Expansion, War, and Reconstruction: The Forging of Modern America

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the United States was destined by God to expand its dominion across North America.

Nationalism

A strong patriotic feeling for one’s country that drove the ideology of Manifest Destiny.

James K. Polk

The Democratic candidate elected in 1844 who was committed to territorial expansion.

Oregon Treaty

The 1846 agreement that established the 49th parallel as the northern border of the Oregon Territory.

Mexican-American War

The conflict from 1846 to 1848 between the U.S. and Mexico, resulting from disputes over territory.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

1848 agreement that ended the Mexican-American War and ceded California and New Mexico to the U.S.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed amendment to ban slavery in territories acquired from Mexico; passed in the House but failed in the Senate.

Free-Soil Movement

A political movement aimed at preventing the expansion of slavery into Western territories.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws that attempted to resolve the conflict over the status of slavery in territories acquired from Mexico.

Fugitive Slave Act

A controversial law that required Northern states to return escaped slaves to their owners.

Dred Scott Decision

1857 Supreme Court ruling that declared African Americans were not citizens and invalidated the Missouri Compromise.

John Brown's Raid

An 1859 armed attempt by abolitionist John Brown to initiate a slave revolt by capturing a federal arsenal.

Emancipation Proclamation

The 1863 executive order by Lincoln that freed slaves in rebelling states.

Total War

A military strategy that aims to destroy not just the enemy's army but also its resources and will to fight.

Radical Reconstruction

Period following the Civil War characterized by significant federal intervention in Southern states to protect the rights of freedmen.

Thaddeus Stevens

A leader of the Radical Republicans who advocated for civil rights and reconstruction efforts.

Black Codes

Laws enacted in Southern states after the Civil War that restricted the rights of freedmen.

13th Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified in 1865 that abolished slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

The amendment ratified in 1868 that granted citizenship to all persons born in the U.S. and promised equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

The amendment passed in 1870 that granted African American men the right to vote.

Sharecropping

An economic system where freedmen farmed land for a share of the crops, often resulting in debt and poverty.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States after Reconstruction.

Copperheads

Peace Democrats in the North who opposed the Civil War and sought a negotiated peace with the Confederacy.

Habeas Corpus

A legal principle that protects against unlawful detention; Lincoln suspended it during the Civil War.

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy during the Civil War to blockade Confederate ports and control the Mississippi River.

Vicksburg

A significant siege in 1863 that resulted in the Union gaining control over the Mississippi River.

Antietam

The 1862 battle that was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history and halted the Confederate advance into the North.

Gettysburg Address

The speech delivered by Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, redefining the purpose of the war.

Freedmen’s Bureau

A federal agency established to aid freed slaves during the Reconstruction era.

Personal Liberty Laws

State laws enacted in the North to counteract the Fugitive Slave Act and protect escaped slaves.

Compromise of 1877

The agreement that resolved the contested election of 1876, resulting in the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

The 1854 law that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed settlers to determine if they would allow slavery.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that allowed settlers in a territory to decide the status of slavery.

Gadsden Purchase

The 1854 purchase of land from Mexico to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad.

Henry Clay

A prominent politician who championed the Compromise of 1850 and was a leading Whig.

Bleeding Kansas

A series of violent conflicts in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions.

Radical Republicans

Political faction that advocated for the rights of freedmen and stringent policies against the Southern states.

Secession

The act of southern states withdrawing from the Union following Lincoln's election.

Robert E. Lee

The Confederate general who led the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War.

Lincoln's 10% Plan

President Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction that required only 10% of a state’s voters to take an oath of allegiance.

Impeachment of Johnson

The political process against President Andrew Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act.

Scalawags

White Southerners who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party.

KKK (Ku Klux Klan)

A secret society that used terror and violence to suppress Black civil rights and maintain white supremacy.

Personal Liberty Laws

Laws passed in Northern states to protect fugitives from being captured under the Fugitive Slave Act.

Credit Mobilier

A scandal involving the Union Pacific Railroad and the financing of railroad construction.

Gadsden Purchase

The 1853 acquisition of land in present-day Arizona and New Mexico to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad.