Enlightenment
Challenged traditional European systems by emphasizing individual talent and merit over inherited privilege.
What is Enlightenment
Provided local defense, engaged in guerrilla warfare, and disrupted British supply lines.
What is the Colonial Militia?
The belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America, justifying the annexation of western lands.
What is Manifest Destiny?
sought to ban slavery in territories gained
from Mexico, intensifying the sectional debate between North and South.
What is Wilmot Proviso?
A political party that promoted the slogan, “Free Soil, Free Labor,
Free Men,” opposing the expansion of slavery in western territories.
What is the Free Soil Party?
Played a key role in shaping American views on liberty, complementing Enlightenment ideas.
What is Religion?
Led the continental army in major battles and eventually became the first president of the USA
Who is George Washington?
Resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, securing U.S. control of lands in the Southwest.
What is the Mexican-American War?
Added vast territories, including California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming, raising debates over whether slavery would be permitted in these areas.
What is Mexican Cession?
argued that slavery’s expansion threatened economic opportunities for free workers.
What is the free labor movement?
Called for immediate independence from Britain, rejecting monarchy and hereditary rule in favor of a republic.
What is Thomas Paine's Common Sense?
Served as the first governing document for the United States, unifying the newly independent states under a central government with limited power
What is the Articles of Confederation?
established trade relations with Japan,
integrating it into the global economy and increasing U.S. influence in Asia.
What is the Treaty of Kanagawa?
set of laws designed to balance free and slave state interests and maintain peace between the North and South.
What is Compromise of 1850?
A political party that sought to limit immigrant rights by proposing restrictions on naturalization and banning Catholics from holding office, highlighting anti-immigrant sentiments.
What is the Know-Nothing Party?
The belief that diligent work, discipline, and frugality are spiritually significant and a way to serve God.
What is Protestant Work Ethic?
Was a turning point, where combined efforts from militias and the Continental Army secured a victory that convinced France to join the Patriot cause.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
offered 160 acres of free land to settlers who improved it.
What is the Homestead Act?
required the return of runaway enslaved people and denied fugitives the right to a jury trial, increasing abolitionist sentiment in the North and heightening sectional tensions.
What is Fugitive Slave Act?
Created the newspaper known as "The Liberator", which demanded immediate emancipation of all enslaved people and rejected compromise with slavery.
Who is William Lloyd Garrison?
Written by Thomas Jefferson, declared natural rights—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—as the foundation of government.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
A revolt by Massachusetts farmers against economic injustices and the lack of federal response highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles and the need for a more robust central government
What is Shay's Rebellion?
supported building the Transcontinental Railroad, linking eastern markets with western territories.
What is the Pacific Railway Act?
ruled that African Americans were not citizens and had no right to sue in federal court, reinforcing slavery and escalating tensions.
What is Dred Scott?
An American senator who defended slavery as a "positive good" vital for Southern society, asserting its constitutional protection and importance to states’ autonomy.
Who is John C. Calhoun?