HIS108 FINAL EXAM

Louisiana Purchase

1803 - Thomas Jefferson bought this land from France (Napolean Bonaparte) which doubled the size of the US

Horace Greeley

An American newspaper editor and founder of the Republican Party. His New York tribune was America's most influential newspaper 1840-1870.

John Brown

An abolitionist who attempted to lead a slave revolt. He failed and was hanged

William Lloyd Garrison

Prominent American abolitionist, journalist and social reformer. Editor of radical abolitionist newspaper "The Liberator", and one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society

Daniel Webster

Leader of the Whig party, originally pro-north, supported the compromise of 1850

paternalist myth

Masters believed they were like father to their slaves, They would help the slaves when they were sick.

Bevevolent Empire

Ministers insisted people who experienced saving grace should provide moral guidance and charity to the less fortunate.

James Madison

"Father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President of the United States.

Frederick Douglass

(1817-1895) American abolitionist and writer, he escaped slavery and became a leading African American spokesman and writer. He published his biography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and founded the abolitionist newspaper, the North Star.

LE: Forget people. How far did machines, tools, and THINGS shape and make and spread and break up and build the American empire from 1787 to 1865?

* Americans became inventive and it created a lot of change in the world * Mechanical reaper to cut grain (transforms the west and becomes popular in the north rather than south, north is starting to pull ahead and south is starting to fall behind industrially, civil war lead up), cotton gin created (leads to cotton kingdom with more demand for slaves and eventually trail of tears for Indians on the land), interchangeable parts and mass production (applied to many things so instead of weavers making clothes its machines, production is faster and cheaper but changes the job industry), the telegraph (good for war and trade messages, able to find out prices of things before they arrive In the harbor)

LE: We have talked of morality and conscience throughout this course, and how it shaped policy (that is, what government did), what issues folks talked about, how their own day to day behavior changed or was changed for them. Pull it all together and say what effect morality and conscience had on American action from 1775 to 1865.

* Democrats considered individuality a private matter, not a public concern. Opposed attempts to impose moral vision policies such as temperance legislation, laws prohibiting various kinds of entertainment on Sundays. Absence of government from private affairs. * Whigs believed a prosperous America was a moral America. Supported policy in public education, the building of asylums and schools, temperance legislation, and democratic governments fostering the principle of morality. During the Jackson era, elected authorities enacted policies trying to ban prostitution, alcohol, and other personal behavior. Pennsylvania even had laws against profanity and desecrating the Sabbath.

LE: "The American is always bargaining. He always has one bargain afoot, another just finished. All that he has, all that he sees, is merchandise in his eyes. At the bottom, then all of that an American does, is money beneath every word, money." So said a French visitor, Michael Chevalier. How well does this explain the successes, weaknesses, failures, accomplishments, advances, and crises that befell Americans from 1787 to 1865? And once you've done that, say: is Chevalier's explanation anywhere near complete enough to explain us?

* EXPLAINS WELL: south's need for money through the cotton industry and needing slaves to produce more cotton led us into the civil war, slaves were just merchandise to them, men like Frederick Douglass were bargaining chips to buy and sell not people, people like Alexander Hamilton who started the Bank of the US wanted to promote economy so badly that it led to the creation of the two political parties (Federalists and Democratic-Republicans) * DOES NOT EXPLAIN WELL: Americans cared about things besides money in this time period, religion was still the most important thing to most people (The Second Great Awakening), slavery started the civil war but it was not because people wanted the money they made from slaves it was purely based on racism and the inequalities that African Americans faced, the south could not bear to give citizenship rights to someone with darker skin so they forced them to work.

SE: Using Celia, consider how true or false the idea of paternalist slavery is.

* Famous Missouri court case considered "the crime of Celia" * She was a slave who killed her master in 1855 while resisting a sexual assault * State law deemed "any women" in such circumstances to be acting in self-defense, but the court ruled that Celia was not a "woman" in the eyes of the law, she was a slave whose master had complete power over her person, she was sentenced to death, but she was pregnant so it was postponed until the child was born as to not deprive her owners' heirs of their property rights. paternalist slavery is false: they didn't even see her as a person, they ruled the adaptations of the law don't apply to her because they can't even call her a woman. If they cannot even call her a woman they can not claim she is part of their family and that they treat her as such. paternalist slavery is true: the owners wanted to keep Celia's baby because they see her and her child as family and want to be able to take the child, even though Celia is being put to death. Slaves living conditions progressed in the 19th century and slave owners treated them with food, shelter, and respect.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) Summary

* Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1817 in Maryland. * Doesn't know his age or much about his parents, father might be slave master, separated from his mother. * Serves in the household instead of fields when he is a child, given to master's family member the Auld's and Douglass becomes a city living slave in Baltimore which is very different from a plantation slave. * Learns to read and write * Becomes aware of the abolitionist movement and resolves to escape to the North one day * Edward Covey: meanest slave owner knew, Douglass is rented to him, treated poorly and culminates in a day where Douglass was sick and escaped but returned and got in a two-hour fight with Covey where he drew blood but Douglass was uninjured; Covey never touched Douglass again after that * Douglass gets a ship caulking job in Baltimore; free men think that Douglass and other black men are stealing their jobs from them * Saves money up and escapes to New York * famous abolitionist and writer

LE: "Men are not 'born entitled to equal rights'!...Some were born with saddles on their backs, and others booted and spurred to ride them -- and the riding does them good." George Fitzugh, one of slavery's defenders, said this. Taking American history from 1780 or so to 1865, how far or how little truth was there in his larger points, that equality of rights and condition weren't the American way, and that one set dominating others was the way America became great , prosperous, and for those on top, free? (Don't just think slavery. Consider Indians, women, the industrial revolution, and other matters as well.)

* TRUTH: Indians were immediately robbed of their homes, given diseases from the Europeans that wiped out their tribes, and were treated poorly for decades, even around the civil war era when the trail of tears was enacted. Women and children were relied upon for labor during the industrial revolution and paid unfair wages, only those who already had money could escape working dangerous factory jobs. * NOT TRUE: America was a much more accepting place even early on than Britain was, much more accepting of religious beliefs, Native Americans were somewhat assimilated into the culture and mixed families with Europeans, women were given the opportunity to work during the industrial revolution because they have rights to work like men.

The Killer Angels (1975) Summary

* Tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg In the Civil War in 1863 * All characters are based on real war figures (General Robert E. Lee, confederate army commander, General James Longstreet, Lee's second in command, Union Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain, who fought in the most famous segment of Battle, the fighting on Little Round Top) * Story begins: spy comes to Longstreet; informs Union army is nearby, meanwhile Union army is receiving new soldiers, Union calvary establishes high ground in Gettysburg along the hills, Longstreet wants Confederates to fight defensively but Lee refuses to say he wants to crush Union in one stroke, more Union troops continue to arrive, Union encounters an escaped slave while moving back into Gettysburg and discuses reasons behind the war and his thoughts on race, on the third day Longstreet tries to convince Lee one more time to circle his troops back around but he insists on attacking the Union, therefore the Confederates are killed by the hundreds and soon retreat and the battle comes to a bloody end.

Cane Ridge

- Where a large gathering of Protestants gathered and preached. 10,000 men, women, children, white and black went to Cane Ridge to hear dozens of ministers preaching the gospel. Second great awakening

Zachary Taylor

12th president of the US American military leader, ran under the Whig party

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 - Farmers in Pennsylvania rebelled against Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey, the first test of Federal Authority in the US

XYZ Affair

1797 - French officials demanded that American emissaries pay a bribe before negotiating disputes between the two countries * Led to the Quasi - War with France; convinced John Adams to strengthen the US Navy.

Missouri Compromise

1820 - Compromise; Maine enters as a free state, Missouri enters as a slave state; prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory. Done in an effort to preserve the balance between slave and free states.

Monroe Doctrine

1823 - this doctrine stated that Europeans could not intervene in the Western Hemisphere in exchange, the US would not interfere with existing European colonies and wars written by John Q Adams

Erie Canal

1825 - New Yorkers built the canal linking the Great Lakes with the Hudson River, 363 miles

Trail of Tears

1838 - the forced removal of Cherokees due to Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act and their transportation to Oklahoma

Wilmot Proviso

1846 - sought to ban slavery in any territories or new states acquired from Mexico. Essentially the argument was over whether there would be slavery in Texas, New Mexico, California, and other western states. The debate is considered a crucial part of the lead up to the Civil War.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 - Created Nebraska and Kansas as states and gave the people in those territories the right to chose to be a free or slave state through popular sovereignty.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863- issued by Lincoln; freed all the slaves in the Confederate territory

LE: "The way institutions, politics and culture developed, the Civil War was a sure thing by 1850; and for the same reasons, a Union victory was a safe bet before the fighting began." That so? Discuss this statement, and how much - as well as how little - truth there is in it, from what you know from the course.

AGREEMENT: War was a sure thing based on the Dred Scott Case, the Election of Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the growing opposition against slavery, the succession of the southern states, and taxation. Union win was a sure thing based on the population of the North being much higher and having more men to pull from, the North being more industrially advanced with weaponry and machines, the south being more agricultural. DISAGREEMENT: War was not a sure thing because if the south had elected to forgo fighting and begin the reunification process or agree to abolition war could have been avoided. Union war in the win was not a sure thing because it was not until the Battle of Gettysburg that the Confederates felt they had suffered too great of a loss to their resources and soldiers. Foner states that the war's outcome remained very much in doubt in the 3rd and fourth years even though the north had such heavy manpower.

Tecumseh

A Shawnee chief who worked to unite the Northwestern Indian tribes. He and his tribe were killed for fighting with the British in the War of 1812.

Henry Clay

A northern American politician. He developed the American System as well as negotiated numerous compromises.

"free soil"

A political party dedicated to stopping the expansion of slavery

Robert E Lee

Commander of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

LE: "America: a republic the generals made great and the politicians lost." Take this quote which I've made up. Looking back since 1812 and as far as 1865, discuss how true or false this idea is. (Mind, it has two pretty obvious assumptions: war and force made us better off with no bad side-effects, politics only did us damage. You gonna go along with that?)

Did war and force make us better off with no bad side effects, and politics only did us damage? YES: Out of war we achieved; freedom from British rule (The Revolution), a stronger and more unified country (The Civil War), the abolition of slavery (The Civil War) then after winning the war politicians still created issues; Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan of Reconstruction for after the war excluded free blacks, and Lincoln refused to sign the Wade-Davis Bill which would guarantee blacks equality before the law. Therefore, slavery was dead but no agreement could be reached on what social and political system should take its place. NO: War ruined cities and towns' agriculture and economies because the Civil War was a total war that was fought with disregard to citizens' rights and property, many lives were lost. An agreement on slavery could have been reached without a war. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the entire union and politicians introduced the issue of slavery to the Constitution, while all the war did was kill people and divide the nation. Lincoln's second inaugural address called for reconciliation within the nation and for free black suffrage, which could have been done without the war and the loss of life. The commanders and generals of the army's had nothing to do with the policies that were implemented by politicians.

Bladensburg races

During the war of 1812, Americans were defeated when they didn't fight. Instead they ran away and the British captured D.C. and burned the White House.

LE: When we want to explain the collapse of the Union and the way the Civil War turned out- and we can start as early as the 1780's, or with the Trail of Tears, or with the Missouri Compromise - editor Horace Greeley's words. "Go west, young man! are apt. How far -- and perhaps how little -- did the west and the frontier explain the crisis of 1861-65?

EXPLAINS UNION COLLAPSE WELL: the west was a totally new civilization compared to the north and the south. People moved here and built a new life where new types of people were born that had new jobs, like mountain men, and the country begins to pull itself apart in this new west with new north and the new south, which leads to the civil war. Fights over control of the west and if slavery would or would not be in the west led to the Mexican-American War in the early 19th century. The west expansion with seizing Indian territory and waring with Mexico resulted in extremely quick expansion, therefore leading to debates about slavery because if the west was so large it would heavily influence leading the slave economy. DOES NOT EXPLAIN UNION COLLAPSE WELL: The West did not explain the collapse of the union and civil war well because it really wasn't that integral to the onset of the war. The war was caused by arguments about taxation and the north wanting to free the slaves that resided on large plantations in the south, and the argument of state rights versus federal government rights. The southern states succeeded because they did not want to be told how they could run their agricultural plantations and whom they could "employ" on them.

American System

Economic program advanced by Henry Clay that included support for a national bank, high tariffs, and internal improvements; emphasized strong role for federal government in the economy.

Alexander Hamilton

First Secretary of the Treasury. He advocated creation of a national bank, assumption of state debts by the federal government, and a tariff system to pay off the national debt.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments to the Constitution; major source of civil liberties; applies to states via selective incorporation doctrine; promised to Anti-Federalists to secure ratification of Constitution

Winfield Scott

He was the foremost military figure between the revolution and the civil war

Charles Sumner

His two main goals were breaking the power of wealthy planters and ensuring that freedmen could vote

Miller's millennium

I cannot find this anywhere

SE: Was was Manifest Destiny? How did it work?

In the 19th century US, Manifest Destiny was a belief that was widely held that the destiny of American settlers was to expand and move across the continent to spread their traditions and their institutions, while at the same time enlightening more primitive nations.

SE: What did reform cover, in the 1800's? Why did the South shun it?

In the 1800s reform covered the effort to make us all more equal in rights (especially the right to vote.) Other reforms came out of a religious impulse. But most importantly with the beginning of reform "anything is possible." People form new utopian communities based on common standards, World Court and League of Nations proposed to prevent wars, taking of brute force from government hands (end of military flogging), peace movement to end corporal punishment, outlawing duels, womens reform (ladies able to present legislature on "women's sphere topics", Elizabeth Stanton), Schools for blind (Samule Howe), and the deaf and mute (Thomas Gallaudet), and asylums for mentally ill (Dorothea Dix), and most importantly antislavery reform. Most of these reforms don't happen in the south because every road and reform goes back to the issue of slavery. The South could not come to terms with the idea of losing their free or cheap labor, just like they did not want to implement the invention of the reaper into their plantations because they had slaves to do the work for them. They did not want to give African American's the right to vote or any type of voice in society, and giving other groups of marginalized people more rights just got closer and closer to giving freedom to the slaves and the south did not want that.

SE: How did the market economy come into being?

In the first half of the nineteenth century, a market revolution swept the US. It's catalyst was the burst of innovations in transportation and communication, which had lacked severely during the colonial era. Before the revolution, Americans who had inevitably moved into farming found themselves isolated from markets and made things themselves or bartered with their neighbors. Abraham Lincoln grew up in this pre-market world and much like other farm families, learned to be self-sufficient with occasional trips down the river to sell their goods. Like many Americans, Lincoln grew up to embrace the market revolution and devoted their energies to solving the technological problems that inhibited commerce within the country. Therefore, creations like the steamboat, canal, railroad, and telegraph freed America from its economically entrapped past. These inventions opened new land to settlements, lowered transportation costs, and made it easier for economic enterprises to sell their products. The states egged one another on in this sense and pushed this market revolution even more forward when they wanted to match great successes such as the completion of the Erie Canal.

Compromise of 1850

Includes California admitted as a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act, Made popular sovereignty in most other states from Mexican- American War

Cyrus McCormick

Irish-American inventor that developed the mechanical reaper. The reaper replaced scythes as the preferred method of cutting crops for harvest, and it was much more efficient and much quicker. The invention helped the agricultural growth of America.

Horace Mann

Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, "Father of the public school system" he was a prominent proponent of public school reform, and set the standard for public schools throughout the nation.

SE: What was the Benevolent empire, and what did it do?

The Benevolent empire was a part of a 19th century religious movement in the US. Various Protestant denominations developed missionary organizations in order to Christianize citizens of the US and the world, and to create a Christian nation.

SE: Was Slavery an economic or paternalist relationship?

Slavery was an economic relationship, it could not be paternalist because the white master's livelihood, money, and family depended on the work of these slaves and they exploited their work to the best of their abilities. Slaves like Frederick Douglass were beaten incredibly. It could be argued though that some slaves were able to benefit from a paternalist relationship, and maybe it was not all slaves that were treated this badly and that was only in severe cases. Some slaves like Douglass when he lived with the Auld's learned to read and write and some slaves on plantations were treated like family.

SE: How did slaves make a culture of their own?

Slaves made a culture of their own through religion, a sense of family in the other slaves around them even when they had been separated from their biological families. These things they had for themselves and the culture they brought over with them on the Middle Passage changed tremendously over time. Slaves began to pick up pieces of white and European culture, and mix their different types of African culture and it melded into a new culture. Slavery meshed together people of different skin colors, languages, and races that would not have encountered one another before. Music, art, folklore, language, and religion all became symbols of a synthesis of African traditions, European elements, and new American conditions.

John C Calhoun

South Carolina senator, secretary of war - advocate for states rights, limited government, and nullification

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution that were led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. They firmly believed the national government should be strong. They didn't want the Bill of Rights because they felt citizens' rights were already well protected by the Constitution.

Dred Scott case

Supreme Court Case which ruled that slaves are not citizens but are property, affirmed that property cannot be interfered with by Congress, slaves do not becomes free if they travel to free territories or states, fueled abolitionist movement, hailed as victory for the south.

LE: "The reason why the Union broke down in 1861 is simple," Major Zimbo Gazebo explains. "Since Washington's time, Americans have had too much freedom. Freedom to grab, freedom to do as they please. Freedom means anarchy-disrespect for order. What we see by 1861 is the natural result." How far and how little was American's ailment (not just in terms of issues leading to the Civil War) too much freedom, too little power at the center?

TBD, this question is so confusing

James Buchanan

The 15th President of the United States (1857-1861). He tried to maintain a balance between proslavery and antislavery factions.

SE: What made the Civil War so terrible and bloody? How did the generals respond to it?

The Civil War was so terrible and bloody because it was a "total war." It was unrestricted in terms of the weapons used and the objectives pursued. This was also included improved weaponry. The war was not only fought on battlefields, but the generals took it to the towns and onto civilians farms. Civilians were forced to experience the war firsthand, especially in the south, and many civilians lives were lost. Property was destroyed, food was burned, and houses had to become hospitals.

SE: What issues divided Jacksonian Democrats from Whigs?

The Democrats were in favor of state's rights and did not like the Federal Government involvement in social and economic affairs while the Whigs favored a strong federal government through the power of the congress. Whigs supported tariffs, Democrats saw themselves as protecting "the common man."

SE: Why emancipation?

The Emancipation Proclamation led the way to the total abolition of slavery in the United States. With the Emancipation Proclamation, the aim of the war changed to include the freeing of slaves in addition to preserving the Union. Therefore when a slave escaped to the North they were totally free.

SE: Why did the United States win the Civil War?

The Union's advantages as large industrial power and its leader's political skills contributed to decisive wins on the battlefield and ultimately victory against the Confederates in the American civil war. The North had a larger population to draw on compared to the South's agricultural population, the fall of Atlanta and Sherman's march that followed wore down the Confederates physically and mentally. It is argued Confederacy would have won if they maintained a defensive rather than offensive strategy.

SE: How did the antislavery movement change and become big time?

The antislavery movement began as a religious movement but evolved into a political issue that divided most of the country. Things like the American Colonization Society (returning slaves to Africa), the Missouri Compromise (allowing Missouri to become a slave state), the Fugitive Slave Act (escaped slaves returned to their owners), Dred Scott Case ( no legal rights for blacks) and the Second Great Awakening inspired abolitionists to stand up against slavery. Leading abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and Williams Lloyd Garrison helped lead the movement.

SE: How did we get into a Civil War?

The primary cause of the war was the Southern state's desire to preserve the institution of slavery. Other factors include taxation, the principle of State's rights, a succession of the southern states, and the election of Abraham Lincoln and his inaugural address where he said he would use force to maintain the federal property.

Andrew Jackson

The seventh president of the United States (1829-1837), general in the War of 1812 defeated the British at New Orleans, opposed the BUS

William Tecumseh Sherman

Union General who destroyed South during "march to the sea" from Atlanta to Savannah, an example of total war during the Civil War

Anaconda Plan

Union war plan by Winfield Scott, called for a blockade of the southern coast, the capture of Richmond, capture Mississippi River, and to take an army through the heart of the south.

SE: "We are all Federalists; we are all Republicans." What was Jefferson talking about? Was he right?

What he means is that we are not going to label everybody in the Federalist Party "traitors." We are going to say that they have a right to continue to have their views. In this statement he is showing that he recognizes that his people are diverse in their political affiliations, that not everyone is a Republican or a Federalist but that both are present. He says this in respect for those in opposition of his views. He goes on to describe why running the country using the Republican view is necessary, and I believe that he made the statement in question out of respect for the rivaling Federalist party.

SE: Was the Constitution a sell-out of our Revolution?

YES, SELL OUT: New structure of government shielded national government from popular enthusiasms and ensured "the right kind of men" held office, chose from along the elite to staff the new government, the constitution did not provide a direct election of federal judges, members of the supreme court would be appointed by the president for lifetime terms, president is chosen by electoral college or house of representatives, the voice of the people and "the common man" is lost, slaves were left out of the constitution, and women were too NO, NOT SELL OUT: While the federal government is given powers to keep states in line, the states and individual citizens are left with a lot of voice, which is what we wanted for ourselves in the revolution, to come out from under Britians thumb and end unfair rule without representation for the people, day to day affairs of government from education to law enforcement was left in the hands of the states, states maintain local government elections and welfare and justice system, the states still have everything and every voice they want, they just have a federal backbone behind them now

colonization movement

this was an idea based on the belief that blacks and whites could not live together. the organization sought to "return" free blacks to Africa. The problem was that 99.9% free blacks in 1817 had been born in America, so Africa was foreign to them

SE: Was the West a totally new civilization?

Yes, the West was a totally new civilization compared to the East because it made people what they were not before; not Europeans abroad but distinctly American. The West provided Americans a sense of materialism, contempt for theory, penchant for violence, individualism, suspicion of institutions all came from the frontier. It turned into a settled country very quickly where new cities and states formed and settled. The West gave birth to new types of people like mountain men who had high odds of death on the job and became tough individuals. They were initially examples of savagery but were actually fur company employees from St. Louis. Things like this are why the West could be considered not a totally new civilization because the west depended on the east for most things. Like the people coming to the west to work, the goods it bought and for the markets to buy the grain it sold. But then again the West is not really like the East, because it turns into two different East's, a north and a south. The country begins to pull itself apart in this new west with a new north and a new south, which builds up to the civil war.

limited liability

a form of business ownership in which the owners are liable only up to the amount of their individual investments

Dorothea Dix

activist who helped improve conditions of mental patients (establishment of insane asylums instead of them being placed in prisons)

Ulysses S. Grant

an American general who achieved International fame as the leading Union general in the American Civil War

Embargo

an official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.

Jay Treaty

treaty in which Britain agreed to evacuate its posts on the US western frontier 1794

Gettysburg

where the bloodiest battle of the civil war took place and where Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address

"safety valve" theory

citizens are free to make statements concerning controversial societal issues to express their displeasure against government and its policies

nullification

declare federal law unconstitutional and to forbid its enforcement within the state

3/5 compromise

each slave would count for 3/5 of a person for taxation and representation purposes

market economy

economic system in which decisions on production and consumption of goods and services are based on voluntary exchange in markets

Samuel Gridley Howe

founder of the first American school for the blind students

interchangeable parts

identical components that can be used in place of one another in manufacturing

Stephen A. Douglas

introduced the Kansas-Nebraska act in 1854 and popularized the idea of popular sovereignty

Eli Whitney

invented the cotton gin in 1793

dough faces

name given to the northern democrats who were willing to compromise on the political problems of the 1850's

Minie ball

new bullet created before the civil war, led to a high number of casualties during the war

13th Ammendment

officially abolished slavery, prohibits involuntary servitude.

abolitionists

people who believed that slavery should be against the law

Whigs

political party led by Henry Clay, favored the BUS and the American System; strong legislative branch; against King Andrew I

Harrison Land Act

settlement of the Northwest Territory, encouraged people to move west for cheap land. Named after William Henry Harrison.

"contrabands"

slaves who fled plantations and sough protection behind union lines during the civil war

54-40 or fight

slogan of those wanting to take all of Oregon from the British; numbers (54 40') was line of latitude where people wanted Oregon border; did not want compromise of 49th parallel, as was done by President Polk.

expoding drunks

the idea that a persons blood becomes flammable if too much alcohol is in it. This was an idea near the time of the temperance movement.

Fugitive Slave Law

this law required that northern states forcibly returned escaped slaves to their owners