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AP U.S. History Terms - Antebellum Period Flashcards

Goes in order of: Presidents, Political Parties, Expansion & Compromise, Inciters & Agitators, and Art/Literature/Religion/Reform. Edit and add to this if you think I missed something, which I probably did. Let's destroy "The Vortex"!

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262346867Martin Van BurenDemocrat (1837-1841) Independent Treasury System (Divorce Bill), Economic Panic of 1837.
262346868William Henry HarrisonWhig (1841) Died a month into his presidency. A Major General that fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe.
262346869John TylerDem./Whig (1841-1845) Took over after Harrison's death. Opposed nationalism and state's rights, disliked by both parties leading to demise.
262346870James K. PolkDem. (1845-1849) "Young Hickory" pressed to annex Texas. Rise of Manifest Destiny, Mexican War. Gained CA.
262346871Zachary TaylorWhig (1849-1850) Gen. in Mexican War, neutral to slavery issue, dies of cholera in 1850 making Fillmore president.
262346872Millard FillmoreWhig (1850-1853) Signed Comp. of 1850.
262346873Franklin PierceDem. (1853-1857) Election marked end of Whig party, presidency filled with depression and alcohol, Gadsden Purchase.
262346874James BuchananDem. (1857-1861) Fear of disunion led to Buchanan's election, Panic of 1857, did nothing after SC's secession, soon followed by 6 more states.
262346875Abraham LincolnRepub. (1861-1865) Firest Repub. elected, didn't win pop. vote, only wanted to limit slavery to states where it already existed.
262346876Liberty PartyAll about emancipation, broke away from AASS, believed Constitution was an anti-slavery document.
262346877Free-Soil PartyCoalition of Whis, Dems., and Liberty party in North. Believed new states should enter as free states. Supports WIlmot Proviso.
262346878Know-Nothing (American) Party(1854-1856) Created by nativists who feared being overrun by Irish & German immigrants, Protestant males with Brit. lineage that were over 21.
262346879Republican PartyPlatform: Nonextension of slavery, protective tariff, rights for immigrants, Pacific railroad, West improvements, free homesteads.
262346880Democratic PartySupported Jeffersonian principals, split over 1860 election candidates.
262346881Whig PartyCreated by Henry clay to oppose Jackson, faded out over slavery issue.
262346882Compromise of 1850CA admitted as free state, slave trade abolished in D.C., pop. sovereignty in Mexican Cession, Stricter Fugitive Slave Law, Texas got $10 mil for surrender of NM.
262346883Louisiana PurchaseDoubled size of U.S., ignited westward expansion.
262346884Mason Dixon LineSolution to border dispute dealing with PA, MD, DE, and WV. Symbolizes cultural line between North and South.
262346885Rush-Bagot Agreement(1817) Treaty between U.S. and Britain that took British military forces off of Great lakes and defined U.S. border with British North America.
262346886Treaty of 1818Settled boundary arguments between Britain and U.S. and allowed joint settlement of the Oregon Country.
262346887Adams-Onis TreatySpain ceded Florida to the United States and gave up its claims to the Oregon Territory.
262346888Tallmadge AmendmentThis was an attempt to have no more slaves to be brought to Missouri and provided the gradual emancipation of the children of slaves. In the mind of the South, this was a threat to the sectional balance between North and South.
262346889Missouri Compromisean agreement in 1820 between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States concerning the extension of slavery into new territories. 36-30 Parallel divided slave and free states.
262346890Tariff CompromiseA tax on imports. Northerners wanted taxes on both and Southerners wanted taxes on neither. The compromise was that Congress would have the authority to impose taxes on imports, but not exports.
262346891Texasarea for which the US paid $10 million, it strengthened the South's bid for a transcontinental railroad.
262346892Webster Ashburton Treaty1842 between the US and Britain, settled boundry disputes in the North West, fixed most borders between US and Canada, talked about slavery and excredition.
262346893Slidell MissionThis was a last ditch attempt to gain California for America. Polk sent Slidell to offer a maximum of $25 million for it, but it was rejected by the Mexicans. This prompted Polk to provoke war with the Mexicans.
262346894Wilmot ProvisoDispute over whether any Mexican territory that America won during the Mexican War should be free or a slave territory. A representative named David Wilmot introduced an amendment stating that any territory acquired from Mexico would be free. It became a symbol of how intense dispute over slavery was in the U.S.
262346895"Spot Resolutions"Proposed by Abraham Lincoln in the spring of 1846. After news from president James K. Polk that 16 American service men had been killed or wounded on the Mexican border in American territory, Abraham Lincoln, then a congressman from Illinois, proposed these resolutions to find out exactly on what spot the American soldier's blood had been shed. In Polk's report to congress the President stated that the American soldiers fell on American soil, but they actually fell on disputed territory that Mexico had historical claims to. To find out were the soldiers fell was important because congress was near to declaring war on Mexico.
262346896Treaty of 1846Treaty between the United States and Great Britain that set the boundary of the Oregon Territory.
262346897Mexican Cessionhistorical name for the region of the present day southwestern United States that was ceded to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican-American War. this massive land grab was significant because the question of extending slavery into newly acquired territories had become the leading national political issue.
262346898Gold Rusha movement of many people to a region in which gold has been discovered. The Gold Rush in California started in 1848. Around 34,000 people moved to San Francisco. Many different ethnic groups including Asians, moved to California.
262346899Fugitive Slave ActMade stronger by the Compromise of 1850, most important frictional issue between North and South.
262346900Washington D.C.Slave trade in D.C. was still going on until the North had it abolished in the Compromise of 1850.
262346901Personal Liberty LawsA form of denying the Fugitive Slave Law, denied local jails to feds. Passed by many states in the North. Prigg v. Pennsylvania
262346902Henry ClayDistinguished senator from Kentucky. He was a strong supporter of the American System, a war hawk for the War of 1812, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and known as "The Great Compromiser." Outlined the Compromise of 1850 with five main points.
262346903Gadsden PurchaseThe 1853 treaty in which the United States bought from Mexico parts of what is now southern Arizona and southern New Mexico. Southerners wanted this land in order to build southern transcontinental railroad. The heated debate over this issue in the Senate demonstrates the prevalence of sectional disagreement.
262346904Stephen A. DouglasA moderate, who introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 and popularized the idea of popular sovereignty. Known for the Free Port Doctrine in his debates with Lincoln.
262346905Ostend ManifestoA declaration (1854) issued from Ostend, Belgium, by the U.S. ministers to England, France, and Spain, stating that the U.S. would be justified in seizing Cuba if Spain did not sell it to the U.S.
262346906Kansas-Nebraska Act1854 - Created Nebraska and Kansas as states and gave the people in those territories the right to chose to be a free or slave state through popular sovereignty.
262346907Popular SovereigntyThe concept that political power rests with the people who can create, alter, and abolish government. People express themselves through voting and free participation in government.
262346908LecomptonThis constitution for statehood, approved by Kansas in the first constitutional election and the one Buchanan felt valid, was approved by the senate but the forced another revote, which fairly condemned this constitution ending the controversy with Kansas in the hands of the free-soilers. Later burned to the ground.
262346909TopekaPresented an anti-slavery admission for statehood into the Senate.
262346910LawrenceMay 1856 a pro-slavery mob entered the free state town of Lawrence, Kansas and destroyed newspaper presses, set fire to the free-state governor's home, stole property and demolished the free state hotel, it aroused the fanatic Free Soiler John Brown.
262346911John BrownA Radical abolitionist known for Bleeding Kansas, and his raid on Harper's Ferry.
262346912Lincoln-Douglas DebatesDuring the race to become Senator Lincoln asked to have multiple debates with Douglas. Certain topics of these debates were slavery, how to deal with slavery, and where slavery should be allowed. Although Lincoln lost the election to Douglas, he was known throughout the country because of the debates. Also resulted in Douglas's Free Port Doctrine that showed Lincoln and Douglas were quite similar.
262346913Election of 1860Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won because the Democratic party was split over slavery. As a result, the South no longer felt like it has a voice in politics and a number of states seceded from the Union.
262346914Nat TurnerSlave in Virginia who started a slave rebellion in 1831 believing he was receiving signs from God his rebellion was the largest sign of black resistance to slavery in America and led the state legislature of Virginia to a policy that said no one could question slavery.
262346915David WalkerHe was a black abolitionist who called for the immediate emancipation of slaves. He wrote the "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World." It called for a bloody end to white supremacy. He believed that the only way to end slavery was for slaves to physically revolt.
262346916Gag Rule1835 law passed by Southern congress which made it illegal to talk of abolition or anti-slavery arguments in Congress.
262346917Amistad CaseAfricans destined for slavery in Cuba seized a ship and tried to sail it to Africa but the U.S. navy seized it and held the Africans as pirates; court declared them free because of the international slave trade had been illegal.
262346918Preston S. BrooksButler's nephew; read Sumner's speech and then went to find Sumner; struck Sumner in the head with a cane repeatedly and left Sumner brain damaged- Southerners were proud of him and North said it was against free speech.
262346919Dred ScottA black slave, had lived with his master for 5 years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. Backed by interested abolitionists, he sued for freedom on the basis of his long residence on free soil. The ruling on the case was that he was private property no matter where he was.
262346920Gabriel ProsserA literate enslaved blacksmith who planned to lead a large slave rebellion in the summer of 1800. However, information regarding the revolt was leaked prior to its execution, thus Gabriel's plans were foiled. Gabriel and twenty-five other members of the revolt were hanged. In reaction, the Virginia and other legislatures passed restrictions on free blacks, as well as the education, movement and hiring out of the enslaved.
262346921Toussaint L'OvertureLeader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free, self-governing people. The success of the Haitian Revolution shook the institution of slavery throughout the New World.
262346922Denmark VesseyAfrican slave brought to the United States from the Caribbean. After purchasing his freedom, he planned what would have been one of the largest slave rebellions in the United States. Word of the plans were leaked, and authorities arrested the plot's leaders before the uprising could begin. Vessey and others were tried, convicted and executed. Many antislavery activists came to regard Vessey as a hero.
262346923John C. CalhounLeader of the Fugitive Slave Law, which forced the cooperation of Northern states in returning escaped slaves to the south. He also argued on the floor of the senate that slavery was needed in the south. He argued on the grounds that society is supposed to have an upper ruling class that enjoys the profit of a working lower class.
262346924Daniel WebsterLeader of the Whig Party, originally pro-North, supported the Compromise of 1850 and subsequently lost favor from his constituency
262346925MillennialismMuch of religious enthusiasm of the time was based on the widespread belief that the world was about to end with the second coming of Christ; preacher William Miller gained tens of thousands of followers by predicting a specific date when the second coming would occur.
262346926DeismThe religion of the Enlightenment. Followers believed that God existed and had created the world, but that afterwards He left it to run by its own natural laws.
262346927Unitarian ChurchReligion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". No creed, but are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the belief that an individual's theology is a result of that search and not obedience to an authoritative requirement.
262346928UniversalismEthical system stating that all people should uphold certain values that society needs to function.
262346929Joseph SmithFounded Mormonism in New York in 1830 with the guidance of an angel. 1843, Smith's announcement that God sanctioned polygamy split the Mormons and let to an uprising against Mormons in 1844; translated the Book of Mormon and died a martyr. Founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
262346930Nathaniel HawthorneOriginally a transcendentalist; later rejected them and became a leading anti-transcendentalist. He was a descendant of Puritan settlers. The Scarlet Letter shows the hypocrisy and insensitivity of New England puritans by showing their cruelty to a woman who has committed adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet "A".
262346931Harriet Beecher StoweWrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, a book about a slave who is treated badly, in 1852. The book persuaded more people, particularly Northerners, to become anti-slavery.
262346932William Lloyd Garrison1805-1879. Prominent American abolitionist, journalist and social reformer. Editor of radical abolitionist newspaper "The Liberator", and one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society.
262346933Theodore Dwight Welda prominent abolitionist in the 1830's. He was self-educated and very outspoken. Weld put together a group called the "Land Rebels." He and his group traveled across the Old Northwest preaching antislavery gospel. Weld also put together a propaganda pamphlet called American Slavery As It Is.
2623469347th Day AdventistA Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming (Advent) of Jesus Christ. The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century and was formally established in 1863.
262346935Mother Ann Lee (Stanley)the founder of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or Shakers. During the 1770s she emigrated from England to the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Albany County, New York to avoid persecution. She and others worshiped by ecstatic dancing or "shaking", which dubbed them as the Shaking Quakers
262346936Susan B. Anthonysocial reformer who campaigned for womens rights, the temperance, and was an abolitionist, helped form the National Woman Suffrage Association.
262346937Lucretia MottQuaker activist in both the abolitionist and women's movements; with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she was a principal organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848.
262346938Lyman BeecherPresbyterian clergyman, temperance movement leader and a leader of the Second Great Awakening of the United States.
262346939Lyceum MovementDeveloped in the 1800's in response to growing interest in higher education. Associations were formed in nearly every state to give lectures, concerts, debates, scientific demonstrations, and entertainment. This movement was directly responsible for the increase in the number of institutions of higher learning.
262346940American & Foreign Anti-Slavery Societyorganization founded in 1840 and led by Tappan brothers that opposed the radical ideas of William Lloyd Garrison, especially his attacks on the churches and the Constitution; it followed a more moderate approach and supported the political activities of the Liberty Party.
262346941Free Public LibrariesFactors such as a push for education and desire to share knowledge led to broad public support for free libraries. In addition, money donations by private philanthropists provided the seed capital to get many libraries started. In some instances, collectors donated vast book collections.
262346942Sojourner TruthUnited States abolitionist and feminist who was freed from slavery and became a leading advocate of the abolition of slavery and for the rights of women (1797-1883)
262346943American Society for the Promotion of TemperanceFirst national temperance organization founded in 1826, which sent agents to preach total abstinence from alcohol; the society pressed individuals to sign pledges of sobriety and states to prohibit the use of alcohol.
262346944Second Great AwakeningA series of religious revivals starting in 1801, based on Methodism and Baptism. Stressed a religious philosophy of salvation through good deeds and tolerance for all Protestant sects. The revivals attracted women, Blacks, and Native Americans.
262346945BaptistsDissenters of the Church of England; focused on the power of local churches; stresses following in example; each person interprets the Bible the way the Holy Spirit tells them how; emphasis on New Testament; no Church creeds. It was very simple and appealed to rural people
262346946Mormon Church(1830) - religious denomination Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints based on the Book of Mormon started by Joseph Smith in Ohio. Taken over by Brigham Young in 1844 and moved to Utah where they started a prosperous community. Had problems with the federal govt.
262346947Burnt Over DistrictTerm coined by Charles Grandison Finney; inspired by the notion that the western NY area had been so heavily evangelized during the Second Great Awakening that there was no more "fuel" (unconverted population) left over to "burn" (convert).
262346948Charles Grandison FinneyAn evangelist who was one of the greatest preachers of all time (spoke in New York City). He also made the "anxious bench" for sinners to pray and was was against slavery and alcohol.
262346949Brigham YoungThe successor to the Mormons after the death of Joseph Smith. He was responsible for the survival of the sect and its establishment in Utah, thereby populating the would-be state.
262346950Emily DickinsonWrote poetry with simple words of love, life, nature and death sometimes with deep meanings written during her social and her reclusive years.
262346951Herman MelvilleAmerican writer whose experiences at sea provided the factual basis of Moby-Dick (1851), considered among the greatest American novels.
262346952David WalkerHe was a black abolitionist who called for the immediate emancipation of slaves. He wrote the "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World." It called for a bloody end to white supremacy. He believed that the only way to end slavery was for slaves to physically revolt.
262346953Brook FarmA transcendentalist Utopian experiment, put into practice by transcendentalist former Unitarian minister George Ripley at a farm in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, at that time nine miles from Boston. The community, in operation from 1841 to 1847, was inspired by the socialist concepts of Charles Fourier. Fourierism was the belief that there could be a utopian society where people could share together to have a better lifestyle.
262346954ShakersA millennial group who believed in both Jesus and a mystic named Ann Lee. Since they were celibate and could only increase their numbers through recruitment and conversion, they eventually ceased to exist.
262346955Seneca FallsThe site of the women's rights convention that met in July in 1848. They met in the Wesleyan Chapel, and 300 men and women attended. At the convention, they voted on the Seneca Falls Declaration, which was signed by 32 men.
262346956Catharine BeecherWas a noted educator, renowned for her forthright opinions on women's education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of a kindergarten into children's education.
262346957TemperanceRestraint or moderation, especially in regards to alcohol or food.
262346958The Grimke SistersAngelina and Sarah Grimke wrote and lectured vigorously on reform causes such as prison reform, the temperance movement, and the abolitionist movement.
262346959Hudson River SchoolFounded by Thomas Cole, first native school of landscape painting in the U.S.; attracted artists rebelling against the neoclassical tradition, painted many scenes of New York's Hudson River.
262346960Enlightenmenta movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions.
262346961Oberlin CollegeFounded by pious New Englanders in Ohio's Western Reserve, from the start Oberlin radiated a spirit of reform predicated on faith; it was the first college in America to admit either women or blacks, and it was a hotbed of antislavery doctrine.
262346962Transcendentalistany of a group of New England writers who stressed the relationship between human beings and nature, spiritual things over material thins, and the importance of the individual con-science.
262346963Ralph Waldo EmersonAmerican transcendentalist who was against slavery and stressed self-reliance, optimism, self-improvement, self-confidence, and freedom. He was a prime example of a transcendentalist and helped further the movement.
262346964Henry David ThoreauAmerican transcendentalist who was against a government that supported slavery. He wrote down his beliefs in Walden. He started the movement of civil-disobedience when he refused to pay the toll-tax to support the Mexican War.
262346965Margaret FullerSocial reformer, leader in women's movement and a transcendentalist. Edited "The Dial" which was the publication of the transcendentalists. It appealed to people who wanted "perfect freedom" "progress in philosophy and theology and hope that the future will not always be as the past".
262346966James Fenimore CooperAmerican novelist who is best remembered for his novels of frontier life, such as The Last of the Mohicans (1826).
262346967Walt WhitmanAmerican poet and transcendentalist who was famous for his beliefs on nature, as demonstrated in his book, Leaves of Grass. He was therefore an important part for the buildup of American literature and breaking the traditional rhyme method in writing poetry.
262346968Edgar Allen Poe(1809-1849). Orphaned at young age. Was an American poet, short-story writer, editor and literary critic, and is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. Failing at suicide, began drinking.
262346969FourierismA utopian socialist movement started by Charles Fourier. He wanted to counter the current industrial system to replace boredom of factory life. He advocated different forms of work each day as well as relatively free sexual activity.
262346970OneidaWas a perfect untopian communtiy established in 1848 in New York by John Humphrey Noyes. The people in this community rejected notation of family and marrige. All residents were "married" to all other residents.
262346971Female Moral Reform SocietyIt was organized by middle-class women in New York in 1834. They wanted to liberate prostitutes from lives of sin. Also they sought to protect the morality of single women. To this end they published lists of men who frequented prostitutes or abused women. This was a direct attack on the double standard of the time. The society was replicated in hundreds of American communities by 1840.
262346972Elizabeth Cady StantonA member of the women's right's movement in 1840. She was a mother of seven, and she shocked other feminists by advocating suffrage for women at the first Women's Right's Convention in Seneca, New York 1848. Stanton read a "Declaration of Sentiments" which declared "all men and women are created equal."
262346973Dorothea DixA reformer and pioneer in the movement to treat the insane as mentally ill, beginning in the 1820's, she was responsible for improving conditions in jails, poorhouses and insane asylums throughout the U.S. and Canada. She succeeded in persuading many states to assume responsibility for the care of the mentally ill. She served as the Superintendant of Nurses for the Union Army during the Civil War.
262346974Neal DowSupported and sponsored the legal banning of alcohol in the Maine Law of 1851; other states adopted this law.
262346975Elijah P. LovejoyAmerican Presbyterian minister, journalist, and news paper editor who was murdered by a mob for his abolitionist views.
262346976Abolitionist SocietiesBegan to form as abolitionists pushed for an end to slavery.
262346977Harriet TubmanUnited States abolitionist born a slave on a plantation in Maryland and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad leading other slaves to freedom in the North.
262346978Jebediah SmithAmerican mountain man, hunter and fur trapper who was the first person to travel from New York to California through the Rocky Mountains and the Mohave Desert. He was also the first person to cross the Great Basin Desert via the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Great Salt Lake.
262346979Henry Highland Garnetan African American abolitionist and orator. An advocate of militant abolitionism, Garnet was a prominent member of the abolition movement that led against moral suasion toward more political action. He joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and frequently spoke at abolitionist conferences. One of his most famous speeches, "Call to Rebellion," was delivered in 1843 to the National Negro Convention in Buffalo, New York. Disheartened by the hostile treatment of blacks in America, Garnet took a stance unpopular among black activists by supporting African colonization. He spent the last months of his life as minister to Liberia, a country in west Africa colonized by American ex-slaves and black freemen.
262346980Wendell PhillipsAn associate of William Lloyd Garrison, he founded the American Anti-slavery Society in 1833.

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