SURVEY OF US HISTORY FINAL - Holley

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Impressment

The act of forcing men into military service. It was prominent in England, and notably used in the colonies when Sir Edmund Andros used it during a battle against the Maine Indians.

Louisiana Purchase

The acquisition of Louisiana from France in 1803 in what is considered the largest real estate deal in American history, authorized by Jefferson. The pressures of war in Europe and the slave insurrection in Haiti forced Napoleon to rethink his vast North American holdings, so he offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million (roughly equivalent to $250 million today.) 

Embargo Act

After an attack on the USS Chesapeake, Jefferson instated the Embargo Act of 1807, which completely restricted trade between the US and Britain. This was meant to be a non-violent means of asserting American neutrality, but was largely unsuccessful and hurt the US economy dramatically.

Hartford Convention

In 1814, New England Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut, to try to end the war and curb the power of the Republican Party. They produced a document that proposed abolishing the three-fifths rule that afforded southern slaveholders disproportionate representation in Congress, limiting the president to a single term in office, and most importantly, demanding a two-thirds congressional majority, rather than a simple majority, for legislation that declared war, admitted new states into the Union, or regulated commerce. With the two-thirds majority, New England’s Federalist politicians believed they could limit the power of their political foes.

Missouri Compromise

In 1819, Missouri, a territory formed from the Louisiana Purchase, applied for statehood. It was immediately clear they would be applying as a slave state, creating an imbalance in free and slave states. Henry Clay proposed a compromise: Missouri is admitted as a slave state, however, Maine, which was so far a territory of Massachusetts, would become its own free state. This would maintain the balance between the north and south. It additionally stipulated that any new territories north of 36°30 would be free states.

Transportation Revolution

A period between 1810-1860 where methods of long-distance travel rapidly improved. This included paving roads, building steamboats, and establishing railroad systems. 

Eli Whitney

Invented the cotton gin in 1794, which separated the seeds from the cotton. It dramatically increased the production of cotton as well as the demand.

The XYZ Affair

A political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the presidency of John Adams, involving a confrontation between the United States and Republican France which led to the Quasi-War. 

The Bank War

Andrew Jackson’s political struggle against the Second Bank of the United States, which he viewed as a corrupt, elite institution unconstitutional and dangerous to American liberty. Jackson vetoed the bank’s recharter in 1832 and, after reelection, moved federal funds to state "pet banks," causing its demise and contributing to the Panic of 1837.

Nullification Crisis

Due to the tariff of abominations, South Carolina became paranoid of federal power and the potential limitations they would place on slavery. South Carolina therefore claimed the tariffs were unconstitutional and "nullified.” Jackson was enraged and threatened the state with military power. The compromise was made to gradually reduce the tariff over time.

Indian Removal Act

1830. The removal of Native Americans from the land east of the Mississippi River, authorized by Andrew Jackson. It was met with fierce opposition from within the affected Native American communities as well as from the benevolent empire. Resulted in the Trail of Tears, the tragic, forced removal of Native Americans to territories west of the Mississippi River.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

After the Texas revolution, and the subsequent entry of Texas into the union, tensions rose between Mexico and America on where the border of Texas lay. President Polk played at diplomacy, but ultimately the Mexican American war began in 1846. It ended two years later from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which amounted to an American victory and granting them a massive advancement of territory to the west. Mexico was forced to concede the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas.

Wilmot Proviso

An attempt made by David Wilmot in 1846 to assert all territories obtained through the war with Mexico to be free of slavery. It passed the house, but failed in the senate.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Seven, three-hour-long, face-to-face confrontations between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas during their Illinois U.S. Senate campaign. The debates focused on slavery’s expansion into U.S. territories. While Douglas won the Senate seat, the intense national media attention catapulted Lincoln into national prominence, paving the way for his 1860 presidency. 

Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, proposed by Senator Stephen Douglas, was meant to organize the Kansas and Nebraska territories, along with beginning construction of a railroad. However, the document also included that the new territories would use "popular sovereignty" to decide the issue of slavery, meaning each state would vote on the issue individually. This would effectively repeal the 1820 Missouri Compromise, as states above the 36°30 won’t be guaranteed free states.

Fugitive Slave Act

Though a legal mandate to return runway slaves had existed in U.S. federal law since 1793, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 upped the ante by harshly penalizing officials who failed to arrest runaways and private citizens who tried to help them. This law, coupled with growing concern over the possibility that slavery would be allowed in Kansas when it was admitted as a state, made the 1850s a highly volatile and violent period of American antislavery.

John Brown

John Brown was a radical abolitionist who conducted violent protests and raids against slavery. During an attack on Harper’s Ferry, a federal weapons arsenal in Virginia, he was captured and executed for his crimes.

Dred Scott

A Missouri slave that was the subject of the Scott v. Sandford case, which ruled that black Americans could not be citizens of the United States. The court ruled that Scott had no right to sue in United States courts. The Dred Scott decision signaled that the federal government was now fully committed to extending slavery as far and as wide as it might want.

Fort Sumter

A federal installation in the seceded territory of Charleston, South Carolina which President Lincoln intended to resupply in 1861, as he considered federal property within seceded states to still be in their possession. However, once a confederate general fired on the fort, commanding officer Major Robert Anderson surrendered on April 13 and the Union troops evacuated. This was the inciting incident for the American Civil War.

Election of 1860

The election where Abraham Lincoln won on a platform of antislavery, along with making wide promises to its white constituents, particularly westerners, with the promise of new land, transcontinental railroads, and broad support of public schools. He won narrowly, gaining just 40 percent of the popular vote and not a single southern vote in the Electoral College. Within days, southern states were organizing secession conventions, knowing that they would no longer hold power in the House. 

Antietam

The first major battle to take place in union territory, occurring in 1862 and resulting in the highest bloodiest battle so far. While the Union did win, it was not a decisive victory. Regardless, Lincoln still saw this as enough of an advantage to issue the emancipation proclamation, declaring all slaves in confederate territory to be free.

Copperheads

Also known as Peace-Democrats. They clashed frequently with both War Democrats and Republicans and were sympathetic to the Confederacy; they exploited public antiwar sentiment (often the result of a lost battle or mounting casualties) and tried to push President Lincoln to negotiate an immediate peace, regardless of political leverage or bargaining power.

Anaconda Plan

Proposed by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the anaconda plan was meant to create naval blockades on confederate ports, blocking their logistics networks and trade. This would dry their resources while a strong offensive force came down from the Mississippi River.

Cotton Diplomacy

1861-1862. An attempt from the Confederates to get Britain and France to join forces with them by embargoing cotton exports, hypothetically giving them no choice but to help the Confederacy break the Union blockade. It failed due to huge European cotton surpluses, alternative sources, and a general anti-slavery sentiment shared across Europe.

Gettysburg

Taking place in 1863 and led by Robert E. Lee, the battle of Gettysburg Pennsylvania was the most deadly battle that took place during the Civil War. Over 3 days there were 51 thousand casualties, but it eventually ended in a Union victory. This win acted as turning point in the war, as it faulted the confederates invasion of the north.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Established in 1865, the federal government created the Freedmen’s Bureau to assist freed people in securing their rights and their livelihoods. One of the main promises they made was to redistribute southern land confiscated by the union to the freedmen, but this promise was not upheld, and the land went back to the ex-confederates that previously owned it. Instead of giving them their own land, freedmen were instead encouraged to go back to their former slaveholders to work as wage laborers. Regardless of this failure, the Bureau did do good, such as providing food/clothing, running hospitals, and building thousands of schools. Despite its achievements, it faced funding issues and opposition from the South, and was abolished in 1872.

Field Order 15

Issued by General William T. Sherman in 1865. A proposed order in which land in Georgia and South Carolina was to be set aside as a homestead for freed slaves. However, Sherman lacked the authority to confiscate and distribute land, so this plan never fully took effect.

Black Codes

Codes that regulated black behavior and imposed social and economic control. The laws granted some rights to African Americans, like the right to own property, to marry, or to make contracts. But they also denied fundamental rights, like serving on juries or in state militias and the right to testimony against white people. They also established severe vagrancy laws, stating that all freedmen are required to carry papers proving they had means of employment. If they had no proof, they could be arrested and fined. If they could not pay the fine, the sheriff had the right to hire out his prisoner to anyone who was willing to pay the tax. Black codes effectively criminalized black people’s leisure, limited their mobility, and locked many into exploitative farming contracts.

Fall of Atlanta

Commanding General William T. Sherman struggled against confederate general John Bell Hood for the vital rail hub of Atlanta over the summer of 1864, beginning in July and ending with a union victory in September.

Election of 1877

The compromise of 1877 refers to the deal made by southern democrats to accept Rutherford B. Hayes as president, who had lost the popular vote in 1876, if he removed the federal troops remaining in the south. These soldiers were meant to enforce reconstruction and help keep black citizens safe. Their removal meant largely meant the end of reconstruction.