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Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney created the cotton gin in 1794. It was a very valuable to the time period due to the amount of cotton that was picked. It quickly separated cotton and saved thousands of man hours. He sold them for a large amount of money, and some farmers couldn’t afford them. They started making bootleg versions of it to save money, but they were sued by Whitney. He couldn’t win because of a loophole in the patent act, until the law was changed in 1803. Eli Whitney died January 8th, 1825. -
Lewis and Clark
In 1803 the President, Thomas Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Purchase from France. With all of this new territory, there was a possibility for new resources and water routes; therefore, Thomas Jefferson asked his close friend to lead the expedition. Lewis then chose his good friend Clark to co-lead the expedition. The objective was to explore the Missouri river to its source and establish a water route to the pacific. They were instructed to write detailed notes along the way, make maps, and p -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was in 1803, and it bought the United States the majority of Louisiana, the top of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, the right half of Colorado, the majority of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, a large part of Minnesota, South Dakota, The southwestern part of North Dakota, most of Montana, and believe it or not a little bit of Canada. It cost the U.S about 15 million dollars. -
Jefferson Davis
Davis was a moderate political leader who was never able to figure out how to defeat the better-equipped North. As president, he acted as his own Secretary of War and meddled constantly in southern military strategy. He held less power in the South than Lincoln did in the North, and the power he did have rapidly decreased as the Union Army captured large parts of the Confederacy. Davis's economic policies failed to provide the South with a stable currency or enough industrial capacity to prevail -
Manifest Destiny
A common mindset in America that it must expand from "sea to shining sea." This idea started the Mexican-American War and the eviction of the Native-Americans. -
Eizabeth Cady Stanton
She was an abolitionist, and a leading figure in early woman’s freedom movements. She was also a great author; her Declaration of Sentiment was a new push for women’s rights all across the nation. She was president of the National Woman Suffrage Association for 20 years and was good friends with Susan B Anthony. -
Missouri Comprimise
In 1819 the state of Missouri was attempting to enter the union as a slave state. This caused outrage between slave states and Free states, which threatened the balance between free and slave states. Congress decided to let Maine in as a free state and then allow Missouri in a slave state. This kept the balance and kept anger from boiling over. -
Monroe Doctrine
States that any attempt to colonize a territory in or near South or North America would be seen as an act of aggression towards the US. It is still in effect today. -
Erie Canal
During the late 18th century and early 9th century, the United States began to develop plans on how to improve transportation into the interior of the Appalachian Mountains. A major goal was to link Lake Erie and the other great lakes to the Atlantic with a canal. The Erie Canal would connect to the port of New York City by beginning at the Hudson River near Troy, New York. The Hudson River flows into New York Bay and past the west side of Manhattan in New York City. From Troy, the canal would f -
Nat Turner
Nat Turner was an American slave who led a slave rebellion in Virginia on August 21, 1831 that resulted in 60 white deaths and at least 100 black deaths. Turner was convicted, sentenced to death, and hanged. In the aftermath, the state executed 56 blacks accused of being part of Turner's slave rebellion. Two hundred blacks were also beaten and killed by white militias and mobs reacting with violence. Across Virginia and other southern states, state legislators passed new laws prohibiting educat -
Nullification Crisis
The nullification crisis of 1832 involved the US Government wanting to enforce tariffs and South Carolina’s authority to nullify such laws. The tariffs of 1828 and 1832 had particularly negative economic implications for the state of South Carolina! When it became clear the tariffs would not be repealed, South Carolina issued the ordinance of nullification, which declared both tariffs null and void within the boundaries of the state. A new compromise tariff was issued in 1833, averting a possibl -
Grimke Sisters
Sarah and Angelina Grimke are known as the Grimke sisters. They were educators and writers who were advocates of abolitionism and women’s rights. Throughput their lives they traveled throughout the north lecturing about their first hand experiences with slavery on their family’s plantation. Among the American first women to act publicly in social reform movements, they received abuse and ridicule for their abolitionist activity. They both realized that women would have to create a safe space in -
John D. Rockefeller
Founded the first oil company and dominated the business until his retirement in 1897. He revolutionized the oil industry and set the standard for modern philanthropy. He was $663.4 billion in today's dollars. -
Abolitionism
The Abolitionist movement was a push for the freeing of all slaves. It was most prominent in churches in the North, which lead to the separation of North and South in the United States. -
Wilmot Proviso
This proviso was created to prevent slavery in any territories won from Mexico during the Mexican-American War. It was passed in the House of Representatives twice, but was stopped in Sentate both times because the South had more power in the Senate. The supporters also attempted to attach it to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; however, that also failed. This was the long-awaited attack on slavery. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
Was a bill that became a law in 1854, and it established Nebraska and Kansas as states. It allowed popular vote to decide if your people wanted a free state or a slave state. It caused a lot of turmoil with northerners wanting Kansas and Nebraska to be a free state and southerners wanting them to be slave states. Kansas voted to be a slave state, but congress declined saying they were above Missouri and they couldn’t do that. This led to many fights and ultimately the civil war. -
Dred Scott case
This was one of the most controversial cases in the Supreme Court. It was between Dred Scott, a slave whose owner had died and he was suing for freedom, and the court. A man named john Stanford in New York now owned him, but he was an abolitionist and he helped Dred get to court. Dred argued that he was in a free state so he should be a free man. The Supreme Court couldn’t reach a decision, but the chief justice said that no matter where a black man is they should not be citizens. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was a radical abolitionist whose fervent hatred of slavery led him to seize the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry in October 1859. It is widely believed his intention was to arm slaves for a rebellion, though he denied that. Hanged for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, Brown quickly became a martyr among those seeking to end slavery in America. -
President Lincoln
President Lincoln is one of the greatest presidents in American history. He ended a civil war and abolished slavery. He was killed by an angry confederate who didn't understand Lincoln's frienship with the South. -
Robert E. Lee
He was a confederate general having control of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. -
Fort Sumter
On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 pm, April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engag -
William T. Sherman
A good friend of Grant, Sherman is one of the best known generals of the Civil War. He lead the march through Georgia and the raising of Atlanta. He was thought to be schizophrenic and paranoid, but was still able to lead the Union to some of its greatest victories. -
Stonewall Jackson
A confederate general second to General Lee. He played a key part in the valley campaign in 1962. -
Antietam
Antietam was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. I twas a battle between General Lee of the Confederacy and General McClellan of the Union. The Union halted the Invasion of Maryland and this victory emboldened President Lincoln to give his Emancipation Proclamation. -
Emancipation Proclomation
In 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation. This document allowed slaves in confederate states to be free. This didn’t stop slavery though, as the document had a lot of exceptions. Including that states who were loyal didn’t have to stop slavery. -
Vicksburg
Battle during the civil war, and it was the final battle in the Vicksburg campaign. It pit Ulysses S. Grant’s army with General John Pemberton, In this battle the confederates surrendered due to lack of supplies and no reinforcements. -
Ulysses Grant
The premier general of the Union Army in the latter years of the war, Grant is credited for the Union's victory. He accepted the surrender of the Confederacy from Lee and would later become president of the U.S.A. -
13th Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On December 18, Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaimed it to have been adopted. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted after the American Civil War. -
Andrew Johnson
On Apr. 15, 1865, following Lincoln's assassination, Johnson took the oath of office as President. His Reconstruction program (and he insisted that Reconstruction was an executive, not a legislative, function) was based on the theory that the Southern states had never been out of the Union. He therefore restored civil government in the ex-Confederate states as soon as it was feasible. Because he was not prepared to grant equal civil rights to blacks and because he did not press for the wholesale -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment gave african americans the right to vote. It read "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." The amendment didn't really work until the end of the centurry. -
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull was a native american cheif. After good was discovered in South Dakota, American troops had many conflicts with the indians. Famous battles like Little Big Horn took place. Sitting Bull helped defeat the troops in that battle. He was shot and killed while getting arrested by American Troops and Indian Agents. -
Jim Crow
A set of laws that made African Americans second class citizens. It heavily opressed blacks by having laws such as, no public affection, or not allowing to offer a cigerette to any white woman. This widen the gap between blacks and whites by promoting racism and segregation. -
Compromise of 1877
This compromise also known as the "Great Betrayal" settled the disputed election of 1676 and ended the reconstruction of the South. All federal troops were removed from the former Confederate states and the new president, President Hayes, was inaugrated. -
American Federation of Labor
Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers, who served as president. It looked to secure higher payed workers, and didn't even think about the unskilled ones. Caused alot of strikes and looked for change whenever possible. Wanted shorter work weeks and better working conditions. -
Samuel Gompers
First and longest tenured president of the American Federation of Labor. He called for shorter work weeks and better working conditions. -
1894 Pullman Strike
This was a strike that began in Pullman, Illinois caused by the Depression of 1893. The CEO of the company lowered wages, but not the rent for the factory workers. They began a strike which gained momentum from other outside sources. The government got involved because of obstruction of the mail and sent in the Army when the strike failed to end. The strike caused $80 million worth of damage and killed 30 people. -
Frederick Dougalss
One of the most famous speakers of abolition durinf the 180's, Douglass was a brilliant speaker who contributed much to the freeing of the slaves. He spoke against any inequality against any race or sex. He did not completely support Lincoln as he tjought he was not for the elimination of slavery. Douglass also spent a few years in England and Ireland. Douglass was one of the most influential men of the time. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
This was a supreme court case involving a black man who violated the Separate but equal law. Plessy attempted to sit in all white railroad car, but was denied and arrested. Plessy lost the case and was found guilty, but it set up other civil rights movements by making people question their motives. -
Ida Tarbell
One of McClure's muckrakers, Ida Tarbell changed the oil business in America. A female journalist was not common in the early twentieth century, especially not one who muckraked or scandalized industry. From McClure's excerpts, Tarbell published the two volume History of Standard Oil in 1904. In it she revealed the many unfair business practices of Standard Oil and owner John Rockefeller. Tarbell became a whistle blower on the most powerful trust in America. She earned the name the Joan of Arc o -
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
This book revealed the living conditions of immigrants in America; especially those employed in the meat-packing industry. It raised the awareness of the American public and started many reforms in U.S. industry.
