U.S. History Study Guide: Compromises, Civil War, Reconstruction, Guilded Age

Dred Scott (Case) 1857

• Dred Scott was considered property and, therefore, could not sue in court.
• It was a test case that ultimately upheld the legitimacy of slavery.
• The ruling affirmed that slaves were property.

John Brown (Raid)

• John Brown, a radical abolitionist, led a raid in Harpers Ferry.
• The goal was to incite a slave rebellion.
• Abolitionists viewed John Brown as a hero.

Scotus

• Supreme Court of the United States.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• A landmark case that outlawed segregation in public places.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• Established the doctrine of "separate but equal," which legalized segregation.
• Affirmed the right to segregate.

13th Amendment (1865)

• Abolished slavery.

14th Amendment (1868)

• Granted citizenship to former slaves.

15th Amendment (1870)

• Granted all men the right to vote.

Crash of 1857

• Economic collapse that politically charged the nation.
• The economy was heavily based on speculation, leading to its collapse.

Great Debate

• Series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas during their campaign for the Illinois Senate seat.
• Focused on the issue of slavery.
• Douglas supported popular sovereignty, while Lincoln opposed it.

Douglas

• Known as the "Little Giant."
• Supported popular sovereignty.

Lincoln

• Republican candidate who ran for Senate but lost; gained national recognition.
• Self-educated lawyer who took cases for basic necessities.
• Became the Republican candidate for president four years later and won the election.

Compromise of 1820 (Missouri Compromise)

• Maine was admitted as a free state to balance the Senate.
• Established a demarcation line: all territories north of Missouri’s southern border would be free states, and all territories south would be slave states.

Compromise of 1850

• Allowed the people of new territories decide on the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty.
• Included the Fugitive Slave Act, which mandated that all states and territories must legally arrest and return runaway slaves to their owners.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Split the territories into Kansas and Nebraska and opened them to popular sovereignty regarding the issue of slavery.

Freeport Doctrine

• Associated with Douglas; it legalized slavery.

Harriet Tubman

• Established the Underground Railroad.
• A system to smuggle slaves from the South to the North.
• Slaves would hide in fields, churches, and farms during their journey.
• Railroad terminology was used to protect people.
• No one who used her railroad ever got caught.

Abolitionists

• People who were against slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation

• Issued by Lincoln in 1863.
• Freed slaves in states that were in rebellion.

Gettysburg Address

• Delivered by Lincoln in November 1863.
• A four-minute speech that framed the war not just as a conquest of the South, but as a fight for the freedom of all men.

Grant

• Top Union general during the Civil War.
• Later became president (though considered not the best president).

Jackson

• Confederate general; one of the top generals, killed in battle.

Lee

• Top Confederate general.
• Knew Jackson.
• Surrendered to Grant.

Copperheads

• Northerners who did not support the Civil War.

Carpetbaggers

• Northerners who went to the South after the war, supposedly to help, but often exploited the situation.

Scalawags

• Southerners who supported the North and worked with them during Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan

• Sought to establish white power through intimidation and terror against anyone who wasn't them.

Compromise of 1877

• Installed Hayes as president and ended Reconstruction.

Reconstruction

• Period after the Civil War (1865-1877) focused on bringing the Southern states back into the Union.

Civil War

• (1861-1865) resulting in a Northern victory.

Poll Tax

• A tax required to be paid in order to vote.

Jim Crow Laws

• Laws enacted in the South after Reconstruction that promoted segregation.

Literacy Tests

• Tests designed to demonstrate reading and writing ability, used to block people from voting.

Pickett's Charge

• A charge by the Southern states that led to 6,000 casualties.

Frederick Douglas

• An educated African American writer and advocate for African American civil rights.

Thaddeus Stevens

• A radical Republican who wanted to end slavery and punish the South for the Civil War.

John Wilkes Booth

• A Southern actor known for assassinating Lincoln.

Segregation

• The separation of whites and blacks.

Roger Taney

• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during the Dred Scott case.
• Wrote the opinion for the case.

Jefferson Davis

• President of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Fugitive Slave Act

• Mandated that all runaway slaves could be legally arrested and returned to their rightful owners; was actively enforced.

Henry Clay

• Known as the "Great Compromiser."
• Helped with many compromises, including the Missouri Compromise.
• Was a slave owner himself.

Popular Sovereignty

• Allowed people to vote on issues, particularly slavery during this time.

South/C.S.A/”Dixie”

• Names for the South during the Civil War era.

M. Brady

• A famous photographer who took pictures of the Civil War, its leaders, and the dead.

Clara Barton

• Founded the Red Cross.

John Calhoun

• From South Carolina, defended slavery, and was a significant figure in Congress.

M. Fillmore

• A weak president who, though not for slavery, accommodated it.
• From New York.

Z. Taylor

• A slave owner who died in office as president.

F. Pierce

• President during the 1850s who supported the various compromises and believed in supporting the Fugitive Slave Law and popular sovereignty.
• Experienced a great deal of personal tragedy.

Railroads

• Experienced explosive growth.
• Became integral to American society.
• Led to the development of new cities.
• Offered faster alternatives to ships and land travel.

Trans-Continental RR

• Central Pacific to the west and Union Pacific to the east.
• The first time train tracks crossed the entire country.
• A major event in the 19th century.
• Linked the U.S. coast to coast by rail, allowing travel from New York to San Francisco in 21 days non-stop.

Telegraph

• Developed in the 1820s.
• Followed railroad tracks.
• Adopted international Morse code.
• Standardized Morse code and assisted in establishing time zones.

Waves of Immigration/West

• Started in the 1840s, especially from Europe.
• People moved west due to railroad advertising, seeking settlement and success.
• Asians also immigrated to the Pacific coast.

Cities/Industry Follows RR

• As railroads developed, along with Reconstruction, a deal was made with the U.S. government.
• The government invested heavily in railroads, and cities followed.

North/USA/Union “Yankee”

• Referred to soldiers and citizens of the Union, particularly the North.

Inventions

• The 19th century saw huge advancements in industry, including signalization for railroads and the invention of electricity.

US Expansion (Atlantic/Pacific)

• Refers to the expansion from east to west.

Puerto Rico

• Acquired in 1898 during the Spanish-American War.

Virgin Islands

• Purchased from Denmark in 1917 during World War I.

Guam

• Acquired in 1898 during the Spanish-American War.

Philippines

• Acquired in 1898 after Spain lost the Spanish-American War.

Wake

• Taken over in 1899 to serve as a telegraph center for communication.

Hawaii

• Lost power and became part of the U.S. in 1898, becoming a state in 1960.

American Samoa

• In 1899, the U.S. gained the eastern part of the Samoa islands, while western Samoa became independent.
• Eastern Samoa is a U.S. territory, and its residents are U.S. Nationals with protection from the U.S.

Alaska

• Purchased from Russia in 1867.
• Considered a "godsend" during the Cold War.

Gilded Age

• 1870-1920, an era marked by significant wealth among the upper classes, particularly in industry.

Majority Opinion

• The opinion that holds the most weight in a court case.

Dissenting Opinion

• The opinion(s) of the justice(s) who disagree with the majority decision.

Concurring Opinion

• An opinion written by a justice who agrees with the majority but has different legal reasons for doing so.

Original Jurisdiction

• The court where cases are first filed.

Appellate Jurisdiction

• Appeals, requiring legal reasons to demonstrate errors in the original case.