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Northwest Ordinance
This set a precedent of how new states would enter the Union. It also gave each state a set of rights as they entered the Union. It’s important to US history because without this new states couldn’t of joined the Union as fast as they did. -
Louisiana Purchase
This purchase doubled the size of the United States. It also set a precedent of how future land would be purchased. It’s important to US history because it helped support Manifest Destiny -
Missouri Compromise
This was an effort to keep the balance of power in Congress equal. It entered Maine into the Union as a free state and Missouri into the Union as a slave state. It was later repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
Monroe Doctrine
It was a document that told European countries that the US would not tolerate their colonization in the Western Hemisphere. This doctrine began in 1823 but wasn’t coined until 1850. -
Nullification Crisis
This was the attempt of South Carolina to nullify the protective tariff passed by the federal government. They felt as though the law was only benefiting the North and wanted it to end. This event was important because it made it clear that a state can not nullify federal law. -
Texas Annexation
The US delayed the annexation of Texas because of border disputes with Mexico. Also adding Texas to the Union would throw off the balance of power between free and slave states in Congress. It’s important to history because it added onto US territory and helped them continue Manifest Destiny. -
Oregon Treaty
This was an agreement between Britain and the US. It set in place the 49th parallel, which meant anything under that line was US territory. This treaty was important because it set a border between the US and Britain. -
Mexican Cession
The US acquired most of Mexico’s land through the Treaty of Guadalupe. The gaining of this territory reopened the issue on slavery. This gain of land put the nation one close to completing Manifest Destiny. -
Compromise of 1850
This compromise consists of five laws passed that dealt with the issue of slavery and territorial expansion. It angered the North and South more and increased sectionalism. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
It allowed people in Kansas and Nebraska to decide if they wanted slaves or not. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise and caused major disputes in the states. -
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Bleeding Kansas
This was the outcome of the Kansas-Nebraska act. Some people in the states wanted slaves but others didn't so this caused a series of bloody conflict. In the end, Kansas was admitted into the Union as a free state. -
Battle of Bull Run
Also, known as the First Battle of Manassas, was the first major battle of the American Civil War. This battle also ended in a Confederate victory. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
This was the very first battle of the Civil War that ended in a Confederate victory. This loss shocked the Union and made them second guess the war. -
Battle of Antietam
This was the bloodiest day of the war but ended in a Union victory. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued 5 days after the battle. Also, this battle ended the Confederate invasion of Maryland. -
Emancipation Proclamation
This freed slaves in the rebellion states and allowed them to join the war. Also, this was the South's last chance to surrender without having to give up their slaves. -
Gettysburg Address
This was a speech that was dedicated to the men that lost their lives in the Battle of Gettysburg. In this speech, Lincoln said he wanted to preserve the Union and that they can honor the men that died by continuing their fight. -
Battle of Vicksburg
This was a Union victory that gave them control of the Mississippi River. By having control of the river the Union would split the Confederacy in two and control an important route to move men and supplies. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle had the largest casualties of the entire war and was the turning point of the war. Lee led his army out of the North and never invaded again after this battle. -
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Presidential Reconstruction
Lincolns' 10% plan said that 10% of the South had to make an oath to the Union and also they had to agree to the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation. Johnson's Reconstruction, all land that was taken by the Union Army and distributed to the freed slaves by the army or the Freedmen's Bureau was given to prewar owners. -
Sherman's March to Sea
Sherman led some a couple thousand soldiers on a march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of Sherman's March was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. The tore up railroads and burned plantations during their march. -
13th Amendment Passed
This amendment completely abolished slavery throughout the Union. Some slaves stayed on plantations to get paid to work because they didn't have anywhere to go but others left as soon as they got the chance. -
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Congressional Reconstruction
This was the period after the Civil War in which the federal government enacted and attempted to enforce equal suffrage on the ex-Confederate states. This was also called "Radical Reconstruction" and the main goal of it was to punish the South. -
14th Amendment Passed
This gave birthright citizenship to all freed slaves. Also, Congress tried their best to ensure the rights of the newly freed slaves. -
15th Amendment
This gave all African American men the right to vote. Whites tried to intimidate them to vote for certain people or to not vote at all. Women still couldn't vote. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This was a Supreme Court case that legalized segregation. As long as everything was equal in quality then it was alright.