APUSH test

1. Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831) – Slave rebellion in Virginia led by Nat Turner; resulted in harsher slave laws.

2. Manifest Destiny – Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand westward; led to territorial expansion and conflicts like the Mexican-American War.

3. Texas Annexation (1845) – Texas joined the U.S., leading to tensions with Mexico and the Mexican-American War.

4. Oregon Territory (1846) – Settled by a treaty with Britain, establishing the U.S.-Canada border at the 49th parallel.

5. Mexican Cession (1848) – Land gained from Mexico after the Mexican-American War (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo); intensified the slavery debate.

6. Wilmot Proviso (1846) – Proposed to ban slavery in Mexican Cession territory; failed but heightened tensions.

7. Crittenden Compromise (1860) – Last attempt to prevent the Civil War by allowing slavery below the 36°30′ line; failed.

Growing Sectional Tensions & Conflicts

8. Bleeding Kansas (1854-1859) – Violent conflict over slavery in Kansas due to popular sovereignty; foreshadowed the Civil War.

9. John Brown’s Raid (1859) – Attempt to start a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry; Brown was executed, becoming a martyr for abolitionists.

10. Compromise of 1850 – Admitted California as a free state, strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act, and allowed popular sovereignty in some territories.

11. Sectionalism – Growing division between North and South over slavery, economy, and politics; led to the Civil War.

12. Ostend Manifesto (1854) – Secret plan to buy or take Cuba from Spain; abandoned after public backlash.

13. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) – Allowed popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska; repealed the Missouri Compromise and led to Bleeding Kansas.

14. Popular Sovereignty – Idea that territories should vote on slavery; led to violence in Kansas.

Political Figures & Movements

15. Stephen Douglas – Senator who promoted popular sovereignty and debated Lincoln; his Kansas-Nebraska Act increased sectional tensions.

16. Abraham Lincoln – 16th U.S. president who led the Union during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

17. Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858) – Debates over slavery in territories; helped Lincoln gain national recognition.

18. Fugitive Slave Act (1850) – Required the return of escaped slaves; angered the North and strengthened the abolition movement.

19. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) – Anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe; increased Northern opposition to slavery.

20. Harriet Beecher Stowe – Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which influenced anti-slavery sentiment.

21. Dred Scott Decision (1857) – Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens and Congress couldn’t ban slavery in territories; fueled sectional tensions.

Political Parties & Leaders

22. Whig Party – Political party opposed to Andrew Jackson; collapsed over the slavery issue.

23. Free Soil Party – Opposed slavery’s expansion into the western territories; later absorbed into the Republican Party.

24. Constitutional Union Party (1860) – Tried to avoid secession by focusing on preserving the Union; had little impact.

25. Democratic Party – Dominated by pro-slavery factions in the South before the Civil War.

26. Know-Nothing Party – Anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic party that declined in the 1850s.

27. Republican Party (1854) – Founded to oppose slavery’s expansion; Abraham Lincoln became its first successful presidential candidate.

Abolitionists & Secessionists

28. Edmund Ruffin – Southern secessionist who fired the first shot at Fort Sumter.

29. Sojourner Truth – Former slave and abolitionist who spoke for women’s rights and the end of slavery.

30. Harriet Tubman – Led escaped slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

31. Henry Highland Garnet – Black abolitionist who called for slave rebellion against Southern masters.

Civil War & Political Figures

32. Secession (1860-1861) – Southern states left the Union after Lincoln’s election, leading to the Civil War.

33. Confederate States – Southern states that seceded; formed the Confederacy under Jefferson Davis.

34. Union States – Northern states that remained in the U.S. and fought to preserve the Union.

35. Border States – Slave states that stayed in the Union (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia).

Key Political Leaders

36. Henry Clay – The “Great Compromiser”; crafted the Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, and other key agreements.

37. Martin Van Buren – 8th U.S. president and Free Soil Party candidate in 1848.

38. William Henry Harrison – 9th U.S. president; died one month into office.

39. John Tyler – 10th U.S. president; supported Texas annexation.

40. John Quincy Adams – 6th U.S. president; later fought against slavery in Congress.

41. James K. Polk – 11th U.S. president; led expansion efforts (Oregon, Texas, Mexican Cession).

42. Zachary Taylor – 12th U.S. president; war hero in the Mexican-American War; opposed the expansion of slavery.

Violence in Congress

43.Sumner-Brooks Affair (1856) – Senator Charles Sumner was beaten by Representative Preston Brooks over an anti-slavery speech; deepened sectional tensions.