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| long staple vs. short staple | Long-staple cotton, also know as sea island cotton, was easy to remove the seeds from the boll by hand. But it could only be grown in limited areas in the coastal areas. Short-staple cotton was a hardier plant that could survive in tougher climates and soils, but the seeds were much more difficult to remove by hand. The short- staple version would be the version used in the South. |
| cotton gin | Iinvented by Eli Whitney in 1793. The machine pulls the cotton though some metal teeth which catch the seeds and other debris and remove it from the boll. The cotton gin smashed any ideas of slavery being phased out as it enabled cotton to spread into new areas and make slavery profitable. |
| Black Belt | Region of the southern United States the encompasses parts of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. This region is know for its rich, dark soil and during the late 1810s to 1820 "Alabama Fever" took over and a massive migration into the region resulted. |
| King Cotton | The South relies on cotton way too much. But the lack of diversification of the economy would prove beneficial when the Panic of 1857 hit. The panic hit a strong blow to the North, but the South's single item export wouldn't hurt them as bad. Senator James Hammond gave a speech in which he coined. "Cotton is king." |
| Deep South vs. Upper South | Deep South (Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida) typically had a more black (slave) population with the exception of Texas. Upper South (Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia) less slave population, they were also the ones that were unsure about seceding. |
| planters | Huge cash crop farmers. At the top of the social latter. Defined as owned 20 or more slaves |
| yeoman farmers | Could also be known as "common man" farmers. Often subsistence farmers with a little grown on the side for market. Common for them to raise hogs. Little, but mostly no slaves. Below planter in social order. |
| paternalism | Planters thought that they were helping the slaves, they considered them part of their extended family. This was their argument against northern abolitionists. |
| Peculiar Institution | This is what the Founding Fathers called slavery. Slavery was dominant in the South where they were used to grow crops. The South was stubborn to abolish slavery, and defended it until the Civil War. |
| gag rule | A rule passed by pro-southern congressmen in 1836 to prohibit the discussion of anti-slavery measures in the House of Representatives. Lasted for about a decade. |
| task vs. gang system | Task system is were slaves would perform a specified task and once done, they were done for the rest of the day. The Gang system, slaves (grouped 20-25) worked from sunup to sundown. They often were watched by white and the occasional black overseer. The task system was done mainly with rice, and whites slowly phased it out of other areas because of the lack of control. The Gang system was done with cotton and such. They were expected to pick 130-150 lb of cotton per day. It proved to be an efficient and productive system. |
| Sambo stereotype | A form of resistance where slaves basically played dumb. They used their "ignorance" to make the master think he is succeeding. This played onto white stereotypes. |
| passive resistance | During the time of slavery, many slaves would resist the master not by violence by passively doing things such as breaking tools, slowing down the work pace, faking sickness or injury, and in some extreme cases self-mutilation. This system proved to be the most effective way to resist. |
| Gabriel Prosser Rebellion (1800) | Richmond (1800). was an armed rebellion that failed. Gabriel Prosser was going to march into Richmond and start and uprising, but he was delayed and during that time he was ratted out. The state militia was called to put it out. He was later hanged along with 23 others. |
| Denmark Vessey Rebellion (1822) | The Denmark Vessey Rebellion was more of a conspiracy, because he never actually took over his goal of Charleston South Carolina. A few slaves also ratted him out and it was put down. in total 35 were hanged including Denmark Vesey. Along with the tariff, this contributed to South Carolina‘s radicalism in the 1820s. |
| Nat Turner Rebellion (1831) | Nat Turner Rebellion was one of the most violent of the slaves uprising. It occurred in rural southwestern Virginia. Turner believed God had told him to lead a rebellion. Turner along with 100 others killed roughly 60 whites. Turner was later captured and executed. This lead to some of the more stringent slaves laws and the south stopped the debating of the future of slavery. The south also blamed it on outside agitation and the abolitionist movement. |
| Black Codes (Slave Codes) | Black codes regulated every part of the slave's life. The had to carry a pass (like school) when running errands outside the plantation. They could no drink alcohol. Master had absolute control and there was no legal limit to his authority. They were often whipped for a punishment. They were also watched by overseers. Masters at any time could sell of relatives of close friends. |
| "Invisible Institution" | Was the name given the religion of the slaves. influenced by the second great awakening, slaves were taught Christianity to make them more obedient. Strong focus in the Methodist and Baptist faiths. They loved the story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt. Deliverance. Very emotional, active church services. Whites and blacks sometimes worshipped together, although segregated. Preachers most important member of the African-American community. |
| African Methodist Episcopal Church | founded by Richard Allen, Was a result of the slaves activity in Christianity and how they viewed Christianity to be. |
| Webster-Ashburton treaty (1842) | Enacted in 1842, the United States and Great Britain would jointly work to suppress the African slave Trade and it ended the Aroostook War in northern Maine. |
| American ColonizationSociety | Created in 1817 to ship blacks back to Africa. they feared a race war in the South if slaves were liberated and allowed to remain. they offered gradual emancipation with compensation for owners. they established the colony of Liberia. Overall this was a stupid idea, because there were many generations from Africa and many didn't want to go back. Too expensive. the number they sent back each year could be replaced in a week from natural reproduction. |
| Liberia | The colony established to bring Africans back to Africa. the capital Monrovia was named after The president at the time President James Monroe. |
| The Liberator | William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper; demanded immediate abolition of slavery and uncompensated emancipation. He just a crazy abolitionist radical, southern states hated him so much they had bounties on him and was almost lynched in Boston. |
| American Anti-Slavery Society | Was formed from the help of William Lloyd Garrison, with Wendell Philips as the founder. |
| Underground Railroad | Not a real railroad! It was a system of routes and safe houses used to help runaway slaves get north. Notable conductor was Harriet Tubman, she helped 60-70 slaves on 12 missions. |
| personal liberty laws | Laws passed in the North which prohibited state officials from assisting in the capture of runaway slaves. Was done in responce from Unlce Tom's Cabin which made northeners sympathic to runaway slaves. |
| Liberty Party | The anti-slavery and anti-Texas political party that cost Henry Clay the 1844 presidential election against James K. Polk. 1st anti-slavery party |
| Free Soil Party | The anti-slavery political party who fought slavery not necessarily because they believed it was unjust, but because they believed it didn't allow more free white male jobs. Had a very good showing in the 1848 Election. |
| Manifest Destiny | The American belief that it was their God given destiny to spread the borders of the United States from coast to coast. |
| "twisting the lion's tail" | The term used to describe the action of provoking the British and angering them. |
| Caroline Incident (1837) | An event that occurred when the American ship, the Caroline, was attacked by a British forces while it was crossing the Niagara River, and was burned and sunk, causing much British-American tension. |
| Aroostook War | An undeclared in 1838-1839 between the United States and Great Britain over the international boundary between British North America and Maine. It resulted in a mutually accepted border between Maine and the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. Ended by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842). |
| Empresarios | This word is Spanish for entrepreneur. It means a person who had been granted the right to settle on Mexican land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for new settlers. Ex: Stephen F. Austin |
| Tejanos | During the Spanish colonial times the term applied to Spanish settlers of the region now known as Texas. During the times of independent Texas, this term also applied to other Spanish-speaking Texans and Germans and other Europeans. |
| Texas Revolution (1835-1835) | A conflict between Mexico and the Texas settlers. Consisted of the Battle of Gonzales, the Alamo, Goliad, and ended with the Battle of San Jacinto. It resulted with the creation of the Republic of Texas. |
| The Alamo | February 23- March 6 1836. President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo mission. All the Texian defenders were killed, but inspired the other Texian forces: "Remember the Alamo!" |
| Battle of San Jacinto | Fought on April 21, 1836. A decisive battle of the TX Revolution, led by Sam Houston. Only 9 Texans died and they defeated Santa Anna. Ended the Texas Revolution. |
| Republic of Texas (1836-1845) | The result of the Texas Revolution. Convention of 1836 declared Independence. Courted by Great Britain because of cotton. |
| Oregon Trail | A wagon route that was good for trade. Streched all the way across to Oregon. The most important westward trail. |
| "54°,40' or Fight" | The catch phrase of the people (ex: Polk) who wanted Oregon to extend all the way through the present day British Columbia, instead of just at the 49th parallel. |
| Election of 1844 | Election between James K. Polk and Henry Clay resulting in Polks win. Clay waffled on annexing Texas- cost him support in the North because the Liberty Party took away votes from Clay. |
| Mexican War (1846-1848) | Between United States and Mexico and it ended all disputes about Texas. The U.S. gained all of the Southwest in the Mexican Cession. Caused by the fact Mexico would not sell California. |
| Rio Grande v. Nueces River | Dispute over which river would be the border of Texas. In the end, the Rio Grande River was established as the border. |
| "Spot Resolutions" | Demand made by Lincoln wanting to know where exactly Americans had been killed by Mexicans on American soil. |
| Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo | The Treaty that ended the Mexican-American War negotiated by Nicholas P. Trist. The U.S. gained the Mexican Cession (the SW United States). |
| Mexican Cession | Area of the present-day Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Utah that Mexico agreed to give up as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. |
| Gadsden Purchase (1853) | United States bought southern Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico so that a railroad line could be built to the Gulf of California. |
| Wilmot Proviso (1846) | David Wilmot of Pennsylvania proposed territory gained from Mexico should be free; passed in the House but defeated in the Senate. |
| Free Soil, Free Labor | The term used by the Free Soil Party to describe their core belief that slavery should be abolished so that poor whites could rise to self employment. Later a major platform of the Republican Party. |
| "Slaveholders' conspiracy" | The term used to describe events such as "bleeding Kansas"'and the Dred Scott case where the North thought that the South was gaining the upper hand in slavery and that they advanced slavery at the expense of the nation as a whole. |
| popular sovereignty | The doctrine stating that the sovereign people of a territory, under the general principles of the Constitution, should themselves determine the status of slavery. Proposed by Lewis Cass and championed by Stephen Douglas. Used in Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, and Freeport Doctrine. |
| Election of 1848 | An election with Zachary Taylor (Whig), Lewis Cass (Democrat), and Martin Van Buren (Free Soil), where Taylor became president. The Free Soilers did remarkably well as a third party. |
| California Gold Rush (1849) | The discovery of gold in California caused a mass migration to the territory, and caused problems in the slavery issue when it came time to decide whether or not it would be accepted as a slave state or a free state, since they wanted to enter into the union as a free state. |
| 49ers | The group of people who flooded into California in 1849 when gold was discovered near San Fransisco. The 49ers consisted mostly of of young men, and they soon outnumbered the Indians and Californios present in the area |
| Californios | People of Latin American descent living in California. They were Mexicans living in what became the Mexican Cession and had a rich culture that was almost destroyed by the 49ers when they arrived during the Gold Rush |
| "Young America" | An American political and cultural development which represented freedom, expansion, trade, and social reform. Was an attitude shared by many Americans. Originated in the Democrat party when they wanted to expand outside the continental US |
| Missouri Compromise (1820) | created by Henry Clay in 1820 that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state in order to maintain free v. slave balance in the Senate. The Compromise prohibited slavery north of the 36°30' line in the territory gained from the Louisiana Purchase |
| Compromise of 1850 | created by Henry Clay in 1850 with 5 parts: 1. California entered the Union as a free state. 2. The status of slavery in the rest of the Mexican Cession would be determined by popular sovereignty. 3. The border dispute between Texas and New Mexico would be resolved by Texas ceding their land claims and the federal government assuming the debts from the Republic of Texas. 4. The abolition of slave trade in DC. 5. A stronger fugitive slave law. |
| Fugitive Slave Law | law written that allowed slave owners to chase runaway slaves, even from the North; most controversial provision of the Compromise of 1850; Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in response (1852) |
| Election of 1852 | Franklin Pierce (D) vs. Winfield Scott (Whig) Pierce won despite being a lackluster candidate. Ended the Whig Party because of divisions over slavery |
| Third Party System | The Republicans vs. the Democrats: begin when the Whigs were destroyed by the Election of 1852/Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) |
| Republican Party | Adopted the free soil, free labor ideology, and were thus detested in the South. Believed in a more active federal government. Expansion of capitalism. Tariffs. |
| Ostend Manifesto | A secret document that proposed seizing Cuba by force if Spain refused to sell. It brought to light in the North's eyes a slaveholder's conspriacy to expand slavery. The Manifesto fell through because of Northern opposition |
| filibusters | someone who goes on an unauthorized military trip into a foreign country to take part in a or support a revolution. Ex: William Walker in Nicaragua |
| transcontinental railroad | the theory that the only way to keep the western states such as California and Oregon in the Union was to build a transcontinental railroad that stretched from a selected eastern terminal to the west coast that connected the country. There was a lot of dispute over where the eastern terminal was going to be and where the railroad was going to go through, especially after the Gadsen Purchase. The eastern terminal was decided to be at Chicago in the Kansas-Nebraska Act |
| Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) | declared that the status of slavery in those states would be determined by popular sovereignty. This caused a mass migration to these two states to win the vote. Proposed by Stephen Douglas. Led to the death of the Whigs and formation of the Republican Party |
| Bleeding Kansas | Violence between pro-slavery Missouri border ruffians and abolitionists over the sovereignty of Kansas due to the issue of slavery |
| Border Ruffians vs. New England Emigrant Aid Society | slave owners from Missouri vs. abolitionists who met in Kansas to fight over the issue of slavery |
| Lecompton Constitution | A document that said Kansas could not vote for or against the Constitution as a whole, but the Constitution with slavery or without slavery. If they voted against salvery, the Constitution would protect slave-owners already in Kansas. Either way Kansas was a slave state. Written in 1857. |
| Election of 1856 | James Buchanan (D) vs. John C. Frémont (R) Buchanan was known as the "Old Buck" - he was "Kansas-less", enemyless, irresolute, and confused, although he won the election. Fremont was known at the "Pathfinder of the West" - he was an explorer, soldier, and surveyor. Did well in the election, but lost to Buchanan. |
| Know-Nothing Party | a political party which arose primarily in the North during the 1840's and 50's. their campaign focused almost exclusively on anti-immigration measures |
| Brooks-Sumner Beating (1856) | Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner after Sumner insulted Brooks' uncle. Brooks became a hero in the South because he was a promoter of slavery and this was seen as an action taken to defend these principles |
| Panic of 1857 | as a result of the large amounts of gold entering the economy from California, the United States entered an economic depression in 1857. The North was primarily affected the depression due to their dependence on industrial economy. The South assumed a false sense of security, as the depression impressed little upon their agricultural economy. "King Cotton." |
| Dred Scott Case (1857) | Dred Scott, a slave living in free territory, sued for his freedom after his master died, creating controversy such that the case was taken to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Taney ruled the Dred Scott was a slave, therefore not a citizen, and therefore could not sue, the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional, and finally, that the federal government could not stop the movement of property (slaves) throughout territories |
| Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858) | a series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in an attempt to acquire the U.S. Senateseat from Illinois. Lincoln argued against the spread of slavery while Douglas promoted his "Freeport Doctrine" |
| Freeport Doctrine | a doctrine proposed by Stephen Douglas during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. It suggested that a territorial legislature could prohibit slavery no matter what the Supreme Court ruled. This alienated the South, possibly costing him the Election of 1860 |
| Harper's Ferry | the location of John Brown's Raid in 1859. Brown wanted to lead a massive slave rebellion by seizing the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, but his plans were ruined, although Harper's Ferry was briefly captured |
| Election of 1860 | Abraham Lincoln (R) vs. Stephen Douglas (North D) vs. John C. Breckenridge (South D) vs. John Bell (Constitutional Union Party). The South feared the Republicans and thought them to be radical abolitionists, although most of them were not. Lincoln won with a 40% popular vote, but an easy electoral win, despite not winning any southern states. |
| secession | Breaking away, leaving the Union; on December 20, 1861, South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union. They were followed by Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas before February. They were joined by a few more states after Fort Sumter. President Buchanan did nothing to prevent or stop the secession of the South during his lame duck period. |
| Confederate States of America | formed by 7 seceded states in February 1861 in Montgomery, Alabama. The CSA Constutition was very similar to the US Constitution, except it provided for slavery. Jefferson Davis was appointed the president. |
| Crittenden Compromise (1861) | formed by John Crittenden of Kentucky. It proposed extending the Missouri Compromise line of 36°30' to the Pacific Ocean. It also proposed a consitutional amendment that prohibited the federal government from abolishing or regulating slavery. Lincoln rejected this compromise. |
