The American History some terms

Cherokee Indian Removal: act that provided funds for relocating eastern tribes west of the Mississippi. The act embodied Jackson’s preferred solution to the “Indian problem,” the mandatory expulsion of all Indians from the then-existing states. Indian resisted in numerous ways, but, in the end, most were forced to comply with the terms of the act.

Compromise of 1820: 1820, congressional compromise engineered by Henry Clay that allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine to enter as a free state. The compromise also established Missouri’s southern border as the permanent line dividing slave from free states. The Missouri compromise calmed tensions in the short run but did nothing to resolve the underlying issue of the future of slavery in the United States.

Compromise of 1850: collection of laws passed in 1850 meant to resolve the dispute over the spread of slavery in the territories. Key elements of the Compromise of 1850 included the admission of California as a free state and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. The Compromise of 1850 began to unravel almost immediately after its passage, as sectional tensions continued to rise.

Dred Scott: in the Dred Scott decision, the United States Supreme Court rules the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and declares that blacks are not U.S citizens.

Emancipation Proclamation: presidential proclamation issued on January 1, 1863, declaring all slaves in Confederate-controlled territory free. The limitations of the proclamation – it exempted the loyal Border States and the Union-occupied areas of the Confederacy – caused some to ridicule the act. Nonetheless, the Emancipation Proclamation made the Civil War a war to free slaves.

Fugitive Slave Act: a law included in the compromise of 1850 to help attract southern support for the legislative package. Its strict provisions for capturing runaway slaves provoked outrage in the North and contributed to intensified antislavery sentiment in the region.

Kansas-Nebraska Act: 1854 law championed by Stephen A. Douglas that removed Indians from Nebraska Territory, divided the territory into Kansas and Nebraska, and stipulated that the issue of slavery in each of the new territories would be decided on the basis of popular sovereignty. Implementation of the measure led to bloody fighting between pro- and antislavery forces in Kansas.

Know Nothings: the Know-Nothing exploded onto the political stage in 1854 and 1855 with a series of dazzling successes. They captured state legislatures in the Northeast, West, and South and claimed dozens of seats in Congress. By 1855, an observer might reasonably have concluded that the Know-Nothing had emerged as the successor to the Whigs.

Manifest Destiny: Term coined in 1845 by John L. O’Sullivan to justify American expansion. O’Sullivan claimed that it was Americans’ “manifest destiny” to move westward, bringing with them their values and civilization. Manifest destiny framed the American conquest of the West as part of a divine plan.

Mexican-American War: American and Mexican soldiers skirmished across much of northern Mexico, but the major battles took place between the Rio Grande and Mexico City.

Wilmot Proviso: proposal put forward by Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania in August 1846 to ban slavery in territory acquired as a result of the Mexican-American war. The proviso enjoyed widespread support in the north, but many Southerners saw it as an attack on their economic and political interests.