APUSH Unit 6
Terms
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- John Bell
- Presidential candidate of the Constitutional Union Party. He drew votes away from the Democrats, helping Lincoln win.
- Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe about a slave who's ordered to be beaten to death by two other slaves. Showed northerners the horrors of slavery while southerners attack it as an exaggeration, it was also a cause of the Civil War.
- Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
- was the peace treaty that ended the Mexican-American War The treaty provided for the Mexican Cession, in which Mexico parts of modern-day Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming, as well as the whole of California, Nevada, and Utah.
- Election of 1860
- The election in which Abraham Lincoln was first elected President due to the schism of the Democrats. Caused a chain reaction of southern states to secede from the Union since they were afraid of Lincoln's policies.
- Popular Sovereignty
- Doctrine that government is created by and subject to the will of the people, who are the source of all political power. Helped decided the dispute in Kansas and Nebraska.
- Stephen A. Douglas
- American politician from Illinois who developed the method of popular sovereignty as a way to settle slave state or free state. He helped passed the compromise of 1850 as well as giving the states the choice with popular sovereignty.
- General Winfield Scott
- United States Army lieutenant general, diplomat, and presidential candidate. He was responsible for defeating Santa Anna. He also conceived the Union strategy known as the Anaconda Plan.
- Hinton Helper
- a Southern critic of slavery during the 1850s who wrote a book entitled The Impending Crisis of The South The book put forth the notion that slavery hurt the economic prospects of non-slaveholders, and was an impediment to the growth of the entire region of the South.
- Ostend Manifesto
- a document drawn up in 1854 that instructed the buying of Cuba from Spain, then suggested the taking of Cuba by force It caused outrage among Northerners who felt it was a Southern attempt to extend slavery as states in Cuba would be southern states.
- De Bow's Review
- a widely circulated magazine of "agricultural, commercial, and industrial progress and resource" in the American South. It convinced many southerners to join in secession.
- Sumner Brooks Affair
- During an antislavery speech, a Senator named Sumner insulted another congressman named Butler who was related to another Congressman named Brooks. Brooks beat Sumner with his cane as Sumner sat writing at his desk in the Senate Chamber. It showed how far southerners were willing to go to protect slavery as well as tarnishing the image of the South.
- Underground Railroad
- network of clandestine routes by which African slaves in the 19th century United States attempted to escape to free states, or as far north as Canada It allowed thousands of slaves to escape to freedom.
- Jefferson Davis
- American soldier and politician who became the first president of the Confederacy. Led the Confederacy during the Civil War.
- Mexican Cession
- historical name for the region of the present day southwestern United States that was ceded to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican-American War. this massive land grab was significant because the question of extending slavery into newly acquired territories had become the leading national political issue.
- Panic of 1857
- A notable sudden collapse in the economy caused by over speculation in railroads and lands, false banking practices, and a break in the flow of European capital to American investments as a result of the Crimean War. Since it did not effect the South as bad as the North, they gained a sense of superiority.
- Wilmot Proviso
- Proposed that slavery be banned in land acquired from the Mexican War. The proviso pushed the country closer to civil war; it raised questions about slaves that had not been asked previously
- Matthew Perry
- An American commodore in the navy, who made a couple trips to Japan. He forced the opening of Japan to western trade, and prompted a revolution against the shogunate. It also foreshadowed later American imperialistic foreign policy.
- Peculiar Institution
- A euphemism for slavery and the economic ramifications of it in the American South. The term aimed to explain away the seeming contradiction of legalized slavery in a country whose Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal". It was one of the key causes of the Civil War.
- Crittenden Compromise
- A last-ditch effort to resolve the secession crisis by compromise. It proposed to bar the government from intervening in the states' decision of slavery, to restore the Missouri Compromise, and to guarantee protection of slavery below the line. Lincoln rejected the proposal, causing the gateway to bloodshed to be open.
- John Fremont
- American military officer, explorer, the first candidate of the United States Republican Party for the office of President of the United States First Presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform of opposition to slavery.
- Prigg v. Pennsylvania
- Supreme Court case in which Edward Prigg appealed to the US Supreme Court on the grounds that the Pennsylvania law arrogated the State powers over and above those allowed by the US Constitution The court held that Federal law is superior to State law, and overturned the conviction of Prigg as a result.
- Harriet Tubman
- Known as Black Moses or Grandma Moses, she was a black freedom fighter. She freed over 300 slaves including her parents on various trips into the south.
- Lincoln-Douglass Debates
- a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas for an Illinois seat in the Senate. led to Abe Lincoln being elected to the senate and this experience later propelled him to the Presidency
- Fugitive Slave Law, 1850
- ) fleeing slaves couldn't testify on their own behalf, (2) the federal commissioner who handled the case got $5 if the slave was free and $10 if not, and (3) people who were ordered to help catch slaves had to do so, even if they didn't want to.
- Bear Flag Revolt
- A revolt of American settlers in California against Mexican rule. It ignited the Mexican War and ultimately made California a state.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- A writer and relative of Catherine Beecher. Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Zachary Taylor
- Twelfth President of the United States. Helped the compromise of 1950 by dying.
- Free-Soil Party
- A short lived political party that was against the expansion of slavery into new territories. They had enough people in Congress to influence certain decisions.
- John C. Breckinridge
- The South's pro-slavery Democratic candidate in the election of 1860. Completed the split of the Democratic Party by being nominated.
- Compromise of 1850
- Series of legislation addressing slavery and the boundaries of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War. California was admitted as a free state, Texas received financial compensation for relinquishing claim to lands West of the Rio Grande river, the territory of New Mexico was organized with popular sovereignty, the slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C., and the Fugitive Slave Law was passed It temporarily defused sectional tensions in the United States, postponing the secession crisis and the American Civil War. Also repealed the compromise of 1820.
- Lecompton Constitution
- supported the existence of slavery in the proposed state and protected rights of slaveholders. It was rejected by Kansas, making Kansas an eventual free state.
- Topeka Constitution
- First attempt to establish a constitution for Kansas Territory. Angered pro-slavery people who claimed it was illegal. Started another dispute and led to "Bleeding Kansas."
- Nat Turner
- Slave in Virginia who started a slave rebellion in 1831 believing he was receiving signs from God His rebellion was the largest sign of black resistance to slavery in America and led the state legislature of Virginia to a policy that said no one could question slavery.
- Roger B. Taney
- Fifth Chief Justice, he was the first Roman Catholic to hold the job and was pro-slavery. He wrote the decision on the Dred Scot case.
- Gadsden Purchase
- the purchasing of land from Mexico that completed the continental United States It provided the land needed to build the transcontinental railroad.
- Frederick Douglas
- Famous black abolitionist that escaped from slavery who would later right a narrative of his own life that described his life. He promoted the abolitionist cause and drew the line where evil must be denounced.
- Freeport Doctrine
- Doctrine developed by Stephen Douglas that said the exclusion of slavery in a territory could be determined by the refusal of the voters to enact any laws that would protect slave property. It was unpopular with Southerners, and thus cost him the election.
- Bleeding Kansas
- A sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro-Slavery elements that took place in Kansas-Nebraska Territory. The dispute further strained the relations of the North and South, making civil war imminent.
- Secession
- Term that is used when part of a country leaves the rest of the country to form their own country. The South's secession led to the outbreak of the Civil War.
- Dred Scott v. Sandford
- Dred Scott, a slave, had been taken to Illinois by his owner for several years, so he sued for his freedom; however, the court ruled that he could not sue since he was a slave. A key cause of the American Civil War.
- Liberty Party
- a former political party in the United States; formed in 1839 to oppose the practice of slavery. Later merged with antislavery Whigs to form the Free Soil Party
- John Brown's Raid
- An attempt by abolitionist John Brown to cause a slave rebellion by seizing a weapons arsenal; however, it failed since no slaver knew about it. Caused south to believe northern abolitionists were all radical and militant.
- William Lloyd Garrison
- Ardent abolitionist that fought against slavery for moral reasons. His influence brought many people to his standard, as well as to oppose him. He created and led the Anti-Slavery Society.
- Kansas Nebraska Act
- An act made to decide if the Kansas-Nebraska territory would be slave or free by popular sovereignty. The dispute strengthened the rift between the north and south states.