US History Unit Five (1844-1877)

Unit Five (1844-1877) Identification (ID’S) (2 points each: 1pt. for definition; 1 pt. for significance) 1) McCormick reaper- The McCormick reaper was a mechanical reaper that was invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1847. The McCormick reaper was significant because of its high demand and the innovations it brought to agricultural life in the United States. 2) “American System of Manufactu ring”- The “American System of Manufacturing” was a system that utilized interchangeable parts in factories. This s ystem was important because it led to improved rates of manufacturing, which allowed for more efficient production of goods. 3) New York Stock Exchange-This was New York's center of financing where leading railroads were traded in the 1850s. The exchange of stocks was important because it allowed New York to develop a cornerstone of economic fervor during the mid-1800s. 4) Epidemics-Epidemics are diseases in human population during a certain period of time. Epidemics were important because they outlined the connection between people and God. People often believed that epidemics were the cause of poor behavior by human beings. 5) Phrenology- Phrenology was the idea that humans contained thirty-seven different organs in the brain. Phrenologists believed that activity of the organs determined skull shape. Therefore, the idea of historical importance that the personality and characteristics of a person could be determined by bumps and depressions in the skull came to have a lasting impression on many Americans. 6) Penny Press- The penny press published inexpensive newspapers in the 1830s. The penny press was important because it allowed open access to the newspapers and the occurrences in the United States. 7) Minstrel Shows- Minstrel shows were live shows in which men in blackface would act like African Americans in depictions of humor, song, and dance. Minstrelsy borrowed authentic elements from African American culture, but most of the elements were created by white men and often poked fun at the African customs. 8) P.T. Barnum- P.T Barnum was Connecticut small-town grocer who moved to New York City in order to become an entrepreneur in popular show business. A few years later, he established the American museum which depicted oddities and collections of curiosities. He eventually founded the now famous Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. 9) American Renaissance- The American Renaissance was a period of flowering literature in the United States that began in the 1820s. The American Renaissance was important because not only were Americans beginning to depict American nature more frequently in books but they also began to portray American characteristics in art and literature. 10) James Fenimore Cooper-Cooper was the first important figure of the American Renaissance. His most important innovation was the creation of the frontiersman Natty Bumppo“Leatherstocking”, who was and influential fictional American literature character. 11) Ralph Waldo Emerson- Emerson was the most influential spokesman for American literary nationalism. As the leading light of transcendentalism, the American version of Romanticism, Emerson contended that we are born without ideas of God and freedom. To Emerson, knowledge represented an indirect, skewed vision of the truth. Thus, Emerson believed that learned people had no advantage in discovering the truth and that the truth can always be prompted if one follows his heart. 12) Henry David Thoreau-Thoreau was an American writer who shared the same pursuit as Emerson. Thoreau was more of a doer than Emerson, however. Thoreau once landed himself in jail for refusal to pay a poll tax that would virtually extend slavery through the fight of the Mexican War. Thoreau's importance lies in his writing of “Civil Disobedience” which ensured that Americans could disobey unjust, immoral laws. 13) Margaret Fuller- Fuller was one of the most remarkable figures of the Transcendentalist period. She contended that women should not succumb to the values that were lauded by Emerson. She believed that women needed to be learned and overcome any fear of being called masculine. 14) Walt Whitman- Whitman was a well-known author who wrote “Leaves of Grass”. Whitman was important for shattering poetry conventions in his prose. His ideas were lusty and blunt in a time when delicacy was a thematic regimen. 15) Nathaniel Hawthorne- Hawthorne was a famous author who wrote The Scarlet Letter. Although Hawthorne was a major contributor to the American Renaissance, his ideas paid little heed to the ideas of Emerson because he did not believe that ordinary Americans could find truth by following the heart. 16) Herman Melville- Melville was the famous author of Moby Dick. Although he was an important contributor to the American Renaissance, Melville did not agree with the notion set forth by Emerson. He did not believe that literature should call upon experiences that comprehend the life of the ordinary citizen. 17) Edgar Allan Poe- Poe was a famous American Renaissance writer who did not have the same view as Emerson. Edgar Allan Poe was famous for his seemingly crazed novels that focused on dark subjects such as murder. 18) Hudson River School- The Hudson River School was an American art movement of the mid-1800s. Scenes were often painted on the region surrounding the Hudson River, a river that was significant for its majestic qualities that were comparable to those of the Rhine River. 19) George Catlin- Catlin was a painter whose main goal was to portray the Native Americans in their purest savage state. He was important for his idea that the Native Americans were not human being. In the mind of Catlin, the Natives were savage, animal-like beasts. His portrayal of the Natives in this manner led to the spread of such ideas in the minds of Americans. 20) Frederick Law Olmsted- Olmsted was the major architect of New York City's Central Park. Central Park set a precedence for state-sponsored architectural projects that were awed by the nation's inhabitants. 21) Nat Turner- Nat Turner was a slave who led a bloody rebellion in Southampton, Virginia in 1831. Turner's rebellion was important because whites previously did not worry as much about slave rebellions. Turner cause apprehension in the minds of slaveholders as well as a desire to suppress possible rebellions. 22) Upper South- The Upper South consisted of Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee. These states were important because they were beginning to shift from the strict slave ways, and they became looser in their adherence to slavery. 23) Lower (Deep) South-These states consisted of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. While Upper Southern states were beginning to not focus as much on the strict requirements of slavery, Deep South states adhered more to continuance of slavery because they were further from the influence of America's Northern states. 24) Old South-The Old South included Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. These states were important because they were the states that were practicing slavery and would later have to readjust to life without dependence on slaves. 25) Cotton Kingdom-A broad swath of territory that stretched from South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida in the east through Alabama, Mississippi, central and western Tennessee, and Louisiana, and from there on to Arkansas and Texas. This land was important for its prodigal, prosperous production of cotton in order to find a source of wealth for the South. 26) Internal Slave Trade- The Internal Slave Trade was a trade that took place between the upper and lower south. Because importation of slaves into the country was banned, the South significantly found a way to monopolize the trade of the best slaves within the country. 27) Tredegar Iron Works- Tradegar Iron Works was the country's fourth largest producer of iron products. Tradegar Iron Works held its importance in that it was located in Richmond and was able to supply the country with a surfeit of useful iron products. 28) Plantation Agriculture-Plantation agriculture was characterized by a high degree of division of labor, it was virtually an agricultural equivalent of a factory village. The plantation agriculture was an important element because it allowed work to be divided amongst slaves by slaveholders. 29) Pine Barrens People-Making up about 10 percent of southern whites, they usually squatted on the land, put up crude cabins, cleared some acreage on which they planted corn between tree stumps, and grazed hogs and cattle in the woods. They neither raised cash crops nor engaged in the daily routine of orderly work that characterized family farmers. With their ramshackle houses and handful of stump-strewn acres, they appeared lazy and shiftless. 30) Virginia Emancipation Legislation-In 1681, the legislature became alarmed at the “inconvenience” to the colony that occurred upon the emancipation of Negroes and mulattos (and its resultant increase in a free Negro population). They feared these freed slaves might entice other Negroes from their masters’ service or become recipients of stolen goods, or be so elderly that the counties would have to maintain them. So the legislature passed a law forbidding emancipation of any Negro or mulatto unless the owner paid for his transportation outside Virginia within six months of setting the slave free. This law had the effect of making black bondsmen slaves for life. 31) The Impending Crisis of the South- Written by Hinton R. Helper, it called upon non-slaveholders to abolish slavery in their own interest. The Impending Crisis of the South was important because it revealed the persistence of a degree of white opposition to slavery. 32) George Fitzhugh- Fitzhugh was a Virginian who contrasted the plight of northern factory workers, "wage slaves" who were callously discarded by their bosses when they were too old or too sick to work, with the southern slaves, who were fed and clothed even when old and ill because they were the property of conscientious masters. Fitzhugh was important because he represented a different view of the factory system. 33) Southern Code of Honor- The Southern Code of Honor was an extraordinary sensitivity to one's reputation, a belief that one's self-esteem depends on the judgment of others. The Southern Code of Honor was important because it represented the slaveholders' allegiance to Christian values representing their reputation in the Southern communities. 34) Task System- The task system was the idea that each slave had a daily or weekly quota of tasks to complete. This idea was important because it led to strict guidelines for plantation life. 35) Gang Labor-Gang labor just means a group of people working together doing physical labor. It doesn't happen often today, because there are machines to do the work. It wasn't just slaves that were used for gang labor- prisoners were (and in some parts of the country, still are) used in work gangs. Gang labor was different from the task system in that slaves worked in gangs instead of individually. 36) Frederick Douglass- A former slave who was the leading black abolitionist during the antebellum period. Douglass was important for his work with Garrison in The Liberator as well as publishing a narrative of his life as a slave that would effectively reveal the evils of slavery. 37) Free Blacks- Blacks who were not slaves. Most of them lived in urban areas. The relatively specialized economies of the cities provided free people of color with opportunities to become carpenters, coopers (barrel makers), barbers, and even small traders. This was important because it lead to the desire of more freedom amongst the slaves. 38) Denmark Vesey- South Carolina slave who won fifteen hundred dollars in a lottery and bought his freedom. People like Vesey gave other slaves hope that they, too, would someday be able to find a way to freedom. Also, Vesey's freedom showed the practice of the idea that a slave could buy his freedom. 39) Harriet Tubman- Former slave and leading abolitionist who made repeated trips back to the South to help other slaves escape. Harriet Tubman was important because she aided heavily in the freedom of Blacks; this persistence of Tubman saved the lives of many slaves and gave many hope of escaping the horrors of slavery. 40) Underground Railroad- Supposedly an organized network of safe houses owned by white abolitionists who spirited blacks to freedom in the North and Canada. The underground railroad was important because it allowed a good amount of slaves to escape the dangers of plantation life. 41) Spirituals- Religious songs sang by blacks. Its is shrouded in obscurity, but it is clear that by 1820 blacks at camp meetings had improvised what one white described as "short scraps of disjointed affirmations, pledges, or prayers lengthened out with long repetition choruses." Spirituals were important because they gave the slaves a source of recluse from the tortures of slavery. 42) Fort Sumter 43) John Brown 44) Free Soil 45) Popular Sovereignty 46) “High Law” 47) Stephen A. Douglas 48) Compromise of 1850 49) Fugitive Slave Act 50) Uncle Tom’s Cabin 51) Franklin Pierce 52) Kansas-Nebraska Act 53) Slave Power 54) Know-Nothings 55) Republican Party 56) Charles Sumner 57) Dred Scott v. Sandford 58) Lecompton Constitution 59) Abraham Lincoln 60) Confederate States of America 61) Conscription 62) Legal Tender Act 63) National Bank Act 64) Jefferson Davis 65) Radical Republicans 66) Anaconda Plan 67) First Battle of Bull Run 68) Robert E. Lee 69) Battle of Antietam 70) Ulysses S. Grant 71) William T. Sherman 72) Battle of Shiloh 73) “Cotton Diplomacy” 74) Emancipation Proclamation 75) Freedmen’s Bureau 76) Battle of Gettysburg 77) Battle of Vicksburg 78) Homestead Act 79) Morrill Land Grant Act 80) New York City Draft Riots 81) United States Sanitary Commission 82) Woman’s National Loyal League 83) Thirteenth Amendment 84) Appomattox Court House 85) Charles Sumner (Ch. 16 Importance) 86) Thaddeus Stevens 87) Andrew Johnson 88) Presidential Reconstruction 89) “Black Codes” 90) Civil Rights Act of 1866 91) Fourteenth Amendment 92) Reconstruction Act of 1867 93) Tenure of Office Act 94) Fifteenth Amendment 95) Susan B. Anthony 96) Ku Klux Klan 97) Enforcement Acts 98) Civil Rights Act of 1875 99) Sharecropping 100) Liberal Republicans 101) Greenback Party 102) Slaughterhouse Cases 103) “Exodusters” 104) Compromise of 1877 Short Response (10 points each) Grading will be on an A/F/zero score. (will discuss) 1) Discuss how the American social reform movement evolved out of the Second Great Awakening. 2) Compare the economic systems of the upper and lower South. In which region would slavery have died a “natural” death? Explain. 3) Discuss the major elements of the Compromise of 1850 and how they were an attempt to balance the requirements of pro-slavery and antislavery factions in the United States. 4) Describe the effects of the Civil War on the “home front” of the North and South. Did one side benefit more than the other? Explain. 5) How did freed slaves react to their new status after the Civil War? What did most African Americans soon realize about the reality of their freedoms?