"His Accidency"& Friends
This "Hero of Tippecanoe" served the shortest term in U.S. history—only 31 days.
William Henry Harrison
This two-word phrase describes the 19th-century belief that the U.S. was divinely ordained to expand across the continent.
Manifest Destiny
This invention, nicknamed the "Victorian Internet," allowed for near-instant communication across the country.
The Typewriter
This 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe humanized the victims of slavery and outraged the North.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The 1860 election of this man, without a single Southern electoral vote, triggered secession.
Abraham Lincoln
After Harrison died, this man became the first Vice President to succeed to the presidency, earning the nickname "His Accidency."
John Tyler
To avoid sectional conflict over slavery, Martin Van Buren originally blocked the annexation of this future "Lone Star" state.
Texas
This agricultural scientist is famous for his work with peanuts and sweet potatoes.
George Washington Carver
This part of the Compromise of 1850 was the most hated in the North, as it required citizens to help catch runaway slaves.
The Fugitive Slave Act
This radical abolitionist led a failed 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
John Brown
This President’s "Independent Treasury" system was designed to divorce federal funds from private banks.
Martin Van Buren
Daily Double
This 1853 land purchase from Mexico was intended to provide a southern route for the transcontinental railroad.
Gadsden Purchase
This method of barrel making creates grooves inside the barrel spin the bullet, dramatically increasing accuracy and range up to 500 yards.
Rifling
This Illinois Senator proposed "Popular Sovereignty" in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
Stephen Douglas
This was the first state to secede from the Union following the election of 1860.
South Carolina
Often ranked as one of the worst presidents, he stood by passively as South Carolina and other states began to secede.
James Buchanan
Martin Van Buren oversaw the tragic final forced removals of the Cherokee people, an event known by this name.
The Trail of Tears
This style of ammunition involved a soft lead bullet with a hollow base that expands upon firing to grip the rifling grooves.
The Minié Ball
In 1856, Preston Brooks used a cane to transition a political debate into a physical assault on this Senator.
Charles Sumner
This specific concept allowed settlers in new territories to vote on whether or not to allow slavery.
Popular Sovereignty
This president died in 1850, he was a hero of the Mexican-American War and was succeeded by Millard Fillmore.
Zachary Taylor
This term refers to the period "before the war," specifically the era from 1837 to 1861 covered in the slides.
Antebellum
The creation and adoption of railroads would end up alienating this part of the country, and as a result that region had considerably fewer railroads.
The South
This Chief Justice wrote the majority opinion in the Dred Scott case, ruling that Black people were not citizens.
Roger Taney
This was the target of John Brown and other radical abolitionists, who were attempting (and failed) to capture an armory and spark a slave rebellion.
Harpers Ferry, Virginia