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Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War was a war between the U.S. and Mexico that lasted from 1846 to late 1847. Mexico lost the war, causing it to lose much of its northern territory. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. -
Free Soil Movement
The Free Soil Party was a political party in the United States that lasted from 1848 to 1854 when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was focused on opposing the westward expansion of slavery. -
Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This was the peace treaty for the Mexican-American War, signed on February 2, 1848. It limited settlement between Mexico and America. -
The Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found in Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought over 300,000 gold-seekers to California. This later helped California achieve statehood. -
Compromise of 1850
This compromise was introduced by Henry Clay to allow California to enter the union as a free state. As part of the Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. -
"Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an influential anti-slavery book that convinced many people to support the abolitionist cause. -
KS-NE Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The Act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30´. -
Dred Scot v. Sandford
In Dred Scott v. Sandford, 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 the power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
The Raid on Harper's Ferry was an effort by abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt in 1859 by taking over a United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. -
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln won this election. This soon led to the secession of southern states. -
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is the place where the Civil War began. The war began when the Confederates bombarded Union soldiers. -
Anaconda Plan
The Anaconda Plan was a plan by the Union to cut off the South's supply lines during the civil war through a naval blockade. -
Emancipation Proclomation
On Janurary 1st, 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was acquired by the United States in a treaty signed by American ambassador to Mexico James Gadsden on December 30, 1853. -
Sherman's March
Sherman's March was a march of troops through Georgia that lasted from November 15 to December 21, 1864. Sherman's army burned military targets along with stores, other businesses, and the homes of the people who lived in their path. This ruined the Confederacy's economy and its means of transportation. -
Sharecropping
Sharecropping was used after the Civil War by southern farmers to keep African-Americans as members of lower-class society by locking them in debt. -
Freedmen's Bureau
The Freedmen's Bureau was established in 1865 by Congress to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South after the Civil War. -
Black Codes
Black Codes were laws passed in the South after the Civil War. These laws intended to restrict African Americans' freedom, compelling them to work for low-wage jobs. -
Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877 was an unwritten deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election, pulled federal troops out of state politics in the South, and ended reconstruction.
