Sectionalism, Civil War & Reconstruction (1844–1877): every key term you need
92 flashcard terms for AP U.S. History Unit 5, written to match the course framework. Study them here, then drill them as interactive flashcards — free, no account needed.
Sectional conflict escalated as the country acquired new territories; slavery's expansion became the central question, and political compromise failed.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Stephen Douglas's bill letting settlers decide slavery via popular sovereignty; it repealed the Missouri Compromise and opened Kansas to violent conflict.
Bleeding Kansas (1854–1858)
Pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces fought for control of Kansas; thousands died in a brutal preview of the coming Civil War.
The Republican Party (Founded 1854)
A coalition of Whigs, Free Soilers, and disaffected Democrats united against slavery expansion; they quickly became a major party.
John C. Frémont & the 1856 Election
The first Republican presidential candidate; he lost to Democrat James Buchanan but showed the new party's strength in the North.
James Buchanan (1857–1861)
Weak president who tried to appease the South; his ineffectiveness accelerated sectional breakdown.
The Dred Scott Case (1857)
Chief Justice Taney ruled that enslaved people were not citizens and that Congress couldn't ban slavery in territories — a pro-slavery bombshell.
Roger Taney's Ruling
Taney declared that Black people had 'no rights which the white man was bound to respect' — a constitutional disaster for antislavery forces.
The Lecompton Constitution (1857)
Kansas's pro-slavery constitution rejected by popular vote but supported by Buchanan — proving popular sovereignty was a sham.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)
Abraham Lincoln's debates with Senator Douglas during an Illinois campaign; Lincoln's opposition to slavery expansion gained him national fame.
Abraham Lincoln
Sixteenth president (1861–65); a self-taught lawyer from Kentucky raised in Indiana; he opposed slavery's expansion and held the Union paramount.
Lincoln's 'House Divided' Speech (1858)
'A house divided against itself cannot stand'; Lincoln argued the U.S. couldn't survive half-slave, half-free — moderate language, radical implication.
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859)
Abolitionist John Brown attacked a federal arsenal hoping to spark a slave rebellion; the raid failed, he was executed, and the South was terrified.
The Election of 1860
Lincoln (Republican) won without carrying a single Southern state; the South saw this as proof the North would dominate, ending slavery's future.
Secession (December 1860–April 1861)
South Carolina seceded in December; by April, eleven states had left the Union and formed the Confederate States of America.
Jefferson Davis
President of the Confederate States; he represented the South's commitment to slavery and independence.
Fort Sumter (April 1861)
Confederates fired on the Federal garrison; the attack started the Civil War and energized Northern determination to fight.
Northern War Aims (1861–1865)
Initially, the North fought only to preserve the Union; abolition became a war aim only later (1863 Emancipation Proclamation).
Southern War Aims
The Confederacy fought to preserve slavery and independence; its constitution explicitly protected slavery and Southern sovereignty.
The War's First Phase (1861–1862)
Early Confederate victories (First Bull Run) shocked the North; the war would be long, not a quick Union victory.
General George McClellan
Union general criticized for excessive caution; his failed Peninsula Campaign (1862) proved the war required mobilizing Northern resources fully.
The Battle of Antietam (September 1862)
The bloodiest day in American military history; McClellan stopped Lee's invasion, giving Lincoln the victory he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863)
Lincoln freed enslaved people in states still in rebellion; a war measure framed as military necessity, it turned the war into a crusade against slavery.
Why Emancipation Waited
Lincoln believed he lacked constitutional authority to free slaves in loyal states; he also feared alienating the Border States; politics and law constrained his hand.
African American Soldiers
Nearly 200,000 Black men served in the Union Army; their service disproved racist claims and proved their commitment to freedom.
Ulysses S. Grant
Union general who defeated Lee; his strategies of attrition and total warfare wore down the South's capacity to fight.
William Tecumseh Sherman
Union general famous for his 'March to the Sea' (1864), burning civilian resources; his total war aimed to break Southern will.
Robert E. Lee
Confederate general, brilliant tactician, loyal to Virginia; he could not overcome the North's superior resources and manpower.
The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863)
Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania failed; the three-day battle killed 50,000 men — the war's turning point. The North would win.
The Siege of Vicksburg (July 1863)
Grant captured this Mississippi River stronghold; combined with Gettysburg, it proved Northern military dominance.
Sherman's Total War Strategy
Destroying civilian resources and economy to crush Southern will to fight; controversial then and now, it accelerated Northern victory.
The Copperheads
War Democrats and Peace Democrats who opposed Lincoln's conduct; Northern draft resistance and antiwar sentiment troubled the North.
Conscription & the Draft
The North's 1863 draft to raise troops; wealthy men could pay a substitute, fueling anger over class inequality.
The New York City Draft Riots (July 1863)
Irish and German workers rioted over the draft; thousands attacked draft offices and Black residents; federal troops crushed the riots.
The War's Economic Impact on the North
Huge government spending stimulated industrial growth; factories, railroads, and coal mining boomed as war industries.
Greenbacks & War Finance
The North printed paper money not backed by gold; inflation and financial innovation allowed the North to finance the war.
The South's Economic Collapse
Limited manufacturing, disrupted agriculture, and a blockade strangled the Southern economy; the South faced starvation by war's end.
The Anaconda Plan
The North's strategy to strangle the South: blockade coastal trade, control the Mississippi, and squeeze economically while armies advanced.
Blockade Running
Desperate Southerners tried to smuggle goods past the Union navy; it never fully succeeded and the South grew poorer.
The Election of 1864
Lincoln won reelection against Democrat George McClellan; voters endorsed the war and emancipation despite casualties.
Lincoln's Second Inaugural (March 1865)
'With malice toward none, with charity for all'; Lincoln aimed at reconciliation, but five days later he was assassinated.
Lee's Surrender at Appomattox (April 1865)
Lee surrendered to Grant; Grant offered generous terms. The war was over — 620,000 dead, more than any previous American conflict.
The War's Human Cost
Over half a million Americans died; whole counties lost a generation of men. The psychological trauma and social disruption were immense.
Reconstruction (1865–1877)
The process of reintegrating the South and reshaping racial relations; it's the most debated period in American history.
Radical Republicans
Congressional Republicans who wanted to reshape the South, ensure Black freedom, and punish the South — led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner.
Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)
Lincoln's successor; a Tennessee Democrat, he pursued a lenient Reconstruction that the Radicals saw as betraying emancipation.
Lincoln's 10% Plan (1863)
Restoration governments could form when 10% of voters swore loyalty; it was lenient, aimed at rapid reunion.
Johnson's Reconstruction Plan
Similarly lenient; Southern states reformed themselves, granted some rights to freedmen, but Johnson sought rapid restoration.
Black Codes (1865–1866)
Southern states passed laws restricting freedmen's rights to own land, travel, testify, and work — recreating quasi-slavery.
The Freedmen's Bureau (1865–1872)
Federal agency helping freedmen with education, labor contracts, and relief; often the only federal protection freedmen had.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
Granted citizenship and equal rights to freedmen; Johnson vetoed it but Congress overrode him — signaling the Radical turn.
The 14th Amendment (Ratified 1868)
Guaranteed citizenship and equal protection; it prohibited states from denying due process or equal protection — the most important Reconstruction amendment.
Radical Reconstruction Acts (1867)
Congressional plan dividing the South into military districts; new state constitutions had to guarantee Black voting rights.
Black Suffrage (1867)
Radical Reconstruction enfranchised all Black men (though women remained barred); this fundamentally altered Southern politics.
Freedmen as Voters & Office-Holders
Black men voted and many held political office during Reconstruction; they served in state legislatures, Congress, and local posts.
Carpetbaggers & Scalawags
Carpetbaggers: Northern whites who came South seeking opportunity; Scalawags: Southern white Republicans. Both worked with freedmen and faced Southern hostility.
Southern Republican governments (Black and white) built schools, public works, and constitutional reform — achievements resented by white Southerners.
The Ku Klux Klan (1866–)
Founded by ex-Confederates to terrorize freedmen and Republicans; violence escalated, aiming to restore white supremacy.
Redemption (1870s)
Conservative white Southerners ('Redeemers') used violence, fraud, and economic pressure to overthrow Republican governments and restore white rule.
The Compromise of 1877
After the disputed 1876 election, a backroom deal gave the presidency to Republican Hayes in exchange for withdrawing federal troops from the South.
The End of Reconstruction (1877)
Federal troops left the South; Republican governments collapsed; Southern Democrats regained power and moved to strip freedmen of rights.
Sharecropping & Tenant Farming
Freedmen without land worked as sharecroppers or tenant farmers, paying planters in crops; it was a precarious form of dependency replacing slavery.
The Debt Peonage System
Sharecroppers were chronically in debt; unable to leave or vote freely, they faced a system nearly as restricting as slavery.
Freedmen's Education
Northern missionary societies and the Freedmen's Bureau built schools; by 1900 most freed people and their children were literate, a remarkable achievement.
Booker T. Washington's Rise
Founded Tuskegee Institute (1881); advocated vocational education and accommodation with white supremacy as a strategy for Black advancement.
The 15th Amendment (Ratified 1870)
Prohibited voting discrimination based on race; women (Black and white) were excluded, disappointing suffrage activists.
Gender & Reconstruction
Women abolitionists expected Reconstruction to advance women's rights too; betrayed when suffrage remained limited to men, they pursued separate campaigns.
Johnson's Impeachment (1868)
Radical Republicans impeached Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act; he survived by one vote — his acquittal weakened congressional Reconstruction.
Ulysses S. Grant as President (1869–1877)
A Republican, Grant supported Reconstruction and deployed federal force against the Klan; his administration also saw significant corruption.
The Ku Klux Klan Acts (1870–1871)
Federal laws authorizing force against the Klan; Grant enforced them, temporarily suppressing Klan violence.
The Colfax Massacre (1873)
Mob violence killed dozens of freedmen and white Republicans in Louisiana; federal prosecution was weak, signaling commitment to Reconstruction was waning.
The Depression of 1873
Economic panic shifted Northern attention away from Southern Reconstruction; Northern Republicans lost interest in fighting for freedmen's rights.
Corruption & Grant Administration
Scandals like Credit Mobilier and the Whiskey Ring plagued Grant's presidency; corruption was a bipartisan problem but damaged Republican prestige.
The Liberal Republican Split (1872)
Some Northern Republicans abandoned Grant over corruption; the split weakened the party and contributed to Reconstruction's decline.
The South's 'Solid South' (1870s onward)
Southern Democrats unified against Republicans and anything 'Radical'; this regional unity would dominate politics for a century.
The Return of Home Rule (1870–1877)
One by one, Southern states 'redeemed' (returned to Democratic control) through fraud and violence; by 1877, the South was fully 'redeemed.'
White Supremacy Restored
By 1877, Southern states began enacting Jim Crow laws; Black political participation was suppressed and segregation legally enforced.
Reconstruction's Legacy
Reconstruction's constitutional amendments (13th, 14th, 15th) remain the foundation of civil rights law — though their promise was deferred a century.
The 13th Amendment (Ratified 1865)
Abolished slavery everywhere in the U.S. and territories — the most important amendment, finally achieving what the Constitution had protected.
National Citizenship & Rights (14th Amendment)
The amendment made citizenship national and guaranteed equal protection — the legal foundation for later civil rights advances.
The Civil War's Meaning
The war preserved the Union, ended slavery, and transformed the Constitution — but it did not establish racial equality, which remained contested.
Failure of Radical Reconstruction
By 1877, the North abandoned the South's freedmen; radical redistribution of land and power did not occur, limiting Reconstruction's transformation.
Reconstruction Historiography
'Dunning School' (early 1900s) portrayed Reconstruction as corrupt disaster; revisionist historians (1960s+) celebrated freedmen's agency and achievements.
Period 5 Big Picture
The Civil War resolved the Union vs. Secession question and ended slavery constitutionally. Reconstruction attempted to reshape Southern society and guarantee freedmen's rights, but failed to sustain those gains. The war and Reconstruction fundamentally altered American federalism, constitutional law, and race relations — though the promise of equality would remain unfulfilled for generations.
Total War & Industrial Warfare
The Civil War introduced unprecedented industrialized violence: ironclads, rifled muskets, trench warfare, and destruction of civilian economy — the template for modern war.
Women's Roles in Wartime
Women worked as nurses (Clara Barton), government workers, factory hands, and farm managers; wartime necessity expanded their public roles.
Technological Innovation & the War
Telegraph, railroads, ironclad warships, and rifled artillery accelerated warfare and demanded industrial production — the North's advantage.
The Question of Slavery & Capitalism
Some historians argue capitalism required slavery's end (free labor theory); others stress the war's contingency — competing interpretations of causation.
International Dimensions of the Civil War
Britain and France considered recognizing the Confederacy; Union diplomacy and lack of cotton-shortage crisis prevented intervention.
The Personal Liberty Laws
Northern states passed laws protecting fugitive slaves and limiting enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act — states' rights against slavery.
Abolitionism's Victory & Limits
Abolitionists achieved slavery's end but not racial equality; emancipation was a hollow victory without land, education, or voting rights secured.
The Promises & Failures of Emancipation
Freedom without property, education, or equal treatment was incomplete; the gap between abolition and equality shaped the next century.