HIST 151 Final My Copy

  1. Missouri Compromise - The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a legislative agreement passed by the United States Congress that regulated slavery in the western territories. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power between slave and free states in Congress. It also established a line (the 36°30′ parallel) across the Louisiana Territory, north of which slavery was prohibited.

  2. Wilmot Proviso - The Wilmot Proviso was a proposal in 1846 to prohibit slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American War. Though it never became law, it sparked intense debate over the extension of slavery into newly acquired territories, ultimately leading to increased tensions between the North and South.

  3. Kansas-Nebraska Act - The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty (popular vote) rather than the federal government imposing a decision. This act effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise and led to violent conflicts in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, known as "Bleeding Kansas."

  4. Mason-Dixon Line - The Mason-Dixon Line is the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, and later between Maryland and Delaware. It gained significance as the informal boundary between free states and slave states before the Civil War, although it did not precisely align with the boundary set by the Missouri Compromise.

  5. Market Revolution - The Market Revolution refers to the economic transformation in the United States during the early 19th century, characterized by the rise of a market economy, increased industrialization, improvements in transportation and communication (such as canals, railroads, and telegraph), and the growth of wage labor.

  6. Gabriel’s Rebellion - Gabriel's Rebellion was a slave revolt planned by Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved blacksmith, in Virginia in 1800. The planned uprising aimed to seize the city of Richmond, but it was thwarted when authorities were alerted to the plot. The rebellion led to increased restrictions on slaves and free blacks in Virginia and other southern states.

  7. Nullification Crisis - The Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833 was a political conflict between the federal government and the state of South Carolina over the doctrine of nullification, which asserted that states had the right to declare federal laws unconstitutional and thereby nullify them. The crisis was resolved through a compromise tariff and the Force Bill, which authorized the use of military force to enforce federal laws.

  8. Indian Removal Act, 1830 - The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson and authorized the forced removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States to areas west of the Mississippi River, primarily in present-day Oklahoma. The act resulted in the infamous Trail of Tears, during which thousands of Native Americans died during the forced relocation.

  9. Manifest Destiny - Manifest Destiny was the belief prevalent in 19th-century America that it was the nation's destiny and duty to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This ideology fueled westward expansion, territorial acquisition, and conflicts with indigenous peoples and other nations.

  10. Harper’s Ferry - Harper's Ferry is a town in present-day West Virginia that gained historical significance due to John Brown's raid in 1859. Brown, an abolitionist, led a raid on the federal armory at Harper's Ferry in an attempt to start a slave rebellion. The raid failed, but it heightened tensions between North and South and is considered a precursor to the Civil War.

  11. Emancipation Proclamation - The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. It declared that all enslaved persons in Confederate-controlled territory were to be set free. While it didn't immediately free all slaves, it shifted the war's focus to include ending slavery, and it paved the way for the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States.

  12. Confederate States of America - The Confederate States of America (CSA) was a breakaway republic formed by 11 southern states that seceded from the Union following Abraham Lincoln's election as president in 1860-1861. The CSA was formed to preserve slavery and states' rights, leading to the American Civil War when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in April 1861.

  13. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin - Eli Whitney's cotton gin was an invention in 1793 that revolutionized cotton production in the southern United States. The cotton gin mechanized the process of removing seeds from cotton fibers, making cotton production more profitable and increasing the demand for slave labor to cultivate cotton plantations.

  14. Whiskey Rebellion - The Whiskey Rebellion was a violent uprising in 1794 by farmers in western Pennsylvania who protested against a federal excise tax on whiskey. President George Washington's decision to send troops to suppress the rebellion demonstrated the federal government's ability to enforce its laws and maintain order under the new Constitution.

  15. Abraham Lincoln - Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the nation through the Civil War and is remembered for his efforts to preserve the Union, abolish slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation, and promote national reconciliation during Reconstruction.

  16. Compromise of 1850 - The Compromise of 1850 was a series of legislative measures passed by the U.S. Congress to address the contentious issue of slavery in newly acquired territories from the Mexican-American War. The compromise included provisions such as the admission of California as a free state, the organization of the territories of New Mexico and Utah with popular sovereignty on the issue of slavery, and a stronger Fugitive Slave Law.

  17. Marbury v. Madison - Marbury v. Madison was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in 1803 that established the principle of judicial review, giving the Supreme Court the power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. The case arose from a dispute over the appointment of federal judges during the final days of President John Adams's administration.

  18. Lowell Mills - Lowell Mills were textile mills located in Lowell, Massachusetts, during the early 19th century. They were significant for their use of a labor system known as the Lowell System, which employed young, unmarried women from rural New England to work in the mills under strict supervision and living in company-owned boardinghouses.

  19. Louisiana Purchase - The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal in 1803 between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of territory west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. The purchase doubled the size of the United States and opened up vast new territories for westward expansion.

  20. Bleeding Kansas - Bleeding Kansas refers to the violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the Kansas Territory in the mid-1850s. The conflict erupted after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed the territory to decide the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty, leading to a period of lawlessness and bloodshed.

  21. Uncle Tom’s Cabin - Uncle Tom's Cabin was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852. It depicted the harsh realities of slavery and became one of the most influential works of fiction in American history, galvanizing anti-slavery sentiment in the North and contributing to the abolitionist cause.

  22. The Bank War - The Bank War refers to the political conflict between President Andrew Jackson and the Second Bank of the United States during the 1830s. Jackson opposed the bank, viewing it as a monopoly that benefited the wealthy elite, and vetoed the recharter of the bank in 1832. The controversy over the bank's role in the economy led to the creation of the Whig Party.

  23. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848, ending the Mexican-American War. Under the treaty, Mexico ceded vast territories, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma, to the United States in exchange for $15 million in compensation.

  24. Second Great Awakening - The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival movement in the early 19th century that emphasized individual salvation, personal conversion, and social reform. It had a profound impact on American society, contributing to the rise of evangelicalism, the growth of new religious denominations, and movements for social reform such as abolitionism and temperance.

  25. Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments - The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments was a document written in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York, which called for women's rights and equality, modeled after the Declaration of Independence. It marked the beginning of the women's suffrage movement in the United States and demanded social and legal reforms to improve women's status in society.

  26. Scott v. Sandford - Scott v. Sandford, also known as the Dred Scott decision, was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in 1857 that ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, were not citizens and had no rights under the Constitution. The decision also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, further inflaming tensions between North and South over the issue of slavery.