Period 5

John Tyler: 10th President of the United States (1841-1845); annexed Texas.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842): Resolved border disputes between the U.S. and British Canada, particularly Maine.

Manifest Destiny: Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the North American continent.

Lewis Cass: U.S. Senator and advocate for popular sovereignty to decide slavery in territories.

Sam Houston: Leader of Texas independence; first president of the Republic of Texas.

Mexican-American War: (1846-1848) War between the U.S. and Mexico over territory.

Oregon Fever: Mass migration to Oregon in the 1840s, fueled by Manifest Destiny.

49th Parallel: Boundary line dividing U.S. and British Canada in the Oregon Treaty (1846).

Franciscan Missions: Religious outposts in California by Spanish Franciscans to convert Native Americans.

Annexation of Texas: The U.S. incorporation of Texas in 1845, leading to tensions with Mexico.

Annexation of California - Bear Flag Republic: Short-lived independent California before U.S. annexation in 1846.

John C. Fremont: Explorer and military officer who contributed to U.S. expansion in California.

James K. Polk: 11th U.S. President; champion of Manifest Destiny, annexed Texas, and oversaw the Mexican-American War.

Winfield Scott: U.S. general in the Mexican-American War; captured Mexico City.

Zachary Taylor: U.S. general and later president; led key victories in the Mexican-American War.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: Ended the Mexican-American War; ceded vast territories to the U.S.

Wilmot Proviso: Proposal to ban slavery in territories acquired from Mexico.

Mexican Cession: Land ceded by Mexico to the U.S. in 1848, including California and the Southwest.

Matthew C. Perry: Naval officer who opened Japan to trade with the U.S. in 1854.

Gadsden Purchase: 1854 acquisition of land from Mexico to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty: 1850 agreement between the U.S. and Britain to avoid conflict over Central American canals.

Prelude to the Civil War

22. Popular Sovereignty: Policy allowing territories to decide on slavery by vote.

23. Secession: Withdrawal of Southern states from the Union, leading to the Civil War.

24. Free-Soil Party: Political party opposing the expansion of slavery into western territories.

25. California Gold Rush: Mass migration to California after the 1848 gold discovery.

26. Compromise of 1850: Laws addressing slavery and territorial disputes; included the Fugitive Slave Act.

27. The Great Debate: Congressional debate over the Compromise of 1850.

28. Stephen A. Douglas: Senator who championed popular sovereignty and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Nativism: Anti-immigrant sentiment; associated with the Know-Nothing Party.

Fugitive Slave Law: Required citizens to assist in the capture of runaway slaves.

Underground Railroad: Network aiding escaped slaves to freedom.

Harriet Tubman: Escaped slave and prominent Underground Railroad conductor.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that fueled abolitionist sentiment.

Harriet Beecher Stowe: Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Franklin Pierce: 14th U.S. President; signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act: Allowed popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska; repealed the Missouri Compromise.

“Bleeding Kansas”: Violent conflicts in Kansas over slavery.

Sumner-Brooks Incident: Violent attack on Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks.

Know-Nothing Party: Anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic political party.

Republican Party: Founded in the 1850s to oppose slavery's expansion.

John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry: Failed abolitionist uprising to incite a slave rebellion.

James Buchanan: 15th U.S. President; failed to prevent secession.

Dred Scott vs. Sanford (1857): Supreme Court ruling that African Americans were not citizens.

Lecompton Constitution: Pro-slavery Kansas constitution rejected by Congress.

Panic of 1857: Economic downturn that heightened sectional tensions.

Abraham Lincoln: 16th U.S. President; led the nation during the Civil War.

Civil War Era

47. Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Series of debates on slavery between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

48. Freeport Doctrine: Douglas's stance that territories could exclude slavery despite the Dred Scott decision.

49. Fort Sumter: Site of the first Civil War battle in 1861.

50. Border States: Slave states that stayed in the Union.

51. Jefferson Davis: President of the Confederate States during the Civil War.

52. Civil War: (1861-1865) Conflict between the Union and Confederacy over slavery and states' rights.

53. Ulysses S. Grant: Union general and 18th U.S. President; led Union to victory.

54. Battle of Bull Run: First major battle of the Civil War.

55. “Anaconda Strategy”: Union strategy to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River.

56. Robert E. Lee: Confederate general; led Southern forces during the Civil War.

57. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson: Confederate general known for his tactical prowess.

58. Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln’s declaration freeing slaves in Confederate territories.

59. Gettysburg Address: Lincoln’s speech emphasizing national unity and equality.

60. Battle of Vicksburg: Union victory that secured control of the Mississippi River.

61. Battle of Gettysburg: Turning point in the Civil War; Union victory.

62. March to the Sea: General Sherman’s destructive campaign through Georgia.

63. Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse: Confederate surrender, ending the Civil War.

64. Homestead Act: Granted free land to settlers to encourage western expansion.

65. Pacific Railway Act: Legislation promoting construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Reconstruction Era

Thirteenth Amendment: Abolished slavery.

Fourteenth Amendment: Granted citizenship to all born or naturalized in the U.S.

Fifteenth Amendment: Guaranteed voting rights regardless of race.

Radical Republicans: Advocated strong Reconstruction policies and rights for freedmen.

Freedmen’s Bureau: Federal agency aiding freed slaves during Reconstruction.

Reconstruction: Post-Civil War period of rebuilding and reintegrating the South.

John Wilkes Booth: Assassinated President Lincoln.

Andrew Johnson: 17th U.S. President; impeached for opposing Radical Reconstruction.

Black Codes: Laws restricting freedmen’s rights in the South.

Sharecropping: Agricultural system where freedmen worked land for a share of the crop.

Thaddeus Stevens: Radical Republican leader in Congress.

Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction.

Scalawags: Southern whites who supported Reconstruction.

Horace Greeley: Editor and Liberal Republican presidential candidate in 1872.

Ku Klux Klan: White supremacist group opposing Reconstruction and Black rights.

Compromise of 1877: Ended Reconstruction; removed federal troops from the South