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1300
Maya- Caste System
The Mayan caste system was based off political organization. The system was divided from Ahau (king)- nobles and priests- merchants and artisans- peasants and slaves. King: made policies used in the state. Nobles and priests: appointed the king and performed the activities of ritual sacrifices. Merchants and Artisans: sold and traded with different cities, made pottery and designed buildings. Peasants and slaves: decided to be slaves of the king, farmed and lived a simple gendered role lives. -
Period: 1300 to 1500
Beginnings to Exploration
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1345
Aztecs- Human Sacrifice
The Aztec civilization flourished in Mesoamerica and gained a reputation for bloodthirsty human sacrifices. They ripped hearts from still-conscious victims, decapitated, skinned, and dismembered them after. Human sacrifices were a ritualized process which gave the highest possible honor to the gods and necessary to ensure mankind's continued prosperity. Aztecs believed in repayment to the reptilian monster Cipactli, who was ripped apart to create the Earth. Humans promised her hearts in return. -
1347
The Black Death- Death
The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea in October 1347. The Black Death killed more than 20 million people in Europe. The Black Death was spread by a bacillus called Yersina pestis. Bacillus traveled from person to person through the air, as well as through the bite of infected fleas and rats. During the time of the plague, no one knew how it was transferred or how to cure it. Physicians relied on unsophisticated techniques to try and cure the disease. The Black plague lasted for seven years. -
1400
North American Native Societies- Eastern Woodland People
The Eastern Woodland Indians are Native Americans that inhabit the eastern part of the United States. Eastern Woodland Indians live in log homes. They built their log homes from trees, bark, and grass. The men and boys traditionally built the homes and hunted for food, while women and girls prepared materials and food. Males and females worked in the fields, while carrying children on their back, women plant seeds and harvest the fields. This tribe spoke several different languages and dialects. -
1453
Rome- Roman Law
Roman law covered crime and punishment, land and property ownership, commerce, citizenship, sexuality and prostitution, slavery, local and state politics, and the preservation of the peace. Roman law became known in western Europe and reintroduced legal practice.The English system of common law developed corresponding to Roman-based civil law. Roman law was mixed with elements of canon law and of Germanic custom. The legal system common to all of continental Europe was called, Ius Commune. -
Period: 1500 to
English Colonies Society
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1520
Caribbean Colonies- Sugar
Sugar was the main crop produced on plantations throughout the Caribbean. Most islands were covered with sugar cane and mills for refining it. The main source of labor, until the abolition of the system, was African slaves. These plantations produced 80 to 90 percent of the sugar consumed in Western Europe. During the colonial period, the arrival of sugar culture deeply impacted the society and economy in the Caribbean.The demand for sugar increased the demand for slaves on every plantation. -
1536
Reformation-John Calvin-Predestination
John Calvin wrote a doctrine on predestination, which spoke about God’s decree on the world before creation, that men who worshipped him would be given eternal life and those who don’t would be damned. John Calvin broke away from Roman Catholicism around 1530. He published “Institutes of the Christian Religion”, which included the doctrine of predestination. His beliefs were widely used in Christian Theology. Calvin died before the expansion of his beliefs, but many people believed in Calvinism. -
1540
Plains Tribes- Introduction of Horses
In ancient North America, horse species were extinct, due to being decimated by climatic changes. As soon as, the Spanish discovered North America they reintroduced horses to the continent. The horses were praised by Plain Indians. Life on the Plains before horses returned was very different. The introduction of horses into plains native tribes revolutionized entire cultures. Horses took the place of dogs and were easier to train. By the 1680s horses were in Nebraska and already used to trading. -
Period: to
Colonial America
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Headright System
The headright system was originally created in 1618 in Jamestown, Virginia. The system granted 50 acres of land to the people who paid their way to the 13 colonies. The system was used mainly in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland. Individuals who could afford it would accumulate land by paying for poor individuals to travel to Virginia. In the 1600s, the cost was roughly 6 pounds per person, or approximately $215 today. The headright system led to indentured servants -
Mayflower Compact
The 1620 agreement was a legal instrument that bound the Pilgrims together when they arrived in New England.When the Pilgrims left England, they obtained permission from the King of England to settle on land farther to the south near the mouth of the Hudson River. Because they chose to remain where they landed in New England, they needed a new permission to settle there. On November 11, 1620, to maintain order and establish a civil society, the adult male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact. -
Connecticut
A royal charter was proposed by John Winthrop and was granted by Charles II. The people of Connecticut had only negotiated titles for ownership with the Indians, having no titles recognized by England on Connecticut soil. While Connecticut power's had the ability to create new laws, they were to not exceed the limits or contradict with rules of English government. Problems surfaced to try to control Connecticut. Connecticut was not free form control until after the conflict with King James II. -
Quakers
Quakers were a society of friends in the New World. Quakers faced persecution in England and in New England for their religious beliefs. Their land was confiscated and members were jailed. Quakers strongly emphasized a personal relationship with God, but Quakers believed that God communicated directly with an individual through the "light within" or "inner light". Quakers permitted women to openly participate in religious services and participated in the abolition movement. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights was an act that the Parliament of England passed. The Bill created separation of powers, limited the powers of the king and queen, enhanced the democratic election and allowed freedom of speech. During the Glorious Revolution, King James II fled the country. He was succeeded by his daughter and her husband. William and Mary agreed to accept the Bill of Rights in order to King and Queen. The Bill of Rights guaranteed certain rights of the citizens of England. -
Salem Witch Trails
The Salem Witch Trails were a serious of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them were women, and all but one was hanged. Five of them, including two infant children, died in prison. The Salem became a brief outburst of a sort of hysteria in the New World. People were accused by neighbors, mostly on purpose, for simply having an argument w/ them. -
Triangular Trade
A historical term indicating trade among three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region form which its major imports come. The routes were shaped by the powerful influence of winds and currents during the age of sail. Trading nations of Western Europe traveled south arriving in the Caribbean rather than going west to North America. It was easy to come from North America was easy when you followed the Gulf Stream. -
The Atlantic Slave Trade
The transatlantic slave trade carried slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods between West Africa, Caribbean or American Colonies and the European colonial powers. The use of African Slaves was fundamental to growing colonial cash crops, which were exported to Europe. European goods, in turn, were to purchase African slaves, who were then brought on the sea lane west from Africa to the Americas, the Middle Passage. The profits from goods were used to purchase other items and shipped to Africa -
The Enlightenment- Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin believed that reason, free trade and a cosmopolitan spirit serve as faithful guides for nation states to cultivate peaceful relations. Franklin claimed that the way to "moral perfection" is to cultivate thirteen virtues (temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, and humanity) as well a healthy dose of "cheerful prudence." Franklin was a symbol of American Enlightenment with his belief of self-interest. -
The Great Awakening- George Whitefield
After being ordained, George Whitfield went straight to preaching. He became an itinerant preacher and evangelist. Whitefield's preaching became increasingly popular in England. Whitefield preached in a dramatic style that crowds loved. His voice was powerful and he had a different message. He preached about conversion of sin to personal salvation through Jesus Christ. His preaching let others believe that they could experience a new birth through the Holy Spirit and repenting/believing. -
Colonial Economics- New England
The geography and climate impacted the trade and economic activities of New England Colonies. In the New England towns along the coast , the colonists made their living fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding. The fish included cod, mackerel, herring, halibut, hake, bass and sturgeon. Whale oil was a valuable resource as it could be used in lamps. Farming was difficult in New England for crops like wheat because of the poor soil but corn, pumpkins, rye, squash and beans were planted. -
Seven Years War- George Washington's role
Washington served from 1755-58 as colonel and commander of the Virginia Regiment, directing the provincial defenses against French and Indian raids and building the regiment into one of the best well-trained provincial militias. He led the regiment as part of the 1758 expedition of General John Forbes that successfully drove the French from Fort Duquesne. Washington gained valuable military skills during the war, acquiring tactical, strategic, and logical military experience. -
The French and Indian War- Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed on February 10th 1763 by kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Great Britain's victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years' War. The signing of the treaty formally ended the French and Indian War in the North American theater, and marked the beginning of an era of British dominance outside Europe. great Britain and France each returned much of the territory that they had captured during the war. -
Period: to
The Revolutionary War
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Revenue Act/ Sugar Act
The sugar act was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. The preamble to the act stated: "it is expedient that new provisions and regulations should be established for improving the revenue of this Kingdom." By reducing the rate by half and increasing measures to enforce the tax, the British hoped that the tax would actually be collected. These taxes increased the colonists' concerns about the intent of the British and helped the movement of American Revolution. -
Boston Massacre- Paul Revere
British troops fired into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests. Paul Revere capitalized on the Massacre to highlight British tyranny and stir up anti-British sentiment among colonists. Paul Revere named his engraving "The Bloody Massacre", that shows an unarmed group of slightly more than twenty citizens who are fired upon at close range by seven British soldiers. Paul Revere's piece became the first example of American propaganda. Gave colonists reason to fight. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of drunk colonial patriots, called "The Sons of Liberty", disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and boarded three ships in Boston Harbor. They proceeded to dump more than 300 crates of tea overboard as a protest against the British tea tax. The tea party became a iconic event of American history, and political protests like the Tea party movement have referred to themselves as historical successors to the Boston protest of 1773. This event helped the American Revolution grow. -
Period: to
The Constitution
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Battle of Lexington
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War. On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under intense fire. -
Common Sense-Thomas Paine
Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine to advocate independence from Great Britain to people in the 13 colonies. Paine talked about moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for freedom. It was published anonymously at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation. Common Sense made a public persuasive and impassioned case for independence, which before the pamphlet had not yet been taken seriously. -
The Declaration of Independence
The day the Continental Congress signed the document that declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, and were no longer part of the British Empire. The Declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson. The actual declaration was completed on July 2. The two days before the signing was being revised and edited. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, was an agreement among the 13 original states that served as its first constitution. As the Confederation Congress attempted to govern the continually growing American states, delegates discovered that the limitations placed upon the central government wasn't effective. As the government's weaknesses became apparent, individuals began asking for changes to the Articles. It was quickly realized that changes would not work, and the Articles needed to be replaced. -
Problems w/ British- Land
After the Treaty of Paris (1783), the British were to leave lands, but due to still having loyalist in colonies they didn't. The British were still in Ohio Valley and did not live up to the terms of the Treaty of Paris. American debts to the British weren't paid which allowed the British to keep the forts. The British traded guns with Native Americans to keep the new settlers out of the west. The British didn't want the colonies to move westward and they did everything they could to ensure that. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
The Treaty of Paris of 1783, negotiated between the United States and Great Britain, ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence. The Continental Congress named a five-member commission to negotiate a treaty–John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens. Laurens was captured by a British warship and held in the Tower of London until the end of the war, and Jefferson did not leave the United States in time to take part in the negotiations. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion is the name given to a series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers against state and local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt. The rebellion was most serious in Massachusetts, where bad harvests, economic depression, and high taxes threatened farmers with the loss of their farms. The rebellion took its name from its symbolic leader, Daniel Shays. The rebellion greatly alarmed politicians throughout the nation and justified replacing the Articles. -
The Great Debate
There were two sides to the Great Debate: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists wanted to ratify the Constitution, the Anti-Federalists did not. One of the major issues was the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. The Federalists felt that this addition wasn't necessary, because the constitution only limited the government not the people. The Anti- Federalists claimed the Constitution gave the central government too much power, and people would be at risk of oppression w/out BoR. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although the Convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, the result of the convention was the creation of the Constitution. However, they had continuous disputes about election of senate. Whether to divide the executive power or give the power into the president, how to elect the president, how long terms should be or if they could be reelected, and what was impeachable -
Three Branches
After the Great Debate three branches were created to split the power of the government. The three branches are legislature, executive, and judicial. The legislature branch made laws and was split up into two houses, Congress and House of Representatives. The executive branch enforced the laws (president). The judicial branch interpreted the laws (judges). John Locke first suggested the power split between legislature and executive. Charles-Louis added the judicial branch. -
Judicial Three-Tier System
The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the federal court system. Article III only authorizes "one supreme Court," but gives Congress the power to create "inferior Courts...from time to time." The Judiciary Act created the three-tiered structure of the United States federal court system. In addition to creating these courts, the Act defined the jurisdiction of each tier of court. The three tiers are U.S Supreme Court, U.S Courts of Appeals, U.S District Courts. -
Period: to
New Republic
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Bill of Rights
Congress transmitted to the state Legislatures twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution. James Madison proposed the U.S Bill of Rights. It largely responded to the Constitution's influential opponents, including prominent Founding Fathers, who argued that the Constitution should not be ratified because it failed to protect the basic principles of human liberty. The U.S Bill of Rights was influenced by George Mason's 1176 Virginia Declaration of Rights and the 1689 English Bill of Rights. -
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. it became law in 1791, and was intended to generate revenue for the war debt incurred during the Revolutionary War. The tax applied to all distilled spirits, but American whiskey was by far the country's most popular distilled beverage in the 18th century. -
Washington's Farewell Address
A letter written by the president to "friends and fellow-citizens". Originally posted into a news article, almost immediately after publishing, it was reprinted into several other newspaper and made into a pamphlet. The letter got its name"farewell address" as Washington's final writings at the end of his second term of presidency. The first draft was originally created by James Madison, in 1792 whenever Washington was contemplating stepping down. He wanted the U.S to avoid problems. -
Election of 1796
Only presidential election to elect candidates from opposing parties. Since Washington had refused a third term, an election was in order once again. Each man from every party ran alone, the "running mate" option had not been established just yet. John Adams came in first and took the role of president, but since Thomas Jefferson came in second, he was given the title of Vice president. The first Republican vs. Federalist election. -
XYZ Affair
A very diplomatic incident between France and America during the 18th century that unintentionally led to an undeclared war at seas. The French were mad about Jay's Treaty, believing it had violated precious treaties that the United States had made with the French. Jay's treaty limited trade with the French. The French attacked a number of American ships which caused problems for president John Adams.The Americans sent diplomats in order to negotiate with the French minister. -
Period: to
The Age of Jefferson
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Election of 1800
The election of 1800 was the end of naval war and a treaty was negotiated. The election was a realigning election that ushered in a generation of Democratic-Republican Party rule and the eventual demise of the Federalist Party in the First Party System. It was a long, bitter re-match of the 1796 election between the pro-French and pro-decentralization Democratic-Republicans under Jefferson and Aaron Burr and the incumbent Adams and Charles Pinckney's pro-British and pro-centralization. -
Jefferson Administration
In domestic affairs Jefferson sought to put the principles of republicanism into action. He set out to limit the size of the government by reducing taxes and the national debt. He established a military academy, used the Navy to protect merchant ships from Barbary pirates in North Africa, and developed a plan to protect U.S ports from foreign invasion by the use of small gunboats. Jefferson's election swept the Federalist Party out of power, ushering in a generation of Democratic-Republicans. -
Hamilton vs. Burr
In a duel in New Jersey, VP Aaron Burr brutally shot his long time political enemy Alexander Hamilton. The shot was proved fatal the following day. During the duel, Hamilton saw the duel as morally wrong and shot into the air instead of aiming at Burr. However, Burr being competitive, fired at Hamilton hitting his stomach. The bullet launched into his liver and Hamilton died the following day. Since the duel Aaron Burr was a fugitive because duels were illegal. -
War of 1812
A war fought between the United States, United Kingdom, and each of their allies. The British had enforced a naval blockade to end neutral trade between the French. The British impressed many many american Merchants into the royal navy. The Chesapeake-leopard affair angered the British. In 1811, the British were turned into enemies with the Little Belt Affair. Ended with the battle of New Orleans which resulted in a treaty being established February 17th, 1865. -
Steamboats
Robert Fulton was the first person to initially make the first steam powered steamboat. His steamboat was made able to transport raw material's across the Atlantic ocean with ease. Transportation was proven to be important when people started moving from the north to the west. In 1817 a consortium in Sackets Harbor, New York funded the construction of the first US steamboat, Ontario, to run on Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes, beginning the growth of lake commercial and passenger traffic. -
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The American Industrial Revolution
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Iron Plow
A tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation sowing seed or planting to loosen or turn the soil. In 1837, John Deere developed and marketed the world's first self polishing cast steel plow. The large plows made for cutting the tough American prairie ground were called "grasshopper plows." From the single plow, advances were made to two or more plows fastened together allowing for more work to be done with the same man power. The iron plow increased farm life. -
Panic of 1819
The post war economic expansion ended. Several banks throughout the country went out of business. Several Mortgages were closed, which led to people practically being forced out of their homes.The financial disaster and depression provoked popular resentment against banking and business enterprise, and a general belief that federal government economic policy was fundamentally flawed. All regions were seriously of the country were impacted and the prosperity did not return until late 1824. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
A landmark decision by the Supreme Court. The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of branch of the Second bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all notes of banks not chartered in Maryland. The law was recognized in the court's opinion as having specifically targeted the bank of the United States. The court invoked the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution, which allowed the Federal government to pass laws not expressly provided for in the Constitution's list. -
Missouri Crisis
During the time of the panic, a crisis over slavery erupted with stunning suddenness. The crisis was caused by Missouri's application for statehood and it involved the status of slavery west of the Mississippi River. East of the Mississippi, the Ohio River formed a boundary between slave states and free states. West of the Mississippi, there was no clear line demarcating the boundary between free and slave territory. Many people fought over the balance of the North and South with slavery. -
Mass Transportation
Mass transit systems may be owned by private, profit-making companies or by governments or quasi-government agencies that may not operate for profit. Whether public or private, many mass transportation services are subsidized because they cannot cover all their costs from fares charged to their riders. Such subsidies assure the availability of mass transit, which contributes to making cities efficient and desirable places in which to live. -
The Second Great Awakening
A Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the U.S.A. After 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. The Second Great Awakening reflected Romanticism characterized by enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal to the supernatural. It rejected the skeptical rationalism and deism of the Enlightenment. The revivals enrolled millions of new members in existing denominations and led the formations of new denominations. -
Waltham System
This system developed in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1820s, in these factories as much machinery as possible was used, so that few skilled workers were needed in the production process; the workers were almost all young single farm women. Their life was very regimented- they lived in company boardinghouses and were held to strict hours and a moral code. As competition grew, wages declined, strikes began to occur, and cheaper imported foreign workers; the system collapsed. -
Period: to
Cultural Changes
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Temperance Movement
Seen as a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. This movement was used to criticize alcohol intoxication and to promote complete abstinence. An early temperance movement began during the American Revolution in Connecticut, Virginia and New York state, with farmers forming associations to ban whiskey distilling. The movement spread to eight states, advocating temperance rather than abstinence and taking positions on religions issues such as observance of the Sabbath. -
Revivalism
Revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelistic meeting or series of meetings. Rev. Charles Finney was a key leader of the evangelical revival movement in America. From 1821 onwards he conducted revival meetings across many states and won many converts. Revival was meant by one's own free will. -
Monroe Doctrine
A policy of opposing European colonialism in The Americas beginning in 1823. It stated further efforts by European nations to take control of any independent state in North or South America would be viewed as "manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States. At the same time, the doctrine noted that the U.S would recognize and not interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries. -
Election of 1824
This election marked a new direction for future american politics. First westerner elected president, as well as the first president not from Virginia or Massachusetts. Boldly officially announced "champion of the common man" and sought to believe that their were ignored by national economic plans of clay and Adams. -
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Age of Jackson
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Election of 1828
Jackson's brand new strategy was perfect for origins and bettered the military career.. People attacked each other as womanizers and attacked Jackson's wife Rachel. They wanted Jackson's image to grow resentful. People accused Jackson of being a pimp and the election was very nasty. Jackson won overwhelmingly even after all the rude accusations was made. -
Second Party System
The political party system in the United States during the 18002. It is a phrase used by historians ans political scientists to describe the time period between 1828 and 1854. People quickly became more interested in voting starting in 1828. More people came to political rallies and showed up to vote on election day. There were also more partisan newspapers, which supported a certain political party. People became very loyal to their party. The two main political parties were Democratic and Whig -
Spoils System
A practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government civil service jobs to its supporters, friends and relatives as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party- as opposed to a merit system, where offices are awarded on the basis of some measure of merit, independent of political activity. The federal government operated on a spoils system until the Pendleton Act was passed in 1883 due to a civil service reform movement. -
Telegraph
Invention revolutionized long distance communication. Worked initially by transmitting electrical signals into various locations over a wired connecting two locations. Developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse. Samuel Morse developed a code that assigned a set of dots and dashes to each letter of the English alphabet and allowed for the simple transmission of complex messages across telegraph lines. In 1866, a telegraph line had been laid across the Atlantic Ocean from U.S. to Europe. -
Free-Black Communities
Strictly examines activities of recently free blacks in the north as they go through the struggles forge organizations and institutions and to obtain equal rights with issues of slavery and racism. Leaders emerged- many of them former slaves- who worked to organize independent churches, schools, and fraternal and educational associations, and to champion blacks' inclusion as equal citizens in the American landscape. Deeply spiritual people, they held close the tenets of egalitarian Christianity. -
National Univerisity
During the presidency of Adams he established the first national university. Adam's was a firm believer in Henry Clay's proposed American System, he proposed major investments in internal improvements and the creation of educational institutions such as a national university, among other initiatives, to bring this vision to life. Due to meager support from congressional leaders, however, his agenda was largely blocked by Congress. -
Joseph Smith
An American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was twenty-four, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death fourteen years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers and founded a religious culture that continues to the present. In 1830, Smith published an English translation of golden plates, the Book of Mormon. The same year he organized the Church of Christ, calling it a restoration of the early Christian church. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Slave rebellion that took place in Southampton, Virginia in 1831. Nat Turner along with several others slaves killed over fifty white men including his white slave owner, The Travis Family. In return, caused greater fear of the slave codes and stricter enforcement of the slave codes. Nat Turner believed that killing these men was a sign from God when he witnessed a solar eclipse. He believed that he had visions from God ever since a child. Nat Turner ran away, was found, convicted and executed. -
John C. Calhoun
7th VP of the USA for John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson; succeeded by Martin Van Buren. Promoted nationalism and protective tariffs during the Era of Good Feelings as Secretary of State for Pres. James Monroe, but later switched to states' rights, limited government, nullification and free trade. Viewed slavery as a positive good. In his final address towards the senate, he threatened the publication of the disruption of the union unless the slave states were given permanent protection. -
Sam Houston
An American soldier and politician. His victory at the Battle of San Jacinto secured the independence of Texas from Mexico in one of the shortest decisive battles in modern history. He was also the only governor within a future Confederate state to oppose secession and to refuse an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, a decision that led to his removal from office by the Texas secession convention. Houston became a key figure in Texas. -
Election of 1832
The 12th quadrennial presidential election, held from November 2, to December 5, 1832. It saw incumbent President Andrew Jackson, candidate of the Democratic Party, easily win re-election against Henry Clay of Kentucky, candidate of the National Republican Party, and Anti-Masonic Party candidate William Wirt. Jackson won 219 of the 286 electoral votes cast. Virginia Governor John Floyd, who was not a candidate, received the electoral votes of South Carolina. -
Annexation of Texas
Event in which Texan government declared independence from mexico; American settlers proclaimed Texan independence; Sam Houston won independence (treaty rejected by Mexican legislature); Texans wanted annexation by U.S.; not done because opposition from northerners and anti-slavery groups; fear of sectional controversy. -
Greek Revival
A architectural movement in which houses and building where built to resemble ancient Greek temples. The style was looked on as the expression of local nationalism and civic virtue, and freedom from the lax detail and frivolity that was thought to characterize the architecture of France and Italy, two countries where the style never really took hold. This was especially the case in the United States, where the idiom was regarded as being free from ecclesiastical and aristocratic associations. -
Panic of 1837
A financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major recession that lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down while unemployment went up. The panic had both domestic and foreign origins. Speculative lending practices iny western states, a sharp decline in cotton prices, a collapsing land bubble, international specie flows, and restrictive lending policies in Great Britain were all to blame. -
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Westward Expansion
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Election of 1844
The 15th quadrennial presidential election, held from November 1, to December 4, 1844. Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest that turned on the controversial issues of slavery and the annexation of the Republic of Texas. President John Tyler's pursuit of Texas annexation threatened to undermine the unity of both the Whig and the Democratic parties, as the annexation of Texas would expand the institution of slavery in the United States. -
Frederick Douglass
An African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, and incisive antislavery writings. In his time, he was described by abolitionists as a living counter-example to slaveholders' arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. He often wrote autobiographies of his life as a slave. -
Manifest Destiny
The belief that the US was destined to stretch across the continent; idealistic, sent by God, not for economic or territorial reasons. This was the period of American expansion that the United States was destined to do stretch from coast to coast. This attitude helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico. It expressed the belief that it was Americans' providential mission to expand their civilization and institutions across the breadth of North America. -
Wilmot Proviso
Designed to eliminate slavery within the land acquired as a result of the Mexican War (1846-48). Soon after the war began, President James K. Polk sought the appropriation of $20 million as part of a bill to negotiate the terms of a treaty. Fearing the addition of a pro-slavery territory, Pennsylvania Congressman David Wilmot proposed his amendment of the bill. Although the measure was blocked in the southern-dominated Senate, it inflamed the growing controversy over slavery. -
Mexican American War
An armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States from 1846-1848. It followed in the wake of 1845 American annexation of the independent Republic of Texas, which Mexico still considered its northeastern province and a part of its territory after its de facto secession in 1836 Texas Revolution a decade earlier. The republic wasn't recognized by Mexico, which still claimed it as part of its national territory. The Texans later won the war and rejoined the U.S.A. -
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Sectionalism
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California Gold Rush
When gold was initially founded by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought over 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. California became one of the few American states to go directly to statehood without first being a territory, in the Compromise of 1850. The Gold Rush had severe effects on Native Californians and resulted in a precipitous population decline from disease, genocide and starvation. -
Zachary Taylor
The 12th President of the United States, serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850. Before his presidency, Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general. Taylor's status as a national hero as a result of his victories in the Mexican–American War won him election, despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was preserving the Union, but he died sixteen months into his term. . -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed in September of 1850 that dealt with the issue of slavery. In 1849 California requested permission to enter the Union as a free state, potentially upsetting the balance between the free and slave states in the U.S. Senate. Henry Clay introduced resolution on January 29, 1850, in an attempt to seek a compromise. As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. -
Winfield Scott
A United States Army general and the unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852. He served on active duty as a general longer than any other person in American history, is rated as one of the Army's most senior commissioned officers, and is ranked by many historians as the best American commander of his time. Over the course of his 53-year career, he commanded forces in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, the Mexican–American War, and the Second Seminole War. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
An anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman. Stowe featured the character of Uncle Tom, a long-suffering black slave around whom the stories of other characters revolve. The sentimental novel depicts the reality of slavery while also asserting that Christian love can overcome something as destructive as enslavement of fellow human beings. -
Election of 1852
The seventeenth quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1852. The president was a Whig who had succeeded to the presidency upon the death of his war-hero predecessor. In this case, it was Millard Fillmore who followed General Zachary Taylor. The Whig party passed over the incumbent for nomination. The Democrats nominated a “dark horse” candidate, this time Franklin Pierce. The Whigs campaigned on the obscurity of the Democratic candidate, and again, the strategy failed. -
Election of 1860
American presidential election held on Nov. 6, 1860, in which Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. The electoral split between Northern and Southern Democrats was emblematic of the severe sectional split, particularly over slavery, and in the months following Lincoln’s election, seven Southern states, led by South Carolina on Dec. 20, 1860, seceded. -
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The Civil War
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Confederate States of America
On March 11, 1861, the Confederate Constitution of seven state signatories – South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas – replaced the February 7 Provisional Confederate States Constitution with one stating in its preamble a desire for a "permanent federal government". Each state declared its secession from the United States following the election of Abraham Lincoln to the U.S. presidency who opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories. -
Trent Affair
A diplomatic incident in 1861 during the American Civil War that threatened a war between the United States and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Navy illegally captured two Confederate diplomats from a British ship; the UK protested vigorously. The United States closed the incident by releasing the diplomats. On November 8, 1861, the USS San Jacinto Union Captain Charles Wilkes, intercepted the British mail packet RMS Trent and removed two Confederate diplomats - James Murray Mason and John Slidell. -
Robert E. Lee
An American and Confederate soldier, best known as a commander of the Confederate States Army. He commanded the Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War, and served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. When Virginia declared its secession from the Union in April 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state. -
Emancipation Proclamation
A presidential proclamation and executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It changed the federal legal status of more than 3 million enslaved people in the designated areas of the South from slave to free. As soon as a slave escaped the control of the Confederate government, by running away or through advances of federal troops, the slave became legally free. The rebel surrender resulted in the proclamation's application to all of the designated slaves. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, one of the best-known in American history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. Abraham Lincoln's carefully crafted address, was one of the greatest and most influential statements of national purpose. -
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Reconstruction
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Freedman's Bureau
An agency of the United States Department of War to "direct such issues of provisions, clothing, and fuel, as he may deem needful for the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen and their wives and children." The Freedmen's Bureau Bill, which established the Freedmen's Bureau on March 3, 1865, was initiated by President Abraham Lincoln and was intended to last for one year after the end of the Civil War. -
Appomattox Courthouse
Fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War. It was the final engagement of Confederate States Army General-in-Chief, Robert E. Lee, and his Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army / Army of the Potomac under the Commanding General of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant. Lee, having abandoned the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, retreated west, hoping to join his army with the remaining Confederate forces. -
Abraham Lincoln Assassination
On the evening of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War. Despite his Confederate sympathies, Booth remained in the North during the Civil War. He planned to kidnap Abraham but it didn't work. -
Election of 1866
Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1866 to elect Representatives to the 40th United States Congress.The elections occurred just one year after the American Civil War ended when the Union defeated the Confederacy. The 1866 elections were a decisive event in the early Reconstruction era, in which President Andrew Johnson faced off against the Radical Republicans in a bitter dispute over whether Reconstruction should be lenient or harsh toward the vanquished South. -
Ulysses S. Grant
A prominent United States Army general during the American Civil War and Commanding General at the conclusion of that war. He was elected as the 18th President of the United States in 1868, serving from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy. After Lincoln's assassination, Grant's assignment in implementing Reconstruction put him at odds with President Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's successor. -
14th Amendment
The United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. The amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. The amendment was bitterly contested, particularly by the states of the defeated Confederacy, which were forced to ratify it in order to regain representation in Congress. -
Election of 1868
The 21st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1868. It was the first presidential election to take place after the American Civil War, during the period referred to as Reconstruction. As three of the former Confederate states (Texas, Mississippi, and Virginia) were not yet restored to the Union, their electors could not vote in the election. -
Panic of 1873
A financial crisis that triggered a depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 until 1879, and even longer in some countries (France and Britain). In Britain, for example, it started two decades of stagnation known as the "Long Depression" that weakened the country's economic leadership. The Panic was known as the "Great Depression" until the events of the early 1930s set a new standard. American post-Civil War inflation and rampant speculative investments were main problems. -
Whiskey Ring
The Whiskey Ring was a scandal, exposed in 1875, involving diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors. The Whiskey Ring began in St. Louis but was also organized in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Peoria. The scheme involved an extensive network of bribes involving distillers, rectifiers, gaugers, storekeepers, and internal revenue agents. -
Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877 was a purported informal, unwritten deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election. It resulted in the United States federal government pulling the last troops out of the South, and formally ended the Reconstruction Era. Through the Compromise, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House on the understanding that Hayes would remove the federal troops in the south.
