Project quiz 5

General Summary of unit

(Sectionalism grew because of the industrializing north and the acquirement of new territory which put into question the spread of slavery, compromises delayed the civil war, but it was inevitable. Reconstruction was making progress for freedmen, but it was put to an end)

Lincoln sought to reunify the country and used speeches such as the Gettysburg Address to portray the struggle against slavery as the fulfillment of America's founding democratic ideals.

Battle of Gettysburg (The deadliest battle of the war that stopped a Confederate invasion of the North. Lincoln inspired the nation through his speech honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice and convinced the nation to keep fighting for freedom and liberty for all.)

Segregation, violence, Supreme Court decisions, and local political tactics progressively stripped away African American rights, but the 14th and 15th amendments eventually became the basis for court decisions upholding civil rights in the 20th century.

Black Codes / Jim Crow Laws (Laws passed predominantly in the South to restrict the rights of African Americans. They became even more prominent after the Compromise of 1877 and the ending of Reconstruction.)

The courts and national leaders made a variety of attempts to resolve the issue of slavery in the territories, including the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision, but these ultimately failed to reduce conflict.

Bleeding Kansas (Violence erupted between pro and anti-slavery factions in the Kansas Territory. This was a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act using popular sovereignty to divide whether slavery should be allowed in these new states.)

The desire for access to natural and mineral resources and the hope of many settlers for economic opportunities or religious refuge led to an increased migration to and settlement in the West.

California Gold Rush (A significant rise in westward migration to California caused by the discovery of gold deposits. Many moved to California in the hopes of striking it rich.)

Substantial numbers of international migrants continued to arrive in the United States from Europe and Asia, mainly from Ireland and Germany, often settling in ethnic communities where they could preserve elements of their languages and customs.

Chinatown (Chinatown is a name often given to neighborhoods where many Chinese immigrants settled in major cities. Chinese immigrants were able to live and work together while preserving many of their cultural customs.)

​Manifest Destiny created disputes on how to deal with previously acquired land, including different opinions over the expansion of slavery and the country's economic systems, leading to increasingly extreme views that war was an acceptable solution for both sides.

Compromise of 1850 (A Congressional compromise over the expansion of slavery into territory gained from the Mexican Cession. Free and slave states differed over whether the Missouri Compromise was working, especially in regards to what to do with California. This led to fierce debate, which eventually resulted in the Compromise of 1850.)

As Reconstruction and Civil Rights efforts continued, the presence of Southern resistance to the economic and social change eventually suppressed Northern efforts, ultimately ending Reconstruction and losing much of the progress achieved for African Americans.

Compromise of 1877 (A deal struck between Republicans and Democrats over the election of 1876 in which Hayes (Republican) would become President in exchange for the removal of federal troops from the South. This resulted in many of the same people from before the Civil War returning to power in the South and the rise of Jim Crow laws.)

Both the Union and the Confederacy mobilized their economies and societies to wage the war even while facing considerable home front opposition.

Conscription / Draft (The forced enlistment of citizens. Both the Union and the Confederacy used a draft to raise larger armies to support their war efforts.)

Following Confederate secession, a Civil War of attrition broke out and was eventually won by the North, marking the start of Reconstruction where the progress of Civil Rights for African Americans was challenged by Southern resistance; meanwhile, new transportation networks accelerated the development of the Western frontier.

Emancipation Proclamation (An executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War that decreed all slaves in currently rebelling states were freed from bondage. While it did not officially end slavery in the United States, Lincoln used the executive order to make the war about ending slavery and paved the way for the full abolition of slavery with the 13th Amendment.)

The North's expanding manufacturing economy relied on free labor in contrast to the Southern economy's dependence on slave labor. Some Northerners did not object to slavery on principle but claimed that slavery would undermine the free labor market. As a result, a free-soil movement arose that portrayed the expansion of slavery as incompatible with free labor.

Free Soil Party (A political party opposed to the expansion of slavery. Many Free Soilers did not support abolition, but did not want to compete with plantation owners for land in the West.)

Southern plantation owners continued to own the majority of the region's land even after Reconstruction. Former slaves sought land ownership but generally fell short of self-sufficiency, as an exploitative and soil-intensive sharecropping system limited blacks' and poor whites' access to land in the South.

Freedmen's Bureau (A government organization formed to help former slaves economically, socially and politically. After fierce opposition and funding shortages, the bureau was dismantled by Congress.)

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, while the 14th and 15th amendments granted African Americans citizenship, equal protection under the laws, and voting rights.

Hiram Revels (The first African American Senator in American history. His election was heavily supported by African Americans who voted in large numbers after the passing of the 15th Amendment.)

Westward migration was boosted during and after the Civil War by the passage of new legislation promoting western transportation and economic development.

Homestead Act (A law that enticed many to migrate Westward for the promise of cheap land. This opened many new economic opportunities to those who could not afford land in the East.)

Efforts by radical and moderate Republicans to change the balance of power between Congress and the presidency and to reorder race relations in the defeated South yielded some short-term successes. Reconstruction opened up political opportunities and other leadership roles to former slaves, but it ultimately failed, due both to determined Southern resistance and the North's waning resolve.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (A Congressional attempt to remove Johnson from office that passed the House, but the Senate voted to keep Johnson in office by 1 vote. While not successful in removing Johnson, the impeachment and following trial helped diminish Presidential influence on public policy.)

Advocates of annexing western lands argued that Manifest Destiny and the superiority of American institutions compelled the United States to expand its borders westward to the Pacific Ocean.

James Polk (An expansionist President who campaigned on being willing to fight the British for the Oregon territory and was President during the Mexican American War. His election is evidence of Americans supporting westward expansion.)

African American and white abolitionists, although a minority in the North, mounted a highly visible campaign against slavery, presenting moral arguments against the institution, assisting slaves' escapes, and sometimes expressing a willingness to use violence to achieve their goals.

John Brown (A staunch abolitionist who was willing to use violence in an attempt to end slavery. He led the Harpers Ferry Raid in an attempt to instigate a major slave rebellion.)

A strongly anti-Catholic nativist movement arose that was aimed at limiting new immigrants' political power and cultural influence.

Know-Nothings (A political party that formed in support of Nativist nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiments. This political party grew in size as more immigrants from Europe came to the United States.)

Defenders of slavery based their arguments on racial doctrines, the view that slavery was a positive social good, and the belief that slavery and states' rights were protected by the Constitution.

Popular Sovereignty (The idea that the people of states being admitted into the Union should have the opportunity to choose whether or not to allow slavery. This idea is based on states' rights and is included in the Compromise of 1850 and Kansas-Nebraska Act.)

Lincoln and most Union supporters began the Civil War to preserve the Union, but Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation reframed the purpose of the war and helped prevent the Confederacy from gaining full diplomatic support from European powers. Many African Americans fled southern plantations and enlisted in the Union Army, helping to undermine the Confederacy.

Massachusetts 54th Regiment (A Union Army Regiment that consisted of black soldiers. Despite facing racism and public criticism, the 54th Regiment became infamous due to their fighting prowess and courage.)

interest in expanding trade led to economic, diplomatic, and cultural initiatives to create more ties with Asia.

Matthew C. Perry (US Naval officer who led an expedition to Japan in an attempt to forcefully open trade relations. This shows how far the US was willing to go to open trade relations in Asia)

Although the Confederacy showed military initiative and daring early in the war, the Union ultimately succeeded due to improvements in leadership and strategy, key victories, greater resources, and the wartime destruction of the South's infrastructure.

Sherman's March to the Sea (General Sherman led his troops on a destructive march from Atlanta to Savannah. During this march, Sherman utilized total war tactics by destroying the city of Atlanta, farms, railroads and anything else that might have hindered the Confederate war effort.)

Abraham Lincoln's victory on the Republicans' free-soil platform in the presidential election of 1860 was accomplished without any Southern electoral votes. After a series of contested debates about secession, most slave states voted to secede from the Union, precipitating the Civil War.

South Carolina (The first state to officially secede from the Union. Many Southern states would quickly follow and form the Confederacy.)

U.S. government interaction and conflict with Mexican Americans and American Indians increased in regions newly taken from American Indians and Mexico, altering these groups' economic self-sufficiency and cultures.

Stephen Austin (Texan rebel leader that encouraged thousands of Americans to move into Texas. This eventually led to Texan independence from Mexico and increased tensions between Mexicans and Americans in Texas.)

The women's rights movement was both emboldened and divided over the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution.

Susan B. Anthony (A major leader in the women's suffrage movement who also supported abolition. She did not support the 15th amendment due to its exclusion of women.)

Why does the unit begin in 1844

The Mexican-american war began, playing a role in the start of the civil war because of augments about the expansion of slavery into new territories.

Why does the unit end in 1877

The compromise of 1877 ended reconstruction and civil right progress by removing federal troops from the south.

The United States added large territories in the West through victory in the Mexican-American War and diplomatic negotiations, raising questions about the status of slavery, American Indians, and Mexicans in the newly acquired lands.

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (The treaty between the United States and Mexico that ended the Mexican American War. As part of the treaty, Mexico was required to cede almost half of its territory to the United States, which raised questions over what to do with the new land.)

The Second Party System ended when the issues of slavery and anti-immigrant nativism weakened loyalties to the two major parties and fostered the emergence of sectional parties, most notably the Republican Party in the North.

Whigs (One of the major political parties that fell apart over the issue of slavery and sectionalism. Many former Northern Whigs would join the newly formed Republican Party.)

The Mexican Cession led to heated controversies over whether to allow slavery in the newly acquired territories.

Wilmot Proviso (A proposal by David Wilmot to ban slavery from all territory gained from the mexican American War. This sparked a fierce debate in Congress and ultimately was never passed.)