Building a Nation
This was the first constitution of the United States, but it gave the federal government very little power.
Articles of Confederation
This crop was the backbone of the Southern economy before the Civil War.
Cotton
This woman escaped slavery and helped hundreds of enslaved people find freedom through the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman
Fort fired on by the Confederates in April of 1861 in South Carolina.
Fort Sumter
The period after the Civil War, when the South was rebuilt and freedmen gained new rights, is called this.
Reconstruction Era
This 1786 rebellion by farmers in Massachusetts revealed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
Shays' Rebellion
This invention by Eli Whitney in 1793 made cotton production far more profitable, but increased the demand for slaves.
Cotton Gin
Thomas Jefferson originally included a criticism of slavery in this document, but it was removed before final approval.
Declaration of Independence
This president’s election in 1860 was the final straw that led Southern states to secede.
Abraham Lincoln
This plan required only a small percentage of Southern voters to swear loyalty before rejoining the Union.
Lincoln's 10% Plan
Known as the “Father of the Constitution,” this man helped write the Federalist Papers and the Bill of Rights.
James Madison
This 1831 rebellion in Virginia, led by an enslaved preacher, killed around 60 whites and spread fear of slave uprisings.
Nat Turner's Rebellion
This man assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
John Wilkes Booth
This September 1862 battle was the bloodiest single day in U.S. history
Battle of Antietam
This agency helped freed slaves with education, food, and housing during Reconstruction.
Freedmen's Bureau
This compromise at the Constitutional Convention created a two-house Congress, with the Senate and House of Representatives.
The Great Compromise
These government projects in the 1930s interviewed thousands of formerly enslaved people about their lives.
Slave Narratives Project
This radical abolitionist led a violent raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, hoping to start a slave revolt.
John Brown
This battle in 1863 was the turning point of the Civil War, followed by Lincoln’s famous speech honoring fallen soldiers.
Battle of Gettysburg and Gettysburg Address
This system of farming often kept freedmen in poverty, trapping them in cycles of debt.
Sharecropping
These two groups debated the new Constitution: one group wanted a stronger central government, while the other feared it would take away individual rights.
Enslaved people maintained traditions through religion, music, and family bonds. Historians call this shared way of life
Slave Culture
This 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe exposed the cruelties of slavery and increased anti-slavery sentiment in the North.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
This 1863 document issued by Lincoln freed enslaved people in the Confederate states.
Emancipation Proclamation
These three amendments abolished slavery, granted citizenship, and protected voting rights.
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments