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Northwest Ordinance
A method for which new states would be admitted into the union. It guaranteed that new states would be equal to the thirteen colonies. -
Louisiana Purchase
First land acquisition from the Treaty of Paris. It set a precedent for future land acquisitions. It secured the Mississippi river and provided government land. -
Missouri Compromise
Missouri applied as a slave state which threatened the balance of free and slave states. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Drew the 36'30 line for the expansion of slavery. -
Monroe Doctrine
Warned European countries to not recolonize. The British navy enforced the Monroe doctrine because military power was limited. Was used as a basis for other presidents' involvement such as Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson. -
Nullification Crisis
John C. Calhoun stated that states have the right to declare a law unconstitutional if it harms the state. Calhoun tried to nullify South Carolina's tariff. The issue of states' rights still wasn't resolved. -
Texas Annexation
Texas couldn't be admitted into the union because they wanted to be a slave state. Them admitting as a slave state would mess up the balance of power between slave and free states. Was an independent republic while the issue of slavery was settled. -
Oregon Treaty
Negotiations between the Americans and the British led to this treaty. Newspapers headlined 54'40 or fight supporting there be a war over the territory. It granted the US control south of the 49th parallel and helped avoid war. -
Mexican Cession
Contained territories that made up most of the rest of the southwest of the US. The US acquired most of it by a treaty ( that ended the Mexican-American War). Completed Manifest Destiny and gave Americans control of land from the Atlantic to the Pacific. -
Compromise of 1850
Introduced popular sovereignty which allowed voters to vote on the issue of slavery. As a result, California was admitted as a free state and there was a new fugitive slave law. The law required runaway slaves to be returned in the North. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Overturned Missouri Compromise because it allowed popular sovereignty north of the 36'30 line. Resulted in Bleeding Kansas after competition between pro-slavery and anti-slavery turned violent. In the end, it led to The Republican party. -
Bleeding Kansas
Competition between pro and anti-slavery led to this. Eventually led to Kansas being admitted into the union as a free state. -
Battle of Bull Run
The first battle of the civil war. General Thomas Jackson led the Confederacy to victory against the Union. The war shocked people, as the war didn't end quickly and people were unprepared for what the war would bring. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The battle of Fort Sumter started when confederate forces fired on the Union. The battle was short, lasting only 2 days. From there, the course and outcome of the civil war depended on economic and geographic factors. -
Battle of Antietam
The bloodiest day of the war with 23,000 soldiers laid dead or wounded. It resulted in the Union winning since General Lee of the Confederacy retreated to Virginia. With the Union winning, Lincoln found the opportunity to go through with the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Emancipation Proclamation
A document proposed by Abraham Lincoln which became a turning point in the war. The document didn't free slaves but it freed slaves in the states that were in rebellion. It also allowed African Americans to fight on the Union side during the war. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle was a victory for the Union. With 1/3 of General Lee's men being wounded or dead, he retreated back to Virginia. It was the second and last attempted for the South to invade the North. -
Battle of Vicksburg
General Ulysses S. Grant led the Union to victory. The war gave the Union control of the Mississippi River. It became the turning point in western theatre. -
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln went to the battlefield of the war to dedicate a cemetery for the soldiers that had been fallen. He gave a speech that described the civil war. He emphasized the fact that the civil war struggled to fulfill the declaration of Independence and preserving the nation. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
William Sherman led his forces to a March to the Sea. He and his forces led from the Tennessee-Georgia border and utilized various earth methods. The main purpose of the march was to capture the port at Savannah, Georgia. -
Thirteenth Amendment
This amendment ended slavery. The states in the south had to recognize the amendment before they could form governments. It was one of the reconstruction amendments. -
Congressional Reconstruction
also known as the radical republican reconstruction. The goal was to submit to the will of the federal government. The reconstruction was also meant to punish the South. -
Presidential Reconstruction
It consisted of the 10% plan where only 10% of voters in the election needed to oath to the union and accept the terms of the constitution. The plan was introduced by Lincoln and continued by Andrew Johnson. Johnson granted pardons to those who swore allegiance to the union. -
Fourteenth Amendment
One of the Reconstruction amendments. It granted all men birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship overturned the Dred Scott decision because it recognized the citizenship of African Americans. -
Fifteenth Amendment
Last of the reconstruction amendment. It allowed all men to vote. It was motivated by a desire to ensure the right to vote and to establish political power in the South. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
It emphasized the principle of separate but equal. It legalized segregation and discrimination. It also made equal protection provisions of the 14th amendment invalid and brought about more jim crow laws.