"Who’s Who"
He was the 16th President of the United States, renowned for issuing the iconic Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and delivering the famous Gettysburg Address.
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
This significant event in American history began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.
What is The California Gold Rush?
This package of five bills was passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 to defuse tensions between slave and free states in the years leading up to the American Civil War.
What is The Compromise of 1850?
This party, established in 1828 and led by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, initially emphasized individual rights and state sovereignty, opposing banks and high tariffs.
What is the The Democratic Party?
Published in 1852, this novel depicts the harsh realities of slavery through the life and trials of an enslaved man. It was instrumental in shaping Northern public opinion against slavery and contributed to the growing abolitionist movement.
What is "Uncle Tom's Cabin"?
She was an influential American author and abolitionist, best known for her novel depicting the harsh realities of slavery. Her work profoundly impacted attitudes toward slavery in the United States and abroad.
Who is Harriot Beecher Stowe?
Also known as the California Republic, this short-lived, unrecognized state lasted only 25 days before being incorporated into the United States and becoming a state in 1850.
What is the Bear Flag Republic?
This term refers to a series of resolutions focusing on states' rights, nullification, and slavery. They were part of the broader debate over the expansion of slavery and states' rights leading up to the American Civil War.
What are the Calhoun Resolutions?
This party, formed by conservative former Whigs and Know-Nothing Party members before the 1860 election, aimed to prevent secession over slavery. Their platform focused on upholding the Constitution, the Union, and enforcing laws.
What is the Constitutional Union Party?
He was a prominent American politician who played a significant role in the early 19th century. Known as the "Great Compromiser," he was recognized for his ability to mediate between conflicting factions and resolve sectional crises.
Who is Henry Clay?
This term refers to the group of people who flocked to California during the peak year of the California Gold Rush. Coming from all over the world, they sought fortune and new opportunities.
Who are the Forty-Niners?
The term was first used by journalist John L. O'Sullivan in 1845 and became a rallying cry for westward expansion. Proponents claimed that this expansion was inevitable, justified, and ordained by God.
What is Manifest Destiny?
This Act of 1850 was a controversial law passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. It required that escaped slaves be returned to their enslavers upon capture and mandated that officials and citizens of free states cooperate in this process.
What is the Fugitive Slave Act?
This party, also known as the GOP (Grand Old Party), was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of slavery into the western territories.
What is the Republican Party?
He was a prominent American abolitionist who believed in using force to end slavery. His legacy is complex: some view him as a martyr and hero in the fight against slavery, while others see him as a fanatic and terrorist.
Who is John Brown?
He was the 12th President of the United States, known as "Old Rough and Ready" for his leadership style. Before becoming president, he had a career as a military officer.
Who is Zachary Taylor?
This term refers to a series of violent confrontations in a particular territory between 1854 and 1861. These conflicts arose from the debate over whether the state should enter the Union as a free state or a slave state.
What is Bleeding Kansas?
This act effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30'. It led to a period of violent conflict known as "Bleeding Kansas."
What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
This political party was formed in the United States in 1834 to oppose President Andrew Jackson's policies. Led by figures like Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, it supported the American System.
What is the Whig Party?
Also known as the CSA, this was a group of 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States in 1860 and 1861. They formed their own government, declared independence, and elected Jefferson Davis as President.
What is the Confederate States of America?
He was an enslaved African American man who became the plaintiff in the infamous 1857 case. He, his wife Harriet, and their two daughters sued for their freedom on the grounds that they had lived in free territories where slavery was illegal.
Who is Dred Scot?
The famous battle at this fortress was a pivotal event in Texas history. A small group of Texan defenders held out against a much larger Mexican force, but ultimately, all the defenders were killed.
What is Alamo?
This was a formal declaration by which a state announced its intention to secede from the United States of America. These ordinances were drafted and ratified by several Southern states in 1860 and 1861, at the onset of the American Civil War.
What is the Ordinance of Secession?
Also known as the American Party, this political movement in the United States during the 1850s supported anti-immigration policies, anti-Catholicism, and stricter naturalization laws.
What is the Know-Nothing Party?
The battle at this fort began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces bombarded it, leading to its surrender by Union forces on April 13, 1861. This event marked the beginning of the Civil War.
What is Fort Sumter?