History 1301 Final Exam Key Terms
Chapter 13
manifest destiny
Manifest Destiny, a phrase coined in 1845, is the idea that the United States is destined—by
God, its advocates believed—to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism
across the entire North American continent
Overland Trails
The Overland Trail, also known as the Overland Stage Line, was a stagecoach and wagon
road in the American West. Portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers
since the 1820s, especially along what would later become the California, Oregon, and
Mormon Trails.
Oregon fever
The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail
in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part
of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kansas and nearly all of what is
now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming
Texas Revolution (1835–1836)
Texas Revolution also called the War of Texas Independence, war fought from October 1835
to April 1836 between Mexico and Texas colonists that resulted in Texas's independence from
Mexico and the founding of the Republic of Texas (1836–45)
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
This treaty, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war between the United States and
Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states
California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma,
Kansas, and Wyoming.
Chapter 14
Wilmot Proviso (1846)
The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban
slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. The conflict over the
Wilmot Proviso was one of the major events leading to the American Civil Wa
popular sovereignty
popular sovereignty, also called squatter sovereignty, in U.S. history, a controversial political
doctrine according to which the people of federal territories should decide for themselves
whether their territories would enter the Union as free or slave states.
Free-Soil party
The FREE SOIL PARTY of Cuyahoga County was organized in the summer of 1848 as part
of a national third-party movement that supported free grants of public land to settlers and
opposed the extension of slavery to the western territories.
California gold rush (1849)
The California Gold Rush was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was
found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought
approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad
Compromise of 1850
Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions on January 29, 1850, in an attempt to
seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South. As part of the Compromise
of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was
abolished.
Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
Passed on September 18, 1850 by Congress, The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the
Compromise of 1850. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they
were in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding,
returning, and trying escaped slaves.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
It became law on May 30, 1854. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri
Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. It also
produced a violent uprising known as “Bleeding Kansas,” as proslavery and antislavery
activists flooded into the territories to sway the vote.
Bleeding Kansas (1856)
During Bleeding Kansas, murder, mayhem, destruction and psychological warfare became a
code of conduct in Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri. A well-known examples of this
violence was the massacre in May 1856 at Pottawatomie Creek where John Brown and his
sons killed five pro-slavery advocates.
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
In Dred Scott v. Sandford (argued 1856 -- decided 1857), the Supreme Court ruled that
Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could
not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in
the U.S. territories.
Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858)
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of formal political debates between the challenger,
Abraham Lincoln, and the incumbent, Stephen A. Douglas, in a campaign for one of Illinois'
two United States Senate seats.
Chapter 15
Anaconda Plan
The Anaconda Plan was a military strategy proposed by Union General Winfield Scott in the
outbreak of the Civil War. The plan consisted of a naval blockade of the Confederate littoral,
an attack down the Mississippi river, and constricting the South by Union land and naval
forces
contrabands
He classified the escaping slaves as contraband of war. This term meant that once the fleeing
slaves crossed Union army lines, they were classified as property. All enemy property that fell
into Union hands constituted contraband and would not be returned.
Battle of Antietam (1862)
Antietam, the deadliest one-day battle in American military history, showed that the Union
could stand against the Confederate army in the Eastern theater. It also gave President
Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at a
moment of strength rather than desperation.
Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil
War, announcing on September 22, 1862, that if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin
the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states would be free.
Militia Act (1862)
The Militia Act of 1862 (12 Stat. 597, enacted July 17, 1862) was an Act of the 37th United
States Congress, during the American Civil War, that authorized a militia draft within a state
when the state could not meet its quota with volunteers.
Homestead Act (1862)
The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or
intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160
acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to live on and “improve” their
plot by cultivating the land.
Morrill Land Grant College Act (1862)
First proposed when Morrill was serving in the House of Representatives, the Morrill Land
Grant College Act of 1862 set aside federal lands to create colleges to “benefit the agricultural
and mechanical arts.” The president signed the bill into law on July 2, 1862.
Copperhead Democrats
Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads", after the eastern copperhead
(Agkistrodon contortrix), a species of venomous snake. Those Democrats accepted the label,
reinterpreting the copper "head" as the likeness of Liberty, which they cut from Liberty Head
large cent coins and proudly wore as badges.
Battle of Vicksburg (1863)
The Battle of Vicksburg was a decisive Union victory during the American Civil War that
divided the Confederacy and cemented the reputation of Union General Ulysses S. Grant.
Battle of Gettysburg (1863)
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The battle
involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's
turning point. Union Maj. Gen.
election of 1864
Near the end of the American Civil War, incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the
National Union Party easily defeated the Democratic nominee, former General George B.
McClellan, by a wide margin of 212–21 in the electoral college, with 55% of the popular vote.
Sherman’s March to the Sea
From November 15 until December 21, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman led some
60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of
Sherman's March to the Sea was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the
Confederate cause
Appomattox Court House
What was the outcome of the Appomattox Court House?
The Battle of Appomattox Court House started during the early morning hours of April 9,
1865. By the afternoon of the same day, General Robert E. Lee, commander of all
Confederate forces, surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses
S. Grant.
Thirteenth Amendment
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Neither slavery nor
involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction