AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

AP US History (Antebellum Period) Flashcards

Terms : Hide Images
8384226763"54'40 or Fight" and OregonJames Polk' declaration to the British, ultimately settled for the 49th parallel0
8384231887Missouri Compromise (1820)Maine as free state, Missouri as slave state, slavery prohibited north of 36°30'1
8384238444Nullification Crisis (1832-33)Southern States threatened to nullify taxes they disagreed with, Compromise of 1833 written by Henry Clay appeased both sides and the issue was dropped.2
8384241923Wilmot Proviso (1846)Bill that would ban slavery in the territories acquired after war with Mexico.3
8384241924Free Soil Party (1848)First political party founded to stop the expansion of slavery into the territories.4
8384252019Mexican War (1846-8) & TreatyDefending American Sovereignty in Texas and desired California Expansion; War ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 18485
8384255098Fugitive Slave Act1850 law meant to help slaveholders recapture runaway slaves;made it a crime to help runaway slaves and allowed officials to arrest those slaves in free areas6
8384259839Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)Harriet Beecher Stowe; novel which played upon stereotypes to appeal to anti-slavery feelings of northerners; angered southern slave states due to the harsh portrayal of slavery7
8384265337Gadsden Purchase (1853)US paid Mexico $10 million for a strip of land in Arizona and New Mexico.8
8384265338Bleeding SumnerCharles Sumner was attacked because of a speech that he made against proslavery forces in Kansas9
8384271158Dred Scott (1857)Slaves were property and could not sue. Missouri Compromise ruled unconstitutional.10
8384278181Lincoln Douglas DebatesSeries of debates in which Lincoln challenge Douglas over the issue of slavery in the west11
8384278182Brown's Raid (1859)12
8384285338Democratic Convention of 186013
8384292382Political Reassignment/Second Party System14
8384292383Border StatesDelaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri: Slave states that did not secede15
8384306042Battles: Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Fredricksburg, Appomattox16
8384310966Confederate and Union Drafts17
8384310967NYC Draft Riot (1863)18
8384325799George McClellan, "Copperheads", and the Election of 186419
8384325800Morrill Tariff1861 law that increased tariffs duties to 10%20
8384334844Land Grant Act (1862)21
83843348451844 Election22
8384338605Manifest Destiny1800s belief that Americans had the right to spread across the continent.23
8384342991Annexation of Texas (and Texas Ind.)Mexico offered for US. citizens to populate Texas in order to increase the population and economy; Americans called for annexation for the lone star republic when Mexico banned any further slavery into the state.24
8384354015"Gag Rule" Controversy (1836-1844)Legislation passed that made it law to table any slavery legislation in the Senate25
8384354016Liberty PartyAntislavery party that won 16,000 votes in election of 1844, hurt Clay's chance at victory.26
8384361731"Conscience" vs. "Cotton Whigs"Conscience Whigs were anti-slavery, northerners Cotton Whigs were pro-slavery, southerners Caused the downfall of the Whigs in the 1850's27
8384361732Compromise of 1850Devised by Clay - California was free state, stricter Fugitive Slave Law, ended Slave Trade in DC28
8384367029Personal Liberty LawsForbade the imprisonment of runaway slaves and guaranteed that they would have jury trials29
83843670302nd Party SystemDemocrats and Whigs; Republicans and Democrats30
8384372871Ostend Manifesto (1854)Secret negotiation attempting to acquire Cuba as a slave state from Spain31
8384377629Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)People would vote to determine whether slavery would be allowed in their state32
8384382291Sack of Lawrence1856 beginning to Bleeding Kansas; proslavery raiders shot up and burned part of Lawrence33
8384382292Pottawatomie Massacre(1856) an incident in which abolitionist John Brown and seven other men murdered pro-slavery Kansans34
8384388326LeCompton ConstitutionPro-slave constitution that got voted in for Kansas after anti-slavery people boycotted the election35
8384388327Panic of 1857Financial crash brought on by gold-fueled inflation, overspeculation, and excess grain production36
8384399312Secession Crisis (1860-1861)37
8384407238Compact TheoryThe belief that states are prior to the union because they created the union.38
8384412597Crittenden Compromise(1861) called for constitutional amendments guaranteeing the legality of slavery in slave states39
8384412598Fort SumterFirst battle of the Civil War40
8384416517Know Nothingsa political party of the mid-1800s, officially known as the American Party that opposed immigration41
8384416518"Anaconda Plan"42
8384424703Emancipation Proclamation (1863)Freed slaves in areas loyal to the Confederacy43
8384433336National Banking Act (1863)44
8384433337Legal Tender Act (1863)45
8384439061Homestead Act (1862)Gave 160 acres of land to any adult willing to farm it and live on it for 5 years46
8384444268Pacific Railroad Act (1862)47
8384444269John Tyler10th U.S. President. 1841-1845. Whig48
8384449851James Polka Democrat expansionist who ran against Henry Clay in 1844: "54 40 or fight", Mexican-American War; 11th President of the United States49
8384449852David WilmotCongressman who proposed the amendment that would have outlawed slavery from Mexican territories50
83844550561848 ElectionLewis Cass (D) war veteran Zachary Taylor (Whig) won51
8384455057Triangular TradeA system in which goods and slaves were traded among the Americas, Britain, and Africa52
8384465066Denmark Vesey's Conspiracy (1822)53
8384469289Nat Turner's Rebellion (1831)resistance of enslaved to slavery54
8384474593William Lloyd Garrison (1831)55
8384478142John. C. CalhounSouth Carolina Senator - advocate for state's rights, limited government, and nullification56
8384482444Stephen Douglasan American politician from Illinois and the designer of the Kansas-Nebraska Act57
8384482445Preston BrooksResponsible for beating radical republican Charles Sumner with his cane58
8384487453John FreemontAn American general who helped to overthrow the Mexican rule of California.59
8384487454William WalkerSoutherner who took over Nicaragua in 1855, became president, ruler for a year, and was caught60
8384493912Jefferson DavisPresident of the Confederate States of America61
8384499382Robert E. LeeCommander of the Confederate Army62
8384499383Stonewall JacksonGeneral in the Confederate army, led Confederate army in the 1st Battle of Bull Run63
8384505566"Radical Republicans"64
8384505567Clement VallandighamNotorious Copperhead, convicted of treason, who ran for governor of Ohio while exiled to Canada65
8384510529Alexander P. Stephens66
8384510530John BrownAbolitionist who was hanged after leading an unsuccessful raid at Harper's Ferry, Virginia67
8384516912Eli WhitneyUnited States inventor of the mechanical cotton gin (1765-1825)68
8384516913"popular sovereignty"The idea that a state/territory gets to choose if they want slavery or not in their land.69
8384522744"Slaveocracy"society organized around slavery; slaveholders have power70
8384522745Roger TaneyChief Justice of the Supreme Court when Dred Scott decision was made71

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!