Answer
The Embargo Act (1807) cut off U.S. shipping with all foreign nations. The concept of nullification became an issue/crisis during the 1830s when South Carolina declared the federal tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the state. James Monroe's presidential administration was characterized as the “Era of Good Feelings.” The Wilmot Proviso aimed to prohibit slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. A central element in the conquest and submission of the American Indians of the West was the construction of the transcontinental railroad. The American or “Know-Nothing” Party of the 1850s was anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic. Abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison advocated for the immediate and uncompensated release of all slaves held in the United States. As a result of the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852, anti-slavery sentiment increased in the North. The Mormons migrated west primarily to escape religious persecution. The Republican Party campaign platform of 1860 called for the non-extension of slavery into the territories. The faction of the Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War became known as the Copperheads. The ultimate consequence of the sharecropping system for the South was a cycle of debt and poverty for sharecroppers. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional. The primary focus of women’s reform movements in the fifty years after the Civil War was the struggle for women's suffrage. The belief that the United States had a special mission to expand over the entire North American continent was known as Manifest Destiny. The First Battle of Bull Run was significant because it shattered the North's hopes of a quick victory. Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America. During the Civil War, Kansas and Missouri were scenes of extensive guerrilla warfare. The Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of slaves in Confederate-held territory. The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history and led to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Battle of Gettysburg was significant because it was a turning point in the Civil War, ending Lee's invasion of the North. The two issues at the heart of Reconstruction were how to reintegrate the Southern states into the Union and how to define the legal status and rights of African Americans.
Key Concept
The Embargo Act of 1807 was an attempt by President Thomas Jefferson to avoid war and protect American interests by stopping all trade with foreign nations, which had a significant economic impact on the U.S. economy. (KC-4.2.II.D)
Explanation
The Embargo Act was a response to British and French interference with American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars, but it ended up hurting the U.S. economy more than it did Europe's.
Key Concept
The Nullification Crisis of the 1830s arose when South Carolina, espousing the states' rights doctrine, declared that states could nullify federal laws deemed unconstitutional. (KC-4.2.II.E)
Explanation
This crisis highlighted the growing sectional tensions over states' rights and federal authority, which would eventually lead to the Civil War.
Key Concept
The “Era of Good Feelings” is associated with James Monroe's presidency, a time marked by a sense of national unity and political cooperation following the War of 1812. (KC-4.3.II)
Explanation
Despite the name, this period also saw the beginning of sectional divisions, particularly over the issue of slavery's expansion.
Key Concept
The Wilmot Proviso was a proposed amendment that sought to prohibit slavery in territories gained from Mexico, highlighting the contentious debate over the expansion of slavery. (KC-5.1.I.B)
Explanation
Though it never became law, the Wilmot Proviso intensified the sectional conflict leading to the Civil War.
Key Concept
The American or “Know-Nothing” Party was a nativist political party that emerged in response to an influx of immigrants, particularly Irish Catholics, advocating for restrictive immigration policies. (KC-5.2.II.B)
Explanation
Their influence reflected the tensions over immigration and cultural changes during the period.
Key Concept
Abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison pushed for immediate emancipation without compensation to slaveholders, a radical stance that increased tensions between North and South. (KC-5.2.II.C)
Explanation
Garrison's advocacy was part of a broader abolitionist movement that sought to end slavery and was instrumental in raising public consciousness about the moral issues surrounding the institution.
Key Concept
The publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin had a profound impact on Northern perceptions of slavery, galvanizing anti-slavery sentiment and exacerbating sectional tensions. (KC-5.3.II.A)
Explanation
The novel humanized the suffering of enslaved people and played a role in the growing abolitionist movement in the North.
Key Concept
The Mormons, led by Joseph Smith and later Brigham Young, migrated west to escape religious persecution and to establish a community where they could practice their faith without interference. (KC-5.2.II.E)
Explanation
Their migration was part of the westward expansion and the quest for religious freedom in the United States.
Key Concept
The Republican Party's 1860 platform opposed the extension of slavery into the territories, reflecting the sectional divide and contributing to the Southern states' decision to secede following Lincoln's election. (KC-5.3.II.B)
Explanation
The platform sought to prevent the spread of slavery but did not call for its immediate abolition in states where it already existed.
Key Concept
The Copperheads were Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and advocated for an immediate peace settlement with the Confederacy, reflecting the divided opinion in the North about the war. (KC-5.3.II.D)
Explanation
Their opposition to the war effort was a significant political issue for President Lincoln and the Union war strategy.
Key Concept
The sharecropping system that emerged in the South during Reconstruction trapped many African Americans and poor whites in a cycle of debt and poverty, perpetuating economic inequality and racial hierarchy. (KC-5.4.II.C)
Explanation
Sharecropping became a means for the planter class to maintain a labor force in the absence of slavery, but it offered little opportunity for economic advancement for the laborers.
Key Concept
In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine, which sanctioned decades of Jim Crow laws. (KC-6.2.I.C)
Explanation
This ruling provided legal justification for segregation and the continued disenfranchisement of African Americans.
Key Concept
The primary focus of women’s reform movements after the Civil War was the struggle for women's suffrage, culminating in the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. (KC-6.2.II.B)
Explanation
Women's rights activists worked tirelessly to secure the legal right to vote, which was seen as a fundamental step toward gender equality.
Key Concept
Manifest Destiny was the 19th-century belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent, a concept that justified American territorial expansion. (KC-5.1.I.A)
Explanation
This ideology was used to rationalize the annexation of territories and often disregarded the rights of indigenous peoples and other nations.
Key Concept
The First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) was significant as it was the first major battle of the Civil War and demonstrated that the conflict would be longer and more brutal than initially anticipated. (KC-5.2.III.A)
Explanation
The Union's defeat dispelled any illusions of a swift victory and indicated the need for a more robust military strategy and preparation.
Key Concept
Jefferson Davis was elected as the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, leading the secessionist states during the Civil War. (KC-5.2.III.B)
Explanation
Davis's leadership was a central element of the Confederacy's attempt to establish itself as a separate nation founded on the preservation of slavery.
Key Concept
During the Civil War, Kansas and Missouri were characterized by violent guerrilla warfare, reflecting the deep-seated divisions and local conflicts that the larger civil war encompassed. (KC-5.2.III.C)
Explanation
The violence in these states was an extension of the "Bleeding Kansas" conflict and demonstrated the pervasive and personal nature of the war.
Key Concept
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Lincoln in 1863, declared the freedom of slaves in Confederate-held territory, transforming the Civil War into a struggle for abolition as well as union. (KC-5.3.III.B)
Explanation
While it did not immediately free all slaves, it was a crucial step towards the eventual abolition of slavery and changed the character of the war.
Key Concept
The Battle of Antietam was significant as the bloodiest single-day battle in American history and provided President Lincoln with the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. (KC-5.3.III.C)
Explanation
The Union's strategic victory at Antietam was pivotal in preventing European recognition of the Confederacy and shifting the war aims towards emancipation.
Key Concept
The Battle of Gettysburg was significant because it marked a turning point in the Civil War, with the Union victory ending General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North and bolstering Northern morale. (KC-5.3.III.D)
Explanation
The defeat of the Confederates at Gettysburg, coupled with the victory at Vicksburg, gave the Union a decisive military advantage.
Key Concept
The heart of Reconstruction revolved around two central issues: the reintegration of the Southern states into the Union and the status and rights of the freed African Americans. (KC-5.4.I)
Explanation
Reconstruction sought to address the political, social, and economic aftermath of the Civil War, including the challenge of how to rebuild the South and secure civil rights for former slaves.