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Missouri Compromise
•United States federal statute devised by Henry Clay
•regulated slavery in the country's western territories
•prohibited the practice in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north, except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri -
Monroe Doctrine
•originated by President James Monroe •any intervention by external powers in the politics of the Americas is a potentially hostile act against the US •Created at time when Latin America was becoming independent from parent countries -
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Battle of the Alamo
•following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna attacked the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio), Texas, United States, killing all of the Texian defenders •Santa Anna's inspired many to join the Texian Army •the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution -
Panic of 1837
•a financial crisis in the United States •touched off a major recession that lasted until the mid-1840s •Profits, prices, and wages went down while unemployment went up •Pessimism abounded during the time. -
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Trail of Tears
•series of forced relocations of Natives in the US after the Indian Removal Act of 1830 •relocated people suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while on route •more than 10,000 died before reaching their destination •Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw tribes were forced to an area west of the Mississippi River designated as Native Territory •"Trail of Tears" came from a description of the removal of the Cherokee Nation in 1838 -
Sutter's Fort
•19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican Alta California province •originally called New Helvetia (New Switzerland) by its builder John Sutter •first non-Indigenous community in the California Central Valley •famous for its association with the Donner Party, the California Gold Rush, and the formation of Sacramento •notable for its proximity to the end of the California Trail and Siskiyou Trails, which it served as a waystation -
Pre-emption Act
•statute passed by the U.S. Congress •response to the demands of the Western states that squatters be allowed to preempt lands •pioneers often settled on public lands before they could be surveyed/auctioned by the government -
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Bear Flag Revolt
•a small group of American settlers in California rebelled against the Mexican government and proclaimed California an independent republic •soon after the Bear Flag was raised, the U.S. military began occupying California •California joined the union in 1850 •the Bear Flag became the official state flag in 1911 -
Compromise of 1850
•a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 •defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War (1846–48) -
Fugitive Slave Act
•part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave-holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers •required that all escaped slaves were, upon capture, to be returned to their masters and that officials and citizens of free states had to cooperate in this law •abolitionists called it the "Bloodhound Law" because of the dogs that were used to track down runaway slaves -
Gadsden Purchase
•region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico purchased by the U.S. •treaty signed on December 30, 1853 by James Gadsden who was the American ambassador to Mexico •it was ratified by the U.S. Senate on April 25, 1854, and signed by 14th President Franklin Pierce, with final approval action taken by Mexico's government and their General Congress on June 8, 1854 •last territorial acquisition in the contiguous United States to add a large area to the country -
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Bleeding Kansas
series of violent political confrontations in the United States involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery elements in Kansas between 1854 and 1861 -
Dred Scott Decision
•decision by the Supreme Court in which it held that a black man whose parents came to the U.S. as slaves could not be an American citizen and couldn’t sue in federal court •federal government had no power to regulate slavery in federal territories acquired after the creation of the U.S. •Dred Scott attempted to sue for his freedom •7–2 decision denied Scott's request •only the second time Supreme Court ruled an Act of Congress to be unconstitutional -
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Harper's Ferry
•Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. It was formerly Harper's Ferry with an apostrophe •Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown's raid on the Armory in 1859 and its role in the American Civil War -
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American Civil War
•the Union faced secessionists in the Confederate States of America •the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U.S. history. •7 Southern states seceded from the U.S. to form the Confederate States of America •War broke out in April 1861 when they attacked Fort Sumter •The war had its origin in the issue of slavery •Four years of war left 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers dead •The Confederacy collapsed and slavery was abolished -
Emancipation Proclamation
•issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. •declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Gettysburg Address
•speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of Soldier's National Cemetery •cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle Of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.