Texas during the revolution.

Battle of San Jacinto

The decisive battle of the Texas Revolution where Texas won independence from Mexico.

Sam Houston

Leader of the Texan army during the Texas Revolution and the first president of the Republic of Texas.

Mexican War

1846-1848 conflict between the United States and Mexico over territorial disputes.

Whig Party

A political party active in the mid-19th century that opposed the Democratic Party.

Spot Resolution

A series of resolutions proposed by Abraham Lincoln questioning President Polk's justification for the Mexican War.

Henry David Thoreau

American transcendentalist author known for his book 'Walden' and his essay 'Civil Disobedience'.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The treaty ending the Mexican-American War, ceding vast territories to the U.S.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the expansion of the United States across the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

Wilmot Proviso

An unsuccessful proposal to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico.

Compromise of 1850

Series of laws passed to balance the interests of slave and free states after the Mexican-American War.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 legislation that allowed for popular sovereignty to decide slavery in Kansas and Nebraska.

Runaway Slaves

Enslaved individuals who escaped to seek freedom.

popular sovereignty

The political doctrine that the legitimacy of the state is created and sustained by the consent of its people.

Phases of the Civil War

Various stages of the Civil War characterized by significant battles and turning points.

John Brown's Raid

The 1859 attempt by abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt by seizing a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.

Fugitive Slave Law and Irony

Laws that mandated the return of runaway slaves but also fueled anti-slavery sentiments.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.

First Battle of Bull Run

The first major battle of the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.

Lyman Beecher

A prominent minister and social reformer who promoted temperance and education.

Antietam

The bloodiest single-day battle in American history, fought in 1862.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by Lincoln in 1863 that freed slaves in the Confederate states.

Impact of the EP

Changed the character of the Civil War, adding moral impetus to the Union war effort.

Clara Barton

Nurse who founded the American Red Cross and helped care for wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

Vicksburg

A strategic Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, captured by Union forces in 1863.

Gettysburg

A significant battle in July 1863 that marked a turning point in the Civil War.

Copperheads

Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and wanted an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates.

Sherman's March to the Sea

Sherman's military campaign during the Civil War aimed at destroying Southern infrastructure.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

Robert E. Lee

General of the Confederate Army known for his leadership during the Civil War.

Lincoln's Assassination

The 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth.

Charles Leale

The army surgeon who attended to Lincoln immediately after he was shot.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race.

1863 NYC Draft Riots

Violent disturbances in New York City in protest of the Union draft during the Civil War.

Ft. Pillow Massacre

The killing of black Union soldiers by Confederate troops at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, in 1864.

Mason-Dixon Line

The boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, historically seen as the dividing line between free and slave states.

Fire Eaters

Southern politicians who advocated for secession and the protection of slavery.

Shakers

A religious sect known for their communal living and simple lifestyle, promoting celibacy and equality.

Joseph Smith

Founder of the Mormon Church and the religion of Latter-Day Saints.

Mormons

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known for their migration to Utah in the mid-1800s.

Oneida Community

A utopian community founded in the 1840s that practiced communal living and complex marriage.

Secession

The act of a state formally withdrawing from the Union.

Crittenden Compromise

A failed proposal to prevent the Civil War by allowing the expansion of slavery into the territories.

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to defeat the Confederacy by blockading southern ports and controlling the Mississippi River.

Carpetbagger/Scalawag/Redeemer

Terms used in the Reconstruction era to describe Northerners who moved South, Southern white Republicans, and those who sought to restore white Democratic control.