U.S History 7th Grade Notes

Compromise of 1850

  • California was admitted to the Union as a free state.
  • A new, strict Fugitive Slave Law was enacted.

Fugitive Slave Law

  • Required all citizens, including those in the North, to assist in capturing runaway slaves and returning them to their owners.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

  • An abolitionist novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted the evils of slavery and protested the Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

  • Proposed by Stephen Douglas.
  • Created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
  • Opened these territories to the possibility of slavery through popular sovereignty.

Dred Scott Case (1857)

  • Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property.
  • The federal government could not prevent people from owning slaves in any territory.

Reactions to Dred Scott Decision

  • Northerners were outraged.
  • Southerners were pleased, as slavery could potentially expand into all federal territories.
  • The decision effectively nullified the Missouri Compromise.

Republican Party

  • Formed in the 1850s to prevent the spread of slavery into western territories.

Election of 1860 (Sectionalism)

  • Four candidates ran for president.
  • Abraham Lincoln won the election.
  • The election results highlighted the regional divisions within the country.

Southern Reaction to the Election of 1860

  • Southern states felt they no longer had a voice in the national government.
  • Seven states seceded from the Union before Lincoln's inauguration.

Start of the Civil War

  • Began in April 1861 when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter.

Fort Sumter

  • A federal fort in Charleston, South Carolina.
  • Confederate attack on the fort marked the beginning of the Civil War.

Border States

  • States that permitted slavery but remained loyal to the Union.

North & South Strengths & Weaknesses

  • Refer to the chart on pages 453/454.

Jefferson Davis

  • Elected President of the Confederate States of America.

Abraham Lincoln

  • President of the United States (the Union) during the Civil War.

North's Official Goal During the Civil War

  • To save the Union.

Emancipation Proclamation

  • Freed slaves only in the rebelling states.
  • Made the abolition of slavery an additional goal of the Civil War.

Battle of Gettysburg

  • A turning point in the Civil War; a Union victory.

Gettysburg Address

  • Speech by Lincoln dedicating the cemetery at Gettysburg.
  • Stated that the Civil War was being fought to protect liberty and freedom.

Appomattox Courthouse

  • Location where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant.

Balance of Power

  • Dealt with the balance of power between the federal government and state governments (The Great Compromise & 3/5th Compromise).

Amending the Constitution

  • The Constitution can be changed through the amendment process.

The Great Compromise

  • Resolved disputes between large and small states regarding representation in Congress.

The Bill of Rights

  • The first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
  • Protects the basic rights of citizens.

Electoral College

  • A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

Contingency for Electoral College Tie

  • If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses the President.

Washington's Foreign Policy (Farewell Address)

  • Advocated for unity at home and neutrality abroad.
  • Promoted trade with foreign countries but cautioned against foreign political alliances.

Neutrality Proclamation

  • Declared the U.S. would remain neutral in foreign affairs.

Alien and Sedition Acts

  • Laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress and supported by John Adams.
  • Made it illegal to criticize the government.

Hamilton's Financial Plan

  • Established a plan to pay off the national debt.

Washington's Presidential Precedents

  • (1) Created a cabinet of advisors.
  • (2) Pursued neutrality in foreign affairs.
  • (3) Served only two terms.
  • Considered a great President for establishing these important practices.

Jefferson's View on Government

  • Reduced the federal budget.
  • Reduced the power of the federal government.

Louisiana Purchase

  • Acquired from France under Jefferson's presidency.
  • Doubled the size of the United States.
  • Gave the U.S. control of New Orleans and the Mississippi River.

Importance of Mississippi River

  • Key trade route for western farmers.

Election of 1800

  • Ended in an electoral tie, requiring the House of Representatives to decide the election.

War of 1812

  • Causes: British violation of American neutrality and impressment of American sailors.
  • U.S. was unprepared for the war.

Industrial Revolution

  • Shift from goods being produced by hand to being produced by machines.

Forming of Unions

  • Workers formed unions to improve working conditions and increase pay.

Improvements in Transportation

  • Better roads and canals were built.
  • Allowed goods to be shipped more quickly and cheaply.

Erie Canal

  • Significance for New York: led to New York and New York City becoming a major center in the United States.
  • Connected New York and the east coast to Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes.

Protective Tariff

  • A tax on imported goods to encourage people to buy products made locally in the United States.

Adams-Onís Treaty

  • The United States purchased Florida from Spain for 5 million dollars.

Archaeological Study of History

  • Archaeologists study artifacts to learn about history.

Primary Sources

  • Examples: journals, diaries, photos, speeches, and important documents.

Factors in Cultural Development

  • Different climate, geography, and natural resources influence how different cultures develop.

Columbus' Goal in 1492

  • To find a faster trade route to Asia.

First Permanent English Colony

  • Jamestown, Virginia.

Pilgrim's Departure from England

  • They were persecuted for their religious beliefs.

Representative Government

House of Burgesses

  • First representative government in Jamestown in 1619.
  • It helped govern the Jamestown colony.

Mayflower Compact

  • Established a representative government for the settlers of Plymouth colony.
  • Promoted the idea of democratic government in the colonies.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

  • Plan of government for the colony of Connecticut that limited the power of the governor.
  • Promoted the idea of democratic government in the colonies.
  • Considered the first Constitution in the colonies.

Economies & Characteristics of the Colonies

  • New England: trade & manufacturing.
  • Middle: trade, manufacturing, farming.
  • Southern: farming.

Mercantilism

  • The belief that colonies exist to benefit the mother country.
  • The country maintains strict control over its trade.

French and Indian War

  • Results: England incurred debt and began taxing the colonies to pay it off.

"No Taxation Without Representation"

  • Slogan used by colonists protesting being taxed without representation in Parliament.

Join or Die Cartoon

  • Illustrated that colonies are stronger if they are united.

British Tax Acts

  • Goal: to raise money to pay off the debt from the French and Indian War.
    • Stamp Act: a tax on printed items intended to raise money for the British government.

Colonial Reaction to British Tax Policies

  • Colonists protested through boycotts, petitions, and smuggling.
    • Boston Tea Party: a colonial protest against the Tea Act (December 1773), where the Sons of Liberty dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.
  • British tax policies led to the American Revolution.

Intolerable Acts

  • Acts passed to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party.
    • (1) Britain closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for.
    • (2) A new Quartering Act was passed.
    • (3) British officials would be put on trial in England or Canada for major crimes, not in the colonies.
    • (4) Colonists could no longer hold town meetings without the governor's approval.

Lexington and Concord

  • Towns in Massachusetts where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired.

Olive Branch Petition

  • The 2nd Continental Congress sent this petition as a last attempt to avoid war, but the King rejected it.
  • Many delegates did not support formally breaking from England.

Common Sense

  • By Thomas Paine, it convinced many colonists to support independence.
  • Argued that kings were wrong and that people should govern themselves.

Declaration of Independence

  • Stated why the colonists were breaking away from England.

Turning Point in the American Revolution

  • Battle of Saratoga.
  • France joined the side of the colonists after this American victory.

Articles of Confederation

  • First Constitution (plan of government) approved in 1777.

Constitutional Convention

  • Called in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.
  • The U.S. Constitution gave more power to the federal government and created a better system.

Monroe Doctrine

  • Foreign policy statement issued by President Monroe stating the western hemisphere is no longer open to new European colonization.

First Successful U.S. Factories

  • Made textiles (cloth).

Early Factory Power Source

  • Water.

Cotton Gin

  • Invented by Eli Whitney, this machine could separate the cotton seeds from the cotton fibers much quicker then doing it by hand.
  • Led to a huge increase in the amount of cotton produced in the South.
  • Also led to an increase in slavery.

Sectionalism

  • When people feel more loyalty to their section of the country than to the country as a whole.

Election of 1824

  • Four candidates ran for President, but no candidate got a majority of the electoral votes.
  • John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay made a secret deal to help J.Q. Adams get elected President over Andrew Jackson.
  • Jackson's supporters called the deal the "Corrupt bargain".

Nullification Act/Nullification Crisis

  • South Carolina threatened to nullify (cancel) the high tariffs of 1828 and 1832.

Spoils System

  • Rewarding friends with political jobs.

Indian Removal Act

  • Law passed by President Jackson which legally forced the Native Americans off their lands.

Annexation of Texas

  • One of the main causes of the U.S. War with Mexico.
    # Manifest Destiny
  • Belief that the U.S. had the right and authority to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

War with Mexico

  • Causes: U.S. annexation of Texas and a border dispute between the U.S. and Mexico.

Mexican Cession

  • Land the U.S. acquired as a result of the Mexican War.
  • Land including present-day California.

California Gold Rush (1840s)

  • Caused tens of thousands of settlers to rush to California in search of gold in the late 1840's and 1850's.

Oregon Territory

  • The U.S. acquired the southern part of the Oregon Territory through a treaty with Great Britain.

New Inventions (telegraph & railroads)

  • Railroads allowed goods to be shipped faster and cheaper around the country.
  • Telegraphs revolutionized communications, allowing people to communicate over great distances immediately.

Southern Economy

  • The South develops an economy based on farming because the climate and soil were ideal for growing cash crops.

Cotton Gin

  • Effects on the southern economy: Allowed cotton to be cleaned at a much faster rate and led to the spread and increase in slavery in the South.

Slave Codes

  • Laws that restricted the rights of slaves and tried to prevent them from running away.

Abolitionist Movement

  • Movement in the U.S. to bring an end to slavery.

Underground Railroad

  • Network of safe houses to help runaway slaves escape to the North and Canada (freedom).

Seneca Falls Convention

  • First organized meeting to discuss women's rights.
  • Held in Seneca Falls, New York.

Missouri Compromise

  • Compromise reached in 1820 in which Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
  • Also drew an imaginary line through the Louisiana Purchase and slavery was banned above the line (exception was Missouri itself).