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Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney was an American inventor who created the cotton gin and pushed the “interchangeable parts” mode of production. By the mid-1800s, Southern cotton production had risen by a stratospheric amount from the previous century, with more than a million bales of cotton being produced by 1840. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana territory encompassed all or part of 15 present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. At the time Thomas Jefferson was pesident. The purchase faced domestic opposition because it was thought to be unconstitutional. Although the U.S. Constitution did not contain provisions for acquiring territory, Jefferson decided to go ahead with the purchase in order to remove France's presence in the region and gain access to New Orleans ports and free passage on the Mississippi River. -
Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark were the first American's to go on an expedition across what is now the western portion of the United States. The expedition consisted of a select group of U.S. Army volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. The duration of their journey lasted from May 1804 to September 1806. The primary objective was to explore and map the newly acquired territory. -
Missouri Compromise
To maintain balance between slave states and free states, the Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a salve state and Maine as a free state. Slavery was banned in any part of the Lousisana Territory above the 36 30 latitude line. -
Monroe Doctrine
James Monroe formally announced to Congress what would become known as the "Monroe Doctrine." The policy stated that the Americas should be free from future European colonization, and that any interference with independent countries in the Americas would be considered a hostile act toward the United States. -
Erie Canal
It was the first transportation system between the eastern seaboard and the western interior of the United States that did not require portage, was faster than carts pulled by draft animals, and cut transport costs by about 95%. -
Nat Turner
Nat Turner was the leader of a violent slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831. -
Nullification Crisis
nullification: an act by which a state will nullify or invalidate a federal law within its borders that it deems unconstitutional South Carolina refused to pay a tariff created by President Andrew Jackson. Jackson told them that if they did not pay, it was treason. A year later, the Compromise Tariff was created that both sides could agree on. -
Grimke Sisters
Angelina and Sarah Grimke were two sisters from the South who supported the abolitionist movement. Together they wrote several works speaking out against slavery. The were the first women to do anything like this, causing a slight uproar in society. Some of their most famous pieces are Appeal To Christian Women of the South and Epsitle To The Clergymen Of The South. -
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was an American journalistic crusader who helped lead the successful abolitionist campaign against slavery in the United States -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. This attitude helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico. -
Wilmot Proviso
An amendment to a bill put before the House of Representatives which would have banned slavery in any territory aquired from Mexico. It passed the House of Representative, but was rejected by the southern members of the Senate. -
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an early leader of the woman's rights movement, writing the Declaration of Sentiments as a call to arms for female equality. -
Seneca Falls Conference
An early and influential women's rights convention, the first to be organized by women in the Western world, in Seneca Falls, New York. The meeting spanned two days, 19 and 20 July 1848, and had six sessions, included a lecture on law, a humorous presentation, and multiple discussions about the role of women in society. Stanton and the Quaker women presented two prepared documents, the Declaration of Sentiments. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Allowed slavery in the southern states. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott, a slave, brought a case to Supreme Court saying that he had previously lived in a state which no longer permitted slavery. He hoped that this would grant him his freedom. The Supreme Court ruled that blacks could never be citizens, therefore Scott had no right to bring a case to court. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown led a small raid of men to capture all of the weapons at Harpers Ferry. His goal was to destroy the slavery system in the South. He succeeded in capturing the weapons, but was quickly stopped from overtaking the town by federal troops. -
Fort Sumter
The first shots that intiated the Civil War were fired here The Battle of Fort Sumner took place on April 12th, 1861, when the Confederate forces open fire on the fort and the next day it was surrendered and evactauted, making it a Confederate victory. The Union formally took it back on Feb 22nd, 1865. Off the South Carolina coast in the Charleston Harbor -
Jefferson Davis
An American statesman and President of the American Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. -
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Abraham Lincoln
The 16th president of the United States opposed slavery and wrote the Emancipcation Proclimation. After the Civil War was nearly ended, he encouraged the southerners to accept the peace and rejoin the Union. Shortly after being reelected, he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865. -
Stonewall Jackson
Jackson was promoted to General of the Confederate troops. He was a successful leader, acquiring many Confederate victories. He died in 1863, after being shot and having his arm amputated. He died on pneumonia which was complicated by the amputation. -
Vicksburg
The Siege of Vickburg took place from May 18th to July 4th, 1862. The Union army drove the confederates into defensive positions surronding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Confederate forces surrended on July 4th and it ended in Union Victory. This is often looked at as a turning point in the Civil War. This event also cut off communication with the Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department for the remainder of the war. -
Antietam
The first major battle of the Civil War to take place on Union soil. The bloodiest single day battle to ever take in American history, with 22,717 dead, wounded, and missing on both forces combined. Union forces launched first attack, and it ended in Union victory. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on Jan 1st, 1863 by President Lincoln. This document said that all slaves in confederate terriotory "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." -
The Battle of Gettsyburg
The Battle of Gettysburg took place from July 1st to July 3rd, 1863 in and around Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largets number of casualties in the American Civil War. The Union defeated attacks from the Confederates and ended General Lee's invasion of the North. Often looked at as truning point in the Civil War, along with the Seige of Vicksburg. -
William T. Sherman
Served as general under Ulysses S. Grant in Union army. -
Battle of Atlanta
The Battle for Atlanta took place on Jult 22nd, 1864 just southeast of the city. Continuing their campaign to take important railways and supply lines, Union forces overwhelmed and defeated the Confederare forces. The city did fall until September 2nd, 1864. This Union victory worked out well for the North, boosting their morale and helping in President Lincoln's reelection. It also led Union troops further South. -
Abolitionism
This was a fight to abolish slavery in America. Slavery in the territories remained one of the most divisive issues in U.S. politics until the end of the Civil War in 1865. At this time the thirteenth amendment was added to the constitution. This amendment outlawed slavery. -
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson became the 17th President of the United States on April after the assasination of Abraham Lincoln
He favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union. His lenient Reconstruction policies toward the South, and his vetoing of Reconstruction acts, embittered Republicans in Congress and led to his political downfall and impeachment, though he was acquitted. -
The 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. -
The 14th Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.This amendment provides a definition of a citizen of this country. This amendment provides that all states will provide equal protection to everyone within their jurisdiction. It provides due process under the law and equally provides all constitutional rights to all citizens of this country, regardless of race, sex, religious beliefs and creed. -
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Ulysses S. Grant
During the Civil War, Grant was the military leader who fought head to head with Lee. To end the war, he defeated Lee's Confederate army. After being a succesful general for the Union during the Civil War, he was elected as the 18th president of the United States. -
The 15th Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870. It prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude" The Fifteenth Amendment is one of the Reconstruction Amendments. -
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison is considered to be one of the greatest inventors in all of hisotry. He invented the first motion picture camera and the phonograph and improved upon the light bulb. -
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull was a Teton Dakota Indian chief. He was the leader when the Sioux tribes united in their struggle for survival on the North American Great Plains. He defeated Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn. -
Jim Crow
Jim Crow laws were laws in the Southern states that forced racial segregation in all public facilities. They ended in 1964 due to the Civil Rights Act. -
John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller was an entrepreneur and the head of the Standard Oil Company. He was one of the world's richest men and devoted a large amount of his time and money to philanthropy. -
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
This was the first major law restricting immigration to the united States. It was signed by Chester A. Arthur. workers were scared that they would lost their jobs to the chinese workers that required little wages. -
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was the first permanent national labor movement in America, It joined with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955. -
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was one of the most significant people in the history of the Americsan labor movement. He founded the American Federation of Labor and served as the first president. -
Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877, which is also known as "The Great Betrayal," was an informal unwritten deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election and ended the Reconstruction in the South.
Allies of the Republican candidate secretly met with Democrats and an agreement was made. Democrats would not block the candidate's victory as long as Republicans withdrew federal troops in the South, which would place Democrats back in power in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. -
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass, a former slave and eminent human rights leader in the abolition movement, was the first black citizen to hold a high U.S. government rank. -
Wounded Knee
The Wounded Knee massacre was the final clash between the Sioux and the federal troops. -
Ellis Island
Ellis Island opened in 1892 and was the busiest immigration inspection station during its time. Millions of immigrant coming to the United States passed through the island until its closing in 1954. -
Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike began when he workers of Pullman Palace Car Company walked out over failed negotiations of declining wages. Although the boycott started in chicago, it damaged railroad traffic nationwide. The strike ended when the governement imposed an injunction, but George Pullman was widely critized because of the treatment of his workers. -
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate troops during the Civil War. For a long time, his military genius was unmatched until Ulysses S. Grant came into control of the Union troops. Their two armies faced off in 1894, with the battle finally ending with a Union win in 1865. This ended the Civil War. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v Fergusn was a Supreem Court case that confirmed the principle of "seperate but equal" and segregation. Homer Plessy was one-eighth black and was found guilty of refusing to leave the white car. both the Supreme court of Luoisiana and the Unsited States found this constitutional. -
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
The Jungle was a novel by Upton Sinclair that portrayed the lives of immigrants in the United States. It emphasised the bad conditions in the meat packing industry. Due to the novel, the government imposed inspection laws on indutries. -
Ida Tarbell
ida Tarbell was an American journalist. She was best known for her investigative reporting that led the the breakup of the Standard Oil Company. She was often called a "muckraker" which is a term for a person who giver=s informaton for political advantage.