-
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was an emotional upsurge of certain beliefs in the U.S. in the 1840's and 1850's. Citizens of the U.S. believed they should spread their democratic government over the entire of North America. The campaign of 1844 was included in this new surge. James K. Polk represented the Democrats while HenryClay was nominated by the Whigs. Polk ran mostly on a Manifest Destiny platform and since he was elected, America essentially voted for Manifest Destiny and for expansion -
Wilmot Provisio
In 1848, the main dispute was over whether or not any Mexican territory that America had won during the Mexican War should be free or slave territory. A representative named David Wilmot introduced an amendment stating that any territory acquired from Mexico would be free. This amendment passed the House twice, but failed to ever pass in Senate. The "Wilmot Proviso", as it became known as, became a symbol of how intense the dispute over slavery was in the U.S. -
Treaty Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty with Mexico ended the Mexican American War. It sold the United States all of the southwest for 15 million dollars in agreement that the rights and religion of the Mexican inhabitants of this land would be recognized by the United States government. It was drawn up by Nicholas P. Trist and sent to Congress. but it started a whole new debate about the extension of slavery, with Northerners rallying around the Wilmot Proviso however, the Southerners shot it down -
Period: to
Time Period 5
-
Fugitive Slave Law
This law was passed just before the Civil War and also called the "Bloodhound Bill.” Slaves who escaped could not testify in their behalf and were not allowed a trial by jury. If the judge in the case freed the slave, the judge would receive five dollars, if not he would get ten dollars. Officers were expected to help catch runaway slaves. Those found helping slaves would be fined or jailed. This added to the rage in the North. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a popular book that awakened the passions of the North toward the evils of slavery. The South cried foul saying Stowe’s portrayal of slavery was wrong and unfair. The book helped Britain stay out of the Civil War because its people, who had read the book and had now denounced slavery because they sympathized with Uncle Tom, wouldn’t allow intervention on behalf of the South. -
Pottawatomie Creek
John Brown, a crazy man (literally), led a band of followers to Pottawatomie Creek in May of 1856 and hacked to death five presumable pro-slaveryites.This brutal violence surprised even the most ardent abolitionists and brought swift retaliation from pro-slaveryites. “Bleeding Kansas” was earning its name. -
Panic of 1857
This economic recession started due to the California gold rush that increased inflation and due to over-speculation in land and railroads that "ripped economic fabric." It hit the North harder than the South because the South had cotton as a staple source of income. Their avoidance of the recession puffed-up the South’s belief that cotton was indeed king. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
This raid occurred in October of 1859. John Brown of Kansas attempted to create a major revolt among the slaves. He wanted to ride down the river and provide the slaves with arms from the Northern arsenal, but he failed to get the slaves organized. Brown was captured. The effects of Harper's Ferry raid were as such: the South saw the act as one of treason and were encouraged to separate from the U.S., and the North saw Brown as a martyr to the abolitionist cause. -
Anaconda Plan
The Union strategy turned to total war The plan included
Suffocate the South through an oceanic blockade.
Free the slaves to undermine the South’s very economic foundations.
Cut the Confederacy in half by seizing control of the Mississippi River.
Chop the Confederacy to pieces by marching through Georgia and the Carolinas.
Capture its capital, Richmond, Virginia.
Try everywhere to engage the enemy’s main strength and grind it to submission. -
The Homestead Act 1862
In 1862 Congress also passed the Homestead Act which granted 160 acres of land for free to anyone over the age of 21 who had never taken up arms against the US government as long as they made improvements to the land within 5 years and this included women immigrants and African Americans. The Homestead act was the wartime of the ideas of the free-soil movement to populate Western lands with small independent farmers rather than slaveholders on giant plantations. -
Pacific Railway Act
The expansion of the railroad was one way that the federal government facilitated westward migration in 1862. Congress passed the Pacific railway act which granted railroad companies more than 100 million acres in order to complete a transcontinental railroad which they did in 1869. The transcontinental railroad reduced the time had taken to get across the country from 5 months to just 6 days which made traveling and transporting goods to and from the West much easier. -
Gettysburg
In the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863), General George Pickett led a hopeless, bloody, and pitiful charge across a field that ended in the pig-slaughter of Confederates. A few months later, Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address, which added moral purpose to the war saying a new goal was to make sure those who’d been killed had not died in vain. -
10% plan
This was Lincoln's Reconstruction plan. Written in 1863, it proclaimed that a state could be reintegrated into the Union when 10% of its voters in the 1860 election pledged their allegiance to the U.S. and pledged to abide by emancipation, and then formally erect their state governments. This plan was very lenient to the South, and would have meant an easy Reconstruction. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln needed to announce his Emancipation Proclamation, which didn’t actually free the slaves, but gave a general idea; it was announced on January 1, 1863. Lincoln said the slaves would be free in the seceded states (but NOT the border states as doing so might anger them into seceding too). Now, the war wasn’t just to save the Union, it was to free the slaves a well. This gave the war a moral purpose (end slavery) to go with its political purpose (restore the union). -
Black Codes
In order to control the freed Blacks, many Southern states passed Black Codes, laws aimed at keeping the Black population in submission and workers in the fields; some were harsh, others were not as harsh. The codes forbade Blacks from serving on a jury and some even barred Blacks from renting or leasing land. Black Codes made many abolitionists wonder if the price of the Civil War was worth it since Blacks were hardly better after the war than before the war. -
13th Amendment
Focused on freedom. Before, slavery in southern states which led to the lack of physical or economic freedom. After, sharecropping becomes a form of agricultural work that allowed for more freedom but also more poverty. Furthermore, black codes and segregation also resulted because of this which continued the limited physical freedom. -
Civil Rights Act 1866
In 1866, the Civil Rights Act was created to grant citizenship to blacks and it was an attempt to prohibit the black codes. It also prohibited racial discrimination on jury selection. The Civil Rights Act was not really enforced and was really just a political move used to attract more votes. Its greatest achievement was that it led to the creation and passing of the 14th Amendment. -
14th Amendment
Focused on citizenship. Before naturalization was limited to whites due to the Dred Scott decision of 1857. However after the 14th amendment was passed, citizenship was for anyone born on US soil and allowed for later SCOTUS victories. -
15th Amendment
Gave freed black men the right to vote. Before ratification, North withheld the ballot from the black minorities.South felt that the Republicans were hypocritical by insisting that blacks in the South should vote.The moderates wanted the southern states back in the Union, and thus free the federal government from responsibility for the protection of black rights.The Republicans were afraid that once the states were readmitted they would amend their constitutions and withdraw ballot from blacks. -
Credit Mobilier
This was a railroad construction company that consisted of many of the insiders of the Union Pacific Railway. The company hired themselves to build a railroad and made incredible amounts of money from it. In merely one year, they paid dividends of 348%. In an attempt to cover themselves, they paid key congressmen and even the Vice President stocks and large dividends. All of this was exposed in the scandal of 1872.
