-
Missouri Compromise
-A compromise formed when Missouri wanted to be admitted to the Union as a slave state. They complied, while then admitting Maine as a free state.
-Important because it was an early effort to quell the conflict between those for and against slavery. -
Monroe Doctrine
-U.S. foreign policy that stated that European countries would no longer be allowed to colonize or otherwise interfere in North and South America
-Important because it pressured the European powers to leave that part of the world alone -
Battle of the Alamo
-
Panic of 1837
-A financial crisis in the U.S. that lasted until the mid-1840s and resulted in profits, prices, and wages going down while unemployment went up -
Trail of Tears
-Trail that Native Americans were forced to walk as they were forced out of their own land by the U.S.
-Important because it led to thousands of them dying, as well as losing most of their land. -
Pre-Epmtion Act
-Act that allowed "squatters" or pioneers who settled on land to preemtively own it
-Important because it allowed settlers already on the land to purchase and own it -
Bear Flag Revolt
-Small group of Californian settlers revolted against Mexico and claimed California as an independent republic
-Important because it led to California becoming part of the U.S. -
Period: to
U.S. - Mexican War
-War between the U.S. and Mexico over border disputes that ended with the U.S. gaining a very large portion of Mexico's territory
-Important because it resulted in the U.S.'s size increasing immensely -
Fugitive Slave Law
-Federal laws that allowed the local governments to capture and return escaped slaves
-Important because helped generate further resistence to slavery -
Compromise of 1850
-Resolution of divisions over slavery in territory gained in the Mexican-American War
-Important because it allowed Congress to avoid sectional and slavery issues for several years, postponing conflict -
Gadsden Purchase
-Purchase of a section of land from Mexico that would later become part of Arizona and New Mexico
-Important because it provided the land necessary for a southern transcontinental railroad -
Period: to
Bleeding Kansas
-Period of violent confrontations between those for Kansas becoming a free state, and those for it becoming a slave state.
-Important because it led to the raid on Harper's Ferry, and caused a lot of conflict to rage on through the new Kansas territory -
Dred Scott Decision
-Decision by the Supreme Court that Dred Scott, a slave who wanted freedom because he had been living in a free state, could not petition the court for his freedom because black people didn't have citizenship.
-Important because this upset abolitionists and increased the North-South tensions that would lead to civil war. -
Harper's Ferry
-A raid on a military arsenal by slavery abolitionists, as part of a plan to establish a stronghold for free slaves
-Important because it increased the conflict and tension between Northern and Southern States -
Period: to
Secession of States List:
South Carolina - 12/20/1860
Mississippi - 1/09/1861
Florida - 1/10/1861
Alabama - 1/11/1861
Georgia - 1/19/1861
Louisiana - 1/26/1861
Texas - 2/01/1861
Virginia - 4/17/1861
Arkansas - 5/06/1861
North Carolina - 5/20/1861
Tennessee - 6/08/1861 -
Period: to
Civil War
-War between the Union states and the Confederacy
-Important because the victory of the Union led to uniting the nation once more, and eventually to the abolition of slavery -
Emancipation Proclamation
-Declared that all the slaves in the rebellious state should be set free
-Important because even though it didn't actually free any slaves, it marked an important turning point in the war; it made the cause more about abolition of slavery -
Gettysburg Address
-Speech by Abraham Lincoln that brought up principles of human equality and held them as a driving force behind the Civil War
-Important because it redefined the meaning and goals behind the civil war, and stated that the Declaration of Independence supports that all should be treated equally. -
13th Amendment
-Abolished most forms of slavery (except as punishment for a crime)
-Important because it finally freed the people who had been enslaved -
14th Amendment
-Granted citizenship to all people born in the U.S.
-Important because it gave citizenship to former slaves who had been freed -
15th Amendment
-Granted African American men the right to vote
-Important because it was a step towards justice for racial inequality