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Alamo
This battle was between the Republic of Texas and Mexico at a fort in San Antonio called the Alamo. Mexico won, and the republic of Texas remained not free. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest destiny was a mindset of Americans in the 19th century They believed God destined them to expand their domain and democracy across North America, typically the west. It helped America gain land and took territory away from Natives. -
Mexican War 1846-47
Also known as the Mexican- American war. It ended with the US gaining the disputed territory of Texas along with the territory of New Mexico and California. -
Gold Rush
The California gold rush began when James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. Once people heard the news, over 300,000 people came to California in search of gold. It developed California's economy, and propelled industrial and agricultural development. -
Free - soil movement
This was a short-lived political party in America that only lasted two presidential elections, then merged into the Republican party. While it was active it was dedicated to stopping the spread of slaves to new territories and states int the West. -
Compromise of 1850
Five bills passed by the US in September regarding slave and free states and territories.It accepted California as a free state which expanded the US territory along with its economy, resources, and agriculture. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
An act that mandated "popular sovereignty" and allowed settlers of a territory to make the decision of allowing slavery within their territory's borders or not. It was created by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas,and signed into law by President Franklin Pierce -
Kanagawa Treaty
This was a treaty between the United States and Japan where they both agreed on limiting trade. Japan also agreed to safely return the American sailors who had become shipwrecked in Japanese waters. This agreement was known as the "opening of Japan". -
Dred Scott v Sandford
The Supreme Court decided that slaves were not citizens of the US and couldn't sue in Federal courts. This established the way slaves were viewed and kept them from basic human rights. -
Raid on Harpers Ferry
This was a raid put on by abolitionist John Brown in an attempt to create a slave revolt in the South. It didn't work out the way Brown had planned it to, but it is thought to have sparked the Civil War. -
Anaconda Plan
This was the Union's strategy to defeat the Confederacy at the beginning of the Civil War. They blocked southern ports, and the Mississippi river, to cut off and isolate the south from the outside world. This plan was quite successful, but a few Confederate ships were able to get pass the blockade. -
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is the location where the first battle of the Civil War was fought.They fought for 34 hours until the confederate leader, Major Robert Anderson (the person who also ordered the first shot), surrendered with his 86 remaining soldiers. This battle set off the Civil War. -
Bull Run
This was the first major battle of the Civil War, and resulted in a confederate victory. Also known as the First Battle of Manassas, it resulted in thousands of lives lost. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued freedom to all slaves in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union. This proclamation helped eventually put an end to slavery completely,and helped Lincoln end the war. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States. This changed the course of history and the way African Americans were thought of, though it still took time for many people to accept that slaves were free people. -
Freedmen's Bureau
Established after the Civil War to help former slaves and poor whites in the South. They aided in helping people make the transition from slavery to being free by providing food, housing, medical aid, and schools. -
Civil Rights Act 1866
This was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and establish all citizens as equal under the law.It made it illegal to deny anyone rights of citizenship because of race or color. -
Sharecropping
Sharecropping was a type of agriculture where landowners allowed tenants to use their land in return for a share of the crops produced on the land. Land owners would make tenants pay for supplies making them in debt, and essentially a slave. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment gave African Americans the right to vote. It established that the right to vote in the United States cannot be denied on account of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." this was a big step for African Americans in the US. -
Civil Rights Act 1875
It guaranteed African Americans equal treatment on public transportation. Unfortunately the Supreme court decided this act was unconstitutional eight years later, but it spurred more people to fight for more rights and equality of African Americans.
