Planters
Wealthy landowners in the southern United States who owned large farms or plantations and often relied on enslaved labor to cultivate crops like tobacco, cotton, and rice.
Alamo
A historic mission in San Antonio, Texas, where a pivotal battle in the Texas Revolution occurred in 1836. It became a symbol of resistance and heroism in the fight for Texan independence from Mexico.
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
A slave uprising led by Nat Turner in 1831 in Virginia. It was one of the most significant slave revolts in American history and intensified the national debate over slavery.
Gag Rule
A series of congressional resolutions from 1836 to 1844 that automatically tabled, or prevented discussion of, antislavery petitions. It was an effort to silence abolitionist voices in Congress.
Yeomen Farmers
Independent farmers in the southern United States who owned small plots of land and typically did not own slaves. They were often self-sufficient and valued their independence.
Second Seminole War
A conflict from 1835 to 1842 between the United States and the Seminole tribe in Florida. It was part of the broader struggle over Native American removal policies.
White Supremacy
A racist belief system that holds that white people are superior to other races and should dominate society. It played a significant role in shaping social and political systems in the United States.
Treaty of New Echota
An 1835 agreement between the U.S. government and a minority group of Cherokee leaders, which led to the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their lands, known as the Trail of Tears.
Whig Party
A political party active in the United States between the 1830s and 1850s. It opposed the policies of President Andrew Jackson and supported modernization, banking, and economic protectionism.
Trail of Tears
The forced relocation of Native American nations from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States to areas west of the Mississippi River, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Native Americans.
Tejanos
Residents of Texas who are culturally descended from the original Spanish-speaking settlers of the region. They played a significant role in the history and development of Texas.
Panic of 1837
A financial crisis in the United States that led to a severe economic depression lasting several years. It was marked by bank failures, unemployment, and a collapse in the real estate market.
Manifest Destiny
The 19th-century belief that the expansion of the United States across the American continent was both justified and inevitable. It was used to justify territorial acquisitions.
Second Party System
A term used to describe the political party system in the United States during the 1820s to the 1850s, characterized by the rivalry between the Democrats and the Whigs.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The 1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American War. It resulted in the U.S. acquiring territories that would become California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of several other states.
Wilmot Proviso
An unsuccessful proposal in 1846 to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. It heightened tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery.