Expansionism: The policy or practice of expanding a nation’s territorial or economic influence.

Migration: The movement of people from one place to another, often for the purpose of settling in a new location.

Immigration: The act of individuals moving into a country in order to settle there permanently.

Old Immigrants (Irish & Germans): Refers to immigrants who arrived in the United States prior to the 1880s, mainly consisting of Irish and German immigrants.

Manifest Destiny: The 19th-century belief held by many Americans that it was their God-given right to expand across the North American continent.

Mexican-American War: A conflict fought between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848, resulting in the acquisition of significant territory by the U.S.

Nativism: The policy or practice of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Kansas-Nebraska Act: Legislation passed in 1854 that allowed settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide whether or not to allow slavery within their borders.

Know-Nothing Party: A political party in the United States in the 1850s, also known as the American Party, which strongly opposed immigration and Catholic influence.

10. Republican Party: One of the two major political parties in the United States, founded in the 1850s as an anti-slavery party and later becoming the party of conservatism.

11. Bleeding Kansas: A series of violent confrontations in Kansas territory between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces, fueled by the debate over whether Kansas would be a slave or free state.

12. Dred Scott v. Sanford: A landmark 1857 Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be considered citizens of the United States.

13. Panic of 1857: A financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy.

14. Fugitive Slave law: A law passed as part of the Compromise of 1850 that required citizens to assist in the capture and return of runaway slaves.

15. Free soil platform: The political platform advocating for the exclusion of slavery from the territories newly acquired from Mexico.

16. Compromise of 1850: A series of legislative measures passed by the United States Congress to settle territorial and slavery disputes arising from the Mexican-American War.

17. Stephen A. Douglas: A prominent 19th-century American politician known for his role in the Kansas-Nebraska Act and for his debates with Abraham Lincoln during the 1858 Illinois Senate campaign.

18. Uncle Tom’s Cabin: A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in 1852, that depicted the harsh realities of slavery and played a significant role in turning public opinion against slavery.

19. Women’s movement: The collective efforts by women to secure greater rights, opportunities, and equality, including suffrage and other social and political reforms.

20. Segregation: The enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment.

21. Free labor manufacturing: An economic system based on the use of free labor rather than slave labor, particularly in manufacturing and industry.

1. Union: Refers to the United States, particularly during the Civil War era, when the Northern states were united against secession by the Southern states.

2. House-divided speech: A famous speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln in 1858, where he argued that the United States could not endure permanently half-slave and half-free.

3. Harpers Ferry raid: An 1859 attack led by abolitionist John Brown on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), aimed at starting a slave rebellion.

4. Fort Sumter: A federal fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861.

5. Executive power: The authority vested in the executive branch of government to enforce laws and administer the affairs of state.

6. Habeas corpus: A legal principle that protects individuals from arbitrary detention by requiring authorities to justify holding them in custody.

7. Border States: Slaveholding states that remained in the Union during the Civil War: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.

8. Confederate States of America: The government formed by Southern states that seceded from the United States in 1860-1861, leading to the Civil War.

9. Civil War: A war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865 between the Northern states (Union) and the Southern states (Confederacy) over issues including slavery and states’ rights.

10. Radical Republicans: A faction of the Republican Party during and after the Civil War that advocated for harsh treatment of the South, civil rights for freed slaves, and equality before the law.

11. Republican Party: One of the two major political parties in the United States, founded in the 1850s as an anti-slavery party and later becoming the party of conservatism.

12. States’ rights: The principle that states should have powers and authority separate from those of the federal government, often invoked in debates over the extent of federal authority.

13. Secession: The act of formally withdrawing from membership in a federation or political union, such as the withdrawal of Southern states from the United States before the Civil War.

14. Election of 1860: A presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won, leading to Southern secession and the outbreak of the Civil War.

15. Abraham Lincoln: The 16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, known for leading the country through the Civil War and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.

16. Sectionalism: Loyalty to one’s own region or section of the country, often manifested as conflicts between different regions, such as North versus South in the United States.

17. Confederacy: The Southern states that seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

18. Abolitionists: Individuals or groups who advocated for the abolition (or elimination) of slavery.

19. Gettysburg Address: A famous speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 during the American Civil War, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, emphasizing the principles of equality and freedom.

1. Ethnic Communities: Communities composed of people sharing a common ethnic background or heritage, often maintaining cultural traditions and social ties.

2. Second Party System: A period in American political history from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s characterized by the dominance of the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.

3. Mexican Cession: The territory ceded to the United States by Mexico as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming.

4. Underground Railroad: A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans in the 19th century to escape to free states and Canada.

5. Emancipation Proclamation: An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declaring all enslaved people in Confederate-controlled territory to be free.

6. 13th Amendment: An amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865, that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime.

7. Radical v. Moderate Republicans: Within the Republican Party during and after the Civil War, a division between those advocating for more extreme measures, such as full civil rights for freed slaves and harsh punishment for the South (Radical Republicans), and those favoring more moderate approaches (Moderate Republicans).

8. 14th Amendment: An amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1868, that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

9. 15th Amendment: An amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1870, that prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

10. Mobilization: The process of preparing and organizing resources, such as military forces or civilian populations, for active service or participation in a conflict or effort.

11. Home front: The civilian population and activities of a nation during wartime, including efforts to support the war effort, maintain morale, and cope with the impact of war.

12. Gettysburg: A town in Pennsylvania where a major battle of the American Civil War took place from July 1 to July 3, 1863, considered a turning point in the war.

13. Jefferson Davis: The President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

14. Alexander H. Stephens: The Vice President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

15. Anaconda Plan: A Union strategy during the Civil War devised by General Winfield Scott, aiming to blockade Confederate ports and control the Mississippi River to strangle the South economically and militarily.

16. Sherman’s March: A military campaign led by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1864, involving the destruction of Confederate infrastructure and resources across Georgia and the Carolinas.

17. Election of 1864: The presidential election held during the American Civil War, in which Abraham Lincoln was re-elected as President of the United States, defeating Democratic nominee George McClellan.

18. George McClellan: A Union Army general during the Civil War and the Democratic nominee for President in the 1864 election.

19. Robert E. Lee: A Confederate general during the American Civil War, known for his tactical brilliance and commanding the Army of Northern Virginia.

20. Ulysses S. Grant: A Union general during the American Civil War who later became the 18th President of the United States, known for his aggressive tactics and eventual defeat of the Confederacy.

1. Greenbacks: Paper currency issued by the United States government during and after the Civil War, not backed by gold or silver.

2. Homestead Act: Legislation passed by Congress in 1862 that provided 160 acres of public land to settlers who agreed to farm the land and improve it over a period of five years.

3. Pacific Railway Act: Legislation passed by Congress in 1862 and 1864 that authorized the construction of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States, connecting the East and West coasts.

4. Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction: A proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 offering a full pardon to Confederate sympathizers who took an oath of allegiance to the Union and accepted the end of slavery.

5. Wade-Davis Bill: A bill passed by Congress in 1864 proposing a more stringent plan for Reconstruction than Lincoln’s, requiring a majority of white male citizens in former Confederate states to take an oath of allegiance before Reconstruction could begin.

6. Andrew Johnson: The 17th President of the United States, who succeeded Abraham Lincoln after his assassination and became embroiled in conflict with Congress over Reconstruction policies.

7. Freedmen’s Bureau: A federal agency established in 1865 to provide assistance to newly freed African Americans and poor whites in the South, including education, employment, and social services.

8. Black Codes: Laws enacted by Southern states after the Civil War to restrict the rights and freedoms of African Americans and maintain white supremacy.

9. Thaddeus Stevens: A Radical Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives during Reconstruction, advocating for civil rights for freed slaves and harsh punishment for former Confederates.

10. Equal protection of the laws: A principle enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing that all citizens receive equal protection under the law.

11. Due process of law: A legal principle, also protected by the 14th Amendment, ensuring that individuals are treated fairly and in accordance with established procedures by the government.

12. Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often with the aim of seeking political or economic opportunities.

13. Ku Klux Klan: A white supremacist terrorist organization founded in the Southern United States after the Civil War, known for its violent opposition to African Americans, Republicans, and others perceived as threats to white supremacy.

14. Compromise of 1877: An informal agreement between Republicans and Democrats to resolve the disputed 1876 presidential election, leading to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South and the end of Reconstruction.

15. Reconstruction: The period following the American Civil War, from 1865 to 1877, during which the United States sought to rebuild and transform the South and address the issues of emancipation and civil rights.

16. Sharecropping system: An agricultural system that emerged in the South after the Civil War, in which landless farmers (often African Americans) rented land and equipment from landowners in exchange for a share of the crop.