Download Definitions 13th Amendment – amendment that outlawed slavery 14

Definitions
13th Amendment – amendment that outlawed slavery
14th Amendment – amendment that made freed slaves, and all blacks, citizens
15th Amendment – amendment that guaranteed freed slaves, and all blacks, the right to vote (in theory)
Abolitionist – person who wanted to completely eliminate slavery
Annexation – addition of new land to an existing country
Black Codes – laws passed to clarify status of freed slaves. Allowed to own property, marry, and sue. Not allowed to vote, serve on a
jury, or own weapons
Blacklist – to put a person on a list of people to be refused employment
Compromise of 1850 – admit California as a free state; Utah and New Mexico would become territories and use popular sovereignty;
slave trade, but not slavery, banned in Washington DC; pass fugitive slave law
Dred Scott Decision – Supreme court decision stating that blacks were not citizens, and that slaves did not become free by moving to a
free state
Emancipation Proclamation – statement made by President Lincoln that all slaves in states in rebellion (the Confederacy) would be
free
Expansionist – someone with a policy of increasing a nation’s territory or influence
Fugitive Slave Law – law that required that all captured runaway slaves be returned to their owners
Habeas Corpus – the right of a person to appear in court so a judge can decide if that person is being imprisoned lawfully
Literacy Test - government practice of testing the ability to read of potential voters, aimed at not allowing blacks to vote
Lone Star Republic – nickname of Texas when it was an independent nation (1836-1846)
Manifest Destiny – the idea that the US would and should extend across the continent
Martial Law – rule by military rather than civil authorities
Nationalism – an intense feeling of national pride and unity
Nativism – hostility toward immigrants based on the belief that they threaten traditional culture, institutions, and social order
Popular Sovereignty – right of each new state to decide the slavery issue for itself
Raid on Harpers’ Ferry – attack on federal arsenal led by abolitionist John Brown. Wanted to take weapons and give them to slaves to
start slave revolts in Virginia
Reconstruction – the restoration of the Confederate states to the Union
Reform – attempt to change or remove what is wrong with society
Revivals – public meetings intended to renew commitment to the Christian faith
Secession – withdrawal of the southern states from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War
Suffrage – the right to vote
Uncle Tom’s Cabin – anti-slavery book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Resulted in an increase in anti-slavery feeling in the north
Utopia – attempt to create a perfect society based on economic and social ideals
Short Answers
Cotton gin and affect on slavery
Demand for slaves in the South was decreasing.
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.
Machine that eliminated need to hand pick seeds from cotton – led to the continuation and growth of
slavery
Indian Removal Act – Trail of Tears
Law passed that gave President power to relocate Native Americans west of the Mississippi
Designed to give access to best land to whites.
Eventually, Cherokee tribe was forced to march from Florida to Oklahoma
¼ of the tribe died on the way from exhaustion, starvation, disease
Nullification Crisis – Henry Clay’s solution
Started with Tariff of 1828 – south did not like the tariff because it hurt their economy
John C. Calhoun came up with idea of nullification – states could ignore, or nullify, federal laws they felt
were unconstitutional
Threatened to secede if federal government tried to collect tariff
Clay proposed a tariff that reduced the tax
Reform movements of the 1840s
Attempts to improve society
Improve public education – led by Horace Mann
Improve treatment of mentally ill – led by Dorothea Dix
Women’s rights – Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth
Three issues caused friction between American settlers and Mexican government
Religion – Americans had to accept (not actually practice) Catholicism. Many settlers wanted their own
churches
Slavery – Mexico abolished it. Most Americans in Texas were southerners who brought slaves with them
The way Texas was governed – to far from the capital, quick enforcement of laws impossible. Also, only
had one seat in the Mexican legislature
Two issues that kept US from annexing Texas
Feared that it would lead to war with Mexico
Would upset the balance of slave vs. free states by adding an extra slave state
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Plan to organize previously unorganized territories to help protect railroads
Split into two territories: Kansas and Nebraska
Provided for popular sovereignty on the issue of slavery in both territories
Led to a flood of settlers from both sides moving into Kansas territory
Strengths of North at start of Civil War
Large population
Many more miles of railroads to transport supplies
Better industries
Much more iron and coal
More farm production
Better shipping and shipbuilding
Strengths of South at start of Civil War
Defensive war
Short supply lines
More willing to fight to defend land
Gettysburg – turning point of war
South invaded north
3 day battle resulting in highest casualty rate in war
Greatly weakened the confederate army
Stopped the last southern chance to invade south
Johnson’s reconstruction plan
Have a written state constitution
Elect a new government
Repeal its act of secession
Agree NOT to repay Confederate war debts
Ratify the 13th Amendment
Radicals’ reconstruction plan
Put southern states under military rule
Army would register any southerner, black or white, who was loyal to the Union
Each state had to write a new constitution guaranteeing black male suffrage
Elect a new state government
Ratify the 14th Amendment
Former Confederate soldiers and official could not hold office
Plessy v Ferguson
Black man, Homer Plessy, refused to leave a white only rail car.
Said law violated equal protection clause of 14th Amendment.
Supreme Court disagreed, saying white and blacks could be segregated as long as facilities are equal
“separate but equal” doctrine would last until 1954
Multiple Choice
Spoils system
System of rewarding political supporters, first used by President Jackson
Tariff of 1828
Tax placed on imported good – South hated it because it hurt their economy – sparked nullification crisis
Nullification
Concept that states could cancel out, or nullify, federal laws that were unconstitutional – biggest supporter
was John C. Calhoun
Jackson’s Indian policy
Take land away from the Native Americans and open it up for white settlement
Led to Indian Removal Act, eventually Trail of Tears
Mental health reform
Led by Dorothea Dix
More humane treatment of mentally – before her, they were treated as criminals
James Polk
Expansionist president who favored annexation of Texas, settlement of Oregon and buying California
Santa Anna
Man who declared himself dictator of Mexico and attacked Americans in Texas
William Henry Harrison
President for one month – first president to die while in office
Brigham Young
Mormon leader who led the Mormons to the Great Salt Lake
Mountain men
Mostly solitary men who moved west to make money – biggest contribution was mapping various travel
routes to the west
“fifty-four forty or fight”
Slogan used when US disagreed with Britain over boundary of the Oregon Territory
Annexation of Texas
US adding Texas to its land territories (1846)
Delayed by issues of slavery, relationship with Mexico
US claimed border was the Rio Grande, Mexico claimed border was the Nueces River
Manifest destiny
Belief that the US should extend across the continent – many felt it was God’s will
Forty-niners
Gold miners who were part of the California Gold Rush – Gold Rush started in 1849
Compromise of 1850
See Above
States that seceded
Before Lincoln took office - Deep South: SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, TX (SC was first)
After Lincoln took office – Upper South: VA, NC, TN, AR
Dred Scott
See Above
Popular sovereignty
See Above
Lincoln and Ft. Sumter
Asked to send troops and supplies
Waited 6 weeks, did nothing
Eventually sent just supplies on an unarmed ship
Northern advantages
Better industry
More natural resources
More railroads
Bigger population
Southern advantages
Better leadership
More willing to fight
Shorter supply lines
Early Union successes
Early in the war, most of the Union successes were in the west. The south dominated fighting in the east.
First Battle of Bull Run
Minor Confederate victory
Proved war would not be short
Union capturing Mississippi River
Captured the city of Vicksburg after a 6 week siege
Captured Port Hudson 5 days later
Northern war strategy
Anaconda Plan
Blockade South, cut off supplies
South and Britain
South was Britain’s main supplier of cotton.
South wanted Britain to support south in War – stopped trading cotton with them to force them
Backfired – Britain did not join south, found cotton from other sources
Justification for Emancipation Proclamation
Necessary war measure – not issued until after the Union victory at Antietam
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Sherman led march through Georgia to Savannah, destroyed everything in his path
Final Surrender
Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House
Effects of war in South
Economy was completely destroyed
Social order was overturned
Johnson’s Impeachment
Was disagreeing with Radical’s reconstruction plan, vetoing laws
Impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act
Found not guilty – served out his term – effectively lost almost all his power
Sharecroppers
Poor farmers who paid the rent for their land in with a portion of their crops
Jim Crow laws
Laws designed to racially segregate the south
Amnesty Act
Law passed by Congress in 1872 allowing almost all Confederate veterans to hold office and allowing
former supporters of the Confederacy to vote
Essay
Mexican-American War – causes and results
Reform movements of the 1840s
Causes of Civil War
Plans for reconstruction