midterm Flashcards
(60 cards)
Common abolitionists
William Lloyd Garrison, Fredrick Douglas, Harriet Tubman
Underground railroad
The system of safe houses which moved slaves from the South into Canada where they would be free
Mexican-American War
In 1846 the U.S. went to war with Mexico. President Polk was an expansionist and believed in manifest destiny. The war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo-the US got the Mexican Cession (1/3 of Mexico’s land) which became six states
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Decided that these territories could come into the union as slave or free states determined by popular sovereignty- the people would decide. This ignored the Missouri Compromise and caused a lot of bloody fighting within these states (Bleeding Kansas)
Popular sovereignty
the power of the
government comes from the people.
Dred Scott case
decision by the Supreme Court said that slaves taken to free states are
still the “property” of their southern owners. Slaves are not citizens, but property, and cannot sue in court. It also said Congress had no right to stop slavery in any state. This helped fuel hatred between the North and the South helping start the Civil War.
John Brown
was an anti-slavery fanatic who tried to get weapons from the Harper’s
Ferry arsenal. He was going to give the weapons to the slaves to start an uprising against their masters.
Manifest Destiny
the belief that it was U.S. destiny to expand across the continent
spreading democracy.
Fugitive Slave Law
said that any slaves that fled to the North had to be returned to their southern owners. This enraged abolitionists.
Indian Removal Act
Act forced Indians to move west of the Mississippi River (Andrew Jackson hated the Native Americans)
The Homestead Act
gave people land for free if they worked it for 5 years.
Monroe doctrine
said that Europe could not have any new colonies in the Western
Hemisphere.
The Spoils System
gave jobs to those people who voted
for or were friends of Jackson.
John Marshall
chief justice of the United States Supreme Court chief justice of the United States for more than three decades, during which time he helped increase the power and prestige of the Federal court system
Marbury vs. Madison
In this case the principle of judicial review was established.
This stated that the Supreme Court could rule on the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress and on presidential orders.
Judical review
the Supreme Court could rule on the constitutionality of laws passed by
Congress and on presidential orders.
McCulloch vs. Maryland
In this case the concept of implied powers was established.
Marshall’s court GREATLY EXPANDED THE POWER OF THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.
Sectionalism
is loyalty to a specific region rather than to the whole country. Sectional
tensions developed over: slavery, tariffs, internal improvements (roads, canals) and land
sales.
Louisana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson, as the 3rd president, purchased the Louisiana territory from France, doubling the size of the U.S. He used the elastic clause and treaty powers to justify the purchase.
Hamilton & National Bank
Hamilton insisted that a national bank was necessary for the economic development of the new country.
Lobbyists
are registered people who try to convince representatives to vote for laws in their interest.
Electoral college
was set up to stop direct election of a president. Each state has a
certain number of members based on their population as counted by the census.
The Unwritten Constitution
best defined as practices of the government that are based on custom and tradition. Examples- political parties, lobbies, the president’s cabinet
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution are the Bill of Rights, which limit the power of the national government to pass laws restricting basic freedoms (speech, the
press, religion, etc.).
