Expansion & Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
19th century belief that the U.S. was destined by god to expand dominion and spread democracy across the North American continent
What abolitionist attack sent shock waves throughout the South and was a major catalyst for the Civil War?
John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
How did President Lincoln respond to the secession of the Southern states?
Lincoln denied that states had any lawful right to leave the Union.
What were the Black Codes?
Even though slavery was abolished, it left a legacy of prejudice and discrimination. Southern legislature enacted laws known as Black Codes to limit freedmen's basic civil and economic rights. Black people could not serve on juries, marry white people, carry weapons, assemble in groups, or pursue any occupation other than agricultural work.
What is the 13th Amendment?
The Thirteenth Amendment formally abolished slavery. Lincoln believed freedmen should receive suffrage because they "demonstrated in blood their right to the ballot"
What was the aftermath of the Mexican-American war?
The increase in land created the argument on the topic of the expansion of slavery
What was the Wilmot Proviso and how did the North and South respond?
A failed proposal to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American war. The South claimed it was a "long postponed attack on slavery", and the North feared the South's slave power would overcome the government, and rose tensions.
What happened to the newly freed slaves in the south?
While 4 million black people were freed, existing laws still denied them legal equality and the right to vote. Frederick Douglass described the freed slave's plight as having nothing.
What was the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and its subsequent effects?
The Act sought to protect the rights of black people, declaring black people were American citizens who had the same rights as white people. President Andrew Johnson stunned congress by vetoing the bill, claiming it was an unwarranted extension of federal power that would "foment discord among the races". Johnson's veto infuriated Republicans who successfully overrode his veto. The struggle over the Black Codes and the Civil Rights Act marked the beginning of a contest of wills between Johnson and Congress.
What is the 14th Amendment
The Republican majority in Congress feared that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 would be unenforced or declared unconstitutional. These concerns prompted congress to pass the 14th amendment, granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.
What 2 reasons caused Texas to split from Mexico?
The rapid growth of the Anglo-American population in Mexico alarmed officials. In 1830, The Mexican government announced slaves could no longer be brought into any part of Mexico, and Americans could no longer settle in Texas.
What was the Kansas-Nebraska act and its subsequent effects?
The Kansas-Nebraska act organized the Kansas and Nebraska territories, and allowed people to vote on whether slavery should be allowed. It infuriated Northerners, as it violated the Missouri Compromise, and led to Bleeding Kansas, a violent battleground between Pro and Anti slavery settlers.
How did the Emancipation Proclamation affect the war effort?
It strengthened the Union's moral cause, as they were fighting against slavery, and with slavery doomed, public opinion in Britain and France swung decisively behind the Union cause, ending the chance they would support the Confederacy.
What was the Compromise of 1877 & what caused it?
The 1876 election was disputed between Democrat Samuel Tilden and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. Mounting tensions caused Republican and Democrat to reach an agreement; Hayes would win the election in return for the federal troops to be pulled out of the South. The Compromise of 1877 ended reconstruction in the South
What is the 15th Amendment
Last of the three Reconstruction Amendments. It forbade either the federal government or the states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". The 15th Amendment left women's rights activists feeling angry and outraged, as the ex-slaves were allowed to vote and women were not. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton actively opposed passage of the 15th Amendment
What 2 events most contributed to the outbreak of the Mexican-American war?
The Annexation of Texas enraged Mexico, which President Polk rebutted, increasing tensions. Polk demanded congress declare war on Mexico after a Mexican cavalry attacked a U.S. unit in a disputed region.
What was the Dred Scott decision?
A decision that ruled free and enslaved black people were not citizens and had no rights, and also invalidated the Missouri Compromise, angering many Northerners.
What were the advantages and disadvantages of the North and South? (100 points for each of 4 questions)
North Advantages: The North had a stronger industrial base, a significant population advantage, and presidential leadership.
Disadvantages: The north lacked able military commanders.
South Advantages: The South enjoyed fighting a defensive war, possessed exceptional commanders, including Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, and a hold on Britain and France, as 3/4 of their cotton came from the South (although the South overestimated their hold).
Disadvantages: The disparities in population, industrial capacity, and railroad mileage meant the South could not sustain a prolonged war. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was an ineffective political and military leader, and although the Confederacy was founded on States' Rights, they required a strong central government to conduct an efficient war effort.
What was Sharecropping?
Sharecropping was a system very similar to slavery. When slaves were freed, landowners needed labor to farm their massive land, and both poor black and white people exchanged their labor for use of the land, and gave the landowner half the crop as payment for using his land. However, high interest rates (up to 50%) and having to borrow food, clothing, and tools kept farmers in an inescapable spiral of debt. The problem of perpetual debt led to the Great Migration.
Describe Abraham Lincoln and his accomplishments.
Abraham Lincoln is recognized as one of the most well renowned presidents, famous for abolishing slavery, delivering the Gettysburg Address, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, and fighting to preserve the union. Lincoln was the very first Republican president. The Gettysburg address is dedicated to the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and redefined the war as a struggle for equality. The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order that declared free all enslaved people in the Confederate states and shifted the war cause to include abolition. He was also the tallest president, especially for his time.
Henry David Thoreau & Transcendentalism
Henry David Thoreau was a transcendentalist essayist who opposed the Mexican-American war. He wrote the classic essay, "Civil Disobedience" urging passive resistance to laws that required a citizen "to be an agent of injustice". Thoreau's writing went on to inspire Martin Luther King.
What was the Crittenden Compromise, its outcome, and its effects?
The Crittenden Compromise was a last attempt to save the union by proposing the Missouri Compromise line be extended to the West Coast. Lincoln rejected the compromise because it violated the Republican stance against the expansion of slavery.
Who frequently used the Emancipation Proclamation as a historical reference and how?
Martin Luther King Jr used the Emancipation Proclamation as a point of historic reference, and in his "I Have a Dream" speech, he called the proclamation a "great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves", but still reminded his vast audience that 100 years later, black people were still cripple by the manacles of segregation, and the chains of discrimination. Less than one year later, the Civil Rights Act was passed, barring discrimination in public facilities.
What were the similarities and differences between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois?
Both men were prominent, yet fundamentally different black leaders. Washington believed accepting the situation and that achieving economic success would lead to political rights, while Du Bois argued that protest, litigation, and ceaseless agitation would achieve equal rights.
Washington's beliefs: Slavery led to racism, and economic success would lead to equal rights. Passive
Du Bois' beliefs: Racism led to slavery, and had to fight for equal rights. Resistant
Who was Frederick Douglass & his relation to Lincoln.
Frederick Douglass was the preeminent 19th century African-American abolitionist leader, author, and orator. He was born a slave who was separated from his mother, endured harsh labor and abuse, but taught himself to read before escaping in 1838 when he was 20. Initially, Douglass was critical of Lincoln for not enforcing emancipation, but became a key ally to him, even aiding him in his re-election. Douglass stated that Lincoln was the black man's president.