People
This first Republican President, perhaps surprisingly, sought to preserve the Union in his first inaugural address rather than advocating for emancipation.
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
These Native Nations were collectively known as this. They were famously removed from their southeastern homelands to Indian Territory via the Trail of Tears.
What are the Five Tribes?
The Fugitive Slave Law infringed upon states' rights in this region, forcing its citizens to protect the system of slavery.
What is the North?
Andrew Jackson famously defied the Supreme Court in the aftermath of this controversial and contested law which narrowly passed in 1830.
What is the Indian Removal Act?
During talks of annexation in the 1840s, Charles O'Sullivan coined this term that quickly became a rallying cry for American expansionists, arguing that continental expansion westward was inevitable and Americans' right.
What is Manifest Destiny?
This anti-slavery proponent gained popularity in the 1850s for his radical abolitionism in western territories. At the end of the decade, he was captured by the Commonwealth of Virginia for inciting a raid and inciting a slave insurrection on Harper's Ferry.
Who is John Brown?
Using their letters and diaries, historian Charles Dew traces the ways these orators worked to persuade southern states to leave the Union.
What are Secession Commissioners?
This former capital of the Confederate States of America was the site of controversy in 1999 over displaying a larger than life portrait of Robert E. Lee, the leader of the CSA army.
What is Richmond, Virginia?
The victory of the Union in the Civil War helped implement Republican's vision for the West including the Trans-Continental Railroad and westward settlement as enabled by this 1862 law.
What is the Homestead Act?
This 400-mile engineering feat reduced the cost of shipping, enabled local markets to become national and was a key example of the "internal improvements" Whigs such as Henry Clay centered their campaigns around.
What is the Erie Canal?
This expansionist president welcomed the War with Mexico in the 1840s, seeing it as a way to acquire northern Mexico and even attempted a coup on the Mexican government. Dr. Malka even labeled the war as ___'s War.
Who is James K. Polk?
These politicians had made significant headway in 1862 toward limiting slavery including legislation that forbade the army from returning fugitive slaves, created a treaty with England to suppress the slave trade, provided compensated emancipation for D.C. slaveholders, and abolished slavery for good in western territories.
Who are the Radical Republicans?
This state, which did not vote in the 1860 Presidential election, was the first to secede from the Union with their "Declaration of Immediate Causes."
What is South Carolina?
Thousands of abolitionists and pro-slavery advocates flooded western territories where popular sovereignty would determine if a territory would become a slave states or not as outlined by this 1854 law.
What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
This counter to Jeffersonian freedom relied on the market revolution of the 19th century as well as the rise of American factories, fundamentally changing ideas about "free labor."
What is wage freedom?
Often called "The Father of Texas", he brought hundreds of Anglos and their slaves to northern Mexico in the 1825. On the eve of the Texas Revolution, he led the Peace Party and eventually lost a bid for the President of Texas but was selected as its first Secretary of State.
Who is Stephen F. Austin?
These white newcomers to northern Mexico often clashed with Tejanos over national allegiances and debates over slavery.
What are Texians?
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war with Mexico and clarified the U.S.border with Mexico was located here.
What is the Rio Grande?
This post-war amendment clarified the citizenship status of formerly enslaved people and granted equal protection under the law after its ratification in 1868.
What is the 14th Amendment?
Enslavers envisioned themselves as father figures toward their slaves, claiming they were part of their family in a concept called this.
What is paternalism?
In 1853, this man escaped slavery and began working in Boston but was captured under the Fugitive Slave Law the following year. His case captured the nation's attention and fueled protests. Eventually, Bostonians purchased his freedom and he studied at Oberlin College.
Who was Anthony Burns?
General Benjamin Butler famously referred to enslaved people in the South as this term--defined as materials too dangerous to be allowed back in Confederates' hands.
What are Contrabands (of war)?
The bloodiest battle of the Civil War was fought here in September 1862 and gave President Lincoln the political cover to issue the Emancipation Proclamation on New Year's Day in 1863.
What is Antietam?
In 1861 and again in 1862, Congress passed these laws. The first authorized the seizure of all property used in "aiding, abetting, and promoting the rebellion." The second freed enslaved people of all disloyal rebels.
What are the Confiscation Acts?
Post-war economic changes ushered in this new way of thinking about society. It retooled a famous scientist's biological theory to argue why some Americans were successful geniuses and some weren't--mainly due to their poor character.
What is Social Darwinism?