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Underground Railroad
Secret routes that African American slaves took to escape to freedom to the North and later Canada -
Texas Revolution
Conflict between Mexico and Mexican Texas that lead to Texas becoming an independent country -
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Manifest Destiny
An ideology/belief that the United States used: It was the United States's mission to expand westward and claim all land, all the way to the Pacific Ocean -
Oregon Treaty
Treaty between Britain and the United States that defined borders up near the Pacific Northwest, splitting the Oregon Territory and settling land disputes -
Wilmot Proviso
Proposal that stated that slavery should not be spread into the territories acquired in the Mexican-American War. Was not passed as a law. -
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Mexican-American War
War between Mexico and the United States caused by Americans intruding on Mexican lands. Conflict ended with American victory and led to the annexation of Texas into the United States -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
The treaty that ended the Mexican-American War and also gave the United States huge amounts of land that included all of the Pacific Coast as well as the modern-day Southwest -
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Free-Soil Party
A short-lived political party that argued against slavery -
Compromise of 1850
(Henry Clay saves the day) California is admitted as a free state, Utah and New Mexico use popular sovereignty to decide their stance on slavery, abolish slave trade in DC, creation of fugitive slave laws -
Fugitive Slave Law
Everyone, including those in the North, had to help in capturing runaway slaves (even if they didn't want to) -
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Indian Wars
A series of wars between American settlers and Native Americans that resulted from westward expansion. Included Ghost Dance movement and Little Bighorn -
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Perry Expedition
American naval mission led by Commodore Perry toward Japan. This mission established diplomatic relations between Japan and the United States and opened up Japan's borders to the rest of the world, as they were under an isolationist decree beforehand -
Republican Party
Anti-slavery party that formed from the remnants of the Whigs, Free-Soilers, and other people with anti-slavery sentiment. Will come to oppose the Democratic Party -
Gadsden Purchase
The United States purchased a piece of land from Mexico (for slightly less than what was paid for all Guadalupe-Hidalgo) in modern-day Arizona to create a railroad. The land here was more favorable to build a railroad than the land that the United States had already owned. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The territories of Kansas and Nebraska would be admitted to the Union and were allowed to decide their stance on slavery through popular sovereignty. This caused much violence as people from either pro/anti-slavery sentiment moved there to vote in favor of their beliefs. -
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Bleeding Kansas
Popular sovereignty would decide if Kansas and Nebraska would join the Union as a slave/free state. Settlers who were both pro and anti-slavery moved to these two territories to sway the vote in favor of their beliefs. Violence broke out as a result of their differences in opinion. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Under the United States Constitution, the government cannot infringe on property rights. Slaves are determined to be property, meaning that Congress is not able to make laws against slavery. The case also makes the reminder that slaves are not citizens. -
Harpers Ferry
John Brown and some other men raid the federal arsenal located in Harpers Ferry to try to incite rebellion in the South. Resulted mostly in spreading fear in the Southern plantation owners, leading to poorer conditions for the slaves. -
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln is elected President without a single Southern vote, making the South feel unappreciated and voice unheard. This election makes the final straw for the South, launching the country into civil war not long after. -
Fort Sumter
First battle of the Civil War -
Pacific Railroad Acts
US government passed laws that allowed and funded the building of a transcontinental railroad route -
Homestead Act
Any citizen that had never borne arms against the US government could be given a homestead (160 acre plot of land) in exchange for farming/improving the land and paying a small fee -
Emancipation Proclamation
Document by Abraham Lincoln that declared all slaves in the Confederacy to be free. Originally the North fought the South because they were simply opposing them, but now the North with newfound encouragement fought the South for abolition of slavery. -
Gettysburg Address
Speech by Abraham Lincoln that talked about freedom and country but most importantly addressed the soldiers that sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country. -
Sherman's March
William Tecumseh Sherman took his soldiers and marched through Georgia, destroying absolutely everything in their path to debilitate the South, including destroying railroads, burning farms, and harming civilian infrastructure. -
Thirteenth Amendment
Amendment that abolished slavery within the United States -
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Freedmen's Bureau
Especially part of Reconstruction, an organization that provided educational, economical, legal, predial, and some social assistance to freed slaves. -
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Black Codes
Laws passed in the South that essentially put black people back into a state of slavery: Vagrancy was illegal, did not give blacks a right to vote, and facilitated segregation -
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Sharecropping
A system in which farmers who cannot afford land/living space will work on another person's farm to gain a place to live and tools to work land and money. However, almost all sharecroppers were black and they were often given little money, and if they challenged the system, they were met with violence. -
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Ku Klux Klan
White supremacist group that often lynched black people to spread fear and prevent them from voting and doing anything with the rights that were given to them by the government -
Reconstruction Acts of 1867
The Southern States would be readmitted into the Union under certain conditions: The South was divided up into 5 military zones and were patrolled by federal troops, the South had to follow the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments, and they had to rewrite their state constitutions to fit the Reconstruction Acts' requirements. -
Alaska Purchase
The United States purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 Million, giving the United States 600,000 square miles of land (essentially 2 cents per acre). Initially a controversial decision, it was completely agreed with once gold was discovered there and a gold rush spawned -
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National Grange Movement
(For the farmers!) Agricultural movement that supported the farmers and combated against agricultural monopolies and unfair transportation prices set by railroad companies -
Fourteenth Amendment
African American men are granted citizenship -
Knights of Labor
Labor union that accepted people of quite literally all kinds (women, African Americans, children, unskilled, and skilled). They advocated in particular for 8-hour workdays, equal pay, and no child labor. -
Fifteenth Amendment
Former (male) slaves are given the right to vote -
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Jim Crow Laws
Set of laws that set in motion segregation and restrictions on black voting -
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Poll Tax, Literacy Test, Grandfather Clauses
Measures used to prevent black people from voting: Poll taxes meant people had to pay to vote, literacy tests in which people had to evaluate their ability in the English language (black people had poor education at this time, meaning they would fail) and grandfather clauses (statements that allow existing activities to continue even if new rules state otherwise: black people's ancestors were enslaved, meaning the continuation of old rules meant blacks could not vote) -
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Standard Oil Trust
Oil company/monopoly owned by John D. Rockefeller. Like Carnegie Steel, was very much criticized for the massive amounts of wealth seemingly unfairly concentrated into a single place. Eventually was broken up by legal proceedings -
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Social Darwinism
Applies Charles Darwin's idea of natural selection to human society, economy, etc. This was used to justify that the poor and the rich were poor and rich because they had gotten themselves to that point, by their own selves (and therefore that monopolies were okay). Also used to justify racism. -
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Social Gospel
This was a movement based on the idea that Christians should bring their values outside of the church. It sought to improve society through religious ideals. This manifested strongly in helping the poor and struggling, which often were immigrants and those oppressed by employers and the wealthy. -
Compromise of 1877
Compromise that ended Reconstruction in the South, ending the efforts to integrate blacks into society. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Except for a few occupational groups, Chinese immigrants were restricted from entering the United States -
Pendleton Act
Federal law that changed how people were hired for government jobs: instead of the spoils system that appointed government jobs to people with association to higher-standing people, individuals were now hired based on merit and had to take qualifying exams -
Wabash v. Illinois
Railroad companies are charging unfair prices, so the Supreme Court gets involved and states lose lots of control to regulate commerce. Railroad companies stop charging insane amounts, and Interstate Commerce Commission comes from this as well. -
American Federation of Labor
(lol, Gompers) AFoL was a labor organization like the Knights except they didn't allow unskilled workers, women, and African Americans. They advocated particularly for better wages and an 8-hour workday. -
Interstate Commerce Act
Federal law intervenes with railroads charging high prices, and now there were more rules for railroad companies regarding how they can conduct business -
Dawes Severalty Act
Act passed by the federal government that broke up Native American tribal lands and aimed to help American Indians better assimilate into American society -
Gospel of Wealth
Written by Andrew Carnegie, it was a document that justified the rich and monopolies but also state that the rich should participate in philanthropy and spend their money on the good of the community. -
Hull House
(kinda sounds like "whole house") This was the first settlement house that helped provide economic and educational support to struggling immigrants -
Wounded Knee
Battle between the settlers and Native Americans and is generally thought to be the one that ended the series of wars between the whites and Natives -
Ghost Dance Movement
American Indian spiritual movement: Natives danced and heard from the dead people. In this movement, Natives were encouraged not to fight back the whites, as they would eventually be pushed out, and the Natives would be at peace. This scared the whites, as the visions and events the Natives supposedly heard eerily resembled events in the Book of Revelation. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Government act that prevents unfair monopolies and encourages competition. Was more of a front provided by the government ("I have the power to do this") but wasn't particularly effective at doing what it was supposed to do. That would come later. -
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Ashcan School
American Art movement that depicted the poor and harsh reality of being the working class in New York City -
Homestead Strike
A strike that occurred at a steel mill. The cause of the strike was poor workplace safety and poor wages. Henry Frick, the man in charge of the mill and its workers, was aware of the strike and called over Pinkertons to deal with the situation. Violence ensued: the workers were able to push the Pinkertons back but many were injured. The long term consequences led to the workers facing justice and strikes being regarded as more dangerous and became less common. -
Omaha Platform
Political platform that had in mind the working class laborers and farmers. This platform decided to coin silver to alleviate debts for farmers and stimulate the economy, but wasn't particularly effective. -
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Carnegie Steel
Steel company that had much of a monopoly in its field. Owned by Andrew Carnegie, his company was among many that was criticized for maintaining monopolies and the wealth gaps that separated them from the working class -
Turner Thesis
Written by Frederick Turner, his idea was that the American frontier and availability of unsettled land greatly developed and shaped America's culture. Has flaws in that it fails to account for previously existing economic, cultural, and social circumstances (immigrants, slavery, industrialization, etc.) -
Panic of 1893
One of the worst economic depressions that the United States had seen and was the one that ended the Gilded Age. One major factor was the bankruptcy of the two largest railroad companies in the country, accompanied by the falling stock market. Railroads are extremely important to the country for transporting goods, meaning the economy quickly plummeted. Widespread unemployment and bank failures resulted. -
Pullman Strike
A strike that started in Chicago. The Pullman Palace Car Company (railroad company) was struck against for low wages. Major disruptions occurred in transportation and economy, as the workers that worked for the company were very important for their role in transporting goods. President Grover Cleveland was involved in this as well: after breaking the strike up, he put mail cars on the back of trains to make the argument that should this happen again, strikers will be committing a felony -
Coxey's Army
Jacob Coxey led several unemployed men on a march starting in Ohio all the way to the capital to protest the economic depression as well as ask the government to make jobs for people through the construction of infrastructure that would be funded by the government. His efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. -
Cross of Gold Speech
A speech made by presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan to get himself elected as president. The speech argued the coinage of silver over the gold standard, saying that monetary policy should favor the working class and farmers instead of the rich and wealthy. This speech was successful for getting him elected. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer Plessy was 7/8 white and hopped into a white people only car on a train only to be rejected because he was 1/8 black. He sued the state, and the case made it to the Supreme Court and ruled against Plessy. The idea of "separate but equal" came from this event, in that so long as blacks were treated equally (they weren't), it was deemed constitutional, causing the ruling against Plessy. Segregation was legalized as a result of this ruling.